Thursday, 23^rd December, 2021

 

The House met at 0900 hours

 

[MADAM SPEAKER in the Chair]

 

NATIONAL ANTHEM

 

PRAYER

 

_______

 

ANNOUNCEMENT BY MADAM SPEAKER

 

EXPUNCTION FROM THE RECORD OF HON. M. TEMBO’S STATEMENT

 

Madam Speaker: Hon Members, you will recall that on Tuesday, 21^st December, 2021, the hon. Member for Sinda Parliamentary Constituency, Mr M. Tembo, in concluding his maiden speech stated:

 

“Madam Speaker, in conclusion, I want to congratulate His Excellency President Edgar Chagwa Lungu, and Her Honour the Vice-President on their victory.”

 

Hon Members, after consulting with him on the veracity of the statement above, the hon. Member for Sinda, in his letter dated 22^nd December, 2021, conceded that he had made the statement inadvertently and requested that the record be corrected accordingly. Bearing in mind that the statement is not only erroneous, but also misleading, I hereby direct the Clerk of the National Assembly to expunge from the record the entire paragraph in the hon. Member’s maiden speech containing the sentence, “Madam Speaker, in conclusion, I want to congratulate His Excellency President Edgar Chagwa Lungu and Her Honour the Vice-President on their victory”.

 

I thank you.

 

_______

 

MOTION

 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON LEGAL AFFAIRS, HUMAN RIGHTS AND GOVERNANCE ON THE PETITION FOR THE INITIATION OF THE ENACTMENT OF AN ACT OF PARLIAMENT TO PROVIDE FOR THE PROCEDURE AND FORUM FOR CITIZENS TO PETITION THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CONCERNING THE ENACTMENT, AMENDMENT AND REPEAL OF LEGISLATION

 

Mr Andeleki (Katombola): Madam Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity.

 

Madam Speaker, I beg to move that this House do adopt the Report of the Committee on Legal Affairs, Human Rights and Governance on the Petition by Mr George Chintankwa Malipilo for the Initiation of the Enactment of an Act of Parliament to Provide for the Procedure and Forum for Citizens to Petition the National Assembly Concerning the Enactment, Amendment and Repeal of Legislation for the First Session of the Thirteen National Assembly.

 

Madam Speaker: Is the Motion seconded?

 

Mr Chisanga (Lukashya): Madam Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.

 

Mr Andeleki: Madam Speaker, pursuant to Order No. 125(2) of the National Assembly of Zambia Standing Orders, 2021, a petition that has been laid on the Table of the House shall be referred to an appropriate Committee for consideration. Thus, in line with the Standing Order, the Committee considered the petition in which the petitioner is urging the National Assembly to enact a law that will provide for the procedure and forum for citizens to petition the National Assembly.

 

Madam Speaker, in order to better understand the ramifications of the petition, the Committee interacted with several stakeholders who tendered both written and oral submissions. Since hon. Members have had the opportunity to peruse the Committee’s report, I will highlight only the salient issues contained in the report.

 

Madam Speaker, the Committee observes that Article 88(3) of the Constitution of Zambia, Cap. 1 of the Laws of Zambia, as amended by Act No. 2 of 2016, provides that the manner of petitioning and commenting on deliberations, statements or decisions of the National Assembly shall be prescribed. The Committee is aware that according to Article 266 of the Constitution, the words ‘shall be prescribed’ means ‘provided for in an Act of Parliament’. Therefore, there is a Constitutional requirement to prescribe the manner of petitioning the National Assembly in an Act of Parliament.

 

Madam Speaker, the Committee further observes that the National Assembly of Zambia Standing Orders, 2021, are elaborate in terms of the procedure for citizens to petition the National Assembly. It is, however, of the view that the said Standing Orders do not meet the Constitutional requirement as stipulated by Article 88(3) of the Constitution of Zambia. This is because the words, ‘shall be prescribed’ entails that subsidiary legislation should be enacted. The Committee recommends that an Act of Parliament be enacted to satisfy the Constitutional requirement in Article 88(3). In enacting the Act, Zambia can consider learning from the experiences of Kenya, which enacted the Petition to Parliament (Procedure) Act No. 22 of 2012.

 

Madam Speaker, the stakeholders who appeared before your Committee were concerned about Standing Order No. 123(4)(d), which provides that petitions to the National Assembly should be in the English Language, as they were of the view that this is restrictive and might exclude citizens who may not express themselves very well in English. The Committee is aware that English is the Official Language. That notwithstanding, it agrees with the stakeholders’ views on the matter. Therefore, it recommends that when the Act of Parliament is enacted, it provides certain safeguards, such as for petitions to be drafted in any of the seven Regional Official Languages, and/or in audio-visual formats and braille, subject to a provision being made for the translation or transcription of such petitions by the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly, in order to augment citizens’ participation in the legislative process of the National Assembly.

 

Madam Speaker, the Committee observes that there are no timelines given to the various actors in the petition process, and is of the considered view that the unlimited time frame within which actors can perform their obligations infringes the right of citizens to petition, as the citizens are not able to compel the National Assembly to give them feedback on the petition. It, therefore, urges the relevant institutions to consider providing timelines for the various actors. Alternatively, the Committee has proposed timelines that can be considered on page 12 of its report.

 

Madam Speaker, Order No. 123 of the National Assembly of Zambia Standing Orders, 2021, provides for the right of a citizen to petition the National Assembly. The Committee, therefore, recommends that the Act that will be enacted in line with Article 88(3) of the Constitution makes a provision for civil society organisations (CSOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to petition the National Assembly on their own behalf and on behalf of particular groups or interest group. The Committee further recommends that the said Act provides for citizens to be able to petition in association with one another or on behalf of citizens collectively. In the same vein, the Committee observes that although Standing Order No. 123 allows citizens to directly petition the National Assembly, there is no provision for the citizens to garner support from their elected representatives in the National Assembly. The Committee, therefore, recommends that the Act makes a provision for citizens to approach their Members of Parliament to seek support for their petitions.

 

Madam Speaker, the Committee notes, with concern, the low level of awareness among citizens of their right to petition the National Assembly to initiate enactment, amendment or repeal of legislation, and recommends that campaigns be conducted to educate the general public about this right. It also recommends that pending petitions be published on the Parliament Website so that the general public can follow their progress.

 

Madam Speaker, the Committee thanks the petitioner and all the stakeholders for their oral and written submissions on the petition. It further expresses its gratitude to the Office of the Speaker and of the Clerk of the National Assembly for the guidance and services rendered to it during its consideration of the petition.

 

Madam Speaker, I beg to move.

 

Madam Speaker: Does the seconder wish to speak now or later?

 

Mr Chisanga: Madam Speaker, now.

 

Madam Speaker, I rise to support the Motion to adopt the Report of the Committee on Legal Affairs, Human Rights and Governance on the Petition by Mr George Chintankwa Malipilo for the Initiation of the Enactment of an Act of Parliament to Provide for the Procedure and Forum for Citizens to Petition the National Assembly Concerning the Enactment, Amendment and Repeal of Legislation so ably moved by the Chairperson of the Committee.

 

Madam Speaker, I agree with the mover of the Motion on the need to have a law in place that will provide for the procedure and a forum for citizens to petition the National Assembly with regard to the enactment, amendment and repeal of legislation. By passing this Act, we will only be conforming with the dictates of Article 88 of the Constitution.

 

Madam Speaker, I want to highlight three concerns, firstly, the transition of a petition to a Bill.

 

Madam Speaker, your Committee observes that the National Assembly Standing Orders do not make reference to the transition of a petition to a Bill, but simply states that the Clerk shall, in writing, inform the petitioner of the manner in which the petition is dealt with and the resolution of the Assembly. Your Committee is of the view that this is a serious oversight that ought to be addressed by the Act to be passed. The Committee also urges the Executive to consider including a transition period from the petition to the Bill as a safeguard for citizens who petition the National Assembly.

 

Secondly, Madam Speaker, your Committee observes that although Standing Order No. 123 allows citizens to directly petition the National Assembly, there is no provision for the citizens to garner support for the petition from their elected representatives, the Members of Parliament. We, therefore, recommend that the Act makes provision for citizens to approach their Members of Parliament and seek support for their petitions.

 

Thirdly, Madam Speaker, it is important that all petitions submitted to the National Assembly and the decisions of Parliament on the petitions be recorded in a register open to the general public and accessible online. The Committee is aware that Standing Order No. 124(d) provides for a petition to be admissible if not similar to a petition that has already been considered by the House during the term of Parliament. Thus, a record of all petitions is imperative to avoid some petitions not being accepted by the National Assembly.

 

In conclusion, Madam Speaker, I place on record my appreciation of the support rendered to the Committee by your Office and the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly throughout the Committee’s deliberations.

 

Madam Speaker, I beg to support.

 

Mr Lungu (Kapoche): Madam Speaker, I thank you for allowing me to add my voice to the debate on the Motion by presenting my maiden speech.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of the National Assembly, this is the first time for me to stand as a Member of Parliament and speak before this House. It is an honour and privilege to speak before you in this House because you are a leading institution in supporting and protecting true democracy in Zambia.

 

Madam Speaker, let me also add my voice to those congratulating you on being elected as the first ever female Speaker our National Assembly of Zambia. I also congratulate your two Deputies, the First Deputy Speaker and the Second Deputy Speaker, on being elected. I am aware that democracy is not established by announcements in fine words, but built by working together in constructive co-operation.

 

Mr Kampyongo: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Lungu: Madam Speaker, today, about 18 million people in our country are looking to this House for democracy. For me, this is an achievement that goes back many decades before I was finally voted into office by the people of Kapoche.

 

Madam Speaker, allow me to thank a great man who turned Zambia into a construction machine, the Former President of the Republic of Zambia, His Excellency Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu; …

 

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

 

Hon. UPND Members: Question!

 

Mr Lungu: … the Patriotic Front (PF) Members of the Central Committee (MCCs); the PF Eastern Province team, the Sinda District Committee; the constituency committee; and the two campaign managers who made me be where I am today.

 

Madam Speaker, I also thank the following chiefs in my constituency: Chieftainess Nyanje, Chief Kawaza and Chief Kathumba, for their unwavering support. Let me also thank the churches in Kapoche and their clergy. I also thank the campaign team, especially the two managers. I say, ‘Job well done!’

 

Lastly, Madam Speaker, a big ‘Thank you’ goes to my family, children, relatives and friends for their support.

 

Madam Speaker, Kapoche has numerous challenges, and we live, today, in a difficult neighbourhood with many challenges facing us. That is why we need your support. We need support from many institutions of the country to help guide us through this transition of development of which I am the man trusted to mastermind in the next five years.

 

Madam Speaker, as a Member of Parliament, I believe that families should have easy access to health, education and social services in the constituency. I, therefore, call  on all Government departments and civil society organisations (CSO) to welcome people and our agents whenever we lobby for help, and let all stakeholders action the plans for the people of Kapoche.

 

Madam Speaker, we are grateful to the many CSOs that are drilling boreholes, which is helping us with clean water, but we need more to make Kapoche a better place for our people. We need more boreholes for the people of Kapoche to have clean water, and piped running water in Sinda District. We also need dams and dip tanks for the animals that our people keep for financial empowerment.

 

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

 

Madam Speaker, in Kapoche Constituency, there are only five secondary schools and, out of the five, only one is a boarding school. We need more boarding secondary schools for co-education so that our girls can also have access to better confined education. We are willing to work with many stakeholders to have a girls’ boarding secondary school, like we have with the Catholics, who built the only boarding secondary school, which is Chassa.

 

Madam Speaker, our dream for Kapoche goes beyond those important details. I know the history of my constituency well, and I understand that building a united Zambia was, above all, a project of peace.

 

Madam Speaker, our road network is a disaster for us. We believe, upgrading roads like Chikalaba to bituminous standard will connect Zambia to Mozambique, thereby helping our country to earn the much-needed revenue to develop Zambia through Kapoche. We also need the Sinda/Nyanje Road to be upgraded because it is the only one that leads to the only hospital in the constituency.

 

Madam Speaker, as we all know, early marriages have not been overcome completely. Our community can only fight this by providing alternatives that will encourage boys and girls to take up responsibility, including education programmes. Forcing girls out of marriages is not working because schools are far away from some villages and that has discouraged our girls from leaving marriages. Such suffering can end if my constituency is given qualified teachers, nurses and other professionals in the facilities that the mighty PF Government built.

 

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Lungu: Madam Speaker, on green economy, the ongoing co-operation will be pursued with the greatest energy, and our vision, through the help of the New Dawn Government and other partners, is to have all schools connected to the ZESCO Limited national grid so that we enhance the learning of information and communication technology (ICT) subjects in our constituency. We also need to connect our only palace, Chief Kathumba’s, to electricity because it has had no electricity since Independence.

 

Madam Chairperson, our clear example of development is to deliver with the current New Dawn Government. Surely, my people will know that the New Dawn Government would have added development to what the PF left, and the Government’s continuity will be appreciated by the people of Kapoche. Our hon. Colleagues should remember that as they bring development, we will criticise their retrogressive ideas and only support the progressive ones. In this challenging process, Kapoche needs national and international engagement and support more than ever.

 

Madam Speaker, lastly, I congratulate His Excellency the President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, and Her Honour the Vice-President.

 

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 

The Vice-President (Mrs Nalumango): Madam Speaker, I think, this Motion shows that there is consensus on what has been laid on the Table.

 

Madam Speaker, I thank the mover and seconder of this Motion as it has been articulated. We stand with them.

 

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

 

Mr Andeleki: Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. Members for supporting the Motion.

 

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

 

Question put and agreed to.

 

_______

 

BILLS

 

HOUSE IN COMMITTEE

 

[THE CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES in the

Chair]

 

THE INCOME TAX (Amendment) BILL, 2021

 

Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

 

CLAUSE 10 – (Amendment of Ninth Schedule)

 

The Minister of Finance and National Planning (Dr Musokotwane): Madam Chairperson, I beg to move an amendment in Clause 10:

 

1. on page 3, in lines 32 and 35, by the deletion of the word “eighteen” and the substitution therefor of the number “18”;

 

1. on page 4;

 

1. in line 7, by the deletion of the word “eighteen” and the substitution therefor of the number “18”; and

 

1. in line 28, by the insertion of the word “trust” immediately after the word “investment”; and

 

b.  on page 5, in lines 17 to 18, by the deletion of the words “which the payment of tax is required to be deducted under subsection (1) was made,” and the substitution therefor of the words “which the payment is made and from which tax is required to be deducted under subsection (1),”.

 

Amendment agreed to. Clause amended accordingly.

 

Clause 10, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

 

Clauses 11 and 12 ordered stand part of the Bill.

 

Title agreed to.

 

THE CUSTOMS AND EXCISE (Amendment) BILL, 2021

 

Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

 

FIRST SCHEDULE

 

 

Amendment agreed to. First Schedule amended accordingly.

 

First Schedule, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

 

SECOND SCHEDULE

 

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Chairperson, I beg to move an amendment in the Second Schedule, on page 80, in line 13, by the deletion of the figure “k0.50/1tr” and the substitution therefor of the figure “k0.25/1tr”.

 

Amendment agreed to. Second Schedule amended accordingly.

 

Second Schedule, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

 

Third Schedule ordered to stand part of the Bill.

 

FOURTH SCHEDULE

 

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Chairperson, I beg to move an amendment in the Fourth Schedule, on page 104, in lines 8 to 9, by the deletion of HS Codes 2203.00.11 and 2203.00.12 and the substitution therefor of the following:

 

‘HS Code                 Description of Goods             Surtax Rate         Remarks. 2203.00.00           Opaque Beer                              5%

 

Amendment agreed to. Fourth Schedule amended accordingly.

 

Fourth Schedule, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

 

NINTH SCHEDULE

 

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Chairperson, I beg to move an amendment in the Ninth Schedule, on page 137, in lines 12 to 35, by the deletion of the word “Customs” wherever the word appears in the heading of the column for Customs Duty Rate.

 

Amendment agreed to. Ninth Schedule amended accordingly.

 

Ninth Schedule, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

 

Title agreed to.

 

THE BETTING CONTROL (Amendment) BILL, 2021

 

CLAUSE 1 – (Short title, Cap 166 )

 

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Chairperson, I beg to move an amendment in Clause 1, After line 5, by the insertion of the following new Clauses:

 

‘Amendment of section 2    2.         Section 2 of the principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following new definition in the appropriate place in alphabetical order.

 

                                             “small business enterprise” means a business enterprise whose total investment, excluding land and buildings, and annual turnover and the number of persons employed by the enterprise does not exceed the numerical value or number prescribed; and

 

Repeal of section 12                        3.         The principal Act is amended by the repeal of section 12.’

 

Amendment agreed to. Clause amended accordingly.

 

Clause 1, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

 

CLAUSE 2 – (Repeal and replacement of section 14)

 

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Chairperson, I beg to move an amendment –

 

1. in Clause 2, in lines 6 to 13, by the deletion of Clause 2 and the substitution therefor of the following:

 

‘Repeal and replacement of section 14   4.      The principal Act is amended by the repeal of section 14 and the substitution therefor of the following:

                                                                     14.       (1) A bookmaker licensed under this Act shall pay, at the time of the first issue of a licence, a fee of five hundred thousand fee units, and two hundred and fifty thousand fee units for each renewal of that licence.

                                                                                 (2)        Despite subsection (1), a bookmarker that is a small business enterprise shall pay, at the time of first issue of a licence, a fee of two hundred and fifty thousand fee units, and one hundred and twenty-five thousand fee units for each renewal of that licence.

                                                                                 (3)        A licence issued under this section shall be valid for a period of one year’: and

 

1. after line 13, by the insertion of the following new Clause:

 

‘Insertion of section 29                                5.         The principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following new section immediately after section 28:

 

Savings and Transitional provisions             29 (1)   A licence issued to a bookmarker prior to 1^st January, 2022 shall be valid for a period of six months, or until its expiry, revocation or surrender in accordance with its terms, whichever is the earlier.

 

                                                                     (2)        A bookmaker whose licence expires or is due to expire under subsection (1) may apply for the renewal of the licence in accordance with this Act.’

 

Amendment agreed to. Clause amended accordingly.

 

Clause 2, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

 

Title agreed to

.

_______

 

HOUSE RESUMED

 

[MADAM SPEAKER in the Chair]

 

The following Bills were reported to the House as having passed through Committee with amendments:

 

The Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2021

 

The Customs and Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2021

 

The Betting Control (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

 

Third Readings today.

 

REPORT STAGE

 

The Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2021

 

The Customs and Excise (Amendment) 2021

 

The Betting Control (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

 

THIRD READING

 

The following Bills were read the third time and passed:

 

The Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2021

 

The Customs and Excise (Amendment) 2021

 

The Betting Control (Amendment) Bill, 2021

 

______

 

HOUSE RESUMED

 

[MADAM SPEAKER in the Chair]

 

The Estimates of Expenditure (Including Capital and Constitutional and Statutory Expenditure) for the year 1^st January, 2022 to 31^st December, 2022 were reported to the House as having passed through Committee with amendments.

 

Report adopted and Madam Speaker appointed the Minister of Finance and National Planning to be a Committee of one to bring in the necessary Bill to give effect to the resolution of the Committee of Supply.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

_______

 

BILL

 

FIRST READING

 

THE APPROPRIATION BILL, 2021

 

The following Bill was read for the first time:

 

The Appropriation Bill, 2021.

 

Second Reading now.

 

SECOND READING

 

THE APPROPRIATION BILL, 2021

 

The Minister of Finance and National Planning (Dr Musokotwane): Madam Speaker, I beg to move that the Bill be now read a second time.

 

Madam Speaker, the Bill before the House is a culmination of the assignment that started with the presentation of the 2022 Budget on Friday, 29^th October, 2021.

 

Madam Speaker, I express my profound gratitude to you, the Chairperson of Committees, Her Honour the Vice-President, leaders of all political groupings, hon. Members of Parliament and the Management of the House for the role that each has played in reaching the conclusion of the 2022 Budget.

 

Madam Speaker, I also thank our co-operating partners, whose continued support is making a difference in the lives of millions of Zambians.

 

Madam Speaker, at this point, let me provide a reminder on the status of our economy, and how the 2022 Budget and subsequent ones come in.

 

Madam Speaker, the overriding factor that we must not forget is that our economy is in debt distressed. This is a polite way of saying that the economy is bankrupt or near bankrupt.

 

Madam Speaker, life in any country that is under debt distress is bitter. You cannot expect things to be normal unless, of course, you take corrective measures. After years of the previous regime doing nothing, the United Party for National Development (UPND) has taken steps to end the debt distress and deliver economic prosperity. Some fruits of this effort will be immediate while others will take time. Indeed, our economy has been biting in the recent past.

 

Madam Speaker, you will recall that prices of most goods and services have risen several folds since 2011. This negative development and others in our economy are direct results of an economy that is over-borrowed. The stability that we have seen in the past few months is there largely because many of the creditors have either allowed or tolerated our not paying what we owe. This means that we are not paying as we should be doing, and this has allowed relative stability in the foreign exchange (FOREX) rate. Most creditors have permitted us to default to give us time to re-arrange our debts so that they are affordable to pay. This is key to normalising our economy, and we must do it because doing nothing is not an option. In order for the creditors to agree to restructure our debt, they require us to do so through the International Monetary Fund (IMF) because they would want to be assured about Zambia running her affairs properly as they provide the relief.

 

Madam Speaker, if all goes well, we expect to have agreements with creditors in the middle of next year. With that, our debt service problems will be brought under control and made affordable, and more money will be released into the Budget for spending. Further, we will have better guarantees for FOREX rate stability.

 

Madam Speaker, as we fix the debt problem in the 2022 Budget, we are fully aware of other key priorities that the Budget must address. Among them is job creation, and this Budget has provided incentives for our industries and set the stage for the revival of copper production to reach our target of 3 million tonnes in the next ten years, which will create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the mining and related sectors. Incentives have also been provided to bring to life the Multi-Facility Economic Zones (MFEZs) so that they utilise local raw materials like copper to create jobs in their hundreds of thousands.

 

Madam Speaker, in agriculture, apart from the usual support to farmers, the Government will develop farming blocks in which large-scale production will take place alongside agro processing. In the area of infrastructure, too, thousands of jobs will be created as some of our roads, such the Lusaka/Ndola Road, get rehabilitated. As much as possible, such work will be done via the public-private partnerships (PPP) at fractions that you heard of previously.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Speaker, the 2022 Budget will go down in history as the first in which the bold move to take resources to every corner of the country was made so that our rural folk, left behind for decades, can now be given the financial resources to finance their own priorities.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Dr Musokotwane: The days of pretending that no one is being left behind while the Government is actually doing the opposite are over. Segregation against some provinces or constituencies will be history.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Speaker, as we implement the 2022 Budget, the Government will take real measures to enhance the provision of social services in the country.

 

Madam Speaker, for those tens of thousands of young teachers and medical staff who have waited for years without being employed, their jobs are around the corner. For those parents who watch in frustration as their children sit in classrooms without teachers, the teachers are on the way.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Speaker, through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), which has been increased sixteen times from what it was last year, every community throughout the Republic will build classrooms and teachers’ houses, make school desks, build clinics and sink boreholes for water.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Dr Musokotwane: All these tasks must be undertaken by the communities, themselves, so that they earn money and get a livelihood.

 

Madam Speaker, no capable child will fail to go to secondary school again because of their parents’ being not able to afford it. The Government is going to pay the tuition fees.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Dr Musokotwane: In addition, most rural children, as they leave their villages to go to secondary school, will now live in safe and decent dormitories because even if their parents are poor, their communities and the Government will give them bursaries to live in decent places.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Dr Musokotwane: Madam, within five months of getting into office, the UPND is honouring its longstanding campaign promise of free education.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Dr Musokotwane: Finally, Madam Speaker, I have all the confidence that as hon. Member of Parliament returns to their constituencies, each one of them will, for the first time, have a clear and precise message to deliver about what they will carry with them from the National Budget.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Dr Musokotwane: Each hon. Member of Parliament will tell the voters with confidence that they have secured many teachers, many nurses, doctors and, above all, a large amount, K25.7 million, to spend on development programmes in their constituencies according to their priorities.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Speaker, the days in when hon. Members of Parliament would scratch their heads when voters asked them what was in the Budget for them are gone.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Dr Musokotwane: This is the real and true meaning of taking development everywhere without leaving anyone behind.

 

Madam Speaker, I beg to move.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Madam Speaker: Any further debate?

 

Hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning, wind up debate.

 

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Speaker, I thank the House for the overwhelming support.

 

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Question put and agreed to and the Bill read a second time.

 

Committed to a committee of the Whole House.

 

Committee Stage today.

 

_______

 

BILL

 

HOUSE IN COMMITTEE

 

[THE CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES in the

Chair]

 

THE APPROPRIATION BILL, 2021

 

Clauses 1 and 2 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

 

Schedule ordered to stand part of the Bill.

 

Title agreed to.

 

_______

 

HOUSE RESUMED

 

[MADAM SPEAKER in the Chair]

 

The following Bill was reported to the House as having passed through Committee without amendments:

 

The Appropriation Bill, 2021

 

THIRD READING

 

The following Bill was read a third time and passed:

 

The Appropriation Bill, 2021

 

_______

 

ANNOUNCEMENT BY MADAM SPEAKER

 

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members, I inform the House that the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has been authorised to hold a one-day sensitisation workshop for all hon. Members of Parliament on the guidelines for the management and utilisation of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). The workshop will be held tomorrow, Friday, 24^th December, 2021, at 0900 hours, in the Amphitheatre and other designated Committee Rooms here, at Parliament Buildings.

 

Hon. Members are requested to attend that very important meeting.

 

I thank you.

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 

Madam Speaker: It remains for me to thank you, hon. Members, for your active participation and contributions during this Meeting. I can only wish you a very Mary Christmas and a prosperous 2021.

 

Laughter

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 

Madam Speaker: Sorry, 2022. We are going backwards.

 

Laughter

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 

_______

 

MOTION

 

ADJOURNMENT SINE DIE

 

The Vice-President (Mrs Nalumango): Madam Speaker, I beg to move that the House do now adjourn sine die.

 

Question put and agreed to.

 

_______

 

The House adjourned accordingly at 1012 hours on Friday, 23^rd December, 2021, sine die.

 

____________