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SENATE HANSARD 5 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOL 33 NO 72
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 5th September, 2024.
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: We are supposed to be going into Oral Answers to Questions Without Notice Session, but in here, I can only see the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development. I do not know whether I am not seeing the others. We take it as though they forgot it is a question day today because what I know is, they attend the National Assembly, but also the Minister of Transport attends the National Assembly. Anyway, we can proceed with the Minister of Transport, if there are those who have questions for the Ministry of Transport.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Hon. Ndebele having asked a question in Ndebele and there was no interpretation.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I do not know whether the Minister understood the question.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Madam President Ma’am. I do not want to hazard to have partly understood the question. There was no translation. I do not know whether it is being sorted out.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: What is happening with translation? I thought we should have the translation so that everyone can understand the question and no one will question the same. Can we wait for the translation?
HON. SEN. M. NCUBE: Thank you Madam President. My question is directed to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development. Hon. Minister, there is a new policy restricting kombis within a certain radius, what policy directive is that policy supposed to achieve? I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Madam President. I would like to thank Hon. Senator Eng. Mackenzie-Ncube for that very important question which gives me an opportunity to articulate the administrative position that we have taken as a Ministry. I would like to state that in the first place we had 120 km radius, which was also administrative. By administrative, I mean to facilitate easy flow of traffic. I want to applaud the Government that with the de-regularisation of the transport sector, we witness some kombis now plying our roads. Under normal circumstances, the ideal situation is to use the conventional buses so that we do not put and have our passengers travelling packed in those smaller vehicles, in excess of 18/19/20 in some instances, travelling long distances.
We have witnessed road carnage and I think our great leader His Excellency, Hon. Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa has been very worried about the carnage that we are witnessing. He was very particular and straight forward that we must reduce road carnages. It takes a holistic approach to mitigate the issues to do with road carnage where we cannot do it alone as a Ministry. The idea of now limiting to 60 km is then to do away with mushikashikas that we are witnessing in our great cities. By having more of the kombis, then they will ply the routes that are being taken by the smaller vehicles that we call mushikashikas, thereby dealing decisively with mushikashikas, which we will not allow to ply our roads.
So, you will see that the buses, again because of the wise leadership of His Excellency, Hon. Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, where he then opened up for transporters to import buses free of duty since last year. We have seen those new buses coming into the country. The idea was to allow more buses into the country and facilitate the easy transportation of our passengers. We have seen that a number of companies have imported buses and now they were having issues to do with route permits and overcrowding some of the routes. Now with this policy, it means we will have more buses deployed for longer distances. I think this will also go a long way, but it will not be successful if we do not have the buy-in of the people of Zimbabwe. It is therefore, my humble plea to the people of Zimbabwe to say yes, we might be having a policy but it calls for people to come together and make sure the policy works, rather than for us to find gaps in the policy but to adopt and run with the policy and try to mitigate the carnage that we are witnessing on our roads. I thank you.
HON. SEN. GOTORA: Thank you very much Madam President for the opportunity you have given me for a supplementary question. Hon. Minister, the administrative policy in my view is a good one. It will assist in reducing the carnage and it may even assist on the issue of touts at bus termini. My follow up question now is - is the police properly geared to enforce the 60km radius because without enforcement, it may not work? I thank you.
HON. MHONA: Thank you Hon. Madam President Ma’am. Let me also thank Hon. Senator Gotora for that important follow up question. It is true Madam President Ma’am, this calls for proper enforcement. We are not only talking about the police, but we also have the VID under the purview of the Ministry. We also have the Traffic Safety Council to raise awareness and conscientise the motoring public about the essence of upholding road rules and also safety issues.
We have witnessed that in most cases, you wonder, a commuter omnibus or a bus passing through a manned roadblock and involved in an accident without proper documentation. We are saying under the Second Republic, we cannot continue watching. We must take to account those police officers and VID. If a vehicle passes through a manned checkpoint and if anything happens, they must be accountable.
We are saying again that on this policy of 60km, we rely on the enforcement. You see, even the VID, a robust and vibrant VID is now back on our roads, even in cities, making sure that we comply. It is also disheartening Hon. Madam President that at times we take precious lives for granted, where we are paid $5 to $10, to allow a vehicle that is unroadworthy passing through a checked point and we lose precious lives. We cannot continue like that as a nation. Our police force and VID must be responsible and also do their work diligently whenever they are manning our roads. It is again my humble plea, even to the citizenry, to report such malpractices as they travel to various destinations. Indeed, without enforcement, this policy will not work. I thank you Madam President.
HON. SEN. MANYENGAVANA: What measures has Government put in place for the policy which was 120km, which has now been reduced to 60km? Have you put in place measures to ensure that travellers are not left stranded on the roads with this reduction?
HON. MHONA: Thank you Madam President. Let me also thank my brother Hon. Manyengavana for the question. It is true that whenever a policy is implemented, there are those naysayers who want to prove that it does not work, but we are saying this is our country Hon. Madam President. We must embrace some of these policies. If you look at this policy, we are not saying, go out of business. We have said those with permits will continue. So, there is no change as we speak but we are saying, going forward, for you to register and get a permit, you must comply, firstly in terms of speed monitoring devices. For those who are still operating, there is no change.
There is no one who has been disadvantaged for now. We still have our kombis on those 120km but we are saying, as the permit expires, we will not renew it without you complying. It is not only the radius that we are talking about. We are talking about the speed monitoring gadgets on our kombis, our buses and our trucks, which is mandatory. We had S.I. 118 of 2023, which becomes effective on the 1st January 204, where we also need to uphold the issues to do with speeding on our roads. We are not just correcting the issues of motor vehicles plying our roads, but we are also saying, comply to the regulatory requirements.
It is not that people are going to be stranded because we have pulled the kombis from the roads, no. We are saying, as your permit expires, we will renew it on the basis of the new policy. I thank you Madam President.
*HON. SEN. MBOHWA: Thank you Madam President. My supplementary question is, we have some other areas that are underdeveloped, such as Gandavaroyi to Gokwe, where we have some buses that travel from those areas, which is more than 120km. Do we have any programme in place for places not to be left behind as they rely on those commuter omnibuses only? Thank you.
*HON. MHONA: Thank you Madam President. I would also want to thank Hon. Senator Mbohwa for the pertinent question which a lot of people do have in their minds. Of course, we have a lot of areas where they do not have enough transport. My response would be, sometimes you discover some of the things as if they are good yet they are dangerous. Most of them have vehicles which are unroadworthy, without any papers to regulate their fitness. The bus operators were liberated by our listening President, His Excellency, that they can import buses into the country duty free.
So, all the kombi operators may take the opportunity to import buses duty free for serious transportation business. Currently, we are meeting some bus company operators. They wanted operating routes and we can now allocate them such areas like Gandavaroyi where they do not have buses. That is the Ministry’s responsibility. We are experiencing challenges with transport operators congesting on Harare-Bulawayo or Harare-Nyamapanda routes, competing for passengers because they do not have any timetable to stick to. We should work together so that we do not experience challenges. Thank you.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: We now have the Minister of Justice, the Deputy Minister of Mines and the Minister of War Veterans in the House. Welcome Hon. Ministers. We were busy on the Minister of Transport.
We are still waiting for translators; I do not know whether they are there now.
*HON. SEN. NDEBELE: If they hear Shona, I can proceed.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: You can proceed.
*HON. SEN. NDEBELE: Thank you Madam President. My question which I asked earlier was in the same line with Hon. Senator Mbohwa’s. Our grievances are to do with the rural areas. Now that we are expecting rains anytime soon, we need to have proper modes of transport before the rains come.
My question now is directed to the Minister of Justice, as Government, we introduced ZiG and the devaluation is continuously going on. Some of us who will have ZiG are experiencing challenges with those big supermarkets. We are now buying 2kg of surf for USD6. What ways and plans do you have in place to strengthen the Zig value? I thank you.
*THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. Z. ZIYAMBI): I would like to thank you Madam President and I would also like to thank Hon. Sen. Ndebele for her important question which is expressing what she is experiencing. Honestly, Madam President, the devaluation of the ZiG is happening. These people used to do things using short-cuts and wanted to derail everything that is organised but this time, I am promising the whole House that our RBZ Governor through our Finance Minister, have a lot which is in the pipeline. This will be unpacked when we present the Finance Bill. We are also continuously ensuring that we strengthen our local currency. A few days ago, His Excellency, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa went to the Reserve Bank to see the amount of gold that we have in our reserves. We are actually trying to make sure we have adequate support for our ZiG so that everything remains in order. However, we have started to strengthen the Finance Ministry so that we can critically analyse what is happening within the nation, be it in those supermarkets or outside. We are trying to understand how they are selling their products, the pricing and how they are handling customers. We have quite a number of people who were blacklisted by the Minister of Finance because some of them after being paid, would look for people who work in wholesales so that they could swipe in exchange for US dollars for them. We taught them a lesson after discovering what they were doing. So, a lot will be unpacked when we bring the Finance Bill to this House.
*HON. SEN. MAVENYENGWA: Thank you Madam President. My supplementary question is, as we await the programme which is in the pipeline, has that programme where police officers used to arrest people been stopped? If we go to supermarkets like N. Richards and other areas, you will see those money changers lined up. So, are we still having that programme or not? I thank you.
*HON. Z. ZIYAMBI: Thank you Madam President for the question. I would also want to thank Hon. Senator Mavenyengwa for his important question. The programme is still on but people have changed the way of doing things. That is why I gave you an example of people who go indirectly and give their bank cards to people working in supermarkets to swipe for them in exchange for the US dollar. So, for us to just say if you see those people lined up outside the supermarket arrest them, it is not right. Do you remember that way back it was very easy because you could easily identify someone holding a huge amount of money and it was easy to arrest? Now if you just go and arrest someone standing on the streets for the sake of arresting, it does not work. I think there is need for us to be very careful. I thank you.
+HON. SEN. MLOTSHWA: Thank you Madam President. I want to find out from you Hon. Ziyambi because when you go into shops, you are told we are not using swipe and this causes challenges for customers.
HON. Z. ZIYAMBI: Thank you for the pertinent question. What she is saying is one of the recommendations that we made. We agreed that those with big shops can have a certain percentage which they can accept to sell using ZiG. It is when they reach the targeted percentage that they simply say our swipe is not working. That is one of the tasks that we gave to our Financial Intelligence to investigate. We need to know how our currency is being used. Those are some of the issues which we said should be rectified. Honestly, what you are saying is very true. When you get there, you will be given excuses and told that currently we are only selling in US dollars. Those are some of the things we are looking into. I am promising that we should be saying this month of this year next year, everybody will be having confidence of using our local currency. We have been using foreign currency for over 10 years. People still lack trust in our local currency and just like I said, we are building our reserves whereby we can empower our currency so that it does not lose its value. Everything is in the pipeline. Maybe it is not very clear currently, but I would like to promise you as Senators that the way in which we are doing it now is a bit clear and everything is going on well. Everything is in the right track. I thank you.
THE HON PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Do you think this will take another year?
HON. Z. ZIYAMBI: No, I did not say that but after another year, everything will be clear. My aim was to say by now as we started the currency, everything should have been in order. But we have a lot of things which we are polishing up, but I promise that by end of year everything will be in order. I thank you.
HON. SEN. ZINDI: My question is directed to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development. In terms of policy, I would like to find out from the Minister what is on his desk regarding haulage trucks which are damaging our highways. I can give an example of Harare-Mutare Road, Harare-Chirundu Road – that they are not even trafficable and we are witnessing a very high number of accidents on these roads being caused by haulage trucks. A good example is the one that involved our ZEC Chairperson just about four days ago and numerous roads accidents as well. A lot of these accidents involve haulage trucks transporting minerals, et cetera.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Madam President Ma’am. Let me also thank Hon. Senator Zindi for that very important question. It is important to take cognisance of the fact that with the advent of the Second Republic, we have witnessed the opening of our economy in terms of doing business where she has cited a good example of the Forbes Border Post which is along Mutare Road. This is a gateway route to a number of neighbouring countries and we have seen a number of trucks increasing. On a daily basis, on average we see trucks amounting to around 450 along the road that she has talked about, that is Mutare Road en route to Chirundu.
The ideal situation is to then have our goods being transported through rail. That is why you have seen that as a Ministry we are also concerned. As much as we are rehabilitating our roads, we have seen the mushrooming of trucks where we are witnessing on our roads, not only the damage to the roads, but issues to do with accidents which are mainly attributed to human error in most cases. We are saying the desired position of the country is to relocate whatever we are moving through roads to rail.
As I speak, our greater leader is seized with the matter of rehabilitation of our roads and I am sure during the just ended FOCAC meeting, it was one of the topical agenda to rehabilitate our roads. We have engaged China Railways where we are going to rehabilitate our entire stretch and procure more locomotives and wagons so that we then make it mandatory to say certain tonnage must not be transported using roads. This is the desired position of the Ministry and this is where we are also going. You will see less of trucks plying long distances, but it will be from pit to pot where they will be just carrying from various destinations in terms of procuring and loading into the wagons.
I want to say to the people of Zimbabwe, let us exercise extreme caution on the roads as we have witnessed head on collisions. I am happy that as we dualise and widen our roads, we also need to make sure that we avoid some of these head on collisions. It is a worrisome development where a number of accidents are being attributed to head-on, especially involving haulage trucks. We are saying as a nation we will continue to make sure that we upgrade our roads which is an economic enabler and above all, to have a vibrant railway network.
HON. SEN. ZINDI: My supplementary question is on timeframe. Is it possible that the Minister can assure the nation so that we can at least have a timeframe to arrest this problem because it has really become a national concern?
HON. MHONA: For now, it is a problematic development to say we do not allow trucks to move, but what we can do as a mitigatory measure is not to allow especially within the great cities where we do not have our trucks moving and we are busy doing what we call an outer ring road for trucks coming from Nyamapanda, Beitbridge or Mutare so that they do not interfere with the operations of the great cities. This is the route that we are also mapping as a country.
We will continue to accelerate the rehabilitation of the railway network so that as we pull from moving goods through the roads, we offer an alternative solution. I cannot be in a position to say what precise timeframe we have but as I speak, we have entered into a strategic alliance with railway companies of Botswana, Mozambique and our National Railways where we are going to rehabilitate close to 700km using Chikwalakwala-Maputo up to Plumtree. We are rehabilitating that entire railway network so that we promote easy movement of goods through the railway line.
I am happy that this is an ongoing exercise, but I will be misleading the House to say by a certain date we will be pulling out the trucks from the roads. We will continue educating people as they drive on roads and also to continue updating the august House on the developments pertaining to railway network.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: If I may notify Senators that in the House, we have the Deputy Minister of Energy and Power Development and the Deputy Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: My question is directed to the Minister of Transport. Firstly, I would like to say thank you for the splendid job that you did on our roads which we are happily driving on. I applaud what you did. There are big companies which were contracted to rehabilitate these roads and what programmes do you have in place so that those roads are continuously repaired and manned and that we do not experience or have potholes like what we had before?
HON. MHONA: As a nation, we went through a very difficult period where our roads were in a bad shape. Yes, the recently held SADC Summit saw some roads being rehabilitated. I would like to thank you Senators for your patience because you endured some discomfort passing through detours when the roads were under repair. Right now, you can choose which road you want to use, either Old Mazowe Road or Sam Nujoma Street.
Going on to your question, it is good that we have good roads but to maintain them is quite a mammoth task. These roads were properly rehabilitated and as citizens, let us try our level best to maintain them. The Second Republic has taken the position that whoever is given a particular road to repair, it is their duty to maintain it for the next 20 years or more. You have to continue to maintain that road. We are in agreement with those companies that are repairing these roads to say they have to continue maintaining the roads. If they have, be it a pothole or anything, they have to repair it. You can wake up the following day, discover potholes, and you fail to understand how those people operate. So, in that case, those companies which are repairing these roads, we have a maintenance policy whereby we said those companies which are rehabilitating our roads or even those who maintain the roads, you will keep on seeing them coming to maintain those roads. They are not only doing roads but they are also planting flowers, trees and installing robots.
However, what I would like to tell this august House which is so disheartening is that sometimes you can erect robots only to wake up to find that they have been vandalised. How then can we build our country with that kind of behaviour? For now, we will continue watering the plants working together with the contractors but we humbly request that if those plants are within your surroundings, please appreciate by watering them as they beautify our areas thereby increasing the value of our properties. The road is not only for the Government but for us all. It is good for us even if you have water at your area, you can simply water the flowers close-by your area to maintain those trees but as our culture, as Zimbabweans, people will simply be happy to say that the trees have dried up.
So, it is my plea to everyone to say maintenance, let us avoid dropping litter in those areas which we should not be dropping litter and use our roads the correct way. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Madam President. I would like to thank you for the response which came from our Minister. I would like to know on maintenance whereby people are saying those who rehabilitated those roads should maintain them. Do we have a time limit to say as a company should maintain this road for so many years or it is for eternity?
*HON. MHONA: It is a very good question. We are saying for the next five years after road rehabilitation, to maintain it, they have to monitor to see if we have anything that comes up in terms of damages to those roads. However, these roads fall under the road authority which is in charge of those roads and most of these roads that are being rehabilitated are manned by City of Harare. We will be assisting each other to monitor the roads but, in this case, our President realised that most of the roads in Harare were impassable as they were not being maintained.
So, in his wisdom, the President said we should not look aside while things go bad and that is when the Government took over to rehabilitate all those roads which were supposed to be rehabilitated by the City of Harare and this is an example. We are simply helping each other. After those five years, as the owners of the roads, we now have our maintenance units whereby we say each and every year we will be monitoring each and every road. If the road has a crack you see us there working on it. We are not only focusing on Harare only, even on highways, you see those from the Ministry of Transport working together with those from EMA.
Even on those lay byes, you see us dropping litter bins by the road side and cutting of grass on the edges of the roads. All that maintenance, we will be doing it together and for us to have good maintenance, it is simple. We should try our level best to maintain hygiene. Even when people are travelling, some will drop litter through the window, maybe if they buy chicken from Chicken Inn, they will throw it away through the windows and that results in blockage of our drainage systems. So, I am pleading with everyone that it is the responsibility of all Zimbabweans.
*HON. SEN. ZINDI: My supplementary question is on the payment or non-payment of those who will have done poor workmanship on the roads, for example Lorraine Drive. That is a road which was only being resurfaced but when they resurfaced, it became worse to an extent that people cannot safely use it. Was the contractor paid or not, and if they were paid, how will they purchase the material needed to re-do the road or will they use their own budget? How does that go about and how long does it take for you as a Ministry to say those who have done shoddy job on the road redo it because it is quite a long time now?
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I will allow the Minister to answer but naturally, that one is a particular project of which we would allow the Minister to go and research in detail on information concerning that particular road, but the Minister can answer.
*HON. MHONA: I would like to thank you for your vision and guidance Madam President and I would also like to thank the Hon. Senator who raised this question which has been on a lot of people’s minds. Even if those people who work in the health sector, sometimes someone will have been operated in the stomach and they have to re-operate that person. This does not necessarily mean those doctors who will have operated on that person do not know what they were doing but they might have encountered challenges. That is the same issue which happened on this road.
The company which has been repairing this road is not new but in English, it was being used as a detour while we were repairing this Nemakonde Road which goes to Chinhoyi. That area was actually accommodating even heavy vehicles which were not entitled to be using that route which resulted in the damage to that road. So, up to now, nothing has been paid to the contractor. Actually, they had an idea to say as we close Nemakonde, let us use Lorraine Drive as a detour. Right now, as we speak, we are actually working on those detours and also looking at working on Lorraine Drive. So, starting from the 16th September, you will see us closing the whole of Lorraine Drive to rehabilitate it. As I speak, they have started what we call mobilisation at the site and from the 16th, they will close the road and repair it. What I would like to ask my fellow Zimbabweans is, from all the roads which were maintained, we simply end up seeing only one thing which was done unsatisfactorily. Why can we not spread the good things that were done by His Excellency, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa? Let us avoid spreading the word of what was done wrong. If they did it wrong, they are going back to repair the same road. As a Ministry, we actually agreed with them that from 16th September, they will be rehabilitating that road. After that we will then pay them.
We do not have money. Funds come from the Ministry of Finance. We do not have anywhere to get money to say we have it today and then have it tomorrow again. Simply go back and advise them on how we would have used all those funds. If you do a shoddy job, you will simply use your own budget to repair that. If we pay it, we will want you to pay back that money if you have not done a satisfactory job. So, all the contractors are asked to repair where they did not do well. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. KATUMBA: Thank you Madam President. My question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development. I would like to understand, as a nation we have a lot of minerals. What is it that you are doing in your Ministry to assist poverty reduction, focusing on our health institutions? How are you assisting our hospitals? I thank you.
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING DEVELOPMENT (HON. KAMBAMURA): Thank you Madam President. I would also like to thank Hon. Sen. for the question. Firstly, I would like to say all those miners should be assisting hospitals within the areas they are mining. They should bear that social responsibility. People in those areas are allowed to approach the miners and air their grievances, not only focusing on hospitals. There is a lot that they should be doing, which includes borehole drilling, dam construction, building of schools, et cetera. We have a lot of big companies which have been leading these programmes in the correct way.
We have mines like ZIMPLATS, Mimosa and others; there are some of the mines which are working in good books with their communities. Those within their communities can vouch that they are working well with the miners in their area. There are others who are not working in good books with their communities. What I am simply saying is, if you have such miners, notify us so that we can approach them as a Ministry so that we can advise them to plough back to the communities. On the same note, those funds which are raised from those minerals will go on to help through the Finance Ministry. Those are some of the funds which will then be used in the building of hospitals, devolution and even the Ministry of Transport whereby they end up repairing our roads. Those are some of the funds that are coming from our minerals. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President Sir. I would like to appreciate the response which we got from the Minister. However, that is not what is happening in the communities where mining is happening. Initially, there was what we used to call Community Share Ownership Trusts, which was a percentage given to the communities by the miners. After that, there was then another policy or a law which then said miners are no longer forced to pay those Community Share Ownerships. As of now, people in communities are not benefiting anything from the minerals within their areas. Maybe I would need clarification or a little bit of explanation to say, how are those people assisted to benefit from the minerals which are being extracted from their areas? I thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: The Minister has explained how the income which accrues from mining is used. What he said basically was that these mining companies pay tax and the tax which they pay is the one which is used for development in the country. I think your argument is, why did Government do away with Community Share Ownership Trusts? Is that the question? – [HON. TONGOGARA: Yes] –
*HON. KAMBAMURA: Thank you Mr. President Sir. Thank you Hon. Senator Tongogara for a good question. Just like I have explained, not all miners are working in good books with their communities. Others are working in their small mines whereby they have limited income. Then we have bigger mines, whereby people benefit a lot. So, those people contribute to the Government. As a Ministry, we ensure that they pay those percentages to the Ministry. So, the programme on Community Share Ownership Trusts is still there. We are drafting a policy which entitles every miner to pay the corporate social responsibility which would then be approved by the Ministry and then they will take such to do something for the benefit of the people within the area.
If you have other miners that you know, who are benefiting and are not assisting those communities, kindly approach the Ministry so that we can advise them accordingly. I thank you.
HON. SEN. PHULU: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development. In view of the transport challenges in urban areas and also in view of Government commitment to climate issues, what measures has the Ministry taken to ensure that they promote cycling in urban areas, particularly, by ensuring that they put forward a policy to develop cycle tracks, at the same time as roads are being developed and to ensure that local authorities also pay attention to developing cycle tracks as a mandatory part of their road development?
Maybe just as a brief reminder that prior to independence and immediately after independence, you will see that we had major networks of cycle tracks. Why is it that this is totally being ignored? I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Mr. President Sir for giving me this chance to articulate the question posed by Hon. Senator Senior Advocate Phulu. It is true that we need cycle tracks and walk-ways. I want to concur with the Hon. Senator that he should look at this particular project that we are taking as a Ministry, coming to this new city where you are going to be seeing the completion of a cycle track. If you are coming from Nemakonde Second Street junction, right from that section up to this point, we have provision for cycle track.
We have taken into effect the construction of our roads and also the provision of cycle track and walk-ways, so is to promote the wellness of our citizenry. I will be inviting the Hon. Senators again for the inaugural tour and half marathon to this point from Harare, which we are going to be launching soon, where we are going to be cycling. In particular, Hon. Senator Phulu, I will be running closer to you on that particular event, running on the cycle track and on the walkway.
We are going to be having this to conscientise the people of Zimbabwe, the essence of wellness. We have taken it on board and we have witnessed that it was a missing link. However, whenever we are designing our roads, we are making provision of cycle tracks. I truly concur and agree with you that it is important, where you will be seeing us putting the cycle tracks and also rehabilitating those dilapidated cycle tracks that we have.
It is unfortunate, Mr. President Sir, that maybe it was a colonial mind where we thought cycling is associated with poverty. You see someone coming from Warren Park, I can give examples of Arcadia or Braeside, waiting for 20 to 30 minutes for a kombi, when the distance is 5km into the city and you wonder. If you in other jurisdictions, after work, you are on your bike and you go home, it is also again to the people of Zimbabwe that it is not poverty. Let us embark and try also to introduce cycling so that we also manage, not necessarily the issues of transportation, but for your own goodness so that we start having that culture back again.
I want to thank you so much. Like I have indicated, to invite Hon. Senators on the inaugural Wellness Programme that we are going to be taking on, from Nemakonde junction up to Parliament, via Mazowe Road and it is close to 21km that we are going to be cycling and walking. In this particular instance, we will not be cycling. We will be running with my fellow learned colleague, Hon. Senator Phulu. Thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you Hon. Minister. I hope the Hon. learned friend will take up the challenge. You will take it up!
HON. SEN. PHULU: I will take up the challenge Mr. President and I would like to thank the Minister for a detailed and profound answer to the question.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you.
Questions Without Notice were interrupted by THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE, in terms of Standing Order Number 67.
HON. SEN. PHULU: Mr. President Sir, I move that the time for Questions Without Notice be extended.
HON. SEN. GOTORA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: We have been joined by the Minister of Defence, Hon. O. C. Z. Muchinguri-Kashiri. Welcome Minister.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF DANDAWA: Thank you Mr. President Sir. My question goes to the Minister of Mines. In my area, Mashonaland West, Hurungwe, there are some companies doing mining there. The challenge which we have now is that the areas which they are mining are the areas where the rural people used to farm. A lot of people now do not have places to farm or to stay.
The second question goes to the Minister of Transport. These companies load six to seven haulage trucks, which are now destroying our roads and they do not repair the roads. We simply want our roads to be maintained. How can you assist? Thank you.
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING DEVELOPMENT (HON. KAMBAMURA): Thank you Mr. President. I would like to thank the Hon. Senator for the question. We have a law which speaks to the areas which people are allowed to stay. The same law also states what is it that people should do before they start mining so that we do not have challenges between the villagers and the miners. I am kindly asking the Hon. Senator to come to my office tomorrow so that he will explain everything which is happening because his question is specific to his constituency, so that we can come up with a recommendation to the challenges he is facing.
*THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Mr. President Sir. Thank you Hon. Senator Chief Dandawa for the pertinent question. Yes, some are taking out those minerals and they are exporting a lot of minerals from our areas. Taking into cognisance minerals like lithium, we are planning to have some weighbridges so that when they carry whatever loads they have, we need to govern them. Currently, we do not have a law in place which asks them to repair the roads. We need to work together with the Ministry of Mines and ensure that the roads are repaired.
With time, we want to ask all those who are taking out minerals from the mines to have them all directed to a railway line so that they avoid using the roads. With time, you will see us approaching all those mines to say they must have small railway lines which connect to the main line. We are not saying they now own those mines. No. We are only saying they have to ferry whatever their minerals from point A to point B. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. ZINDI: Thank you Mr. President Sir. My supplementary question is, this area which is being referred to by Hon. Senator Dandawa is an area which does not have a railway line connecting to areas where they are mining lithium and lime. They are now being taken to a siding. The second issue is that the road network which he is referring to, I was there on Saturday last week. I think the road is now 30cm deep and it is so fine like ash and some vehicles cannot travel in those areas. Thirdly, the weigh-bridges you are talking about, there is no place where they can put the weigh-bridge because it is in the central part of Hurungwe and it is called Chidamoyo. It is in the middle of the forest and the type of soil there is very fine. It is close to 30cm deep, so I do not know how best such people can be helped. If those Chinese continue mining in those areas, it will be difficult to travel in those areas. I thank you.
*HON. MHONA: Thank you Hon. Senator Zindi for that important question. Since we are now referring to a special area, kindly give us time to do our research. She mentioned something to do with the soil texture and if it is said there is no one who can expand those roads, we need engineers who can tell us how best it can be done. If they do not have any road network there, what is it that Hurungwe District Council is doing and what is it that we have to do? If we work together and you give us the question in writing, we will be able to come up with a detailed response. I thank you.
*THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Hon. Senator Chief, kindly put your question in writing so that you get a detailed response.
*HON. SEN. TSHABANGU: Thank you very much Mr. President. Principles of education is where I am going to centre my question. The Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, given the alarming reports indicating that the teacher – pupil ratio is currently double to the ideal standard, what specific measures is the Government implementing to address this issue? There are serious concerns that this proportionate ratio contributes to high levels of drop-out rates, delayed completion of education and overall decline in the quality of education in our schools. What strategies are being pursued to ensure that all students receive the attention and support they need for their educational success?
Let me also add and say that we are so grateful to the Minister of Transport that you are the Minister who has been really coming to this House and not only showcasing your face but interacting with this House. We appreciate you for the robust responses to the hard questions paused in this august Senate. We greatly appreciate Hon. Minister.
*THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Your question is very clear, but I realise that the Ministers are not here neither is the Leader of Business in the House. So, if no Minister is volunteering to answer that question, you have to shelve it until next week. Ok, the Minister of Defence will respond.
*THE MINISTER OF DEFENCE (HON. MUCHINGURI-KASHIRI): Thank you Hon. Senator Tshabangu for that very important question. In the absence of the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, allow me to attempt to respond to his question which is seeking a response on what Government is doing to address the challenge which is compromising the quality of education being caused by the teacher-pupil ratio, which is now the order of the day. Allow me to state that the Second Republic is indicating that no place will be left behind. As a result of that position, Government has taken upon itself to increase the number of schools in all the areas in Zimbabwe. I would say more than 40 schools have been budgeted for and will be built to ensure that adequate classrooms are availed. Let me also say that just a few weeks ago, there was an advert by the relevant authorities. In this case, the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission, where there is a drive to recruit more than 2000 teachers and this is meant to address the serious gap which exists. I am hoping that as this process is going on and also with new schools that are being built, to some extent this will be the beginning of addressing the challenges which have been raised by the Hon. Senator. I thank you Mr. President.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you very much Hon. Minister of Defence for the comprehensive and detailed response.
+HON. SEN. C. NDLOVU: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development. I would like to know that after being appointed Minister of Transport, have you used the five roads that I will mention here; Bulawayo-Nkayi Road, Bulawayo-Tsholotsho Road, Bulawayo-Old Gwanda Road, Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road, Plumtree-Kezi Road? I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): I want to thank Senator Ndlovu. Yes, I have traversed on most of the roads that he has mentioned. If you would relate, we were doing some sections, especially the Tsholotsho-Kezi Road where we have done 5km which to me is inadequate given the length of the road. We need to start from somewhere. Let me also acknowledge that in terms of road infrastructure, we have a road network close to 90 000km. Some areas were marginalised and I want to hasten to acknowledge that for years, our roads were neglected, not only the city roads but even rural roads. Some of our roads especially those going to places of our revolutionary icons, the roads were neglected. Alas, with the advent to the Second Republic, we have taken those roads on our radar.
I also want to thank this Senate and when Hon. Senator Tshabangu stood, I said to my colleague, it is the Nkayi and Victoria Falls Roads. I know that those are some of the emotional roads that we are also seized with. I have also heard that the people from Matabeleland say the Minister is neglecting their region. I also want to say as I stand, I have blood from that region. My mother comes from Plumtree, so I am part of you. There is no way I would neglect where my mother came from. So, we are together in it.
I want to hasten to say we have been longing as a Ministry and under the wise leadership of His Excellency, to find a lasting solution to some of the roads. What we have decided to do is that instead of the 5km, you will see us doing 30km or 40km on a particular year. Then we know we are done with that particular road rather than to spread over a number of roads. Of great importance is the Victoria Falls Road that the Senator has talked about, where we are going to start doing the road from Beitbridge to Bulawayo then to Victoria Falls.
I have been worried about the Bulawayo-Nkayi Road which is about 154km long. We have done part of the road and we are left with 90km. We are going to be redoing the entire road in terms of resealing where we have done already and reconstructing the remaining 90km. I am happy that we now have a contractor who is going to be working, not only the Bulawayo-Nkayi Road but he is going to start from Kwekwe going into Nkayi then Lupane and do another stretch from Bulawayo to Nkayi. This is the same contractor who is going to work on a concession agreement. We have agreed on the funding modalities of that road.
I want to assure the august House that I now have peace regarding that particular road and in particular, the emotional Bulawayo-Nkayi Road, Bulawayo-Kezi Road, Bulawayo-Tsholotsho Road which have been very emotional. I have these roads on our radar as a Ministry and we will not neglect those roads. You will see us moving towards those roads and like the approach that we have agreed, not particularly doing 5km, but you will see us extending the works to quite a number of kilometres. I thank you.
+HON. SEN. L. SIBANDA: My question is directed to the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. There is a child in Plumtree aged 13 years who was said to have been jailed for 15 years for raping a seven-year-old child. Looking at this issue as people, what type of a sentence is this? How can we have a 13-year-old being sentenced for 15 years? Is this not killing a child? I saw this kid in prison after the meeting of those who are incarcerated and their families. Is this the correct sentence for a 13-year-old who is accused of having raped to be sentenced for 15 years?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. MAZUNGUNYE): I want to thank the Senator for the question. Indeed, usually the courts prioritise rehabilitation sentences on juveniles. We have heard of that court case were a minor has been slapped with an outrageous sentence which we also believe for juveniles is also excessive. In that regard, as the Ministry, we are already seized with the matter so as to rectify the anomaly in that regard as it is common cause that for juveniles, courts usually prefer sentences which are probationary. As a Ministry, we are looking into the matter and we will rectify the issue. As soon as we are done, we will notify the august House in that regard.
∞HON. SEN. MUPANDE: My question is directed to the Minister of Roads. As I speak, last week a bus was involved in an accident because of the roads. The previous month, it killed three children, secondary school children who were coming from sports. If you look at our road, ever since it was constructed a long time ago up to now, it has not been attended to. As a result, vehicles are now using the road side in the bush. That shows that the road is totally impassable. I would like to find out from the Minster the reason why it is not being attended to. I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): There was no translation.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I think we have got a challenge on translation, so I advise the Hon. Senator to keep your question and have to then pose it for next week.
Questions Without Notice were interrupted by THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE in terms of Standing Order No. 67.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: The Ministers who were supposed to respond to the four Questions with Notice are not here. So, questions No. 1,2, 3 and 4 have been deferred.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE NATIONAL PROSECUTING AUTHORITY FOR THE YEAR 2023
First Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of the National Prosecuting Authority for the year 2023.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. GOTORA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. RUNGANI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 10th September, 2024.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. GOTORA: I move that Orders of the Day Numbers 2 and 3 on today’s Order Paper be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
HON. SEN. RUNGANI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
IMPROVEMENT ON SERVICE DELIVERY BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES
Fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on challenges bedeviling local authorities in the provision of services.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. PHULU: Thank you Mr. President. I rise to contribute to this significant motion, which was moved by Hon. Sen. Mavenyengwa. I wish that he would have been here today. Regarding the challenges faced by local authorities in their mission to provide essential services to our communities, I wish to express my profound appreciation for the ongoing discussions on this matter, which is critical to the daily lives of our citizens. However, it is with concern that I note the trivialisation of this motion by some of my esteemed colleagues who have spoken. I say this with respect. This debate is not about party affiliation or personal grievances. It is centered on the responsibilities and capacities of our local authorities, the frontline providers of essential services to our urban and rural populations.
We must as a House, adopt a broader perspective that fully encompasses the constitutional role of local authorities. The motion calls upon the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works itself, if you read it, reflects a misunderstanding of local governance structures to the extent that it says, we call upon the Ministry to urge its local authorities. Those local authorities are set up by the Constitution, their mandate is drawn from the Constitution. They are not owned by the Ministry. Therein lies some of our problems and as you go down, you will note that some of the issues that Local Government practitioners have been complaining about have been to do with the fact that they are not being allowed to enjoy their autonomy in the running of local authorities. I would illustrate this as I go down. To enhance their self-governance, local authorities should not be burdened by restrictive circulars and directives from the Ministry. Those circulars and directives are necessary, but sometimes there is a heavy footprint of the circulars and directives from the Ministry to the extent that local governance decisions that need to be implemented cannot move.
Councils, for instance, complain about the fact that they should not have to pay expenses for Ministry visits or face delays in budget approvals. Just as some of the things that they know, the chief issue that I want to illustrate is that there is a connection between the efficient running of Local Government services and their relationship with the mother Ministry. It is within that relationship where we normally face challenges and we need to streamline that relationship. This has been recognised, even by our decentralisation and devolution policy where the President in the foreword to that policy on 31st August, 2020, had this to say, “to enable our unitary State to respond better and faster to the demands of efficient service delivery, development democracy, national integration and peace’’. This policy is a pillar and that policy all what it is, is to improve the relationship between Local Government practitioners and Central Government practitioners in the Ministry. Now, there has been a delay in the implementation of that policy.
A lot of the things that it promised to do have been implemented very slowly. We have various pieces of legislation that remain outstanding. This is acknowledged and we submit that the implementation of outstanding issues will lead to a vast improvement of local governance. Other issues that have been cited are the fiscal issues which impact on the ability of Local Government to operate. Their ability to collect revenue, the permissions that they made to take loans and other capacities and indeed, it is acknowledged. In addition, there is need to capacitate the Local Government practitioners as well, to train them to know how to flawlessly go through some of the procedures that are required. For instance, if a tender is to be flighted, a local authority wants to fix their roads, they do not wake up, take out money from some account and fix the road. There has to be interaction with Central Government, with the Ministry. There has to be budgets, there has to be approvals that happen before those issues can be rolled out. Also, before they can purchase or appoint service providers, they have to go through tender processes which are not controlled by local authorities but by Central Government. Here, I am emphasising that we cannot have an approach which assumes that local authorities run in one lane and Central Government runs in another. Our emphasis should be unlocking solutions on how these two can seamlessly work together.
When we begin to insert partisan politics into this kind of debate, we widen that rift rather than close it. My plea is that to strengthen local governance, it is essential for local authorities to have a shared responsibility for their revenue collection. Fiscal autonomy is vital for increasing credit worthiness and enhancing their accountability, et cetera. I think I have made my point that there is need for a working relationship.
Let me get to the key things that I want to say and this is the Opposition’s commitment to service delivery because some of the speeches, I will refer particularly to Hon. Senator Mohadi’s speech, which says Opposition in some cases takes a childish approach to governance matters. This requires us to respond. Our response is, opposition family asserts its unwavering commitment to enhancing service delivery in Zimbabwe. We want to make that clear that as part of this House, on this side of the Isle, we have that commitment. We take offence at the unfounded accusations suggesting otherwise but this is offence in a positive way Mr. President. This is why we are responding to say we are committed to this.
Government recognises the vital importance of devolution and decentralisation. In areas where local authorities are led by the opposition, we see we are dedicated to making service delivery a top priority. So, in other words, we have heard those complaints but now that we have heard them, we reiterate by stamping our commitment. Our policies – we have a rich history of policies and we call ‘SMART’ as one of our policies. We are very clear on that. We provide a comprehensive framework and specifically at improving service delivery in our nation. Our commitment can be highlighted through several key areas.
Decentralisation and local governance - I will just mention the headings, enhancing revenue generation is one of them. Transparency and accountability, on this one, our commitment to service delivery is grounded on the principles of our current transferability. We call for the establishment of clear guidelines for inter-Governmental revenue transferability as well as a robust mechanism for monitoring and auditing local authorities to ensure that their delivery services is effectively and efficiently.
Capacity building, again we understand that skilled personnel are critical for effective governance and service delivery. Therefore, we advocate for comprehensive training programmes and financial capacitation for local governance staff. It must not be done at Hebert Chitepo, but we advocate for that kind of training. This will enhance their skills in financial management, project planning, implementation and will significantly improve service delivery outcomes. Infrastructure and development, recognising that infrastructure is the backbone of service delivery our policy is also prioritising – what I am talking about policy is, we know we are not the Government but we are saying this is the alternative, this is where Government should be going and this is what we are committed to. We advocate for strategic budgeting and planning for infrastructure projects, coupled with clear indicators on funding sources and timelines for completion. Community participation is another one. I will not go into detail on that one. In summary, our policies reflect a robust commitment to creating a responsive and effective service delivery system in Zimbabwe.
In conclusion, Mr. President, I urge all of us to engage in this discussion with the seriousness it deserves. Let us not allow partisanship to cloud our judgement or hinder constructive discourse. We must advocate for the necessary support and autonomy to our local authorities to fulfill their mandate effectively. Our communities deserve efficient service delivery and together, we can lay the groundwork for thriving local governance systems that truly reflect the aspiration of our citizens.
I do accept that there are important issues like corruption. Fellow Senators have dealt in detail with that. I also accept all other factors that have been taken into account but today, I wanted to focus on the autonomy of Local Government authorities and on walking hand and in hand between Local Government practitioners and local authorities on one side and the Central Government on the other.
We emphasise to this House that strengthening that working relationship through implementing the decentralisation and devolution policy is the key. I also like to reiterate our commitment where we run local authorities and that we are committed to these ideals that I have spoken. I thank you Mr. President.
HON. SEN. GOTORA: Mr. President Sir, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 10th September, 2024.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MUZENDA, seconded by HON. SEN.GOTORA, the House adjourned at Twenty-Three Minutes past Four o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 10th September, 2024.