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SENATE HANSARD 19 FEBRUARY 2025 VOL 34 No. 26
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 19th February, 2025
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE
CANCER, NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES AND WELLNESS CAUCUS
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I wish to inform the Senate that all Hon. Senators who are interested in joining the Cancer Non-Communicable Diseases and Wellness Caucus are invited to a meeting scheduled for Wednesday, 26th February, 2025 at 12 o'clock noon, in Special Committee Room No. 1 on the Ground Floor.
+HON. SEN. M. PHUTI: Thank you Madam President. My point of national interest is, in the last few weeks in the whole country, we have big companies that closed and these include OK Supermarket, which also retrenched their workers…
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Order, order Hon. Member! I am being told that there are problems with our interpretation machines. You can defer that point of privilege so that we hear it next week or so because it is very important to me.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. GOTORA: I move that we stand over Order of the Day, Number 1 until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
HON. SEN. MAVENYENGWA: I second Madam President.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
SUPPORT FOR LIVESTOCK FARMERS THROUGH PROVISION OF SUPPLEMENTARY STOCK FEEDS AND VACCINES
Second Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the importance of livestock production in Zimbabwe.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. KADUNGURE. Thank you Madam President for awarding me this opportunity to add my voice on the motion which was brought in this august House by Hon. Senator Mohadi when she was speaking on the importance of livestock like goats and sheep, especially the livestock which are being kept in our households.
In our rural areas where we come from, those who are into livestock rearing get benefits from their livestock like selling their goats and cattle and manage to pay school fees for their children and pay for their daily necessities. As a country, I want to thank the First Lady, Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa. She started a programme of giving cattle, goats and chickens to people in the rural areas. It is going to uplift our livelihoods.
Hon. Senator Mohadi also mentioned the issue of bulls which are being reared in the rural areas by His Excellency, Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa. This clearly indicates that there is no situation of lack of water for livestock and people.
I also want to take this opportunity to thank you, Madam President, for allowing me to add my voice on the issue of livestock. Each and every individual who is going to be married, a bride prize is going to be paid in the form of cattle. Which shows that cattle are very important in our lives. Thank you Madam President for awarding me this opportunity.
*HON. SEN. NDEBELE: Thank you Madam President, for awarding me this opportunity to add my voice on the issue of the livestock which we have in our households. Firstly, Madam President, I want to apologise because my name did not come out properly. My apologies.
On the debate for today, on the issue which was raised by Hon. Senator Mohadi, it is very important for us as the august House. The Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe is working together with the people of Zimbabwe up to the extent of distributing livestock to different people, especially those in the rural areas, women, the youths and also those who are disabled. I do not know if I addressed the issue of disability well Madam President but I am trying to highlight that our Government is very important in our livelihoods.
Like what Hon. Members alluded to yesterday, to be called a wealthy person, it is very pertinent to have livestock. Even if you have got many mansions or many cars, if you do not have a rural home or a homestead where you have livestock, we cannot describe you as a wealthy person.
Our Government has a programme that distributes livestock to people in rural areas. This has been going on for some years now and it started many years ago but we, the beneficiaries of this programme, are not taking it seriously and we are not keeping our livestock properly. As a result, we end up wallowing in poverty even though we would have received the donations.
Like what was mentioned yesterday, there are a lot of things which must be done on our livestock, like vaccination or protecting our livestock from thieves. Some people have resorted to stealing livestock but if we join hands together and make sure that we keep this livestock properly, we are going to benefit a lot as a country. For example, if people are given cattle, the calves from those cattle will be donated to other members of the community and so on. This means that we will end up with everyone having cattle and everyone benefits. Unfortunately, what happens is that those who benefited first sell their cattle and at the end of the day, their kraals end up empty. Right now, we are coming from Christmas and the festive holidays and most of them have killed those cattle leaving their kraals empty. They are not taking that programme seriously. Hence, Madam President, I am taking this opportunity to encourage Zimbabweans to make sure that they look after their livestock properly. The issue of livestock is very important because it brings immense benefits to households. The Government is working tirelessly to make sure that it uplifts the lives of all Zimbabweans by providing these programmes.
Madam President, the other issue which makes our livestock suffer from different diseases is lack of, for example, water. Livestock needs water from the heavens but most of the time, we as individuals and even some of the Hon. Members, carry out riverbank cultivation which ends up causing siltation. Hence, we no longer have enough water for our livestock. We are also doing alluvial mining. I am imploring Zimbabweans to desist from alluvial mining and make sure that our livestock get enough water. Some of the people are now engaging in alluvial mining leaving open pits and also causing sand to be washed away, thus closing all the water sources.
Right now, boreholes were constructed. They are now overcrowded by livestock and people but we expect the boreholes to be used for household purposes.
*THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: If someone is making pertinent points, it is very important for us to clap our hands. If a person raises important facts, we should acknowledge them as factual unless we, as Hon. Members, are practising riverbank cultivation and we are not happy about it.
*HON. SEN. NDEBELE: On the issue of boreholes, we really thank His Excellency for giving us boreholes but let us use the boreholes for those small livestock which we keep and stay at our homes, such as chickens. Let us also be responsible as citizens, as Zimbabweans, to desist from riverbank cultivation or other activities which end up causing siltation. Even if you look where people are constructing their households or even the roads where we travel with cars, most of the people's homesteads and fences are too close to the road and we find out most of the time the livestock are now straying in the tarred roads or on the gravel. This causes accidents resulting in the loss of human lives and livestock. I believe that there is a law which stipulates the number of metres which must be between the road and a homestead. I implore our traditional leaders to work hard to make sure that people desist from building their households too close to the roads.
Even the flow of water is now being affected because people are now close to the rivers and the streams where water used to flow through. Most of the homesteads are not built looking at the environmental impacts and most of our livestock, especially cattle and goats are facing a lot of challenges like being hit by cars and trucks because as human beings, we have built our homesteads close to the main roads.
Let us make sure that we protect our livestock because the first form of riches on this earth is our livestock as Zimbabweans, as Africans. I think I am making a pertinent point because most of them are the ones who have got their homes at the streambanks and they are practicing streambank cultivation. If I remember well where I come from, there is a Chief who used to be a Member of this august House. He saw a woman who was going to fetch water from the river and the Chief asked what they were doing in this forest. She responded that she was given the homestead by the village head. The councillors were fighting to make sure that those people get boreholes drilled.
The Chief said this place is a grazing area and no one is supposed to build in this area. As Zimbabweans, we must follow our traditional ways of protecting the grazing areas so that we can have enough food for the livestock and not rely on the Government for food for humans and livestock. We must desist from always relying on the Government in everything and requesting donations for everything. Let us thank the Government for giving us the livestock and try to keep it.
Yes, the Government might give you two cattle and make sure that you have kept it. It is going to be a good thing that after five years, you have many cattle. The Government also makes sure that you are taking care of livestock so that it does not end up straying on other neighbouring countries or areas. That ends up causing problems or livestock being stolen.
Madam President, I am suggesting that as Members of this august House, we must go to our respective areas and educate members of the public in our respective constituencies on the importance of our livestock. In the yesteryears, there were no injections but right now, there are injections everywhere. During the drought, most of the livestock that died are the ones that are being fed but those who are grazing the traditional way are still surviving. I am imploring members of the public who have herds of cattle that they must work on destocking rather than keeping large numbers of livestock. For example, you can hear a person with 150 cattle, 27 died from hunger and the remaining number is 123. Most of the time, you find that an individual will not be able to buy those cattle unless the person has benefited from the Government programme.
Some of those people have many cattle and they are not able to donate. Most of the time I will be in my rural area. I am not living a town life. I do not buy meat, whether it is beef, chicken or goat meat. I always slaughter my livestock. So, I know a lot of things that happen in our different areas. The traditional leaders know that I am always on their toes making sure that we work together.
I am imploring the traditional leaders to desist from giving stands to people near the roads because we are closing all the channels and streams where water used to flow. The agricultural extension officer gave us some agrochemicals to spray before and after farming. They instructed us on how to use the agrochemicals. If they come and eat in the fields, it becomes poison to the livestock. Thank you Madam President for awarding me this opportunity.
^HON. SEN. MALULEKE: Thank you Mr. President for awarding me this opportunity to add my voice on the motion raised by Hon. Senator Mohadi. This motion is very important because it touches everyone, be it an Hon. Member or any member of the public. Traditional leaders and all people praise a household if they do have livestock from cattle, goats and chickens. For us to be able to protect these things, we must work together with agricultural extension officers to make sure that we protect our livestock. Where I come from, the most important livestock that we protect or farm as a society is cattle. I want to take this opportunity to thank His Excellency, Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa. He gave us the livestock feed. The rains started to fall last week. Since the beginning of the rain season, there were no cattle but we were looking for cattle feed. His Excellency, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa intervened. In Chiredzi, the main livestock is cattle. Each and every family wants their daughters to be married properly. As parents, they see whether the household that wants to marry their daughter have cattle. In my area where I come from, cattle are viewed as a form of wealth.
When my daughter was married, I was given a herd of 15 cattle. When we look at gender issues, for example, among the 15 cattle, as the mother, I was given only one. The first cattle to be presented as the bride price is the mother’s cattle. Right now, women are clever. We must share the cattle equally and not saying the women can benefit only one cattle and the rest is given to the father. Even during the times of hunger, we used to sell some of the cattle and take care of our families, neighbours and orphans.
During drought time, we encouraged each other to destock so that we can be able to buy cattle feed. If we see a household with 20 cattle and below, we say this household does not have enough cattle. In our area, families with 20 cattle and above are many. We are working together with agricultural extension officers to make sure that our livestock are kept properly.
We also send our cattle for dipping at different dip tanks and making sure that the chemicals are there. His Excellency, President E. D. Mnangagwa gave the chemicals for dip tanks. He also gave people spray tanks and tick grease to make sure that our cattle are taken care of properly. I do not think there is a province or district which does not have cattle feed or chemicals which are used for livestock.
Right now, the First Lady, Dr. Auxillia Mnangagwa is giving goats to different people. She is imploring the communities to start to look at orphans and those who do not have so that all families can have something which they look up to. I also take this opportunity to thank His Excellency, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa and First Lady Dr. Auxillia Mnangagwa. She sent about 400 goats and she mentioned that these goats should benefit those who do not have enough resources.
The youth were given cattle and all the other provinces were given. We are happy for what His Excellency has done to people because the most important thing to be given to the communities was to make sure that each and every family must have livestock. I thank Hon. Senator Mohadi for raising this pertinent question. Livestock is viewed as a form of wealth and it also works as a form of security within the families.
Mr. President, let me end here and I really thank Hon. Senator Mohadi for raising this pertinent motion. This motion really touches all women as well as men too. During payment of the bride price, I implore the chiefs to make sure that the number of cattle that are given to women be increased so that we also benefit. I want to thank His Excellency for giving us the opportunity to see his farm where he is doing a lot of developmental projects, especially on livestock rearing. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. GWATURE: Thank you Mr. President. I want to add my voice on the motion that was raised by Hon. Senator Mohadi. This motion is very important for us as black people. Let me talk about the issue of livestock. Livestock is very important for us as black people from our ancestors to date. During the past, there were no buses, there were no cars and people were moving from one place to another by foot. Those who were coming from families with livestock were being respected. You can gain enough respect from neighbours if they do not have livestock.
Those who had livestock got respect from their neighbours who do not have livestock because they knew that this is going to help them. Let me take this opportunity to talk about the importance of livestock in our lives. Most people do not know the importance of livestock in our lives. Livestock are very important in our lives as black people because they help reduce the burden of payment of school fees. If you do not have money, you can sell your cow or goat and pay school fees. If your child or parent gets sick, you can sell your livestock and send either of them to the hospital. Even if any family member is sick when you do not have funds, you can sell your livestock and get help.
During the process of divorce, the chiefs really agree with me that they want to know the number of children that are there. If there are five children, an individual is told to pay one cattle per each child. As a parent who has a divorced child, you get something as consolation from cattle. This really shows that cattle are very important in our lives.
Even during a function, one can slaughter a chicken without asking for other people’s views. If it is a big gathering where people decide on slaughtering a cow, people gather at the kraal and choose a cow which they want to slaughter. Even when the husband dies in a family, many people say a lot of things and people will be looking down upon their families. Many people run around to make sure that a cow is slaughtered for the funeral but the husband would have been there and would have not managed to secure cattle. When I heard that the Government was distributing cattle to the needy, I saw it fit. I am also imploring the Government to improve and go to a stage of distributing the cattle because cattle are very important and earn someone respect.
We also use the cattle to appease the avenging spirits and to make sure that there is peace in families. I am imploring all Members of this august House to encourage our communities to keep their cattle. Even if an individual dies when they are far away from their homes, they can use cattle to pay those who are responsible for transporting the body to its final resting place. For someone with cattle, it will be a lesser burden to family members because they can sell the cattle.
Cattle are very important to our livelihoods. As Members of Parliament, we must make sure that every household has got cattle. We must start as Hon. Senators and also encourage our community members. As Hon. Members, be it Hon. Senator Tongogara, Hon. Senator Gwature or another Hon. Member, we must make sure that their families have enough cattle.
*HON. SEN. ZHOU: I want to add a few points to this motion which was brought in by Hon. Senator Mohadi. A lot has been talked about by other Hon. Senators. I will just fill in the gaps with a few words.
Firstly, I want to thank the 2nd Republic and His Excellency, the President for his programme, especially the Heifer Scheme. In Midlands, we have witnessed it and in Masvingo where I married, I saw it happening. I think this programme is going to uplift the lives of people according to the motion so that we improve our cattle farming.
When I was growing up Mr. President, in the rural areas where we were milking cows, my father used to sell milk to Nyala Mine because he was a great farmer. We had two kraals, so I learned that it was a bank because before schools opened, he would take two or three heifers to sell at the market so that we get money for fees and uniforms. The shoes were called Gondola. I learned what it meant to have cows. We saw that when we had a drought last year, many cows died because there was no grazing land and water. We were reading in newspapers that we lost about 100 000 cows. What we are saying is as black people, we should learn to have insurance so that we insure our livestock. Looking at the cattle that died now, we could be claiming because you know the principle of insurance - the fortunate helping the unfortunate. Those who had tragedy befalling them and had an insurance scheme, it helped because they would ask the insurance companies to pay for the lost cattle. If we look at areas like Bulawayo or Beitbridge highways, we find that people steal fences that are erected along the highways.
We are appealing to the chiefs and councils to assist us because we know the people who were caught stealing and vandalising the fence. This also applies to ZESA lines, there are people who steal copper cables and take used oils from transformers. I think we should have a law to prosecute those people so that they do not steal again. Our local courts in rural areas should be empowered, they should look at which fences people are using to fence their gardens, whether they bought it from the hardware or stole it because we do not want our livestock to endanger the lives of people travelling on the roads.
On Thursday night when I was going to Bulawayo, we were following a bus that hit a donkey and the donkey headed towards our car but my wife was very vigilant and avoided hitting the donkey. For livestock theft, I think we are doing well on that because even if you steal one cow, you will be jailed for nine years although we know that our police at times connive with the thieves. Sometimes they do not get prosecuted. Since now we have got community radios in our country, they would help us in information dissemination in awareness campaigns when there is an outbreak of diseases whether it is anthrax, blackleg or how it is treated. We have our Agritex officers and veterinary officers if we can use them. We would ease the problem of losing our cattle.
What I also want to talk about Mr. President, we see that cattle feed is bought in towns but the chemicals and feed is in urban areas and you will see that the cattle are in rural areas. I think we should make use of Growth Points so that at each and every Growth Point, there is a shop that sells feed and chemicals for cattle. It will be easy for cattle farmers, they will get the necessary things easily instead of using money to travel to town to buy medication for their cattle.
Coming to our banking sector, our Government has done very well, there are other banks which we cannot mention by name which are directly involved in agriculture. They should set aside funds which will help in restocking our herd. What I want to talk about concerning those banks, is that the Government, if it was possible should have abattoirs like the Cold Storage Commission because that is where you will get beef at a lower price.
Long back when we had very few radio stations, we would learn a lot from farmers who would go to the radio stations like Maplot Zvevanhu, Benedict Mazonde and Gerry Magadzire who ended up being a national hero because he would teach people on how to farm livestock. This initiative would help us in increasing our wealth. I think a lot has been said by other Hon. Members, let me leave others to contribute as well but I want to thank Hon. Senator Mohadi for bringing this motion. It has reminded me of my heydays when I was a young boy herding cattle. Thank you.
+HON. SEN. S. MOYO: Thank you Mr. President of the Senate. I would like to thank Hon. Senator Mohadi for bringing this good motion to this august House which reminds us of the past when things were moving in the right direction. In the past, when we talked about wealth, we were talking about people with cattle. A man was given due respect because of cattle. Cattle were of great help and I would indicate that as indigenous people, we knew that by rearing cattle we were rearing them for irrigation purposes, that is tilling, payment of dowry, household use and feeding of the family.
In addition, we would use cattle to help our neighbours tilling their land and the one with cattle would earn respect. As I grew up in Matabeleland South, the province used to be respected greatly because of cattle. As a man without cattle, you were regarded as a lesser man. In other areas, without cattle, you would sing and dance with your head facing down. As we grew up, we would take our cattle to grazing lands and we would let these cattle go with herd boys and as they came back to the kraal, you would realise that they were well fed. The pastures used to be good then and not what we are seeing now.
As we focus on these white farmers who used to keep cattle especially in 1980, you would realise that they would export beef to an amount of 40 000 tonnes. Zimbabwe was known to have good beef hence it elevated our economy greatly. Furthermore, cattle were used mainly for tilling our land because we never had tractors that we now have. As we grew up, we used to have Cold Storage Company in Bulawayo which was known for providing beef and those with cattle would take their herd for slaughtering. This company employed quite a number of people. We never had only one farmer but every other farmer would get returns from rearing cattle.
Moreover, during that time, Zimbabwe was considered to be rich because of cattle. During the Land Reform Programme in 2000, I remember along Beitbridge-Masvingo Road, there used to be a farm which was called Mitchell Farm, I guess Hon. Senator Mohadi knows it. In 1997, I got to that farm and it had amazing cattle and wild animals. There used to be people who would come from outside the country to just see these cattle and wildlife.
I remember I also went to the same farm with other people and we got dried meat and game meat. Right now, we are eating things we do not know, including chunks and other things that we do not even know their origin. If you are to visit that farm, not even a fence or a hen is found. There is absolutely nothing, no one knows where those things went to, hence in 2000 when farms were distributed to indigenous people, we did not do much. Government needed to have taught us on how to look after these farms and how to use them in a way that would benefit everyone. When we got into these farms, we just slaughtered the cattle and livestock, no wonder why there is nothing now.
In 1997, there was hunger and diseases that affected cattle and as a result, most of the cattle died. I remember my grandfather who used to stay in South Africa sold most of his cattle. After selling them, he put his money into a briefcase because most of our elderly people just want to keep an eye on their cattle and celebrate seeing them. So, when my grandfather sold his cattle, he stored his money in his briefcase. This was the era of the bearer cheques. One day he took his briefcase and went to Bulawayo. He wanted to deposit his money in the bank on his way to South Africa but he was told that the money had expired. He was traumatised by that experience. All this is a result of the fact that we have not been taught how to maximise operations on our farms. There was a farm in Colleen Bawn which focused mostly on cattle rearing for meat and people needed to be taught how to maximise the use of these farms. We need to focus on what we cherished from cattle rearing back then and what we are experiencing now. Despite the experience we have, there is still need to be employed to gain different types of experience from what we have because experience is critical and you cannot excel without it.
We are living in difficult times and everyone is complaining about the scarcity of grazing land. Government has indicated that all the land belongs to Government and people are occupying areas that are meant to be grazing land. When asked why they are doing that, they just tell you that this is my place because Government has indicated it owns all the land, so I can stay wherever I wish. When we grew up, there were other areas that would remain grazing land but right now, when one sees good land, they just settle there.
The other issue is that we are receiving less rains and this is affecting our grazing land. For us to be successful in livestock production, we need to have good grazing land and adequate water. The challenge of not having enough water is due to the fact that as learned people, we always talk of climate change. Could it be a fact that climate change is being experienced only in Zimbabwe? I am saying this because when it is raining, Government knows what is supposed to be done. We have always talked about construction of adequate dams for water harvesting.
So without enough grazing land, we end up buying stock feed which no one knows if the ingredients are adequate for good stock feed. If a cow is to travel for a long distance, in some cases it fails to make it, so we need more boreholes and dams. Each time we talk about us not having enough dams, we are told that it is costly to have the existing dams de-silted and it is better to construct new dams. But the question is when because people are suffering? For now, I can say we have received enough rains.
Let me talk about stock feed. The last time, people were asked to go and collect stock feed from Kwekwe. I live in Mangwe and I do not have the money to go and collect stock feed from Kwekwe. Why not deliver the stock feed at a central place in Matabeleland where it is closer for everyone to access? I thank you.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. FANUEL: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 25th February, 2025.
The Deputy Minister of Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Affairs (Hon. Sen. Headman Moyo) having stood up to adjourn the House.
HON. SEN. PHULU: Mr. President, I do not see why the House should adjourn at 15.42. Mr. President, we have a long Order Paper. We have things that we are prepared to debate – [HON. SENATORS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE (HON. SEN. KAMBIZI): Order. Allow him to speak.
HON. SEN. PHULU: Thank you Mr. President. If you allow me to speak, I have every right to speak because I get up in the morning, I come here to do work. I am saying there are things, just like they spoke, there are things on the Order Paper which I prepared to debate. That is why the President asked, is there any debate? He anticipates that there might, so I have a debate…
THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Hon. Senator Phulu, talk to me.
HON. SEN. PHULU: Yes, Mr. President. I do have a debate and I am saying, it is 1542 hours. This House cannot develop a habit of knocking off at 1545 hours all the time. We are here to work and there is a long Order Paper. I know, Mr. President, there might be other issues like the feedback but those are issues that I think people doing the technology can resolve. Yesterday we debated here till late and we covered a good portion of debate. It was very impressive and even the day before. Certainly, I do not support the motion.
Mr. President, whatever the outcome, I think we need to improve. We need to up our game as Senate and get a culture of getting our work done and our Order Paper done. The next thing, Mr. President, we will be told that we are not doing enough work. In fact, Senate should adjourn for three weeks whilst the National Assembly is moving. Tomorrow when things happen and they are judged to have worked more and rewarded more, we complain again.
This Chamber of Parliament is just as important as the lower House. The work we do is just as important. It has as much impact. I think sometimes we look down upon it, ourselves as Members of this Senate. I register my objection and my submission that it is unacceptable for us to knock off before four o'clock.
THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you. May I make it categorically very clear to the House that the adjournment is not due to laziness but the adjournment is due to the feedback that is coming from the lower House and the guys from the technical department are failing to rectify the mistake. Otherwise, the rules and regulations say we should finish by seven o'clock and I am happy with that and we need to follow that. Because of this feedback, we cannot continue.
On the motion of THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF VETERANS OF THE LIBERATION STRUGGLE AFFAIRS (HON. SEN. H. MOYO), the House adjourned at Fourteen Minutes to Four o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 25th February, 2025.