Thursday, 21^st July, 2022

The House met at 1430 hours

[MR SECOND DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair]

NATIONAL ANTHEM

PRAYER

_______

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT

RELEASES AND UTILIZATION OF THE CONSTITUENCY DEVELOPMENT FUND

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development (Mr Nkombo): Mr Speaker, let me thank you, most sincerely, for according me yet another opportunity to present a ministerial statement on the releases and utilisation of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.

Sir, having been entrusted with the mandate to actualise the New Dawn’s vision to empower communities to determine their development agenda through the CDF, my ministry is cognisant of the need for constant updates on the progress that we are making in the implementation of this programme.

Mr Speaker, my ministry has, therefore, put in place a deliberate policy to provide regular updates to stakeholders through the mainstream media and to hon. Members of Parliament as and when the hon. Speaker permits.

Sir, through the CDF, local communities are now able, and are being empowered, to determine their own development path by identifying and prioritising projects according their needs or requirements. We believe that this is a key factor in ensuring inclusive development via decentralisation.

Sir, since January 2022, a total of K2,205,369,577.16 has been released to the ministry for the CDF from the Ministry of Finance and National Planning. This relates to 50 per cent of the total annual allocation to the CDF. Of this amount, a total, of K1,003,656,525.00 has been disbursed to respective constituencies for all the CDF components.

Mr Speaker, the disbursed funds represent 25 per cent of the total allocation for the CDF for the 156 constituencies in the country. This entails that each constituency has so far received K6, 433,695.67, which includes the cost of administration.

Sir, hon. Members of this House may recall that in June 2022, I did present a statement outlining the CDF utilisation in various constituencies. In that statement, I did highlight that the ministry had approved a total of K189,975,112.86 of the CDF for various categories.

Mr Speaker, my ministry has made much more progress in approving proposals for all the components, except the empowerment loans, which are still a subject of determination of the financial institution we are going to go with. Between 4^th and 5^th July, 2022, the total approvals amounted to K296,836,961.04, which are categorised as follows:

     (a)   523 community projects in thirty-three constituencies valued at K219,086,837.89; and

     (b)   4,081 recommendations for secondary school bursaries in forty-seven constituencies valued at

           K10,577,959.00, which I think deserves a round of applause.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker,

     (a)    7,802 recommendations for skills development bursaries in forty-eight constituencies, valued at

             K42,377,857.32, were also approved; and

Mr Speaker, this is a milestone because this is a journey towards making employers rather than our graduates waiting to be employed.

      (a)   1,107 proposals for empowerment grants in twenty-four constituencies valued at K24,795,306.83.

These are grants, Mr Speaker. This means that from January to date, the total approvals have amounted to K486,812,073.90 for various categories. This is actual liquidity that has been injected not only into our economy, but in our constituencies.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Nkombo: Sir, these statistics show that there is a steady progress that is being made in the utilisation of the Constituency Development Funds (CDF), and I applaud all the proactive hon. Members of Parliament in this regard. This progress is attributed to a number of measures undertaken to increase awareness and improve administration of the CDF.

My ministry has continued to enhance the capacity of local authorities, constituency development committees (CDC) and ward development committees (WDC) to effectively undertake their roles in the implementation cycle through ongoing capacity building programmes.

Mr Speaker, another measure to improve the implementation of the CDF has been the continued sensitisation of stakeholders to upsurge public awareness and knowledge of the CDF opportunities and processes. This is being done through various platforms, including, and not limited to, radio, television programs, brochures, jingles, power point presentations and social media. These materials are also translated in multiple local languages to enhance coverage in their dissemination.

Sir, hon. Members may wish to know that the Ministry is partnering with various stakeholders in providing information to communities at large. Recently, a youth enterprise Pascom Innovation Limited partnered with my ministry, under the hon. Member of Parliament for Lusaka Central Constituency, who is also the hon. Minister of Justice, in printing and distributing brochures on the CDF to members of the constituency. This is as it ought to be. Congratulations Hon. Haimbe for that innovation.

Sir, another key measure effected is the streamlining and administration processes of the approval of CDF projects and programmes proposals. This includes the development of standard templates and checklists for use by local authorities in submitting requests for approvals and constitution of multi-department CDF committees within my ministry to consider submissions for effective and quick processing of those applications.

Mr Speaker, in further streamlining the administration processes, my ministry has effected a ten working day turn-around policy. This demands that the administrative processes for approval of projects and programs and beneficiaries for the various components will be undertaken within ten working days following the receipt of the proposals at the ministry.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Nkombo: Thank you.

It is expected that this will result in increased uptake of funds by respective constituencies.

Mr Speaker, the reason we have decided to take this approach is that we observed that while we were running with the principle of first come first served basis, it is a fact that some constituencies delayed either by their own design, omission or by, maybe, just inertia to kick start the process of identifying the Ward Development Committees; establishing the Constituency Development Committees; identifying the projects; and getting them upraised for final submission to the ministry.

Sir, this is a learning curve for all of us, and my hope and belief is that from it going into the next fiscal year, hon. Members of Parliament and their committees that have already been established will be pro-active so that by the time we approve the 2023 Budget, all the proposals will have been submitted for quick consideration and that within the first quarter, the disbursements can start.

Sir, having put in place the aforesaid measures to improve the implementation process of the CDF, my ministry has seen an increase in the number of CDF approvals for implementation. For example, the ministry processed for over seventy constituencies within two weeks, between 4^th and 15^th July, 2022.

With this in mind, my ministry does envisage that approvals from all the 156 constituencies will be concluded sooner rather than latter, subject to the submission of the respective constituencies.

In this regard, Mr Speaker, allow me to appeal to my hon. Counterparts to ensure that all applications submitted are in line with the set guidelines so that we do not have a back and forth movement of correcting what may have been wrongly submitted. Significant issues that constituencies, through their local authorities, should adhere to are as follows:

     (a)    submission of annual proposals of projects and programmes whose implementation is phased

             accordingly. Those plans and requests for approval must be submitted early and comprehensively to

             avoid delays in their implementation;

     (b)    provision of adequate information on the proposed projects and programmes as per available templates

             which have been provided. This is key to ensuring that the ministry processes these proposals

             for projects and programmes within the specified timeframe;

      (c)   all constituencies should publish approved names of projects and the beneficiaries for empowerment

             and bursaries on the respective local authority notice boards and websites, where available, to

             promote transparency and accountability of the CDF; and

     (d)   submission of quarterly CDF reports and retirement of expenditure reports for the ministry to allow further

         disbursements for local authorities. In addition, Mr Speaker, local authorities should submit quarterly

         reports to hon. Members of Parliament on the progress that they are making and the challenges they may

        be facing for oversight and informed policy direction.

Mr Speaker, at this juncture, allow me to take this opportunity to thank hon. Members of Parliament for their continued oversight and support regarding the implementation of the CDF. In this vein, I wish to urge all hon. Members of Parliament to continue their efforts in ensuring that the policy directives I have outlined in this statement are correctly adhered to in their respective constituencies.

For those constituencies that have not yet submitted their requests, I urge my dear friends there that the earlier they did this, the better because if they do not, all it serves is to deny their own communities the benefits of the broadened and expanded CDF by the New Dawn Government under the leadership of Mr Hakainde Hichilema, the President of the Republic of Zambia.

The implementation of the CDF must be regarded as a collective effort of all stakeholders with my hon. Counterparts playing a pivotal role, as it is designed.

I would like to finally encourage all hon. Members of Parliament from either side of the divide to continue visiting our offices to share with us where they think we can do things better, as it has always been. Those who have been to my office, like their royal highnesses, will attest to the fact that no hon. Member of Parliament makes an appointment to come and attend to the peoples’ needs. We see them instantly and deal with their requirements systematically as well as methodically.

Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity and I am ready to answer follow-up questions.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Members are now free to ask questions on points of clarification on the ministerial statement given by the hon. Minister.

Mr Kampyongo (Shiwang’andu): Mr Speaker, just to be on the same page, the hon. Minister has indicated that there will be a need for Constituency Development Fund (CDF) Committees to submit annual work plans which spell out the projects that have been identified. He has further said that there should be quarterly reports and a process of projects being submitted to his ministry for approval.

Sir, we have a situation currently where funds have not been disbursed at the same time. However, we have been encouraged to compile projects for the whole amount. Taking into account the fact that there will be fluctuations in prices and, as you approveprojects, you must deal with real-time prices as submitted by technocrats, would it not be ideal to agree on how we should segment projects to be brought to the headquarters for approval at the time of bringing the annual work plans so that he approves once and then we can deal with the costs of the project as and when the money is made available?

Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, when a Budget is proposed and approved, it is only ideal to put all the money that is required into the kitty so that you can plan against the inflationary times, such as the ones we are living in that sometimes spell price variations.

Sir, I would like to state what I said before, that when we sat as Cabinet, we realised that there are a lot of competing needs in our country. Having broadened the CDF, which was only at K1.6 million in the past to K25.7 million, it became important that we disburse funds, which we did consciously, on a quarterly basis to allow space for other Government programmes to continue.

Sir, I do take and understand the hon. Member’s concern about price variation, as I stated. There is room to vary the prices as and when the time for spending comes. All it requires is for the hon. Member to indicate, for instance, that at the time of approval, at the commencement of the fiscal year, the price of cement was K135, as it is now, and it turns out to be K145 in August. Obviously, we will recognise that and make the necessary variations.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Members, I have to announce that this ministerial statement has generated so much interest in hon. Members. To that effect, I have decided to add fifteen more minutes.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear! Eh ma Speaker!

Mr Kafwaya (Lunte): Mr Speaker, I would like to begin by appreciating the hon. Minister for coming to the House with the information he has delivered. The importance of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) cannot be overemphasised.

Sir, a few weeks ago, the Member of Parliament for Chama North, Hon. Mtayachalo, came to this House with a Motion urging the Government to amend CDF Guidelines, a move which the hon. Minister opposed. I recall his debate in opposing that Motion. Today, as he delivered the ministerial statement, by his own unsolicited admission, he informed the House that he is approving all the projects except the loans because he is yet to determine which bank to deal with.

Mr Speaker, does that admission, including the others he has not mentioned, indicate that there was wisdom in the Motion that he refused to accept?

Mr Michelo: Question!

Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, firstly, I had difficulties establishing the nexus between the Motion that the hon. Member of Parliament for Chama North raised here and the business loans in the CDF. The spirit of his Motion was speaking to including the sponsorship of tertiary level students and we are talking about the bottlenecks in the current CDF processes that are limited only to loans for businesses, not loans for students.

Sir, maybe, there was some way of misguiding understanding from my delivery and my colleague’s hearing. I failed to establish that connection between Hon. Mtayachalo’s Motion which was defeated on the Floor of this House on account of the fact that it would have relegated the Higher Education Students Loans and Grants Board, which is established under an Act of this Parliament, into oblivion.

Sir, we defeated that Motion because we would have been duplicating a Government programme. Suffice it for me to say the CDF Guidelines are a living document. Depending on societal needs, we can adjust them in order to suit what works for all of us. At this point, I can confess to you that I have several correspondences from hon. Members of Parliament both from the right and the left which have indicated that they had been running programmes under the CDF to sponsor certain students at tertiary level. We have a Cabinet here that is going to look at those concerns and, in due course, we will come up with a resolution that will answer those needs.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Kang’ombe (Kamfinsa): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister of Local Government and Rural Development is aware that the Ward Development Committee (WDC) submits projects to the Constituency Development Fund Committee (CDFC) which approves what it thinks are projects to be undertaken.

The hon. Minister is also aware, from his privilege as hon. Member of Parliament, that there is what is called a ‘field appraisal’ that is supposed to be done before a project is finally approved.

Mr Speaker, my concern, which leads to my question, relates to two issues which I hope the hon. Minister can respond to to ensure that we do not delay approval of projects. The first one is that of the technical committee that is supposed to do the field appraisal on behalf of the CDFC and, secondly, is the approval relating to the roles of the Attorney-General and the Secretary to the Treasury.

Mr Speaker, when the hon. Minister announces that K1.5 million or any other amount has been released, it means that the Secretary to the Treasury has already approved. However, after the tendering is done, there is another approval that is being sought from the same Office of the Secretary to the Treasury. What we are doing is that we are having the same office give approval at two different stages, which, consequently, is delaying the commencement of projects.

Mr Speaker, my question to the hon. Minister of Local Government and Rural Development is on the issue of the role of the technical committee. I speak from experience. For example, in December, last year, we had finalised the list for Kamfinsa Constituency only to be told that the technical committee –

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member you are debating.

Mr Kang’ombe: Mr Speaker, I am not debating. I am asking a question.

Interruptions

Hon. Member: Lekeni alondolole.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Members, let me guide the House. You are supposed to ask questions as you seek clarification from the hon. Minister and avoid consuming time by debating. It should be one question per hon. Member. You have been asking and debating back and forth. Let us avoid that.

You may proceed.

Mr Kang’ombe: Mr Speaker, I always enjoy my great honour to represent the people of Kamfinsa hence the delay to ask sometimes.

Mr Lusambo: Hear, hear!

Interruptions

Mr Kang’ombe: Mr Speaker, my question was very specific and I felt the obligation to explain its purpose. The question remains: We have a technical committee that is supposed to do a field appraisal. There is the Office of the Attorney-General and the Office of the Secretary to Treasury that are supposed to approve projects.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member, what is your question?

Interruptions

Mr Kang’ombe: Mr Speaker, this is the question I am asking now.

Interruptions

Mr Kang’ombe: Mr Speaker, the question is: How is the hon. Minister of Local Government and Rural Development ensuring that these different layers of approval do not delay the objectives of what has to be achieved under the CDF project?

Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, let me thank the hon. Member of Parliament for Kamfinsa for his question, which could have been coined briefly like, ‘What is the Government doing to address the issues of bureaucracy that are attached to these processes?’

Hon. Member: Enh, as simple as that.

Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, had the hon. Member of Parliament for Kamfinsa attended some of our Cabinet meetings, he would have understood that one of the biggest, if not the biggest, concerns of the President of the Republic of Zambia, who is the Chairperson of our Cabinet meetings, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, is those bureaucracies which he is also concerned about.

Mr Muchima: Hear, hear!

Mr Nkombo: This is the song that is on his lips on a daily basis. However, we all do understand that what we are calling bureaucracy or the placement of layers of approval, sometimes, are safety valves to circumvent pilferage and theft of money. We, as the Government, have understood very clearly that we must cut out the bureaucracy, but still remain within the framework of the law. I want to assure my hon. Colleague that it is agenda item number one that this Government is working on; to try and reduce bureaucracy.

Mr Speaker, let me come to the issue at hand, which is the technical team’s appraisal. It is extremely important that we utilise it because if we do not, we may find that there is duplication of projects. You will find that there is a secondary school here and another in the next ward within a short radius or even boreholes and water points. You can well imagine that situation considering that our smallest unit of political order is a ward. So, it is an important activity that we have to undertake in order for us to not duplicate provision of services to our people in this country.

Mr Speaker, the issue about the Attorney-General and approvals is something that we are dealing with. I want to assure you. The issue about the Secretary to the Treasury is a matter that, I think, has been dealt with already. I thank the hon. Member very much for his concern.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr B. Mpundu (Nkana): Mr Speaker, I would have asked a similar question to that of the hon. Member for Kamfinsa. For all intents and purposes, I think that the Government means well, except that it needs to address the grey areas alluded to by the hon. Member for Kamfinsa.

Mr Speaker, the only misgiving I have is that we are now talking about over four months of funds sitting in bank accounts, if the hon. Minister remembers the time that these funds were released into our accounts and my memory serves me right This means that the Government provided working capital for banks and yet, on the other end, it has dictated that these funds must not draw any interest, which interest could have helped us address issues of currency fluctuations.

Mr Speaker, does the hon. Minister intend, working alongside his counterpart from the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, to perhaps change the goal post and allow these funds to draw interest? We know that, for whatever reasons, these delays will still be there. This is money that should have been earning more money for us to be able to address or deal with other issues that come with delays.

Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, in attempting to answer the hon. Members concern, I will competently deal with the first part and, for the second part of his interest, I advise him to throw that question to the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning because I do not possess the relevant competence to talk about it at this point in time, unless I go back to study.

Mr Speaker, the issue of the four months, which is spelling delays, should be understood in this context: Whether one likes it or not, we are still in a transition period. Leave us to clock one year and you will see at what speed we will be moving to satisfy the Zambians who voted us into office. We must agree that with ten to eleven months into the Government, there is still a lot we are learning. Since we are ready to learn, give us a chance to learn and run together with you so that we can provide the much needed and desired development for our people.

Mr Speaker, like I said earlier on, on the issue of those monies sitting for four months and not generating interest, maybe, my elder man, the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning, can answer the hon. Member at tea break. Alternatively, he can give me time to consult with the hon. Minister and then I will gladly get back to him and give him the answer.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Mushanga (Bwacha): Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Minister for the statement provided on the utilisation of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). I pray that after his statement, the approval of projects in all the components will be done within ten days, as he stated.

Mr Speaker, according to the CDF guidelines, each constituency is supposed to procure a vehicle for the monitoring of CDF projects. There is also the request from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security to buy a vehicle in each constituency for policing purposes. We hear that the ministry wants to procure these vehicles centrally. Why not allow the CDF committees to plan, through secretariats, that is, local authorities, to procure these vehicles? Could the hon. Minister kindly provide guidance on this matter?

Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, today is one of those days that I have come to the august House loaded with all the answers, including statistics. The hon. Member of Parliament for Bwacha, who is from the Central Province, is number one on my list. According to my statistics here, under community projects, nothing has been approved; under secondary school boarding, zero has been approved; under skills development, zero has been approved.

Interruptions

Mr Nkombo: I want to now take another example of some constituencies that have done very well.

Mr Mushanga: On a point of order, Mr Speaker. What does he want me to do?

Interruptions

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member, let the hon. Minister finish speaking.

Mr Nkombo: I am coming to the issue of the vehicle and I am drawing a nexus that if the hon. Member can fail to submit proposals on time, how can he want to procure a car? He was, just recently, an hon. Minister of a province. This is Government money. I have always said to hon. Colleagues that this is not a constituency’s money or an hon. Member of Parliament’s money. It is Government money, which money, it has been decided, should cascade to the district and sub district levels for us to provide the requisite services.

Hon. Member: Lecture them.

Mr Nkombo: In terms of the motor vehicle that he spoke about, Mr Speaker, it was the hon. Members of Parliament themselves who sat in one of the committee rooms and agreed to make a request to the Government for each constituency to procure a motor vehicle for the monitoring and evaluation of CDF programmes and the Government, which is extremely responsible, heeded that request and decided it was going to buy the motor vehicles.

Hon. Government Member: Hear, hear!

Mr Nkombo: Now, is it fair that you ask for an inch and the next thing is that you want to take a mile? Allow this Government to operate. Can you imagine for a minute we decided that we let each constituency buy its own vehicle? One will buy a Ford Anglia, the other one will buy a Ford Cortina and another one will buy something else. How are we going to deal with the issue of service?

Mr Speaker, allow this process to go on. I am sure that all hon. Members, especially those who sat in the committee that was selected from amongst themselves to come and help us finalise these guidelines, do appreciate the Government thinking that these vehicles should be procured centrally, and it is the normal thing to do.

Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, through community policing, has also indicated that it is going to ask for vehicles to curb crime in our country. If we said, “Okay, police, buy yourselves cars,” some would buy a Volkswagen (VW) and others would buy something else. No, we have to standardise.

Mr Speaker, the spirit of this statement is that we must pull up our socks the way the hon. Members of Parliament, at the expense of embarrassing them, for Kanchibiya, Kalomo Central, Kaputa and Mazabuka Central, have moved their documents fast enough to get approvals in order for us to get our citizens to benefit from the CDF.

So, we should not bring out frivolous and vexatious questions here because what we are trying to do has a direct effect on the transformation of the lives of our people ...

Mr Mushanga: On a point of order, Mr Speaker. 

Mr Nkombo: ... in the constituencies that elected us. This is a fund that should be apolitical.

Mr Mushanga: On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

Mr Nkombo: We should work together in order for us –

Hon. Member: Mr Speaker, someone is standing.

Mr Mushanga: On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

Mr Nkombo: ... to give the much needed –

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Order, order!

Hon. Member, if –

Mr Mushanga: What do you want me to do?

Interruptions

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member, you want this House to degenerate into something else. I will not allow that.

Interruptions

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member, the hon. Minister was on the Floor. We should have allowed him to finish and then you would have been given an opportunity. Let us avoid using emotions. In the interest of time, I will try to balance –

Interruptions

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Order!

The hon. Minister was on the Floor.

Mr Nkombo: I was still answering, sir.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Yes, you are on the Floor.

Mr Nkombo: We have now reached the waterloo where those hon. Members who have been proactive will emerge and will be shown in the light that they are working truly for their constituencies.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Nkombo: I would like to request, now that we are going to be rising, that we go and catch up in our constituencies.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Nkombo: The reason we asked the CDF guidelines to include the fact that all approved projects must be pasted on the board of district councils and wherever else the public passes is basically to demonstrate what this Government, this caring Government of the United Party for National Development (UPND), has done for its people. So, let us not bring a political flavour here on this Floor. By the way, Mr Speaker, I am strong enough to handle any situation here, ...

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Nkombo: ... but thank you for your protection.

I thank you, Sir.

Interruptions

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Order!

In the interest of time, I will try to balance the debate. The hon. Member for Solwezi East will ask his question and then, for gender purposes, the hon. Member for Chienge will be the last person to ask a question in this category.

Mr Mushanga rose.  

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member, you have indicated that there is a point of order. I will give you an opportunity.

Mr Katakwe (Solwezi East): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister mentioned the procurement of vehicles for the monitoring of Constituency Development Fund (CDF) projects. How soon do we expect these vehicles to be made available?

Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, let me thank the hon. Member of Parliament for Mushindamo for his question, which is actually tied to the question that was earlier raised in which there was a desire for constituencies to buy their own vehicles. I want this Parliament to know that we approached Toyota Zambia, as a beginning point, because it is the dealer in the vehicle that we agreed to procure. Toyota Zambia told us that it is unable to meet this order at this point in time because of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) that we suffered in the last year and half.

Mr Speaker, we then went to Toyota, South Africa, which also indicated that it could not fulfil the order for 150 vehicles at that point in time. The assurance that I want to give to this House is that we are very desirous to work with authorised dealers of any motor vehicles that we buy for the Government. We ask hon. Members to just bear with us as there is an extenuating circumstance that is out of our control. As soon as Toyota Zambia or any Toyota dealer in the region provides the motor vehicles, we shall procure them.

Mr Speaker, I want to emphasise that even during the African Union (AU) summit, the police had to buy a few vehicles. I think they were ten or twelve. The police had to go to Toyota South Africa in order to procure the vehicles because Toyota Zambia could not meet that order. That is the predicament that we have at this point in time.

Sir, had there been no issues around the production line, by now, we would have been able to give out these vehicles because they were authorised right from the time we were doing our back and forth discussions in the committee and between the committee and the Cabinet and the Cabinet agreed.

Sir, in the case of those constituencies that have seen the need for the police requests to buy vehicles, the same applies. When the vehicles are on the production line, we will gladly facilitate their procurement.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Rev. Katuta (Chienge): Mr Speaker, allow me to thank the United Party for National Development (UPND) ...

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Rev. Katuta: ... for employing 30,000 teachers. I am really grateful because, honestly speaking, Mr Speaker – before I ask this question – I never thought that my daughter, who the ministry did not even know, could get employed after nine years of no work.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Rev. Katuta: This shows that there is transparency and I hope it continues. I hope, also, that the Government has sent the people of Chienge to work in Chienge as well.

Interruptions

Rev. Katuta: Mr Speaker, the able hon. Minister of Local Government and Rural Development has been appealing to hon. Members of Parliament to make sure that decentralisation is fulfilled by the UPND Government. Now, I would like to know who is supposed to commission Constituency Development Fund (CDF) projects for some of us in our areas.

Mr Speaker, some of us have been told that we are not part of the Government and, therefore, cannot commission projects. I would like the hon. Minister of Local Government and Rural Development to make this clear because when we are here, we are hon. Members of Parliament and part of the three arms of the Government. He should give us guidelines on who should commission projects. I know that we are the ones running up and down in our constituencies.

Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, let me first appreciate the hon. Member of Parliament for Chienge for recognising the efforts that the Government is making in order to remove the vacuum that was created by the non availability of jobs in the teaching sector.

Sir, I would like to also congratulate my brother and friend, the hon. Minister of Education, for carrying out that process. Just in order to make things a bit clearer, I bear the name ‘Nkombo’ as I stand here now. Two days ago, I called the hon. Minister of Education and told him that my brother’s son, who applied to be a teacher in Chibombo, had not been picked; what should I do? The hon. Minister said to me that the process had been very transparent and did not take into account who you were.

Hon. Government: Hear, hear!

Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, I congratulate the hon. Minister for that and I am very hopeful that my brother’s son, maybe in the future, will get a job in the teaching service.

For those whose children have been selected, I can only say congratulations and better luck for us next time.

Mr Speaker, on the issue of commissioning of CDF projects raised by my hon. Colleague from Chienge, in my own view, it is agreed that those who told her that she is not part of the Government required to have read the Republican Constitution because it is very clear that the Government is made up of three wings; the Legislature, where we belong; the Judiciary; and the Executive, where we have a dual role ourselves, courtesy of the Zambian People.

So, the hon. Member, and any Government Officer who is the senior most such as the District Commissioner (DC), can go and commission these projects and hand them over to the people. There is nothing that stops hon. Members from visiting their projects. In any case, they are an integral part of the CDFC, as I indicated in my statement. So, they can, obviously, because this is Government money, in the company of any Government officer, go and commission those projects. Hon. Members should not just say, “I have done this for you” because it is not him or her, but the Government of the Republic of Zambia that has provided this platform for our people to come out of poverty.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mushanga: On a point of order, Sir.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Mushanga: Mr Speaker, thank you very much for according me an opportunity to rise on this very important point of order in accordance with Standing Order 65 (a) and (b). However, my focus is on (b), which states:

“A member who is debating shall ensure that the information he or she provides to the House is factual and verifiable.”

Mr Speaker, I think the hon. Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Gary Nkombo, knows me as an hon. Member of Parliament who is very practical when it comes to looking at issues. I am here to represent the people of Bwacha Parliamentary Constituency and each and every question that I bring to this House is on behalf of the people that gave me the privilege to come to this House, just as Hon. Nkombo is privileged to represent the people of Mazabuka Central.

Mr Speaker, is Hon. Nkombo, the hon. Member of Parliament for Mazabuka Central and, as stated by him, hon. Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, in order to mislead you, Mr Speaker, the House and the nation at large, that Bwacha Parliamentary Constituency has never had any approval in terms of the four components of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) when, in my hands, I have a letter signed by his Permanent Secretary (PS) by the name of Mr Wisdom Bwalya?

Mr Speaker, allow me to quote just the first part of the letter:

“Approval of Constituency Development Fund (CDF) Secondary School Boarding and Skills Development Bursaries Allocation for Bwacha Parliamentary Constituency”

Mr Speaker, the date on this letter is not yesterday’s or last week’s. It is 1^st June, 2022. It continues:

“Captioned matter refers.

Pursuant to your letter dated 10^th May, 2022, the Hon. Minister (who happens to be Mr Gary Nkombo) approved the list of 337 learners recommended to access the 2022 CDF Secondary School Boarding and Skills Development Bursary to Bwacha Constituency.”

Mr Speaker, for the other components, the Constituency Development Fund Committee (CDFC) has done its part and we have submitted to his office for his approval. In my hands, I have this letter that came from his ministry, which I will lay on the Table of the House.

Is he in order, Mr Speaker, to insinuate that this hard-working hon. Member of Parliament –

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mushanga: He knows, and even President Hakainde Hichilema knows, ...

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mr Mushanga: ... that this hon. Member of Parliament is very hard-working.

Is he in order to insinuate that the people of Bwacha Parliamentary Constituency have not received any approval in terms of the CDF when his PS signed this letter in my hands indicating approval?

Mr Speaker, allow me to lay this document on this Table.

Mr Mushanga laid a document on the Table.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Laughter

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member, you can take your seat. I reserve my ruling on this matter. It requires investigations because I cannot tell the authenticity of the document.

Laughter

Mr Speaker: Let us progress.

ALLEGED FAILURE BY THE ROAD TRANSPORT AND SAFETY AGENCY (RTSA) TO ISSUE ROAD TAX AND MOTOR VEHICLE FITNESS CERTIFICATES TO THE PUBLIC.

The Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development (Eng. Milupi) (on behalf of the Minister of Transport and Logistics (Mr Tayali)): Mr Speaker, in addition to my responsibilities, I am also Acting Minister of Transport and Logistics.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Eng. Milupi: Mr Speaker, I wish to extend my profound gratitude to you for according me this opportunity to provide some clarity to this august House and the nation at large on the alleged failure by the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) to issue Road Tax and Motor Vehicle Fitness Certificates to the public.

Mr Speaker, hon. Members may recall that on Tuesday, 12^th July, 2022, the hon. Madam Speaker directed the hon. Minister of Transport and Logistics to issue a ministerial statement on the alleged failure by the RTSA to issue Road Tax and Motor Vehicle Fitness Certificates to the public. The directive followed a matter of urgent public importance raised by the hon. Member of Parliament for Pambashe Parliamentary Constituency, Mr Ronald Chitotela, and I quote:

“Mr Speaker, I rise on a matter of urgent public importance on the hon. Minister of Transport and Logistics. Sir, I have learnt that recently, even as recently as today, Zambians have been unable to access the Road Tax and Vehicle Fitness Certificates. However, the hon. Minister of Transport and Logistics has deliberately kept quiet while inconveniencing much of the travelling public and risking the lives of Zambians who are travelling in uncertified vehicles. This is a result of network interruption on the system which could be due to non-compliance with the requirements for the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) to run an effective system.”

Mr Speaker, in reaction to the above, I wish to state that it is not factually accurate to say that the RTSA is failing to issue Road Tax and Vehicle Fitness Certificates to the public as was raised on the Floor by the hon. Member of Parliament in his urgent matter of public importance.

Mr Speaker, it is true that the pace at which the RTSA was issuing Road Tax Certificates had slowed down since the end of the second quarter on Thursday, 30^th June, 2022, and on Friday, 1^st July, 2022. This was due to a drop in the performance of the Electronic Zambian Transport Information System (E-ZamTIS). This is a common occurrence at the end of every quarter.

Mr Speaker, at the end of every quarter, the agency experiences a peak in the number of transactions processed on the system, particularly transactions related to Road Tax, as most clients prefer to purchase Road Tax Certificates at the end of the quarter.

Sir, as hon. Members may be aware, the RTSA has outsourced some of its services to agents such as local authorities, the Zambia Postal Services Corporation (ZamPost) and the Zambia State Insurance Cooperation (ZISC); and the Government has introduced online transactions via the Government Service Bus. This, therefore, means that all transactions by individuals, agents and those in the increased number of the RTSA stations are all being undertaken on one system which, sometimes, adversely affects the efficiency of the system.

Mr Speaker, the Government is cognisant of this challenge. The following immediate measures were put in place in order to serve the public better:

     (a)    in order to ensure that the system remains operational with minimal downtimes, load management was

             implemented by regulating the system availability during the peak period;

     (b)    all the RTSA stations and ZamPost service centres were opened to the public during the weekend on

             Saturday, 2^nd July, 2022; and

     (c)     in addition to using the Government Service Bus, the agency further extended the grace period from 1^st

             to 15^th July, 2022, during which period the RTSA and Zambia Police Service were not undertaking

            enforcement operations on Road Tax and vehicle fitness.

Mr Speaker, the above measures, however, are not enough to address the challenge. It is for this reason that the Government is proposing the introduction of anniversary/birthday licensing in the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill No. 8 of 2022, which was presented to this House on 7^th July, 2022.

Mr Speaker, birthday licensing will entail that each vehicle has its own annual cycle of licensing to run from the date of first registration. This measure will effectively address the challenge of long queues experienced at RTSA service centres and system overloads. I strongly urge hon. Members to support this very progressive Bill.

Mr Speaker, further, during peak period, members of the public are encouraged to utilise the Government Service Bus to procure RTSA services online in order to decongest stations.

Mr Speaker, with reference to motor vehicle fitness, the agency has been issuing Fitness Certificates on time as this has nothing to do with quarters.

I thank you, Mr Speaker. 

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Members are now free to ask questions on points of clarification on the ministerial statement issued by the acting hon. Minister.

Mr Lusambo (Kabushi): Mr Speaker, we are aware that the New Dawn Government chased all experienced directors and other senior managers at the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA), insinuating that they were Patriotic Front (PF) members, and employed inexperienced people. Information in the public domain is that last week, the ministry attempted to call back one of the directors who were relieved of his duties because he was the only person who had the knowhow of those machines at the RTSA, but he refused to go. What is the Government’s position on this information?

Interruptions

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Order!

Hon. Members, let us avoid issuing remarks that are unwarranted. Let us be factual. This is a house of honour and any insinuation we make has consequences outside the House. However, the hon. Minister can respond to that.

Eng. Milupi: Mr Speaker, sometimes, it is unfortunate when politics go into institutions and try to create chaos where there is no chaos.

It is quite clear from the hon. Member for Kabushi’s question that he has been interacting with the institution which is currently being considered.

Mr Speaker, there is no truth in the statement that he has made that the system failed because experienced people were laid off. The truth of the matter is exactly what I said because of the system that we currently employ, which in processing can be called ‘batch processing’. In certain periods, everyone wants to have their issues processed. This overloads the system. That is why in the Bill that is being proposed, we shall turn it into a continuous system that will even-out the load. With batch processing, at specific times, the capacity may be overrun and yet, the rest of the month or the rest of the quarter, the system could be underperforming. So, we think that that will be more efficient.

Mr Speaker, with regard to the people that he is talking about, yes, indeed, there have been six officials suspended and those suspensions have nothing to do with political affiliations. These are public workers. They were suspended in order to pave way for investigations into allegations that about 33,045 motor vehicles at the RTSA had no matching recordings of customer clearance. This matter is under investigation. It has nothing to do with which party one belongs to.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mtayachalo (Chama North): Mr Speaker, thank you for according me this opportunity to ask a question. There are certain services offered by the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) which cannot be offered online like motor vehicle fitness certification. Is the ministry considering decentralising the operations of the RTSA to district level? For example, in Chama, one has to go to Mpika to get those services. So, is the ministry planning to decentralise the operations of the RTSA to all districts in Zambia?

Eng. Milupi: Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for Chama North for his question, but the matter of urgent public importance dealt with the hitch at the end of the second quarter, which was the end of June and the first day of July 2022. With respect to what he has asked about, decentralisation and so on and so forth, those are matters that can be raised separately.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Katakwe (Solwezi East): Mr Speaker, I just want to find out if the delay in the issuance of Road Tax and fitness certificates also applies to certain government vehicles such as those used by the police. Sometimes, you find that a police vehicle is not fit to be on the road or it does not have certain licences. Does the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) give priority issuance of licences to such vehicles or not?

Eng. Milupi: Madam Speaker, I am very thankful for the follow-up question from the hon. Member for Solwezi East of Mushindamo District. All I can say to his question is that it is an allegation.

Laughter

Eng. Milupi: He alleges that police vehicles are unfit. I think that is a general allegation.

Mr Sing’ombe: It is Kampyongo who left them!

Laughter

Eng. Milupi: All I know is that in terms of obedience to the law, everybody is subject to the law. For fitness, registration or payment at tollgates, everybody is expected to adhere. Even I, in my ministerial vehicle, when I go through tollgates, I have to pay. My vehicle has to have wipers. It has to have good tires. So, if the hon. Member for Solwezi East has evidence over that allegation, he should lay it on the Table and we will deal with it.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Laughter

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Members, if you press once, your device will indicate green. You just have to wait a bit. Officers in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Department will turn it red for you. You do not have to worry.

Rev. Katuta (Chienge): Mr Speaker, I am thankful to the reasonable hon. Minister for the wonderful answers he is giving to this House.

Mr Speaker, Chienge is a remote area. I just want to find out from the hon. Minister what can be done because we really have challenges in terms of going to pay for Road Tax, getting licences and all those things that he is talking about as we need to travel to Mansa. So, I would like to find out, in the short-term, what can be done for the people of Chienge and other parts of Zambia who have been travelling as many as 600 km in order to access such services.

Eng. Milupi: Mr Speaker, I stated in my answer that the RTSA has out-sourced some of its services to agents, such as local authorities, ZamPost and ZSIC. There is also, of course, the online transactions that we have introduced via the Government Service Bus.

Sir, I assume that there is a ZamPost office in Chienge or near Chienge. That is better than going all the way to Mansa. If the hon. Member is saying that at the nearest post office, we do not have these services, then we need to be informed and we should have that corrected. As at now, all ZamPost offices are agents in terms of collection of these taxes.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Menyani Zulu (Nyimba): Mr Speaker, I want to go back to the response to the question from the hon. Member of Parliament for Kabushi over officers who are on suspension at the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) for reasons we all know. Some of us have dealt with those officers who were suspended from the time of the Movement for Multi- Party Democracy (MMD), the Patriotic Front (PF) and now the United Party for National Development (UPND) Government.

Mr Speaker, we all know that those people were fired because someone thought that they belonged to a certain political party. Those are people we have worked with. I come from a business where we interact with the RTSA each and every day. We know that for anyone to clear a vehicle, before it goes to the RTSA, it first goes through the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA). There is no RTSA officer who can give a number plate to any vehicle without a clearance from the ZRA. The ZRA officers were not fired or suspended while the secondary people in the line of registration at the RTSA were suspended.

Mr Speaker, I have taken up this question because the hon. Minister brought it up in the discussion. So, why is it that the people who were supposed to be suspended first were left scot-free while the people who just received information from the system generated by the ZRA were suspended? Is it that –

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member, let me guide. I think that one of the roles that I have to perform here is to guide debate, as the Chairperson of this House.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: You do not know the kind of influence this House has on the people out there. So, as hon. Members, we should avoid issues that will bring disunity in the country such as passing statements that we cannot even substantiate or raising issues that are just based on rumours. However, the Acting hon. Minister of Transport and Logistics can shed a bit of light on that one.

Eng. Milupi: Mr Speaker, let me make it absolutely clear that in terms of the New Dawn Administration, led by His Excellency, President Hakainde Hichilema, one of the most critical issues that we needed to bring to this country when we took over, as espoused by the President himself, was to unite this country...

Mr Lusambo: Question!

Eng. Milupi: ... and he says this time and again. He has made reference to the fact that Zambia is for all Zambians.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Eng. Milupi: No action has been taken to target anybody from any specific region or any political party.

Hon. Opposition Member: Question!

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Eng. Milupi: Mr Speaker, already, on the Floor of this House, with respect to teacher recruitment, we have heard people say, “I did not expect my child to be recruited” but we have run a very transparent system.

Hon. Government Member: Hear, hear!

Eng. Milupi: The President has made it very clear in running the affairs of this country that we shall be methodical and transparent

Hon. PF Member: Question!

Eng. Milupi: This is what we shall be judged against.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Eng. Milupi: Mr Speaker, our predecessors know how they ran this country. They know how they disadvantaged certain people from certain places and they know how they tortured people from certain political parties.

Hon. PF Members: Question!

Eng. Milupi: Some of us were victims. The police vehicles that were purchased by the hon. Minister responsible for home affairs then were used against some of us.

Interruptions

Eng. Milupi: We had hon. Ministers of certain provinces beating up people in mini buses for not wearing masks. We have never done that. We engage with people.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Eng. Milupi: So, to state that people were disciplined on account of belonging to a political party is doing a disservice to this nation. Those are purely disciplinary issues which will be allowed to run through and be resolved like that.

Sir, the country or this House may wish to note that even in cases where the UPND cadres have gone astray, the law has taken its course, and there are many examples. This is how we want to run this country, as espoused by the President, popularly elected by the people with the biggest margin ever.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chilangwa (Kawambwa): Mr Speaker, thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to ask a question on the responses being given by the hon. Acting Minister of Transport and Logistics. That man seated there (pointing at Eng. Milupi)...

Laughter

Mr Chilangwa: ... the president of the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD).

Hon. Members: Not FDD

Mr Chilangwa: Te chimo chine?

Interruption

Mr Chilangwa: Mr Speaker, you have guided very well that we need to be factual as we pose questions and that we must, at all costs, try not to pose questions and issue statements which will divide this country.

We must be in the forefront trying to build and forge unity in this country, but not in the manner this hon. Minister is responding to very honest questions.

Sir, I want to pose a question to this hon. Minister. We have heard from his own submissions that a number of youthful workers at the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) have been suspended whilst investigations are ongoing regarding some vehicles which were mis-registered or not registered and did not pay the correct taxes. How long are those investigations going to take? They affect young people with families. Further, why have those investigations and suspensions not affected officers at the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) where monies are deposited before people take their papers to the RTSA?

I think that is enough for him for today.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Maybe the hon. Minister can respond to the other part about when the investigations would be concluded. As to why no officers from the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) were investigated is the discretion of the Government as to how it carries out its investigations.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Hon. Government Member: Long live the Chair!

Eng Milupi: Mr Speaker, I am adequately guided.

Sir, the question here is about the RTSA and not the ZRA. However, let me take the opportunity here to address the hon. Member for Kawambwa. All too often, he keeps referring to me as president of a political party.

Laughter

Eng Milupi: Let me remind him that I am the Chairman of the United Party for National Development (UPND) Alliance,...

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Eng Milupi: ...which helped to deliver the knock-out punch that his party suffered.

Interruptions

Eng Milupi: Mr Speaker, with respect to his question about how long the suspension of the young people who have families will take, first of all, his reference to the young people with families is that maybe they are undergoing financial difficulties at the moment. However, corporate governance demands that on suspension, you continue to receive your salary until your matter is resolved. That is point number one.

Mr Speaker, secondly, the length of time it will take to resolve this issue is when all the facts are put on the table and the matter dealt with as per established disciplinary code affecting the RTSA.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mung’andu (Chama South): Mr Speaker, allow me to commend the hon. Minister of Tourism. I rarely do that, but it is important that I bring it on the Floor of this House.

Mr Speaker, allow me to commend the hon. Minister of Tourism for taking care of our concerns regarding Game Management Areas (GMAs) vis-à-vis timber logging. I think he has put good interventions in place. We appeal to him to work with the hon. Minister of Green Economy and Environment to ensure that all Wildlife Police Officers (WPO) are made honorary Forest Officers (FO) so that the indiscriminate cutting down of trees can be arrested.

Sir, I now ask my substantive question: Is the hon. Minister in a position to inform the nation how much loss in revenue has been incurred through the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) seeing as it is one of the main sources of non-tax revenue to our Treasury? How much money is being lost on a daily basis because of those challenges?

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member, you have gone a bit outside of what was asked earlier. I do not think the hon. Minister right now is in a position to answer that question.

Hon. Minister, am I speaking your mind?

Eng Milupi: Mr Speaker, I think he has made a statement that needs to be dealt with, on the loss of revenue. If you allow me, I will deal with that very quickly.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Alright, hon. Member, I think you can put in the question and appropriately address it to the hon. Minister, it will be dealt with.

Let us make progress.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

NANGWESHI/SINJEMBELA ROAD IN SIOMA DISTRICT

379. Mr Mandandi (Sioma) asked the Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development:

       (a)     why the construction of the Nangweshi/Sinjembela Road in Sioma District has stalled;

       (b)    when the project will resume;

       (c)    what the cost of the project is; and

       (d)    what the time frame for the completion of the project is.

The Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development (Eng. Milupi): Mr Speaker, the rehabilitation of the section of the road between Mutomeno to Kozuli Village, covering 4.5 km, which is part of the Nangweshi/Sinjembela Road in Sioma District was undertaken under the Cashew Infrastructure Development Programme (CIDP). The works on the covered section were completed while the remaining works on the entire road section will be undertaken under a separate contract.

Mr Speaker, the remaining section of the Nangweshi/Sinjembela Road will be considered in future Road Sector Work Plans (RSWP), subject to availability of funds.

Sir, the cost of the project will be determined once the designs for the outstanding works are procured, and the timeframe for the completion of the project shall be determined once the designs for the outstanding works are prepared.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mandandi: Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister may wish to know that the people of Sioma, particularly in Sinjembela, Lipaneno and Dehehe have suffered for far too long. There is a need for the people in those areas to be connected to the Boma, if I may put it that way. The distance from Sioma to Sinjembela is around 150km. Not too long from now, the New Dawn Government will be deploying teachers to various schools that are dotted around that area. The only mode of transport available as of now is ox-carts. I think this will be a challenge for the new teachers whom we will be receiving there because travelling on an ox-cart for three or four days to reach their pay point, which is in Senanga, will be quite challenging and disturbing. Would the hon. Minister be kind to our people around that area and, at least, indicate some timeframe when the construction of this road will be undertaken?

Eng. Milupi: Mr Speaker, in the first place, the Government is very sympathetic to the plight of the people in Sioma Constituency because, other than the main road, there are difficulties of transport, places being cut off and long distances which vehicles cannot reach, especially in the rain season. We are mindful of that. The challenges that we talk about in the infrastructure sector are the same challenges that apply to the situation in Sioma.

Sir, Sioma, like other parts of the Western Province, and three other provinces, were left out of the Improved Rural Connectivity Project. We are in discussion with the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning trying to address that anomaly. What happened is that when the World Bank provided US$200 million for the Improved Rural Connectivity Project, that is, high-quality all-weather gravel roads, only six provinces were catered for; these being the Eastern Province, Muchinga Province, Luapula Province, the Northern Province and the Central Province, and four were left out. This particular time, the Southern Province was included. I do not know how, but it was included.

Laughter

Eng. Milupi: The ones that were left out were the Western Province, the North-Western Province, the Copperbelt Province and Lusaka Province. We are trying to address that –

Rev. Katuta: What about Chienge?

Eng. Milupi: Chienge is part of Luapula. So, it was catered for.

Rev. Katuta: When?

Laughter

Eng. Milupi: I do not know how the allocations within Luapula were done, but the province was catered for.

Mr Speaker, we are trying to address that by making some more applications for further funding to cater for the four provinces that were left out. Once that is done, I am sure Sioma will be looked at favourably because we know that there is an urgent need for connectivity within the constituency.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Kang’ombe (Kamfinsa): Mr Speaker, the hon. Member of Parliament for Sioma raises the question of connectivity, which will allow key Government officials to report for work and access other social amenities. Bearing in mind his response that there are financial challenges, is the ministry developing any strategies to deal with the challenges of connectivity in Sioma to ensure that there is proper access to the different social amenities that the hon. Member of Parliament referred to?

Eng. Milupi: Mr Speaker, the New Dawn Administration is fully aware that to deliver the development that we all talk about, infrastructure is key. You cannot develop any nation without putting attention to infrastructure. In fact, by implication, the definition of development is the ability to put in place infrastructure to service people.

Sir, I will repeat, maybe, for the last time, that the first issue is to make sure that we have funding to undertake infrastructure development. In our case where we were left with empty coffers, the first issue is to ensure that we deal with that which emptied the coffers, which, in this particular case, is debt.

Mr Speaker, already, our hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning and his team are already carrying out vigorous discussions with our creditors to make sure that we are able to restructure that debt. The whole idea of restructuring that debt is to provide us fiscal space or what the economists call headroom to be able to reduce debt servicing. When debt is reduced, it will provide us more money to be able to direct towards infrastructure. We are saying that once this is done, the amounts of money allocated to infrastructure, whether it is schools, hospitals, roads, bridges and so on and so forth will be more than what has been.

Sir, in the meantime, to foster interconnectivity, we are pushing for a public-private partnership (PPP). Sioma benefits slightly because part of the road that is targeted, the one from Sioma, Nangweshi and all the way to Shangombo, passes through the constituency a little bit as well. However, that is for main trunk roads which can be undertaken commercially under PPP.

Mr Speaker, the World Bank funded the project as part of the strategy for rural interconnectivity. If we are able to get extra funding, we will benefit that particular constituency together with other constituencies where this is applicable. That is part of the strategy.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

CONSTRUCTION OF A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN CHIEF MULIRO’S AREA IN CHAMA NORTH PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCY

380. Mr Mtayachalo (Chama North) asked the Minister of Education:

     (a)    whether the Government has any plans to build a secondary school in Chief Muliro’s area in Chama

             North Parliamentary Constituency; and

     (b)    if so, when the plans will be implemented.

The Minister of Education (Mr Syakalima): Mr Speaker, the Government has plans to build a secondary school in Chief Muliro’s area in Chama North Parliamentary Constituency through the Ministry of Education under the Zambia Education Enhancement Project (ZEEP).

Sir, the commencement of the construction of a secondary school in Chama North Parliamentary Constituency will be in the third and fourth quarters of 2022.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Twasa (Kasenengwa): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister of Education is very passionate about education, especially for the girl child, and I know he hates weekly boarding with a passion. Will these secondary schools be day or boarding schools?

Mr Syakalima: Mr Speaker, these schools are World Bank-funded schools and at the initial stage are supposed to be day schools. If you recall, I indicated that wherever there are day schools and we know that distances are quite long, especially for the girl child, our colleagues can use the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to build structures for the girl child as we build these schools. Our initial plan is that they are supposed to be day schools.

However, there comes a time when the World Bank is negotiated with. Last year, it put up boarding schools in far-flung areas within these ZEEP schools which we are building. So, depending on how we negotiate, they were putting up a facility for the girls in some of the schools.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Kang’ombe (Kamfinsa): Mr Speaker, even as I follow-up with this question, I am happy that the third and fourth quarters cover this project that the hon. Member of Parliament has referred to.

Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister has referred to a project that will be used to befit the people of Chama. Therefore, would he be kind enough to come back to this House with a list of which areas will benefit from this World Bank funded project so that hon. Members are guided on whether they will benefit from this very important project?

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member, the question is quite specific. It is just talking about Chama North. So, what you can do is put in a question which could be addressed. Hon. Mtayachalo was quite precise on the information that he asked for. However, you are free to put up a question as regards that matter.

Mr Katakwe (Solwezi East): Mr Speaker, is the secondary school in Chama North one of the 120 which were stated on the Floor of this House would be built across the country?

Mr Syakalima: Mr Speaker, yes.

I thank you, Sir.

Laughter

Hon. Member: Ema answer aya!

Mr Lubusha (Chifubu): Mr Speaker, I am privileged to be a member of the Committee on Education, Science and Technology that considered the re-entry policy. One of the reasons that we looked at was that there are so many drop-outs among girls as a result of pregnancy. Now, that we are privileged to have the World Bank come on board to supplement secondary schools, how many is the Government dedicating to girls alone? Can Chama, particularly, get one?

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member, it is a very good question that you have put across. However, the question the hon. Member for Chama North asked was quite precise. Maybe you can also file in a written question to the hon. Minister and it will be addressed accordingly.

Mr Mtayachalo: Mr Speaker, first and foremost, I want to appreciate the response from the hon. Minister that the Government has plans to build a secondary school in Chief Mulilo’s Chiefdom.

Mr Speaker, the people of Mulilo can only access secondary education in Chibale, which is about 100 km away.

I know that it will take long for the Government to construct this particular school. The hon. Minister is aware that Chibale Boarding School is at 95 per cent completion level. So, as an interim measure, when is the Government planning to ensure that Chibale Boarding School is opened so that the people in Chief Mulilo’s Chiefdom can access secondary school education?

Mr Syakalima: Mr Speaker, the Government is trying to finish Chibale Secondary School as soon as possible; very soon, indeed.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

_______

MOTIONS

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNANCE, HOUSING AND CHIEFS’ AFFAIRS

Mr Lusambo (Kabushi): Mr Speaker, I thank you –

Rev. Katuta: On a point of order, Sir.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Rev. Katuta: Mr Speaker, I may not have the Standing Order, but I am concerned about the way the hon. Minister of Defence is coughing. It is really worrying. Maybe he can take leave. It is really worrying, actually.

Laughter

Rev. Katuta: It is not healthy.

Interruptions

Rev. Katuta: The one with the moustache.

Laughter

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Minister, if the coughing is out of this world, maybe you could seek medical attention at the clinic.

Proceed, hon. Member on the Floor.

Mr Lusambo: Mr Speaker, let me, first of all, congratulate Ms Mwaka Mwiimbu on her graduation. I know that ...

Laughter

Mr Lusambo: ... the hon. Minister is very proud of her. I am congratulating the Hon. Minister because I am also a father to a girl child and I would like to see my girls graduate in a similar manner.

Mr Mwiimbu: Thank you.

Mr Lusambo: Mr Speaker, I beg to move that this House do adopt the report of the Committee on Local Governance, Housing and Chiefs’ Affairs on the Report of the Auditor General on the Performance Audit on the Management of Electronic Waste in Zambia, for the period 2016 to 2020 for the First Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly, laid on the Table of the House on Thursday, 14^th July, 2022.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Is the Motion seconded.

Mr Mutinta (Itezhi-Tezhi): Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.

Mr Lusambo: Mr Speaker, based on its terms of reference as set out under Standing Order No.197 (I) and 198 of the National Assembly of Zambia Standing Orders, 2021, your Committee was tasked to scrutinise the Performance Audit Report.

Sir, the objective of the Performance Audit was to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the ministry responsible for environmental protection, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and other appropriate authorities in managing Electric and Electronic Waste (e-Waste) in Zambia.

Mr Speaker, I will just highlight a few salient issues from the report. From the outset, I wish to report that according to the audit report, e-Waste was among the fastest growing waste streams across the world fuelled by increasing growth in the use of electronic equipment. Levels of domestically produced e-Waste have continuously been rising across Africa as a result of increased electronic goods consumption, and Zambia has not been spared.

Mr Speaker, the Committee also learnt that e-Waste was hazardous as it contained toxic chemicals which could expose people to a range of health risks and also lead to environmental threats. It was also further reported that e-Waste was generated from obsolete or damaged electric and electronic equipment such as computers, television sets, mobile phones, printers and flash disks.

Further, Sir, records at the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) showed that importation of electric and electronic goods stood at 4,654 tonnes in 2020 and 4,337 tonnes in 2021. The imported electric and electronic goods meant that they had been disposed off at some point as e-Waste.

Sir, stakeholders who appeared before the Committee, therefore, were of the view that there was a need to formulate and enact legislation at national level, which would stipulate mandatory compliance with specific guidelines of e-Waste disposal plans in order to protect the environment and people from the effects of hazardous electronic waste.

In view of this, your Committee recommends that the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment, through the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA), comes up with a principal legislation on e-Waste management. This legislation on e-Waste management should be enforceable with penalties so that big generators of e-Waste such as the Government and private corporate entities should adhere to it without fail. The legislation developed should also be the guideline legislation for in-house formulation of policies on e-Waste by various entities who are generators of e-Waste.

Mr Speaker, the Committee also notes that hoarding of e-Waste is highly prevalent in Government institutions as they want to hold on to old equipment even when they have replaced it with advanced equipment. Your Committee is of the view that this does not only clutter offices, but also exposes workers to hazardous equipment which is no longer needed. In light of this, your Committee urges the Executive to ensure that old electric and electronic equipment which is no longer used, but is serviceable because of upgrades, is auctioned to workers on a continuous basis by respective institutions.

Mr Speaker, further, your Committee, in agreeing with the audit findings, recommends that standards on the importation of electric and electronic goods be developed by the Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) in collaboration with ZEMA, the ZRA, and the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA) in order to ensure that those electric and electronic goods which are near the end of usefulness are not imported into Zambia.

Mr Speaker, as I conclude, allow me to thank the Auditor-General for his support and all the witnesses who appeared before the Committee for providing relevant information which formed part of the basis of the Committee’s report.

Mr Speaker, finally, I wish to thank you and the Clerk of the National Assembly for the services rendered to the Committee throughout its deliberation.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Does the seconder wish to speak now or later?

Mr Mutinta: Now, Sir.

Mr Speaker, I thank you so much. In seconding the Motion on the Floor of this House, on a contemporary issue which is adversely affecting our environment, allow me to first thank the mover of the Motion, Hon. Lusambo, for having elaborated clearly and for having underscored the pertinent issues that were generated from this important report.

Mr Speaker, I will just highlight a few things that the Committee learnt from its interaction with the various stakeholders and the audit findings.

Mr Speaker, the revelations from the audit report showed that there is no clear understanding of the electronic laws and electronic e-Waste among most of the handlers in this country.

In order to ease the disposal process of e-Waste materials before the Government builds or creates designated places for disposal, the Committee recommends that the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) and the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA) comes up with a responsive call centre with an all-purpose assembled team in the provincial centres of this country for citizens to begin to report e-Waste needing to be disposed off which can be appropriately recorded and collected by relevant authorities.

Mr Speaker, further, the Committee also urges the Executive to capacitate local authorities across the country in the management of e-Waste at domestic level and appoint most of these local authorities as agents in the collection of this category of waste as they are present in all districts across the country. In addition, ZEMA should hold stakeholder engagements with all the licensed entities and local authorities in coming up with implementation plans for the regulation on the management of e-Waste to avoid inconsistencies in the enforcement and management processes.

Mr Speaker, the audit report also revealed that appropriate authorities had not included the management of e-Waste in their strategic plans. In view of this, your Committee recommends that all appropriate authorities should include e-Waste management in their strategic plans, which should be revised at expiration without delay.

Your Committee also urges the Executive, through the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, the Ministry of Technology and Science and the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment, to ensure that all agencies and local authorities cited in this audit report have strategic plans in e-Waste.

Sir, your Committee further urges the Executive to ensure that various e-Waste collection points are created in townships and central business districts (CBDs) across the country, starting with provincial centres, to ensure segregation of e-Waste from other categories of waste.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Order!

Business was suspended from 1640 hours until 1700 hours.

[MR SECOND DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair]

Mr Mutinta: Mr Speaker, thank you so much. I will move two sentences backwards just to create a logical thought in the representation that I was making.

Mr Speaker, your Committee further urges the Executive to ensure that various e-Waste collection points are created in townships and central business districts (CBD) in all towns, starting with provincial centres to ensure that there is segregation of e-waste from other categories of waste.

Mr Speaker, with regard to awareness campaigns by ZEMA, the Committee urges ZEMA, in collaboration with ZICTA, to intensify their campaigns through mobile texting messages, television, Facebook and radio advertisements so that people are made aware of the hazardous effects of e-Waste and the need to protect the environment in line with the Basel Convention which Zambia is a signatory to. The sensitisation should also be done in local languages for everyone to understand the messages.

Mr Speaker, lastly, I wish to thank you most sincerely and the Office of the Clerk for the support in undertaking the study on the Performance Audit on the Management of Electronic Waste in Zambia.

Mr Speaker, with these few words, I beg to second.

Mr Munir Zulu: On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Munir Zulu: Thank you, very kind Mr Speaker. Permit me to mention that I am rising on a point of procedure.

Mr Speaker, our Order Paper for Tuesday, 19^th July, 2022, had a question raised by Hon. Mabeta, the Member of Parliament for Kankoyo Constituency to ask the hon. Minister of Education how many teachers were recruited by the Teaching Service Commission from 2018 to 2021, year by year.

Mr Speaker, we are shocked, as hon. Members of Parliament, that this question was never debated upon. Sometimes, as hon. Members of Parliament, we share the same views and thoughts. This question was ignored on this Floor of the House and yet it was appearing on the Order Paper. I seek your serious response to why this question was ignored, especially that there is grape vine information in town that even the process of the recruitment of 30,000 teachers is not as factual as it is being said.

Mr Speaker, I seek your serious ruling.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: With regard to the details, I think on this one, I reserve my ruling. It will be rendered later.

Rev. Katuta (Chienge): Mr Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. Member for Kabushi, Hon. Bowman Lusambo, and the seconder for the manner in which they have moved and seconded the Motion, respectively.

Mr Speaker, from the outset, I would like to put on record that I support your Committee’s report. If anything, I think it is long overdue in our country that we do not let electronic waste be disposed of anyhow. The manner in which electronics have been disposed off has also contributed to the pollution of our environment. I will give an example of the way phone batteries are disposed of.

Mr Speaker, I have seen some of our mothers and brothers who are hard-working and who do not want to be dependent or beg from anyone go to dump areas to go and find something that they can recycle. This is the place where, sometimes, you find these things have also been disposed of.

Sir, I think the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) and the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security should join hands to see to it that there are amendments to some laws that we have. Zambians must know that it is about time they started adhering to what the law stipulates regarding disposal of such items. In fact, the culprits are the big companies in the corporate world. I must say that even banks, I am yet to know where they dump such items.

Mr Speaker, look at the donations that are made in most institutions like schools. You find that out of the kindness of God upon some people, they want to donate computers to schools. However, in those countries where they buy these things, they have said that they are supposed to be disposed of. However, since we do not have such things, you find that some people, out of their kindness, want to buy them and bring for donation to schools or to the underprivileged in our society.

Mr Speaker, I think the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) should also come on board to discourage the so-called second-hand electronics coming in from outside the country. The reason they are being disposed off in these foreign countries is because they have outlived their use and are also a danger.

Mr Speaker, with these few words, I support this Motion and urge our Government to come up with stiffer laws that we can agree upon as hon. Members of Parliament. Our children are being exposed to dangers which can even cause radiation and lead to certain diseases like cancers, and people would not even understand what is going on seeing that sometimes, when we go to hospitals, there are no reagents, the chemicals that can be used to test or find what one is suffering from.

Mr Speaker, I think that the best way to go is to have the corporate world know and desist from disposing of these things anyhow. They need to put in writing to notify the municipal or city councils that they intend to do such things so that other stakeholders like ZEMA get involved and help them with how to dispose them of. They should not be donating them to schools like what has been happening in the past.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Munsanje (Mbabala): Madam Speaker, thank you so much for availing the good people of Mbabala an opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Report of the Committee on Local Government and Chiefs Affairs on the follow-up audit report on e-Waste, as moved by the hon. Member, Mr Lusambo, and seconded by Hon. Twaambo Mutinta.

Mr Speaker, this is not only a very important subject to the people of Mbabala, but also to the Parliamentary Caucus on Children here at the National Assembly, which I chair.

Sir, on behalf of the caucus, we note that our children are mostly exposed to a lot of these hazards that come from e-Waste. As debated by previous speakers, a lot of the e-Waste that is produced both in industry and public sector and private homes ends up in dumpsites, where various levels of toxicity and radioactive material exposes our children who find them as they play with toys in these places. Some of the landfills that have been created are so shallow that you still find that children and other people who roam around these dumpsites are able to collect them. I think every time something goes missing around an area and you check around the dumpsite, you find that children hang around there with many other people.

As such, we need to ensure that we provide for strong awareness of the public in as far as e-Waste management laws and regulations are concerned. We need to ensure that we have very strong legislation, starting from the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment, the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA), the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA) and Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) to ensure that we regulate and legislate strongly.

Sir, the report needed to actually extend to recommending strong punitive measures for mismanagement of e-Waste because the damage that is being caused to future generations, especially our children, is huge.

Mr Speaker, our concerns go to the fact that right now, sensitisation from, for example, ZICTA on e-Waste is very low. We do not see a strong campaign from ZICTA. Instead, it goes on other things that may not be very helpful, but we would like to see ZICTA put up a strong campaign in this area. We would like to see ZEMA put up a strong campaign and laws to manage e-Waste. We would like to see the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment, under the able leadership of Hon. Nzovu continue to steer this area in a manner that depicts what the New Dawn Government stands for.

Sir, His Excellency, President Hakainde Hichilema, has committed this ministry to be the flagship ministry which is going to demonstrate how we are going to manage such matters, going forward. As such, we continue to commend the report and the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment that is beginning to work on these things strongly.

Mr Speaker, I encourage the invitation of private players to this sector in the area of both business and extended producer responsibility. Not only in the areas of business in terms of sorting management and recycling reels and the like, but also in the area of extended producer responsibility where the ones who import these things take responsibility. However, as Hon. Katuta indicated, we also have many individuals and small organisations that tend to donate computers to schools, for example. Mostly, these are obsolete materials from other places that are brought to our children, health facilities and the like.

Sir, I would like to encourage various District Education Board Secretaries (DEBSs) in districts, school head teachers as well as hospital directors not to simply accept these things anyhow. They first need to direct these things to a testing lab within the country where they need to be tested and found to be usable before accepting them. By accepting them, we are simply becoming a dumpsite, junk site or a storage site for somebody who has no space to keep these materials.

Mr Speaker, all this speaks a lot to the issue of awareness raising and having good policies in line with the green economy policies of the New Dawn Government. It speaks to stronger legislation that we need to enhance. We are also talking about strong enforcement to ensure that whatever laws in this area are enforced and we protect the environment and our future generations.

Mr Speaker, I thank you and support the report.

Mr C. Mpundu (Chembe): Mr Speaker, this is a very important subject matter that we need to look at critically, especially that we are a developing country. Mostly, with electronic devices, parts are made of radioactive substances. Radioactive substances have what is called a half-life, meaning they are able to decay or react to our environment at an appropriate time. In other words, they cannot be eliminated completely. They are hazardous in nature. However, we can only control them. Hence, they have an effect on human health and the environment, especially the change in climate in our society.

Mr Speaker, the manner in which we dispose of these materials matters most. Therefore, key players, especially local authorities, should be not be left alone. It is not only up to the hon. Minister of Local Government and Rural Development who has to keep the Keep Lusaka Clean or the Keep Zambia Clean, Green and Healthy Campaign (KZCGHC) programme alone. We need stakeholders, as alluded to by other debaters. We need stakeholders, as stated by other debaters, such as the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA), the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) and the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment to come on board and try to help local authorities in the disposal of e-Waste. Leaving it like this will have many effects on our society.

Mr Speaker, from time to time, these areas where these things are disposed of need to be monitored unlike the way it is where you just have one dumpsite where these things are disposed of. Those things are not even detected. There is no lead detector to show the emissions that have been released towards our environment. Henceforth, as we wait to put up legislation that is supposed to guide how these things should be disposed of, it is important that our dumpsites have lead detectors which are able to tell the effects the waste has on our environment.

Mr Speaker, sensitisation has to be the starting point, even as we put other things in place. Sensitisation of our people in communities is critical in terms of disposal of e-Waste. Many are times that e-Waste is just left hanging in the environment and we do not realise that that has many side effects. To avoid such effects to continue growing, it is high time we put up legislation that will help us to move forward and avoid the side effects. Some of the diseases that we have started having are out of this waste because this is a waste that cannot be eliminated. It is not like other waste which turns into compost manure.

Mr Speaker, with these few remarks, I support your report and hope the relevant authority will put in place things that have been recommended in your report.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker: Order!

Hon. Members, I have a ruling to make on the point of order that was raised by the hon. Member for Lumezi earlier today. The point of order related to a Question for Written Answer under Standing Order 75. Under this Standing Order, a Question for Written Answer is never debated on the Floor, but a detailed written answer is provided to the hon. Member who asked the Question for Written Answer, in accordance with Standing Order No. 75 (3). For avoidance of doubt, Questions for Written Answer are, therefore, not debated on the Floor. The House was in order for the point of order. Therefore, the point of order raised by the hon. Member for Lumezi is not sustained.

Hon. Members, this Motion will have two hon. Ministers responding. We shall start with the hon. Minister of Local Government and Rural Development followed by the Acting hon. Minister of Green Economy and Environment, in the name of Mr Muchima.

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development (Mr Nkombo): Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to make a few responses to what I term as a very important report by the mover, Hon. Bowman Lusambo, and the seconder, Hon. Twaambo Mutinta from Itezhi-Tezhi.

Mr Speaker, my ministry is charged with the responsibility of providing solid waste management services, among others, through local authorities, as defined in the Government Gazette Notice No. 1123 of 2021. This mandate is discharged through administrative and policy oversight of all local authorities, commonly known as councils.

Mr Speaker, while it is noted that my ministry has no direct mandate to manage e-Waste, a function under the direct charge of the ministry responsible for the environment, it is recognised that my ministry is a key stakeholder through the councils which develop by-laws for e-Waste management, etcetera. In addition to this, most of the e-Waste is usually mixed up with other municipal solid waste and ends up in dumpsites commonly known as landfills, managed by local authorities.

Mr Speaker, I, therefore, take the Floor to make a submission for my ministry in support of the findings and recommendations of the Report of the Committee on Local Governance, Housing and Chiefs Affairs on the Performance Audit of the Auditor-General on the Management of Electronic Waste in Zambia.

Firstly, allow me to thank your Committee for the commendable work done through the Office of the Auditor-General to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of institutions involved in the management of e-Waste. My ministry is in general agreement with the findings and recommendations of your Committee.

Mr Speaker, I want to re-emphasise the submission that we made to your Committee as follows:

Development of By-Laws by Local Authorities

Mr Speaker, my ministry recognises the key role that local authorities can play in e-Waste management through by-laws. However, hon. Members of the House will agree with me that laws are only effectively developed and implemented based on the overall legislation guiding the identified functions. In the absence of a comprehensive law that recognises the role of local authorities or councils in the management of e-Waste, development of by-laws becomes a challenge. There is, therefore, a need to provide legislation at national level for broad-level guidance and oversight in e-Waste management. This legislation will then provide a backdrop against which localised interventions from councils on e-Waste would be developed through by-laws and other means.

National Policy on Management of E-Waste

Mr Speaker, my ministry is aware of the Eighth National Development Plan (8NDP) and its mainstreamed management of e-Waste for a sustainable environment.

Further, we look forward to the National Environment Policy (NEP) outlining clear strategies for e-Waste management which will consider the contribution of key stakeholders to the sustainable management of e-Waste.

Mr Speaker, given this position, my ministry will ensure to mainstream e-Waste management in policies as well as in local authorities’ development plans such as the Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) and other planning frameworks.

Incorporation of E-Waste in Strategic Plans

Madam Speaker, having noted the significance of my ministry's contribution to the management of e-Waste, I submit to this august House that specific and clear strategies to be made in e-Waste will be incorporated in the 2022/2026 Strategic Plan, which is currently under development. This will be done in consultation with the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment.

Mr Speaker, as I conclude my submission, I reiterate that my ministry remains completely committed to contributing to the provisions of the policy and administrative framework and oversight on the management of waste, including e-Waste. We do recognise the need for enhanced stakeholder coordination and an enhanced legal framework in the management of e-Waste.

Mr Speaker, once again, I want to congratulate your Committee for a job well done.

I thank you, Sir.

The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources (Mr Muchima) (on behalf of The Minister of Green Economy and Environment (Eng. Nzovu)): Mr Speaker, could you allow me to take off my mask? I have a challenge with my voice. If I put on my face mask, I will not be heard or be audible enough.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Minister, it is not allowed in this House to pull off facemasks.

Mr Muchima: Okay, I will try.

Mr Speaker, thank you for according me this opportunity to offer my sentiments on the Report of the Committee on Local Governance, Housing and Chiefs Affairs on the Report of the Auditor-General on the Management of Electronic Waste in Zambia.

Mr Speaker, in the first place, let me put it clearly that the report is a good one, and I thank your Committee for the good work and the input.

Mr Speaker, with the advent of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), the issue of Electronic Waste (e-Waste) is of utmost importance. As the report has rightly put it, e-Waste comprises of electronics/electrical goods no longer fit for their originally intended use or that have reached their expiry date. Apart from the electronic waste produced by its e-consumption, for example, mobile phones and computers, most African countries, and Zambia in particular, are on the receiving end of the Western e-Waste. Presently, Zambians, despite being recipients of ICTs, do not have e-Waste disposal mechanisms of their own. This is further compounded by the lack of explicit legislation on e-Waste management, just as the hon. Member of Parliament for Chienge put it.

Mr Speaker, the Government is aware of the absence of specific standards and guidelines in the management of electronic waste and that the Environmental Management Act does not give guidance on the management of electronic waste in terms of generation, segregation, collection, handling, storage, transportation, categorisation, treatment, recycling and final disposal, including the after care of disposal sites.

However, the regulation of electronic waste is part of the Environmental Management (Licensing) Regulations, Statutory Instrument (SI) No. 112, 2013, which is the Licensing Regulations under hazardous waste regulations.

Mr Speaker, hon. Members of the House may wish to note that the definition of hazardous waste covers e-Waste, which category has been specifically identified as a waste stream under the fifth to seventh schedules of the Licensing Regulations.

Similarly, Part IV of the Licensing Regulations provides for the licensing of the generation, transportation, storage, handling, pre-treatment, treatment, export, import, trade in transit and disposal of hazardous waste, which includes e-Waste. Hazardous waste licences are accompanied by appropriate conditions to guide the licensee in undertaking the licensed activities. This includes instances of licenses issued for e-Waste as part of hazardous waste.

Mr Speaker, in line with the general guidelines, the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) encourages all licensed entities to ensure that waste is segregated at the point of generation. As such, licensed entities collecting waste at domestic level should ensure that waste is segregated at the source.

Sir, ZEMA is mandated to regulate the handling of hazardous waste, including e-Waste from all sources as provided under Part IV of the Licensing Regulations. The actual collection, transportation, treatment or recycling is done by the various regulated entities. It must be noted that prior to the enactment of the Environmental Management Act, the Environmental Protection and Pollution Control Act Cap. 204 of the Laws of Zambia provided for the promulgation of regulations for each thematic area.

Sir, in view of the provisions of the Environmental Management Act for integrated licensing, e-Waste licensing activities are already provided in the SI stated above. Therefore, ZEMA develops guidelines for the management of e-Waste, which are currently not in place.

Mr Speaker, the Government is engaging cooperating partners, some of whom have expressed willingness to provide support in the development of standards and guidelines on e-Waste. Furthermore, considering that e-Waste is an emerging issue in Zambia, the Government had already initiated the process of adopting policies that were referred to in the audit report prior to the prominence of e-Waste.

Sir, I am also glad to report that the review of the National Policy on Environment has commenced and the situational analysis revealed that the e-Waste management issue was prominent. As such, strategies and interventions for the management of e-Waste have been added in the revised policy.

Mr Speaker, in conclusion, as Government, we are alive to the lack of segregation of the waste and take the view that it will require a multi-sectoral approach to enforce segregation at the point of generation, starting from household level. Therefore, the Government, through ZEMA, has conducted various awareness campaigns on waste management, including e-Waste using radio programmes, spot adverts and newspaper articles.

Sir, I wish to thank the Committee once more for the job well done. As a reminder, the Government has taken note of all the issues that have been raised.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Lusambo: Mr Speaker, let me thank all the hon. Members of Parliament who have contributed or debated this important Motion. I recognise the hon. Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, who is the acting hon. Minister of Green Economy and Environment, the hon. Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, the hon. Member of Parliament for Chembe, the hon. Member of Parliament for Chienge and all hon. Members of Parliament who debated this important Motion.

Sir, e-Waste is a new thing in Zambia. As your Committee, we thought that we have to do a benchmarking tour, and include the ministries directly involved which are the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment and the Ministry of Technology and Science, because we need to come up with a legal framework as well as policies in this area. So, we want to compare with other countries which are doing the same project of e-Waste management on the continent or outside the African continent.

Mr Speaker, I thank your hardworking and action-oriented Committee. We urge the Government to support this report. We do not want to find that the report has been put in nice drawers to gather dust.

Sir, with these few words, I thank you.

Question put and agreed to.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON YOUTH, SPORT AND CHILD MATTERS

Mr Sing’ombe: Mr Speaker, I beg to move that this House do adopt the Report of the Committee on Youth, Sport and Child Matters on the Petition by Ruth K. Kangwa Ndhlovu for the initiation of the repeal and replacement of the National Youth Development Council Act Chapter 144 of the Laws of Zambia, for the First Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly, laid on the Table of the House on Wednesday, 13^th July, 2022.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Is the Motion seconded?

Mr Kalobo (Wusakile): Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.

Mr Sing’ombe: Mr Speaker, pursuant to Standing 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 Standing Order No 125, your Committee considered the petition in which the petitioner is urging the National Assembly of Zambia to repeal and replace the National Youth Development Council Act, Chapter 144 of the Laws of Zambia with legislation that will be conducive and suitable to address the plight of the youth in the present 21^st century.

Mr Speaker, in order to better understand the ramifications of the petition, your Committee interacted with several stakeholders who tendered both written and oral submissions.

Mr Speaker, since hon. Members have had the opportunity to peruse through your Committee’s report, I will only highlight the salient issues contained therein.

Mr Speaker, your Committee observes and agrees with the petitioner and all the witnesses who appeared before it and submitted that the National Youth Development Council Act, Chapter 144 of the Laws of Zambia in its current form is insufficient in terms of the law itself and has gaps in terms of modern legislative language.

Further, your Committee agrees with all the witnesses but one, who submitted that there is an urgent need to repeal and replace the Act.

In light of the above, your Committee urges the Government to urgently review the National Youth Development Council Act Chapter 144 of the Laws of Zambia.

Your Committee further observes that the objective of this petition, that is, the need to repeal and replace the National Youth Development Council Act, Chapter 144 of the Laws of Zambia is currently under way and receiving necessary attention as submitted by the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts.

Your Committee was informed that as of February, 2022, the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts had made a submission of a Cabinet Memorandum to Cabinet for approval in principal to introduce the Bill in Parliament.

Your Committee was further informed that there is in fact a work plan that has been outlined for the repeal and replacement of Chapter 144 of the Laws of Zambia.

In light of the above, your Committee urges the Government to stick to the work plan and expedite the process of the repeal and replacement of Chapter 144 of the Laws of Zambia. Further, your Committee urges the Government to consider the proposals on law reform provided in this report from stakeholders.

Mr Speaker, lastly, your Committee wishes to thank the petitioner and all the stakeholders for their oral and written submissions on the petition. Your Committee further wishes to express its gratitude to the Office of the Speaker and the Clerk of the National Assembly for the guidance and services rendered to it during consideration of the petition. 

Mr Speaker, I beg to move.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Does the seconder wish to speak now or later?

Mr Kalobo: Now, Sir.

Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to second the Motion moved by the Chairperson to do adopt the report of the Committee on Youth, Sport and Child Matters on the Petition moved by Ruth K. Kangwa Njovu for the Initiation of the Repeal and Replace the National Youth Development Council Act, Chapter 144 of the Laws of Zambia, for the First Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly.

Mr Speaker, I am confident that hon. Members have perused through your Committee’s report and have listened to the Motion moved by the Chairperson. As I second the Motion, please, allow me to highlight two or three issues that are important in your Committees findings.

Mr Speaker, one finding which is of concern to your Committee is that the definition section of Chapter 144 of the Laws of Zambia, in its current form, is insufficient in that it does not provide definitions to key words used in the Act. This includes the word youth, thereby leaving everyone to speculate who a youth is in terms of the Act.

In view of the above, your Committee recommends an elaborate definition section in the Act. Further, your Committee recommends the word ‘youth’ to be defined in line with the provisions of the Republican Constitution.

Mr Speaker, another finding of your Committee from stakeholders is that the Act in its current form gives the power of significant decisions and important tasks to the hon. Minister. For example, Section 20 of Chapter 144 of the Laws of Zambia mandates the hon. Minister to hear appeals. Section 5 gives power to the hon. Minister to appoint all board members. In light of the above, your Committee recommends that a balance of power be applied.

Mr Speaker, stakeholders proposed that the Act should be apolitical and that all board members should be appointed by the President and ratified by Parliament. The hon. Minister, according to all stakeholders, has too much power. They are concerned that due to his busy schedule, there are delays in the hearing of appeals.

Mr Speaker, in conclusion, allow me to thank all your Committee Members and the Chairperson who has ably moved this informative, apolitical and noncontroversial Motion in this august House. I urge all hon. Members to adopt this report.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Fube (Chilubi): Mr Speaker, thank you for giving the people of Chilubi an opportunity to debate this Motion that has just been moved.

Mr Speaker, in the first place, the people of Chilubi would like to state that it is long overdue for the National Youth Development Council Act, Cap 144 to not be amended but repealed and replaced. That is the position of the people of Chilubi for the reasons I will state.

Mr Speaker, the Act, as petitioned by one citizen of our country, I think called Ruth, lacks in many areas than one. I will start with Section 2 which, by the structure of different Acts, gives the interpretation of any law. It shows how to interpret the law using different methods. Section 2 of this Act lacks in many areas, especially that it limits the definitions. They are just limited to office bearers of the council itself.

When you look at the sector that this Article is targeted at, the youth movement, it is so wide and I think it is heterogeneous by nature. Therefore, you cannot limit the Act to what is currently prevailing in the Act.

Hon. Member: Big words, eh.

Mr Fube: Mr Speaker, when you further look at Sections 3 and 4, the Act still begs more answers than questions. I want to bring to your attention that the Act does not also agree with the issue of good corporate governance. Why do I say so? The Act, from the first page to the last, has the strong hand of the hon. Minister of Youth, Sport and Arts in appointing people. In Section 5, it talks about the hon. Minister appointing the twenty-two member composition. In dealing with matters to do with discipline, it is the hon. Minister coming in. When we talk about the procedure of dealing with grievances that have to do with youth organisations that were supposed to be prepared to be attended to under the Act, it is the hon. Minister again coming in.

Mr Speaker, I want to address myself to the composition of the twenty-two members of the council. We all agree that this Act was introduced in 1986 after the amendment was made to the Constitution to introduce the One Party State. If you go back to history, you will realise that many of the members who were appointed by the hon. Minister then were actually from the United National Independence Party (UNIP) Youth League, and that particular practice, which is against good corporate governance, has been replicated by different successive Governments that have been using the Act.

Mr Speaker, that being the case, when we weigh the Act on the transformation that has happened ever since the reintroduction of multiparty politics which was done then through Article 4 of the Constitution, you will find that the Act will be lacking in many areas than one, especially that after that, we saw the springing up of non-State actors, in this case, the civil society.

This Act, further, was meant to address what should be in the sector of non-State actors like youth organisations, but it falls short, especially that when you look at what it is suggesting in Section 9, you will find that whereas it gives the council powers to regulate its own business, Section 8(4) deprives –

Interruptions

Mr Fube: Excuse me. Can I flow?

Rev. Katuta: Lekeni ba lawyer ba lande.

Section 8(4) deprives the Act because the hon. Minister is also coming in to give directions on specific and general issues about the Act; then it defeats the purpose. That is why I called it a despotic Act.

Ms Mulenga: Hear, hear!

Mr Fube: Further, when you look at the Act in terms of appointments, aforesaid, you will find that it does not agree with Article 259 of our current Constitution on how appointments are supposed to be made. It is not gender-sensitive and does not prescribe the method to arrive at appointments. All the members who are supposed to come from youth organisations, as I stated earlier, are supposed to be appointed by the hon. Minister. We have a wider reach of all sorts of members coming in. So, that itself defeats the purpose of the Act. When I referred to youths being wider, I meant that there are youths who are disabled, and there are youths who are female and male. They are coming from all areas of life as it may be.

Mr Speaker, allow me to address myself to Section 28 on dissolution. I already indicated that the Act should just be repealed and not amended. Section 28 of the Act talks about how youth organisations are supposed to be dissolved. The procedure of how you arrive at that does not agree with natural justice and that in itself in the environment we are in, which is the democratic environment, defeats the purpose of the Act.

Mr Speaker, the people of Chilubi would like to submit strongly that all those submissions that are sitting in the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts which were submitted in the past, including the latest in 2019, should be adhered to so that they can be used as material to amend the Act.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Interruptions

Mr Wamunyima (Nalolo): Thank you very much Mr Speaker for giving me an opportunity to contribute to the debate on this report. I would like to thank the mover, the hon. Member for Dundumwezi, and the seconder, the hon. Member for Wusakile.

Mr Speaker, I will not refer to specific provisions. I have familiarised myself with this report and I must say that the Committee did a good job in supporting the petition by a youth by the name of Ruth Kangwa.

Mr Speaker, as I was going through this report, I somehow got conflicted because your Committee, in its previous report on page 34 submitted that the Executive had indicated that it had finalised the revision of this Act and that it was sitting at the Ministry of Justice. In this report, however, on page 19, there is a schedule given by the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts. So, probably the hon. Minister can give clarity on that as he presents his submission.

Mr Speaker, it is very sad that the Act which should support youths in this country and youth organisations in the 21^st century was enacted in the 20^th century.

Sir, I would like to urge the New Dawn Government to take keen interest in the reluctance of the previous Governments in repealing this law. There is something fundamentally wrong at the National Youth Development Council (NYDC) as at now.

Hon. Member: Hear, hear!

Mr Wamunyima: Why has this Act not been repealed when the process to repeal it started in the year 2008? This is 2022 and it has not been repealed.

When I read the report of your Committee, Mr Speaker, I see that we have a development council without internal controls. So, how is it audited? Who audits it? I am not surprised we had youth groups appearing before the Public Accounts Committee of youths born in 1967.

Laughter

Mr Wamunyima: That is why we have had this problem.

Hon. Member: Hear, hear!

Mr Speaker, I would like to support your Committee’s work by ensuring that the repealing of this Act is timely. In the schedule given, the Executive is saying that as of July, it is consulting. Now, I would like to know who is being consulted on the repealing of this Act. The hon. Minister may wish to note that the Zambia National Assembly now has a youth Parliamentary Caucus which I am a member of. We are keen to participate in this process so that the youths that have been short-changed for far too long now should not continue to be short-changed.

Mr Speaker, your Committee has given examples of the other Acts that regulate similar agencies, like the case of South Africa. When you look at that Act, you have independence and autonomy without too much political involvement. Even as the Act is being repealed, the one to be enacted must be depoliticised completely. This is because the country is not for the youths who have a certain political opinion. It is for those youths who have reached that age bracket. It is dangerous to have an Act that does not define who a youth is or what a youth organisation is.

Mr Speaker, what objective did this Act seek to achieve? The answer is zero and zero. That is why it is an Act that was passed when there was properly no democracy in this country under the One Party State. So, the need to repeal this Act has raised serious public interest, especially among many youth groups.

Hon. Member: Hear, hear!

Mr Wamunyima: When you see the amount of youth participation even in Executive appointments, it remains a disaster.

Mr Speaker, in this era, where over 75 per cent of the population is youthful, the need for this Act is urgent and your Committee has done a tremendous job.

Mr Speaker, further, your Committee should have also gone further to indicate that for everyone who sits on this council, the qualifications should be stipulated. We do not want people just being appointed from nowhere and they are part of the Youth Development Council. So, the new Act must stipulate what criteria and what qualifies one to sit on this council.

Hon. Member: Hear, hear!

Mr Wamunyima: It must clearly reflect the aspirations of the youth. Therefore, I would like to urge the Executive, in amending or repealing, actually, in repealing this Act, to have extensive consultations so as to exhaust the number of stakeholders that would have their input in this repealing process.

Mr Speaker, further, I would also like to add that the current Act that we seek to repeal talks about registration of youth organisations. It is totally in conflict with the Registrar of Societies Act and the Cooperative Societies Act. Therefore, what is the legal framework for these organisations under this Act? That was one of issues in the repealed Act that was causing a lot of confusion. Therefore, the new Act must clearly define; if your organisation is registered under the National Youth Development Council Act, it must not conflict with the Registrar of Societies Act or the Cooperative Societies Act. So, we need to have clarity. As youth groups apply for the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), where should they register their organisations? These are some of the lacunas in the law which are being sought to be cured.

Mr Speaker, in summary, I would like to submit that your Committee has done extensive work and we urge the Executive to accept these recommendations without any reservations. I submit.

I thank you, Sir

Hon. Member: Hear, hear!

Mr Mutinta (Itezhi-tezhi): Mr Speaker, I thank the youth, Ruth Kangwa, who raised this petition because it is timely. More importantly, I thank the hon. Speaker who admitted this petition. It is a true demonstration that the United Party for National Development (UPND) Government is a Government where there is dialogue. We allow divergent views to be expressed by those they concern. I thank the Committee led by Hon. Sing’ombe for the deliberations ...

Hon. PF Members: He is not even a youth.

Mr Mutinta: ... who is also a youth ...

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear! 

Mr Mutinta: and the incoming youth chairman for the Southern Province ...

Rev. Katuta: Under five.

Mr Mutinta: ... for also doing a good job to look at the petition and provide some of the actions that we feel the New Dawn Government is going to embrace and put into action. I will just comment on few points that I have.

Mr Speaker, just the fact that we had a Government in the past years and a board which was non-existent is a source of worry and a true demonstration that for a long time, the young people of Zambia have been neglected. We had a Government that was supposed to address this issue and come up with a board so that it looks at issues that are affecting the young people.

Mr Speaker, sitting with an Act which was enshrined in 1986, an archaic Act, to respond to issues affecting young people is quite a sad situation. Issues that are confounding young people now are different from issues that were affecting young people in 1986 when I was only about three years old.

Rev. Katuta: Yah!

Mr Mutinta: Mr Speaker, at the moment, there are a lot of issues affecting young people; issues around sexual and reproductive health and unemployment. These issues must be aligned to the modern legal framework that is going to champion the issues affecting young people. Young people rose in large numbers because the previous Government did not find solutions to their problems. We are grateful that now we are trying to readjust the legal framework so that it becomes very clear in terms of how we are going to address issues affecting young people in this country.

Mr Speaker, the concentration of power which has been highlighted in this report is a very serious issue. The young people should administer their issues. The hon. Minister can oversee the issues, but should let the young people have an opportunity to administer their issues. With the listening Government, and the able hon. Minister of Youth, Sport and Arts who we have now, my namesake, Hon. Elvis Nkandu ...

Hon. PF Members: Ba Zambia National Marketeers Association (ZANAMA)

Laughter

Mr Mutinta: ... we want to a see a board which will be well represented like the Zambia National Marketeers Association (ZANAMA).

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear! 

Mr Mutinta: Mr Speaker, I want see a board which will not be a Lusaka board. We want to see a board with representation from Itezhi-Tezhi, Lumezi. We want to see the poor youths from Mongu and Chienge be part of this board.

Rev. Katuta: Hear, hear!

Mr Mutinta: We do not want an elitist board. We want a board which will be representative and since this repeal has been petitioned by a young lady, we want a young woman to chair this board.

Mr Munir Zulu: Hear, hear!

Mr Mutinta: That will be a gift for a woman who understands democracy.

Rev. Katuta: Hear, hear!

Mr Mutinta: Mr Speaker, on the support structure, the National Youth Development Committee is a Lusaka project which does not exist in our constituencies. Two days ago, we were receiving applications and these are some of the boards that just represent Lusaka people. In rural areas, these forms are just dumped at the District Commissioner’s office and there is no coordination. The youth do not have any decentralised source for their support. They are not supported because even at the district level, we do not have officers for the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts. Meanwhile, in Zambia, the majority are the young people.

Mr Speaker, we need to ensure that the registration of clubs, like my hon. Colleague did mention, is digitalised to create a centralised system, rather than this kind of duplication where we do not know who belongs where. All this is as a result of lacking the proper legal framework that governs the welfare of the youths in this country.

Mr Speaker, I must say this is a progressive process and we will support it. It is an urgent issue of public importance, which, had it been possible, should have been repealed today so that young people can also feel part of the process of governing this country.

Mr Speaker, one would even wonder why, up to now, we do not have a Youth Policy. Where are we going as a country when the majority in this republic are the young people? I am very hopeful since, for the first time, we now have a progressive hon. Minister who understands and a progressive Government that has now put the youths at the centre. 

Mr Fube: On a point of order, Sir.

Mr Mutinta: We have a progressive Government. Just look at how things are unfolding now. There is direction that we are going somewhere. I just want to urge the hon. Minister not to tire because he has found a system which has collapsed. There is no legal framework or structures on the ground. I know he is struggling to put things together. We will support this process. The Youth Parliamentary Caucus shall be part of ensuring that the young people’s ideas and desires are galvanised so that the young people who came in large numbers to bring about this change shall feel that they are part of the governance process of this country.

With these few words, Mr Speaker, I strongly support the intention to repeal this Act, which was initiated by a young lady called Ruth Kangwa.

I thank you so much, Sir.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: The hon. Minister of Youth, Sport and Arts will respond on behalf of the Executive.

Interruptions

The Minister of Youth, Sport and Arts (Mr Nkandu): Mr Speaker, I thank you most sincerely ...

Mr Mukosa: On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

Mr Nkandu: ... for according me this opportunity this afternoon to contribute to the debate on the Report of the Committee on Youth, Sport and Child Matters on the consideration of the petition to repeal and replace the National Youth Development Council Act, Chapter 144 of the Laws of Zambia for the First Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly, ...

Mr Mukosa: On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

Mr Nkandu: ... laid on the Table of the House on Wednesday, 13^th July, 2022.

Mr Munir Zulu: It is not fair at all.

Mr Nkandu: Mr Speaker, furthermore, I would like to warmly extend my heartfelt appreciation to the chairperson of the Committee on Youth, Sport and Child Matters and, indeed, through him, to the Committee.

Sir, the report is well articulated, thoughtful and mind provoking. Therefore, ...

Mr Munir Zulu: It is not about PF and UPND.

Mr Nkandu: ... I commend them for the good work which definitely took their valuable time and have no doubt that the Government and my ministry will benefit from this valuable effort ...

Mr Munir Zulu interjected.

Mr Nkandu: ... and report. We may come back for more as a ministry.

Mr Munir Zulu: No independent debating, you are moving on?

Mr Nkandu: Mr Speaker –

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon.  Member for Lumezi, leave the Chamber!

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Leave the Chamber. This is a House of honour and, therefore, we should behave as such.

Mr Munir Zulu stood up.

Mr Munir Zulu: This is too much.

Hon. Members: No, no. Do not do that.

Hon. Member: Uyu umwaiche takachinje.

Mr Munir Zulu started walking out of the Chamber.

Mr Munir Zulu: No, no. There is freedom of expression. There is a Motion –

Hon. UPND Members: Mundubile, discipline him!

Mr Munir Zulu: Atishani? (Walking back)

Hon. Members: No, you do not do that.

Mr Kafwaya got up to escort Mr Munir Zulu.

Mr Munir Zulu: Go back! (While pushing Mr Kafwaya)

Mutotwe, I told you to go back (While pushing him).

Mr Munir Zulu again pushed Mr Kafwaya.

Mr Munir Zulu left the Assembly Chamber.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: May the hon. Minister continue.

Mr Nkandu: Mr Speaker, may I also take this opportunity on the Floor to thank the mover and the seconder of the Motion. However, I want to correct one impression that the hon. Minister is busier than the President. I think that should be corrected. Maybe it is supposed to be vice-versa.

Mr Speaker, I want to thank my dear hon. Colleagues for their support. I also want to thank those who have contributed to the Motion, especially Hon. Fube for Chilubi who really debated passionately, and also Hon. Twaambo Mutinta. Let me also thank the hon. Member of Parliament for Nalolo for also passionately debating the Motion.

Mr Speaker, let me now get to the gaps that have been identified in the Act. Section 2 of the Act does not define, as indicated by the hon. Member for Nalolo, a youth organisation, which creates difficulties in determining which organisation qualifies for registration as a youth organisation. The provision, furthermore, does not define a youth, which also creates difficulties in determining who the subject matter of the law is.

However, we are comforted by the Constitution, which defines a youth as a person who has attained the age of eighteen years, but is below the age of thirty-five years. There would be a need to make a cross reference in the National Youth Development Council Act of the word ‘youth’ with the definition provided in the Constitution. This would give clarity in the law on whom the subject matter refers.

Mr Speaker, there is a need to reconstitute the composition of the council. I agree with this, taking into consideration the public and private sector players that are relevant to the functions of the National Youth Development Council. There is also a need to redefine its functions as the law is old. It may not be archaic, but just old and dynamics have changed. So, it may not be considered archaic, but it is just old. 

Mr Mukosa: What is the difference, hon. Minister?

Mr Nkandu: There is a very big difference between an archaic law and an old law.

Interruptions

Mr Nkandu: The functions need to be redefined as the law is old, as I said, and so many advancements have been made globally with respect to youth programmes and youth activities.

Mr Speaker, additionally, the framework of the structure of the council requires revision. For example, Section 6 (1) of the National Youth Development Council Act states that an ex-officio member shall hold office for three years and may be reappointed upon the expiration of such term. This provision does not state how many times an ex-officio member may be reappointed.

Mr Speaker, the National Youth Development Council Act does not also provide the mandatory registration of youth organisations, as stated by hon. Members of Parliament, with the National Youth Development Council of Zambia and, as a result, many youth organisations have registered with other registering authorities such as the Registrar of Societies, without registering with the NYDC and have been clothed with legal recognition.

Mr Speaker, there is a need for the National Youth Development Council Act to empower the NYDC to be the only registration authority for registering youth organisations in order to provide efficient and effective regulation of youth organisations in the country.

Mr Speaker, Section 5 (1) (B) of the National Youth Development Council Act provides that the council shall consist of twenty two representative members appointed by the hon. Minister. The aforementioned number makes it difficult for any meaningful deliberations. The number is too huge to be made and makes the council too costly to maintain and, therefore, unsustainable.

Mr Speaker, there is a need to reconsider the composition of the council because the composition, for example, does not provide for representation from persons with disabilities.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Nkandu: The National Youth Development Council Act does not provide also for grounds on which the hon. Minister may remove a board member from office.

Sir, further, the language in the Act, I agree, does not conform to the current practice and rules of legislative drafting. These are some of the proposals that we have made for law reform.

Mr Speaker, there is a need to repeal and replace the current law in order to:

    (a) address the gaps highlighted;

    (b) align the law with the trends relating to youth programmes and activities;

    (c)  align the law with current drafting rules; and

    (d)  provide international best practices in relation to the subject matter of the legislation.

Additionally, there is also a need to provide clear guidance on the registration and coordination of youth organisations, and identify the provision in the Act that need to be amended.

Mr Speaker, this report has shown that there is a need to review the National Youth Development Council Act in order to address the highlighted gaps.

Sir, the petitioner may wish to note that the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts commenced the review of the National Youth Development Council Act under the guidance of the Zambia Law Development Commission.  A report also has stated the review process which was submitted to the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Arts in July, 2019. Thereafter, nothing had been done. This just showed the misplaced priorities of the previous regime on youth development. However, the petitioner may wish to note that with the incoming of the New Dawn Government, which attaches great importance to youth development, progress has since been made on the process to review the National Youth Development Council Act.

Mr Speaker, the National Youth Development Council of Zambia Draft Bill has been circulated for Cabinet approval in principal to introduce the Bill in Parliament, which has been supported by line ministries.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Sing’ombe: Mr Speaker, I want to thank the hon. Minister of Youth, Sports and Arts for having agreed with our Committee’s observations. In his response to the House, the hon. Minister indicated that there is a need for international bench marking. This means that you have to look at how your Committee can look at this issue because the bench marking is critical for your Committee to understand how this NYDC should be reformed.

Lastly, I want to thank all the hon. Members who debated; the hon. Member for Chilubi, the hon. Member for Nalolo and the hon. Member for Itezhi Tezhi.

Mr Speaker, you have seen that more hon. Members wanted to debate your Motion, but because of the constraints of time, others have not managed to debate. However, I want to indicate to the hon. Minister that even when he was reading the report, many hon. Members were nodding, meaning that there is need to urgently look at this Bill.

I thank you, Sir.

Question put and agreed to.

_______

MOTION

ADJOURNMENT

The Acting Leader of Government Business in the House and Minister of Defence (Mr Lufuma): Mr Speaker, I beg to move that the House do now adjourn.

Question put and agreed to.

_______

The House adjourned at 1837 hours until 0900 hours on Friday, 22^nd July, 2022.