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SENATE HANSARD 15 MAY 2025 Vol. 34 No. 48

PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE

Thursday, 15^th May, 2025

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

PRAYERS

(THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)

ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE

VISITORS IN THE PRESIDENT OF SENATE’S GALLERY

THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE (HON. SEN. KAMBIZI): I have to acknowledge the presence in the Senate Gallery, of officers from the Parliament of Namibia who are visiting our Parliament on a benchmarking visit. You are welcome.

APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM MINISTERS

THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Today being a Thursday, it is questions without notice. I have several apologies from our Hon. Ministers. The list is as follows: Hon. Gen. Rtd. Dr. C.D.G.N. Chiwenga, Vice President; Hon. Rtd. Col. K.C.D. Mohadi, Vice President; Hon. Professor A. Murwira, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Hon J. Muswere, Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Hon. E. Moyo, Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Hon. Dr. Mombeshora, Minister of Health and Child Care; Hon. C. Sanyatwe, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage; Hon. S. Sibanda, Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development; Hon. R. Modi, Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce; Hon. M. Ncube, Deputy Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities; 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 and Hon. E. Jesaya, Deputy Minister of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture.

Currently, in the House, we have the following Ministers:-  Hon. Mupamhanga, Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training; Hon. A. Gata, Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education; Hon. O. Marupi, Deputy Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services; Hon.  Makwiranzou, Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development; Hon. T. Tawengwa, Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Harare Metropolitan; Hon. T. Moyo, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education and Hon. D. Phuti, Deputy Minister of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services.

 Hon. Members, those are the Ministers who are in the House. Those with questions directed to them, you are free to do so. A special reminder; we have quite a number of Ministers with us in here, so you have a variety of questions to most of them as opposed to asking one Minister all the time.

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

HON. SEN. SHIRI: Thank you Hon. President. Hon. Minister, may you update this House on the progress of the oil and gas project in Muzarabani?

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING DEVELOPMENT RESPONSIBLE FOR OIL AND GAS RESEARCH AND OTHER STRATEGIC MINERALS EXPLORATION (HON. DR. MAKWIRANZOU):  I want to thank the Hon Senate for asking that question. In Muzarabani, there is progress.  First, I just want to explain that mining is on four processes. The first one is exploration, the second one is discovery and the third one is the actual mining or exploitation. The fourth one is processing and the fifth one is marketing. In Muzarabani, we have done the exploration and in the exploration, we have sunk some three boreholes and discovered hydrocarbons or oil and gas. So, we are at the stage of discovery. What happens at discovery when the investor starts the exploration, we just have a memorandum of understanding with him. When he makes the discovery, we actually now know the quantities of what mineral he will have discovered. So, we now know the estimated quantities for oil and gas in Muzarabani.

We now have to negotiate with him what we call a performance profit sharing agreement. So, we are now at that stage. The purpose of this (PPSA) performance profit sharing agreement, is to make sure that we are clear about the legal and physical framework of the mining. We can estimate the value addition that will be coming. We are now at that stage. We are negotiating on the PPSA. That is the stage where we are now and when we have finished that agreement, we will then move on to exploitation or to the actual mining. I thank you.

*HON. SEN. ZINDI: Thank you very much Mr. President. I wanted to understand from the Minister’s response that since they are at the stage of sharing the proceeds after an elephant has been slaughtered, who takes which part? Is this an issue that is going to be coming to this august House so that as Hon. Members and representatives of the people, we play our role in the issue, whether we are going to benefit in any way or we are going to get the horns or different parts? I thank you.

HON. MAKWIRANZOU: In petroleum production agreement, the Government agrees first with the stakeholders. You are going to be briefed because the final agreement is to be signed by His Excellency, the President. In short, you are going to be briefed. I thank you.

HON. SEN. KADUNGURE. Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education.

What is the Ministry doing to make a change in the teacher-people ratio? Our classes are too big. I thank you

THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. T. MOYO): I want to thank the Hon. Senator for the question. It is a very important question. The Government is doing a lot to address the issue of the teacher-people ratio. At the moment, the teacher-people ratio stands at 1:45, which I believe is too high. Here I am talking of average ratio but under normal circumstances, the recommended ratio for early childhood development and care is 1:20. For junior primary school, it is 1:30. The same applies for lower secondary. Then for A-level, it is 1:15. There are a number of interventions that are being pursued by the Government.

One of the measures is through recruitment of teachers. We have decentralised the recruitment process. That is an advantage, especially when it comes to the deployment of ECD teachers or infant teachers. Our Zimbabwe early learning policy stipulates that students at infant level must be taught in their mother languages. We are saying as a Ministry and as a Government, for ECD, teachers are recruited in their districts so that they can communicate effectively in the mother language as they teach ECD learners.

 Last year, we lobbied for the recruitment of 8,000 teachers. Treasury agreed to fund the recruitment exercise. However, we have not yet started the exercise because we are waiting for Treasury concurrence. I want to promise the House that any time soon, we are going to embark on the nationwide recruitment of teachers and it will be a decentralised exercise. Another way is to fill in attrition posts. These are posts that arise as a result of deaths, resignations, transfers and any other reason.

As soon as a teacher resigns or transfers from one province to another for various reasons, we do not cause tedious delays in terms of recruitment. We immediately recruit teachers to fill in posts that would have arisen as a result of attrition posts. I submit.

THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you very much Hon. Minister. Before the supplementary, I will recognise you. We also have been joined by three other ministers in the House. We have Hon. Minister Mavhunga, Minister of Veterans of the Liberation Struggle. She is in here ready for your questions. We also have Hon. Minister Kazembe, the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage. He is also ready for your questions. We also have Hon. Minister Soda, the Minister for National Housing and Social Amenities. He is also waiting for your questions.

*HON. SEN. ZHOU: Thank you Mr. President. I have a question for the Hon. Minister. I am one of the people who have a cousin who went to Binga. It is 8 years now, but I want my cousin to go back to Mberengwa to teach there because my cowboys have been stealing my cows and selling them. I was given a place and I wanted him to go to Mberengwa and those who are in Matabeleland North could not release him saying that they had no replacement for someone who will be coming from the Midlands to Matabeleland North to fill that position, which sometimes results in a period of three years or so without any replacement. I wanted to understand what would happen when you find that they reach up to three years without a replacement.

Secondly, after engaging the Provincial Director of Education, their spouses were responding to me. The wife was responding and she was not giving me complete information regarding what will be happening. So, I want to know if my wife can respond on my behalf in my official capacity responding to my clients. I submit.

         THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you Hon. Senator Zhou. The most challenging thing is that you are not the teacher, you are speaking on behalf of someone. Maybe the teacher might be having different circumstances. So, I am going to ask the Hon. Minister to respond to the question but this is a particular question which might need individual attention and the Minister is going to respond. I thank you.

THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. T. MOYO):  Thank you Hon. President Sir. Let me thank Hon. Sen. Zhou for that question. I believe that the question is directed to the Hon. Senator. I request that the Hon. Senator come and see me so that we deliberate on the issue and see how we can solve it. I thank you.

THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Another supplementary. Is it covered?

HON. SEN. MATIBIRI:  It is still outstanding. Thank you very much Mr. President. My question relates to the use of the mother tongue as a mode of instruction at ECD level. Given the importance of language to the teaching and learning process, do we have plans to extend the use of the mother tongue or native languages in the areas of instruction, assessment and evaluation? I make this point realising that probably the suppressed pass rates in our schools could be a result of our continued use of English as a mode of instruction, assessment and evaluation. I thank you.

HON. T. MOYO: Thank you Mr. President. I want to thank the Hon. Senator for the question. At the moment, the use of vernacular language is mainly done at the infant level, ECD A, ECD B up to Grade 1. So, we encourage teachers to teach using the mother language. Concerning his question, it is an issue of policy. I am sure the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education can initiate dialogue, can come up with a way because they exercise oversight on the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education according to Section 119 of the Constitution which says, ‘Government departments and agencies are accountable to Parliament’. In other countries like China, all learners are taught in Chinese. In Russia, the same applies. So, it is an issue of policy where we may need to introduce that. It is an issue that can be introduced through a Private Bill. May I call upon the Hon. Senator to initiate the Private Bill which would culminate in vernacular language as the language of instruction in all schools? According to his valid argument, if Mathematics is taught in Ndebele, Shona, Tonga, or any other local language, learners are likely to understand the concepts compared to the situation where the subject is taught in a foreign language like French, English and so forth. I now want to call upon him to initiate the process. Thank you Mr. President.

+HON. SEN. M. NDHLOVU: Thank you very much Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Broadcasting. Hon. Minister, I was asking a question with regard to television and radio services. What normally happens is, when you switch on the television to watch ZBC-TV, it is showery.. Radio stations are not playing. I have done it and I have failed to get the connection. Most people are saying their TVs are showery. Someone took their radio to the repair thinking it was not working and it was mentioned that they are now using gadgets that have always been advertised on television. My question to the Minister is, is this true and if indeed it is true, what do we do for us to be using those gadgets? Thank you.

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF INFORMATION, PUBLICITY AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. MARUPI): Thank you for this opportunity President of the Senate. I also want to thank Hon. Senator for this pertinent question. Yes, what is happening on our television screens is true. What is happening is, we have not put an instruction which says do not adjust your sets. We are moving from analogue to digital. All along we have been using analogue which is through old equipment and now we are using new equipment which is why you have always heard us saying we are digitalising. Television sets which are purchased nowadays are configured in a way that people can use cell phones to transfer material information from cell phones to access it from television sets. It is happening globally. Therefore, things like radios and television sets are moving from analogue to digital. We are experiencing challenges a bit because the equipment used is different. Some are still using television sets and radios from the old model. Some are using the new ones but eventually, all will be rectified because we are ensuring that all these challenges are dealt with. Thank you.

HON. SEN. MUZODA: Thank you Hon. President. I want to direct my question to the Minister of Transport, Hon. Minister Mhona. Mr. President, on my way from town to this august House towards this new route, it is written that restricted route and up to now. I do not know what is the meaning of this, so I want clarification from the Minister. Why am I asking this? There is a contestation and conflict and we are experiencing a lot of accidents. Accidents that happen along this road are accidents of people who are not Members of this august House but the general public. There are a lot of accidents that are happening that are not related to Parliament.

What is being done regarding that dangerous spot? This is normally a weekly occurrence or a frequent occurrence. We saw a recent accident a few days ago on Monday and I do not know whether the victim survived. May the Hon. Minister explain the issue of restriction, and how this is going to be solved, the issue of the dangerous spot? I thank you.

THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE:  Thank you Hon. Senator. There are a lot of accidents that are happening, I am going to indulge you and I am going to allow the Hon. Minister to respond to the question.

*THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Senate President. I want to thank Hon. Senator Wunganai. Indeed, it is true. I was whispering to Hon. Senator Shiri about the same issue before the question was raised. It is sad that we have reckless drivers in Zimbabwe. It is my request as the Hon. Minister of Transport that people should drive with care and caution. We constructed a very good road which links this place with the city. We desire that everyone should have the same vision of preserving these roads.

We have noted that people are running away from the toll gates that link Harare with Bindura. Some avoid the toll gate and use this road. We set up these toll gates so that we will be able to improve our roads. The reason we enacted this sign is because we want it to be a restricted road, which is not accessible to everyone and we cannot allow it to be a public road because we will be risking people. As the Minister of Transport, through a particular Statutory Instrument that we are working on, we are going to be banning abnormal trucks, buses and commuter omnibuses from using these private roads. We are only going to allow private cars to access the road. We are going to engage VID so that the restriction is enforced up to Mazowe Road. We are also going to put strips along the road so that our drivers limit their speed. So the rumble strips are going to be put along this road. Indeed, we want to protect you. These are the steps that we are going to be doing and this is what we have been engaging with our Ministry so that we see that this happens. I thank you.

*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA. Thank you very much Senate President. I want to thank the Minister for that response. However, what I have noticed is that with the beauty of this place and its entrance, you will find that there is a lot of overgrown grass which takes away the beauty. It does not augur well with the ambiance of Parliament. The main entrance was designed beautifully, but the access road needs attention. Is there anything that is going to be done to beautify the turnoff so that it links with Parliament? I thank you.

THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Before the Hon. Minister responds, let me inform the House that we have been joined by other Ministers, the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. We have also been joined by Hon. Mavetera who is the Minister for ICT. They are also waiting for your questions.

*HON. MHONA: Thank you Hon. President of the Senate. I want to thank Hon. Senator Tongogara. Indeed, it is true that the beautification is what the Hon. Member alluded to. I am glad to say that our Ministry works in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government, the Ministry of Tourism and other ministries to design and beautify our roads. I appreciate that as you come from Mazowe, you see the beauty of the road and sometimes people notice the not-so-beautiful patches and the boulevard is quite beautiful. We are going to add on to the beauty and we are going to cut the grass. I thank you.

*HON. SEN. GOTORA: Thank you Hon. President. I want to talk about the issue of the restricted area. I do not know Hon. Minister, whether there is a difference between a restricted area and a protected area. If it is the case, then there should be a boom gate and police officers manning the road and vetting people to deliberate on what business the motorist has. I thank you.

*HON. MHONA: Thank you Hon. President of Senate and Hon. Senator Gotora.  As I mentioned earlier, we are going to engage VID and I am clear that the Minister of Home Affairs is here and is hearing the deliberations. We are going to engage VID and our Police. The Hon. Senator raised the issue in the nexus between restricted and protected areas and our security will determine the business of those who are accessing the road. I thank you.

*HON. SEN. CHINYANGA: Good afternoon Hon. President. I want to direct my question to the Minister of ICT, Hon. Mavetera. I want clarification regarding boosters and the fact that there is a shortage of boosters in the country, especially in peripheral areas that are lagging behind. Sometimes when you need to access network, you go to mountainous areas. What steps is the Ministry taking in terms of connecting different areas?

^* THE MINISTER INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY, POSTAL AND COURIER SERVICES (HON. DR. MAVETERA): I thank you Mr. President and I am sorry for coming late. Let me thank Hon. Chinyanga for that question which is quite pertinent to us as a nation. Let me start by saying that indeed, it is true that there are no boosters in other areas. We came up with a policy which we launched on the 7^th March, 2024 of a broadband plan that identifies the different areas where we are going to be setting up our broadband so that people have access to connectivity. There are some areas that do not have access to the network and we are engaging Econet, NetOne, TelOne and other players so that they will provide access to the network in different areas.

The explanation that we have been getting is that there are some areas that have a few people and it becomes expensive to set up boosters in such areas. As a nation, we desire that such boosters be installed nationwide. At the moment, we want to thank the President for launching the Starlink programme and as Starlink is being taken to different areas, you find that a lot of schools are going to benefit. It is not about schools only but most government facilities like hospitals and we will have community information centres which are going to link up our people so that they will have access to free WiFi.

Let me promise you that it is our desire that, through the Universal Services Fund, we are going to deploy boosters year-in and year-out. Sometimes we might not have a proper budget but I want to promise you that we are working together with Netone, Econet, TelOne and other players so that we add on to the boosters. We also have Telecel playing the same role in terms of putting boosters throughout the country. Last year we installed more than 200 new boosters but I want to promise that we are going to add more, especially in border areas. Thank you.

 HON. SEN. ZINDI: My question is direction to the Deputy Minister of Local Government. The question that I wish to raise is in regards to senior citizens. What is the government policy in as far as senior citizens are concerned with regards to paying levies, rates, water levies and so forth in urban areas and also whether there is that policy that ensures senior citizens receive social benefits each month?

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS RESPONSIBLE FOR LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND TRADITIONAL LEADERSHIP (HON. A. T. MAVUNGA): In terms of the policy concerning senior citizens and payment of their levies, rates and water levies, please allow me to go back to the office and look into the specific matter so I can give you an adequate answer.

THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you, we expect that next week.

HON. SEN. ZINDI: My point of order is seeking clarification on whether I should put this question on the Order Paper or I will raise the same question orally.

HON. A. T. MAVUNGA: I would suggest that you put it in writing so that it goes into the Order Paper as there is an element of it being a specific question because she highlighted for urban local authorities and not just local authorities in general – [HON. SEN. ZINDI: Nyika yese.] – the whole country. So, please if you can put it in writing then we can respond.

THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: It would please this House if you can put it in writing so that the Minister can research and bring an answer that suits everyone else here.

HON. SEN. ZINDI: I will do likewise.

⁺HON. SEN. NDEBELE: My question is directed to the Minister of Home Affairs. With the challenges that we are encountering in big cities like Bulawayo, there is quite a lot happening with regard to people who are engaging in corruption. These are found to be quite rampant in things like murder.

THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Maybe if you can repeat that question again in whatever way you want.

*HON. NDEBELE: My question is that there are a lot of things that are happening that are affecting or harming people, for example, the Bulawayo City had a recent occurrence pertaining to armed robberies that are happening in many areas and these are now prevalent. As a Ministry, what are you planning to do with this?

         *THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Thank you Hon. President. I want to thank the Hon. Senator for that question, which is a very important question. This is the reality that we are facing people are committing crimes not only in Bulawayo but throughout the country. These issues are now prevalent. As a Government, what are we doing about it? That is the question. As a Ministry, we have a lot of interventions. Firstly, it is the responsibility of the police and it is the responsibility of the Government to make sure there is peace. We have to nip crime in the bud. We have to prevent crimes from happening. However, let me start by saying that the Government might not be able to stop crime totally because we cannot stop someone's thoughts. We have 15 or 16 million people in this country. As we are seated here, we do not know what people are thinking. Maybe someone is committing a crime as we are talking. Someone might be raping, beating up someone and committing different crimes.

It is not possible for the Government to totally eradicate crime, corruption and stealing. What we must do as a Government is what I am going to explain, that we can take measures to lessen crime as we work towards the prevention of criminal activities. We are carrying out awareness campaigns every day. We have different programmes that we are running where we are educating people, not to keep large sums of money at home and to boast about having money because by so doing, you will be attracting thieves. This is one of the measures that we are taking. We are also trying our best to educate people to work together when we have noticed illegal activities to inform the police. Let us not take the police as enemies. We need  the sharing of information with police because policemen are citizens. They cannot be everywhere. We also want to inform the House that we are going to be increasing patrols.

I thank His Excellency, President Dr. E.D. Mnangagwa. Last year we received a number of cars adding onto the fleet of our police cars. We are increasing patrols but I want to say that criminals are being arrested. Honourable President, the police are doing their best. They are arresting people every day and people are being taken to court.

The other programme that we are running is Government is on technology. I normally say that at the end of the day, we can try a lot of things. Technology can nip crime in the bud. As a ministry, we have different departments. We have the initiative that we introduced which uses modern-day technology. We started with the Passport Office, borders and our tollgates. We are doing this and technology is going to help us a lot. We are going to be focusing on the police this year.

We are going to put a lot of technological gadgets along our roads and we are at an advanced stage. We have cameras that are going to be installed along our roads and CCTV. Hon. President, we are committed to enforcing this during the course of this year.  We are going to ensure that we have cameras along our streets and in different secluded places that we will be able to observe criminal activities like the ones that were raised by the Hon. Senator. These are not committed by pedestrians, like armed robberies and others. You will find that people will be having getaway cars. With cameras, we will be able to trace crimes and criminal activities. Technology is going to inform us of people's movements. They will be able to identify the model of the car and the culprits. We will be able to apprehend such culprits who are doing all these crimes in order to prevent criminal activities. Nonetheless, we cannot totally eradicate crime because we do not know people's thoughts. I thank you.

*HON. SEN. S. MOYO. Thank you Mr. President. Let me take this opportunity to ask my supplementary question. The Minister is saying he is grateful because police officers now have cars to use. However, we come from rural areas and there are no cars. Police officers are traveling 7 to 10 kilometers to crime scenes. People are going to report but these officers are taking three days or more to get to these scenes. What is the Minister saying regarding police officers getting transport? Thank you.

*HON. KAZEMBE: Thank you Mr. President and I want to thank the Hon. Senator for that question. I mentioned that His Excellency gave us cars. However, more are coming and we need more but we appreciate the ones that we got. We want our police stations to be fully equipped; we appreciate that we were given a lot of cars. The President is watching and he knows our needs. I thank you.

*HON. SEN. ZINDI: Thank you Mr. President. My supplementary is that a lot of issues that we read about in newspapers indicate that most people who commit armed robberies are taken to court. We do not get feedback on whether they were jailed or not. Mostly, there are issues of inspection in loco. Sometimes you hear that they were shot but there is no clarification from the police. We need clarification regarding that. I thank you.

* HON. KAZEMBE: Thank you Mr. President and I want to thank Senator Zindi for that question. Hon. Senator, your question is important regarding what will be done to those who will be apprehended by the police. As the police, our job is to arrest criminals. Those who commit crimes, we take them to the courts. The courts fall under a different ministry. I thank you.

*THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: For the benefit of the House, the Hon. Minister of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs is in this House and maybe he might want to clarify. The question is, after criminals are arrested, the issues that are reported are that they have been arrested and taken to court. Nevertheless, there is no feedback on what happens after they have been taken to court. Maybe you can clarify Hon. Minister.

THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. Z. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Mr. President. I want to thank you and I want to add to the response that was given by the Hon. Minister of Home Affairs. Let me say that when criminals or thieves have been apprehended, the law says that these people are called suspects and it is alleged that they committed a crime. They become criminals when a judgment has been made, when it has been deliberated that they have been convicted. When criminals are arrested, they are taken to the police and their dockets are taken to courts. Prosecutors would deal with the case and they will be informed that the police recommend that these are dangerous criminals who should not be given bail. When the magistrate looks at the merits of the case, the magistrate can determine that they can be given bail.  It does not mean that there is no case but it means that the case will be dealt with by the courts until all the witnesses have come to testify.  There is no issue that ends after someone has been arrested but due process is taken, it goes through different stages until the case has been finalised.  It is everyone’s right to explain their position and the issue can be dealt with whilst they come from home. 

         HON. L. SIBANDA:  Point of correction Hon. President, I have been standing for a long time and the Hon. Member has even gone out now.  The Hon. Member who first spoke was speaking to Hon. Minister Kazembe.  The Hon. Member mentioned something and alluded to Bulawayo robberies and the Minister responded.  They were saying ‘Bhurawayo’, I am a Senator for Bulawayo Province.

         THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE:  Order! We are in the House and for you to be understood properly, use the correct terminology.  You said point of correction, you could have said point of order and then I recognise you and you rectify, okay.

         HON. L. SIBANDA:  My apologies.

         THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE:  That is fine but point taken.

         *HON. SEN. BVUMO:  Thank you Mr. President, my question is directed to the Minister of Home Affairs.  Last week, as the HIV and AIDS Committee, we toured the country on an outreach programme where we engaged commercial sex workers looking at the challenges they are facing.  In most places that we visited, there was a common complaint regarding our police, firstly, they believe that the police should be their protection but they were saying that the police normally arrest them.  For them to set commercial sex workers free, they wanted to abuse them or engage them sexually and sometimes they would visit them when they were off.  My question is, what steps can be taken to address the issue of populations like commercial sex workers because it is everyone’s right to have access to the police? 

         Secondly, they complained that they are followed by the police who harass them.  There were suggestion boxes in the past but now there is no progress in that regard.  We need measures which would allow them to lodge their complaints. I thank you.

         *HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Indeed, it is true what the Hon. Senator just alluded to.  As a Committee, we did our outreach.  For us to deliberate on this issue before the report has been generated will be pre-emptive. 

         *THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE:  Thank you Chairperson, the question will be addressed after the report has been compiled.  I thank you.

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

         +HON. SEN. MLOTSHWA: Thank you Mr. President, I move that we extend time for Questions Without Notice by 30 minutes.

         HON. SEN. MAKAMBA:  I second.

         THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE:  With the powers vested in me and because we have the highest number of Ministers today, 30 minutes will do – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] – Indeed, I am very happy because we have the highest number of Ministers than ever before.  Before I forget, I want to thank you Hon. Ministers, today I am very proud and I am very happy – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] –

         *HON. SEN. CHITSAMBA: Thank you Hon. President for giving me this opportunity.  I want to direct my question to the Minister of Health and Child Care.  What is the step that you are going to take in order to address the issue of our medical aid so that we will be able to access medical facilities? 

         *THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. DR. KWIDINI):  I want to thank Hon. President and I want to thank the Hon. Senator for that pertinent question regarding our PSMAS Medical Aid.  It is true and we are busy working on the issue as a Ministry to make sure that the PSMAS Medical Aid will be operational very soon because it is on record that the Government contributes 80% and civil servants contribute 20% because there were a number of challenges. You will notice that we put new management at PSMAS to turn around the organisation. We are also engaging private pharmacies like Booties and others that are taking medical aid. This has been done through the Ministry of Health and Child Care so that our civil servants would access medical facilities.

We have some who do not take medical aid because they say the money takes time and the payments are done a bit late. We are engaging the Ministry of Finance so that those who are in private hospitals and private doctors are paid on time. This is going to benefit civil servants who are going to be attended in an efficient manner. I thank you.

+HON. SEN. MLOTSHWA: Thank you for your response. My plea is that when Ministers are responding, they need to give us timelines, not open-ended responses. If they say we are going to fix this without any timelines, it becomes problematic. So, can we have timelines? Thank you.

*HON. DR. KWIDINI: Thank you Hon. President. It is true that we must give timelines, but I believe that when engagements are made, it is not everyone who agrees with the issues that we will be discussing at a particular time. I am saying this because the medical aid that I am talking about, it is the medical aid which caters for civil servants. There are some who have private partnerships and for those private partnerships to understand such initiatives, sometimes they want to protect their businesses because they are in business for profit.

As Government, we cannot give timelines at the moment because we have processes that we must follow. Like what we did with Booties Pharmacy, we are going to be engaging different players. Sometimes it takes time for organisations and companies to understand that. I cannot give specific timelines so that we avoid deceiving you. We are going to communicate when engagements are made. I thank you. 

THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I thought you were going to ask as many questions as possible to various Ministers but if we decide to spend the time on supplementary questions, I will not mind.

+HON. RITA NDLOVU: Thank you Hon. President. My supplementary question is that I go to a doctor and sometimes I am told that the consultation fee is USD30 and my shortfall is USD20. It is not different from someone who does not have medical aid. As the Hon. Minister has said that this is going to be looked into, what is going to happen to my contribution that I would have paid as shortfall?

HON. DR. KWIDINI: It is true that our private doctors require shortfalls and mostly like what the Hon. Senator has said that the consultation will be USD30 and because you have brought PSMAS Medical Aid, then you have to pay USD20 as a shortfall. When the medical aid is working in private hospitals, if they are not Government hospitals, there are shortfalls, these monies sometimes are a bit high. Sometimes they will tell you that we are trying to cushion because the money that you pay is in local currency and at times it is affected by inflation.

So, from the new leadership that we put at PSMAS, we gave them a task to make sure that the PSMI hospitals are up to standard and that they will be working and that we will be having particular doctors who are going to reduce the shortfalls, which shortfalls sometimes are monies that will keep their businesses afloat. If we are able to disburse money to doctors on time, then I do not believe that we will face challenges and the shortfalls that are charged by doctors are meant to keep their businesses afloat. If they cannot protect their businesses, then they are not going to be viable. I thank you.

*HON. SEN. MALULEKE: Thank you Mr. President for affording me this opportunity to ask a question. I am going to direct my question to the Minister of War Veterans. What is Government policy on the children who lost their parents who were war veterans – they are now being sent away from school? Is it possible for the Ministry to help with the school fees? Most of the children of war veterans are being sent away from schools.

THE MINISTER OF VETERANS OF THE LIBERATION STRUGGLE AFFAIRS (HON. SEN. MAVHUNGA): Thank you Mr. President. I want to thank Hon. Senator Maluleke for asking a pertinent question where the schools have opened. I am very aware of the situation that most of the children of the late war veterans are not going to school because their fees have not been paid. The money was being disbursed in part payments but right now, we have received some money from the Ministry of Finance. This means we are going to continue to pay the school fees in batches according to the way they applied.

When they come to apply, we put them in different groups but we are trying in our power to negotiate with the schools so that they cannot send away the students. They should be given the opportunity to learn whilst we are solving the issue of school fees. Right now, we are also in the midst of working with Ministries which head these schools so that they can discuss with the schools to desist from sending away children because it is a Government policy for them to get their school fees paid. Thank you.

HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity. My question is directed to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development. How is your Ministry ensuring that rural communities benefit from improved road infrastructure, particularly in areas where poor access continues to hamper agriculture production, the movement of goods and access to essential services? Thank you.

THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Mr. President Sir. Let me also thank Hon. Senator Tongogara for that pertinent question. I will start on highlighting what really falls under the purview of the Ministry and in terms of its mandate. Traditionally, we were just focusing on trunk roads, which are the major highways connecting us with our neighbouring countries. We also have other road authorities and under the Ministry, it is the Department of Roads but also, we have local authorities, rural district councils and RIDA, which was known as DDF before. What we have done and I also want to hasten to thank His Excellency, our listening President E. D. Mnangagwa, who then said we cannot continue just focusing on our mandate. We also need to pay heed to the concerns of the citizenry.

Therefore, you will see us working closely with local authorities and rural district councils. So, most of the major roads in our communities fall either under the Rural District Council or under RIDA. We worked closely, buttressing the whole of Government approach. In rural communities, we are working closely with RIDA, Rural District Councils and in urban cities, working with local authorities. So, the plan that we have as a ministry is to continue engaging with our road authorities so that we can open access to our very important amenities in our communities. We know we have got GMB, we have got hospital facilities, district hospitals or even clinics. So you see us making sure that we attend to the roads.

We have also taken a deliberate approach to say we cannot continue re-graveling our roads, grading our roads, thereby promoting soil erosion and we are going to be embarking on a project that will apply nanotechnology materials so that when we apply such materials, we will not revisit that particular road for five to ten years. This is the research that is ongoing in our ministry. I want to assure Hon. Senator Tongogara and in particular, a specific road that goes through Wedza to her original home. I am sure she was afraid to raise it in particular but that is the one that she was earmarking. From Bonongwe straight to Gandami up to Range is one of our dashboards and we are going to be working on such roads. Not only that road, but a number of roads leading to our very important amenities. Thank you Mr. President.

HON. SEN. KATUMBA:  Thank you President. My question is directed to the Minister of Energy. Hon. Minister, as a ministry, what are you doing to upgrade andreplace the street lights so that you improve the safety of the citizens, especially in urban areas?

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. J. MOYO): Thank you very much Mr. President and the Hon. Member for asking that question. I want to clarify to the Hon. Senator that the ministry's mandate is to ensure that electricity is available to all the citizens and not to put street lights in the streets. It is the responsibility of the local authorities and the municipalities to put street lights in the streets. If the Hon. Minister is having any problems with the street lighting in their particular area, I advise her to get in touch with the local authority and your constituency. Thank you.

HON. SEN. R. NDHLOVU: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Local Government. May I know or find out how far we have gone with the chieftainship of the Makwachu family? It has been on the drawing board for more than 10 years. The family wrote a letter which I gave to you. It has taken a long time. We want to know exactly what is holding the appointment of the chief because the Chiefs’ Council for Matabeleland South visited the family. We gathered for them, they asked all the questions that were needed and then they took everything to the ministry. I do not know what is holding the appointment of the chief or whether there is any problem. We need feedback to know whether they are wrong and sometimes, let me thank you Minister, for the creation of two chiefs in the Bulilima District who were appointed later than the first one.  We are happy that you have done it but what is holding all the chieftainship of the Makwachu family? Thank you.

THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you Hon. Senator R. Ndlovu and with all due respect, that one is a very specific question that needs to be put in writing to the Minister so that he goes back and digs deep into the files and gives you a very comprehensive answer. Unless the Minister has the answer right now, do you? He says he is going to research and give you a specific answer next week. So put it in writing today and you will have the answer next week.

I had not introduced Hon. Minister Simbanegavi but you know, when you always frequently visit the House, they know you are there. That is why you had a question before I even introduced you. Well done.

HON. SEN. R. NDHLOVU: On a point of order Mr. President. THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Point of order.

HON. SEN. R. NDHLOVU: Yes, I did put that in writing. The Minister is aware of that. I want to know the problem. Thank you.

THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you very much. The Deputy Minister says he does not have the question, it is not even written here.  So probably the letter did not get to him in time. If it had, it could have been on the Order Paper.

*HON. SEN. CHAKABUDA: Thank you Mr. President. My question is to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. We are having a lot of drop-outs of girls who are falling pregnant. The figures are rising, what measures have you put in place to encourage these schoolgirls to continue attending school from the time when they will be pregnant up until they give birth? Thank you.

THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. T. MOYO): Thank you Hon. President of Senate. I also want to thank the Hon. Member for the pertinent question. The Government is not saying that pregnant schoolgirls should stop going to school. We have taken measures and now we have an early warning system. Before the child drops out of school, we will have seen the warning. The teachers are being trained in over forty districts. In the previous week, I travelled to Bulilima and Insiza, training the teachers so that they would quickly realise children facing challenges. In answer to the question, there is an Education Amendment Act of 2020. It is an Act of Parliament. It says that before the enactment of this law, the pregnant girl was being forced to drop out of school even if she was writing all of her examinations. The new Act allows pregnant girls to continue being in school and take leave for maybe two weeks to give birth. After giving birth, she will come back to school.

We have observed that of those school drop-outs caused by pregnancies, the majority of them have gone back to school. We want to thank the Government for taking such a good measure and coming up with a good law that helps pregnant girls. Some of them will fall pregnant not because they are naughty but because they will have been tricked into it. We also have partners Mr. Speaker Sir. They are known as CAMFED and they look into such cases and give scholarships to such girls to go and write Ordinary levels, ‘A’-levels up to university level. They pay for their fees. Thank you Mr. President of Senate.

HON. S. MOYO: Mr. President, my question goes to the Minister of Health. Why are public hospitals facing critical shortages of drugs and equipment, for example ambulances, wheel chairs and stretcher beds?

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. DR. KWIDINI): Thank you Mr. President for the question from Hon. Senator Moyo.  There are indeed some shortages of drugs in our major hospitals. We have seen it increasing because the challenge now especially from cities, our people are no longer receiving medical care where they are supposed to receive it in clinics that are run by the local authorities. So you find that our main hospitals like Parirenyatwa, Sally Mugabe, Mpilo, UBH are now having more keen patients than the specialised patients we want. Mostly these drugs which are now becoming a shortage were reserved mainly for the admitted patients who have been referred for specialised treatment. Nevertheless, the Ministry is working tirelessly to make sure these drugs are now going to be found in those hospitals. As we are aware, we do not produce drugs in Zimbabwe, we mostly order drugs from outside. We have placed orders, I think it is about the first quarter of this year and we have procured drugs for the second quarter. They are still on the way to delivery. The drugs that we are using in the first quarter of this year are drugs that were procured last year in the second quarter. So as you know sometimes when the process is happening, as you always say the delay is on the release of funds to make sure that these suppliers are paid on time so that they keep on continuing to supply these drugs. When there is this gap, that is when you discover there are some shortages of drugs in these hospitals. Also on issues of ambulances and wheelchairs, this is another issue where the Ministry is also coming up to have some partners who are coming in to assist in the procurement of ambulances which we are going to see maybe distributed in districts.

Yes, in central hospitals, we do not usually need more ambulances because as referral hospitals, mainly they receive patients from provinces, districts and that is where if you have seen our last batch of ambulances which we distributed last year, they were specifically distributed to district hospitals so that they can ferry patients from hard to reach areas or where there are no clinics to bring them closer to the district hospital, from district hospital to provincial and from provincial to central hospitals. At the central hospital, we can get one or two ambulances which can be an ambulance from point A to point B. That is when a patient needs to be transferred. Let us say he is from the X-ray Department to the Theatre Department where there is a distance, that is where we need ambulances. Most ambulances are not working.

In terms of wheelchairs, that is a challenge which we believe as a Ministry now, I think very soon you will see the tender being flighted to make sure we procure wheelchairs to assist the movement of patients in these hospitals. As for drugs, I assure you that drugs will very soon see improvement. I also need to highlight also that we have a challenge where the public is complaining about leakages of drugs in hospitals, clinics, everywhere. Let me assure you that we need assistance from the members of the public to make sure that as the Ministry, we cannot tell what one is doing in Binga and what one is doing in Muzarabani. We have seen that people can be whistleblowers, but when the Ministry wants to verify, to investigate what is happening to the particular people who are causing leakages, no one will come forward to say we have seen Dr. so and so doing a/b/c/d, selling drugs. Some of the drugs that we are putting in place, some of our workers, not all, some scrupulous workers take advantage, sell these medicines and create a shortage that is not supposed to be there.

So I am appealing to the members of the public and also our legislators and Senators to take their supervisory role wherever they are. When they hear complaints, please come directly to the Ministry and let us know, especially the people who are causing leakages of drugs which become a created shortage.  We will make sure Hon. Minister Kazembe Kazembe and Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi will deal with those people amicably so that they will set an example. I thank you.

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE

PLANS TO AVERT CONSTRUCTION OF ILLEGAL STRUCTURES BY THE PUBLIC

1. HON. SEN. PHULU asked the Minister of Local Government and Public Works to explain to the House what Government plans are in place to avert the construction of illegal structures by the public, considering the challenges posed by inadequate land policies.

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. KABIKIRA):  Please allow me to defer the responses to next week because I was not provided with the necessary responses.

THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Okay, noted. So that one is deferred.

HON. SEN. GOTORA: On a point of order Mr. President.

THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Point of order!

HON. SEN. GOTORA: If you look at the Order Paper, the questions have been there for a very long time and we cannot continue deferring questions because we have other questions which we wanted to ask but we cannot continue just piling questions without answers.

 THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: That point is noted. I will discuss that with the Leader of Government Business.

         Questions 2 and 3 deferred.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PAROLE BOARD MEMBERSHIP

4. HON. SEN. PHULU asked the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs to inform the House whether there have been any efforts to constitute the Parole Board as established in terms of Section 137 of the Prisons and Correctional Services Act which was passed in early 2023.

THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. Z. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Mr. President. I want to thank Hon. Senator Advocate Phulu for such a pertinent question. Mr. President, the board has not yet been appointed. We are in the process of crafting regulations and that is work in progress to make sure that we have regulations. The board appointments, like I said, are still pending and we are still considering and consulting on the constitution of the board. The intention is to appoint a board that is representative and effective in the execution of its mandate.

Mr. President, the country intends to host the regional conference on the parole system in Africa and hosting this conference will directly contribute to the ongoing efforts by my Ministry in collaboration with the ZPS to enhance and modernise the parole system and by facilitating a platform where African nations can share best practices and practical experiences, Zimbabwe will learn innovative approaches to alternative sentencing and prison decongestion measures.

Mr. President allow me also to express that the setting up of the State Parole Board has a financial implication on the limited funding availed to the Ministry. As such, we continue to engage Treasury allocation of sufficient funding towards the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services pending the appointment of the Board. Mr. President, I give my utmost assurance that Government is committed to implementing the provisions of the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services Act, including the establishment of the State Parole Board and further undertake to give necessary progress reports, if need be. I submit.

         The Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs having moved for the adjournment of the House…

         HON. SEN. PHULU: My point of order is that we did not get an opportunity to ask follow-up questions to the Minister – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –

         THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: He has a point and the right. I will give him that benefit.

         HON. SEN. PHULU: What practical steps can those who have been incarcerated for a long time and who wish, even pending all the steps that the Minister has said will take place, to be considered for parole in the interim? What steps can they take because the right is in the statutes, yet they cannot access it?

         HON. Z. ZIYAMBI: Mr. President, the rights are not available at the moment because there are processes that are needed for the inmates to access the rights. So, they have to patiently wait. I submit.

On the motion of THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. Z. ZIYAMBI), the Senate adjourned at Fourteen Minutes past Four o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 20^th May, 2025.