Friday, 9th September, 2022

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     Friday, 9th September, 2022

The House met at 0900 hours

[MADAM SPEAKER in the Chair]

NATIONAL ANTHEM

PRAYER

______

ANNOUNCEMENT BY MADAM SPEAKER

APPOINTMENT OF PATRIOTIC FRONT DEPUTY WHIP

Madam Speaker: Hon Members, I have received communication to the effect that the Patriotic Front (PF) Party has appointed Mr Anthony Kasandwe, Member of Parliament for Bangweulu as Party Deputy Whip, to replace Mr Joe Malanji, whose seat was nullified.

Thank you.

_______

TIME OF THE PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS

The Vice-President (Mrs Nalumango): Madam Speaker, I wish to inform the House that the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, will arrive at 1025 hours –

Interruptions

Madam Speaker: Order, hon. Members!

Can we have some order because we cannot hear what Her Honour the Vice-President is saying.

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, I wish to inform the House that the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, will arrive at 1025 hours to address the House. 

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Madam Speaker: Order, hon. Members!

Business was suspended from 1005 hours until 1050 hours.

_______

The President entered the Assembly Chamber escorted by Madam Speaker.

(Assembly resumed)

The Clerk read the proclamation.

THE PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS

The President (Mr Hakainde Hichilema): Madam Speaker, we are delighted to address this honourable House on the commencement of the Second Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly.

Madam Speaker, our address this morning comes off the backdrop of our first anniversary as the New Dawn Administration, and we truly acknowledge the support given to our leadership by the people of Zambia during our successful first year in office.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, before we go far, at this juncture, we wish to proceed with our address with a request that this House be upstanding and observe a moment of silence in honour of the life, service and memory of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (UK) and the Commonwealth, and Zambia was a member of the Commonwealth, who passed on yesterday, 8th September, 2022.  Her Majesty was and shall forever be remembered as a symbol of continuity, stability, unity and service, not just in the UK and the Commonwealth but also, the entire global community.

Madam Speaker, at the same time, we also wish to honour and remember the life, service, and memory of our Fourth Republican President, His Excellency, Mr Rupiah Bwezani Banda, who passed away on 11th March, 2022.  His Excellency, Mr Rupiah Bwezani Banda, served our country in many ways and respects. He served our people with utmost honour, humility and distinction. May their souls rest in eternal peace.

Hon. Members of Parliament stood in silence for one minute.

The President: I thank you.

Madam Speaker, we would like to commend you and your two Deputy Speakers for the impartial manner in which you presided over the Business of the House during the first session.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: In the same vein and breath, we wish to commend Her Honour the Vice-President for the efficient and effective manner in which the Government business was conducted during the last session of this people’s National Assembly.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: We also acknowledge the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly for facilitating the smooth transaction of business in the House during the last session.  I dare say, in equal measure that we thank all the hon. Members of Parliament for their good conduct.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Kapyanga: Munir!

The President: Madam Speaker, I repeat. In equal measure, we thank all the hon. Members of Parliament ...

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

The President: ... for their good conduct.  Life is about totality as opposed to singular.

Madam Speaker, we are thrilled to note that during the First Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly, the House passed twenty-five Bills, and considered forty-two Committee Reports as well as 390 Questions, a commendable achievement, indeed. 

Madam Speaker, on the theme of this address, I must say, during the past one year, the New Dawn Administration prioritised the implementation of socio-economic interventions aimed at stabilising, repairing and reviving our economy, which is very important.  We are in office to improve the welfare and wellbeing of the people of Zambia primarily, with a clear intent and resolve to achieve what we said we would for this country and its people.

Madam Speaker, it is for this reason that we have prioritised fiscal discipline through enhanced transparency and accountability to protect public resources as well as serve the people of Zambia with a sense of humility, clarity, and diligence. Our focus has been and remains that of transforming our country into an industrialised nation, with the participation of citizens, and in partnership with the private sector, to systematically unlock various economic opportunities.Nothing will be allowed to stand in the way of unlocking opportunities and we mean nothing. Our focus has also been to deliver inclusive development, jobs and improved livelihoods for all our people without exception.

Madam Speaker, it is important to emphasise the theme of our address today.  Therefore, let me repeat and emphasise the theme for our address this morning. Our theme is “Working Together towards Socio-Economic Transformation: Stimulating Economic Growth for Improved Livelihoods”.

Madam Speaker, through our decision making, we are relentlessly working towards actualising the aspirations of our National Vision 2030 particularly, of transforming our country into a prosperous middle-income nation, and indeed, catapult our economy into a higher, inclusive socio-economic growth trajectory.

Macro-Economic Situation

Madam Speaker, our Government inherited undoubtedly, a broken economy.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, to amplify this, growth had contracted to minus 2.8 per cent in 2020, from an average of 6 per cent, just a decade ago.  The country had a runaway inflation rate that picked at high levels.  To give the House an idea, it was at 22 per cent in 2021, and we will mention a higher figure shortly. The exchange rate had deteriorated to K22 to a Dollar by July, 2021.

Interruptions

The President: Numbers do not lie.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, the financial sector was gripped by exorbitantly high lending rates. We are talking about interest rates and tight liquidity, which is making it costly for individuals and businesses to access financing.  Our national foreign exchange reserves had been decimated to 1.9 months of import cover.  This is way below the international recommended threshold of three months of import cover.  Again, these are international standards.

Madam Speaker, fiscal management was excessively deficient, and was characterised by poor resource allocation, and reckless borrowing which increased the cost of debt service. This resulted unfortunately,

Madam Speaker, in one sentence, as a country, we had failed to manage our economy. The taste of the pudding is in the eating.The numbers are here.We failed to manage our economy. Therefore, we failed to deliver to our people.

Madam Speaker, despite this damaged background, our Government has within a year managed to stabilise the economy.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Hon. PF Members: Question!

The President: We have put back our economy on a positive growth trajectory in the last twelve months. We project the economy to bottom up from this negative growth of 2.8 per cent to a positive growth of 4 per cent in .the medium term.  This is tremendous.  We have consistently subdued inflation. Madam Speaker, I shall repeat. We have consistently subdued inflation from a high, this is what I wanted to say earlier, of 25.6 per cent in August, 2021, just before or around the elections, to a single digit of 9.8 per cent …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: … as at August, 2022, exactly a year later, putting us on course to achieving our targeted inflation rate of 6 to 8 per cent range for the medium term. This is very important if we want growth in the economy.

Madam Speaker, we have stabilised the exchange rate against major convertible currencies, making it proudly one of the best performing currencies not in Africa but in the world. We have built back foreign exchange reserves from 1.9 months to well above the global average basically, of import cover.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: As at the end of June, 2022, this is the figure. This figure is enough to absorb any external shocks and give assurance to investors and citizens to continue investing in this/their country.

Madam Speaker, in one year of our being in office, we have managed to stabilise the economy and are now focussing on resolving one of the biggest disasters of our time, which is the debt crisis.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, with the support of our domestic – I emphasise that with the support of our domestic partners and indeed, a global village, international partners under the Group 20 (G20) common framework, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – I want to emphasise that it is our IMF because we co-own it as Zambia. So, under the support of our domestic partners, citizens, and international partners, the IMF has approved support towards Zambia’s home-grown economic reconstruction programme, which puts us on course to restructuring the debt as we promised during our Opposition days.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, this will free up the much-needed resources to support our local economic development agenda as espoused in the Eighth National Development Plan (8NDP), and indeed, attract more investment such as domestic, regional and foreign, as a package.

Madam Speaker, being in the champion’s league is not enough. We must now remodel ourselves into being a responsible participant in the League of Nations by meeting our debt service obligations when they fall due. We therefore, request the support of all our creditors so that we can achieve our last mile in the restructuring of this disastrous debt.  As the English will say, we are now ready to sink our teeth in the beef so that we can have a conclusion, which is the restructuring of our debt. So, we can release revenue.

Madam Speaker, our Government is committed to ensuring continued prudent fiscal management by reforming our public financial management systems and indeed, laws as well as enhancing transparency and accountability in the management of public affairs because that is what led to the crisis in the debt. We are working on it and seriously so.

Madam Speaker, in order to entrench our home-grown reform programme and set our country’s strategic direction, we officially launched the 8NDP, 2022-2026 under the theme: “Social Economic Transformation for Improved Livelihoods.”

Madam Speaker, I do hear people say that the UPND or the New Dawn Government has no plan. There is the plan.

Madam Speaker, the focus of our 8NDP is to restore macro-economic stability by raising real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) not in nominal numbers, but real GDP growth, as well as attaining debt and fiscal sustainability to improve the livelihoods of the people of Zambia. That is the sole reason we are in public office. We need to especially, improve the most vulnerable of our population.As you will see later, we have put specific intervention measures to support the most vulnerable.

Madam Speaker, anchored on the 8NDP, the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning, will at the end of this month, present to this august House, the 2023 National Budget, which shall outline specific macro-economic objectives that the Government seeks to achieve, as well as the key developmental interventions to be implemented in 2023. This is very specific. We urge hon. Members of Parliament in totality, not singularly or individually, irrespective of the political parties they represent because that is the choice of the voters, to support the Budget as it is presented to this House.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, may we now highlight the policy measures to be implemented in the coming year, at the broader level under the four strategic development areas of the 8NDP, namely:

  1. economic transformation and job creation;
  2. human and social development;
  3. environmental sustainability; and
  4. good governance environment.

Madam Speaker, we shall proceed with each one of these articulated briefly.

Economic Transformation and Job Creation

Madam Speaker, in order to transform our economy and create jobs and wealth for our people, we shall continue to pursue efforts aimed at increasing both local and foreign investments, production as different from productivity, value addition and trade, as well as ensuring that our citizens participate and benefit fully from the economic activities of their Government and country.  In this regard, our Administration has prioritised agriculture, mining and manufacturing, which we could call, ‘value addition’ and tourism, as the key drivers to achieving economic transformation. It is therefore, important to support these sectors to consider strategic importance of energy, transport, information and communication technology, as well as research and development which has suffered in previous years.  So, we shall return to this subject which is very important. These are key enablers to the transformation agenda.  They are integral to the transformation agenda.

Madam Speaker, the agriculture sector continues to be the major source of livelihood for our people in providing food and employment opportunities, raw materials to feed our industries, as well as bringing in the much-needed foreign exchange into our country.

Madam Speaker, the sector, however, continues to grapple with a number of challenges, notably, climate change and those other issues related to climate change such as drought and floods. We are seeing this happening across the world.  There are also issues of outbreak of animal diseases, insufficient utilisation of irrigation opportunities, inadequate extension services, no doubt about it, and lack of it which leads to low productivity and not production, especially among our small-scale farmers. 

Madam Speaker, to address the foregoing challenges, your New Dawn Government has instituted a number of measures. These include enhanced surveillance, extension services and promoting agriculture diversification. We do not want this to continue to be a story or playing with words. We want to realise it.  There is also irrigation development. Truly, extension services must go back to the farming areas.

Madam Speaker, we are promoting climate smart agriculture. The Government has also commenced the formulation of a comprehensive Agriculture Support Programme (ASP) which will transform the sector and move it away from fertiliser and seed to equate to agriculture. Agriculture is bigger than that.  So, therefore, we believe we will improve the sector in a broader way.  Productivity should go up and substantially, improve the livelihoods of our people.

Madam Speaker, during our address to this august House in September, 2021, we promised that our Administration would work with the private sector in exploiting opportunities available in domestic, regional, and international markets, with market access agreements with China and South Africa, for the export of blueberries, having already been signed in a number of cases.

Madam Speaker, we are walking the talk.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, further, we have met the phytosanitary requirements for the export of plant and plant products such as avocados, passion fruits, pears, and fresh cut flowers which had slowed down to the European Union (EU) market. We have also met the requirements for exporting avocados to a lucrative market in the Middle East, to be specific, the United Arab Emirates, macadamia nuts and peas to South Africa, stevia and soya bean meal to China, black carrots to Germany, and timber to China and Vietnam, although we prefer to export products rather than raw timber. We are working on that. We urge our farmers to take advantage of these available opportunities by producing more horticultural produce to ensure reliable and sustainable supply, while the Government works to expand market channels for our local produce.

Madam Speaker, to turn around the mining sector, our/your Administration is creating a conducive environment for increased investment and participation of our people in the sector, who have been marginalised or left out for too long, while positioning the country to take advantage of emerging opportunities in mining value chain at local, regional  indeed,  global level. The conducive and predictable policy environment unlocked the landmark investment of US$1.35 billion for the Nickel Project in Kalumbila, North-Western Province ...

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: … and in addition, an expansion of a mine in Kansanshi, lengthening its life to another twenty years because it was almost coming to an end. This investment will extend the life of that mine and create jobs for another twenty years.  This is very important.  This is a clear testament of our efforts to improve the mining sector, create jobs and indeed, wealth for our people and the communities that live around the resource endowments.

Madam Speaker, the country will see more specific interventions to ensure that value trickles to the local communities. There are specific interventions that we are working on.

Madam Speaker, the Nickel Project and the extension of the life of a mine at Kansanshi, as I said, for the next twenty years, will not only contribute to economic growth but also, provide and secure the much-needed jobs for our people, those who may not only earn income through jobs but also, those who are willing to work for themselves as small, medium and large businesses.

Madam Speaker, our Government, the people’s Government, has signed a co-operation agreement with the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to develop the electric motor vehicle battery value chain and other accessories, which is very important.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, we are on the move. We follow the stories and comments people make when we travel to do such things.  We are undeterred. We are on the moving. We envisaged that this initiative will hugely contribute to the attainment of our development goals, including the creation of more jobs for our citizens.

Madam Speaker, I dare say that this facility will be located on the Copperbelt.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr President:  There are some arguments going on between Ndola and Chingola, but it will settle somewhere.

Interruptions

President: I can see hon. Members are interested and happy. That is what we want to see.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Copperbelt is our home.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Copperbelt is our region.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Fwebenakansesa.  This means, “We, who are citizens of this country.”

Hon. PF Members: Meaning?

The President: Madam Speaker, I have said it in English.  Through formalisation, capacity building, as well as provision of extension and technical services, our Administration has prioritised the reorganisation, please hear me out, of artisanal and small-scale mining in our endeavour to increase the participation of our ordinary citizens in the mining sector.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: This is real. Watch the space.  We are also addressing all irregularities in this sub-sector in order to end what we have lived with for years, which is called “illegal mining”.  We want to legalise it and ensure that the country benefits from such God-given rich mineral endowment.  We have been watching.  Zambians have been observers. Going forward, they will be key participants.  That is why we shut down the cadastre for a while to begin to address these issues. This is the methodical approach we talk about.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Indeed! Other than this, we are also moving to establishing market hubs for manganese. We promised our people in Luapula when we were in Opposition that we would attend to them benefiting from manganese. It is not just about them moving rocks and get very little. No! We have a plan for them as well.  Those are our people.  That is our home and country. For manganese, we will provide possibilities for easy market for artisanal miners and off taker agreements so that they can earn more money. This will enable them to mine safely so that they do not die every day, but generate more value. That is why we were elected into public office.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, we do not want to continue moving manganese from Mansa over the Tuta Bridge into Serenje. We want to process it in that area, but we need energy.  Hon. Kapala, we need energy.

Mr Chitotela: Kalungwishi!

The President: Yes! Namulanda bakalamba. Kalungwishi!

Laughter

The President: Madam Speaker, I am saying that my brother has spoken well.

Laughter

The President: Madam Speaker, the Government remains committed to addressing the challenges affecting the operations at Konkola and Mopani Copper Mines. I am very alive to that.  Measures are being taken, difficult as it is, given the mess that was created, to basically bring back these assets into being useful and contribute to the economic reconstruction agenda including, our 3 million tonnes production target over a decade.

Hon. Members: Three years!

The President: Not three years. I have heard some people say three years. It is over a decade. 

Madam Speaker, in an effort to provide a favourable environment for increased investment, hear me out, in the mining sector, even for our small and artisanal miners, and downstream activities, the Government shall review the Mineral Resources Development Policy, which will continue to review and better the sector while positioning it to contribute towards our country’s economic transformation agenda.

Madam Speaker, our Government has recently launched the Public Private Dialogue Forum for Development (PPDF) in a vigorous bid to strengthen partnerships with the private sector, and scale-up efforts to create an enabling environment for industrialisation, trade, jobs and wealth creation for our people, in a legal way and not in an illegal manner.  The forum is a strategic platform for constructive engagement between the Government and the private sector to address critical sector-specific constraints to private sector development. We therefore, need a crosscutting collaboration in translating this journey into real results for our citizens. 

Madam Speaker, we call upon the private sector, our colleagues, wherever they are and watching from, to take advantage of this New Dawn Administration’s open-door policy and actively participate in the full utilisation of the PPDF platform.

Madam Speaker, in full recognition that small and medium business enterprises are key contributors to job and wealth creation, the Government allocated resources to the Zambia Credit Guarantee Scheme (ZCGS). This has resulted into over 120 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) being supported with guarantees to enable them access financing from commercial banks, as well as supporting beneficiaries with business development services as they continue to work and endeavour to grow their small businesses.  Those are large businesses of the future.  That is the way it starts.

Madam Speaker, in addition, we have also allocated more resources to the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) for enterprise development with worth of empowerment products targeted at citizens, micro, small and medium-scale enterprises as well as co-operatives, I dare say. The commission has also set aside to operationalise industrial yards across the country, some of which were abandoned and were growing into a bush.We are attending to that because those are national assets.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: National money was used to build them and not private money. That is the difference we bring to the table. 

Madam Speaker, under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), allocations have also been made to empower micro, small and medium enterprises, and co-operatives.

Madam Speaker, the Government, with the support of our World Bank – We are members and shareholders of the World Bank. So, this is our World Bank. It is not a foreign entity or bank but our World Bank. 

Interruptions

The President: Yes, I am saying our World Bank and not a foreign a bank.  Chizungu icho.

Laughter

The President: Madam Speaker, that is English.

Madam Speaker, our World Bank is implementing the Zambia Agribusiness and Trade Project (ZATP), with the project assisting SMEs to grow through multi-faceted interventions. One good example is the Forest Africa Zambia Limited, in Chilanga, an enterprise that is processing the mabuyu and ngai wild fruits, ...

Interruptions

The President: … into beverages of up to 12,000 litres per month, providing a steady market for our people who are harvesting and gathering these wild fruits because before, they had no market I do not have an English name for them.  Now, there is a market. There is specific intervention by your Government which supports those who gather these wild fruits through a processor which is deliberately identified so that we can create value chain.  This is very important.  This is the way it should be done. We want to grow such initiatives beyond Chilanga to all the ten provinces of the country.  Can we do it?  Yes, we can do it, working together.

Madam Speaker, following the successful implementation of this project, the Government is looking at not just spreading, but also, scaling-up to ensure it brings significance to something that had not happening before, especially the involvement of the youth and the women. The Government is also looking at gender equality and self employment. This is facilitated by a Government that understands the jigsaw puzzle.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, to facilitate trade, including smooth clearance of goods, the Government has continued to improve and modernise border infrastructure and transform them into one-stop border posts, starting with Sakania in Ndola. Abena kopala, kalebwangu.

Laughter

Hon. PF Members: Meaning?

The President: This means, “We, the people of the Copperbelt must do things quickly”. There should be no time to waste.

Madam Speaker, Sakania, Kambimba, Lumwana, Kolwezi and Kipushi border posts are very important because of their strategic location. Furthermore, the Chalwe Border Post with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mwami Border Post with Malawi, Chanida Border Post with Mozambique, and Nakonde Border Post with Tanzania, are very critical.  All of these borders are earmarked for urgent modernisation.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning and I had a conversation that there were also other smaller borders posts which require minimal investments, but will formalise trade and bring value to our country in many ways.  The hon. Minister will be looking at those areas. Small dosage of investment and money recovered from wastage will be brought into useful application.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, being another priority sector in our economic transformation and job creation agenda, tourism has this year recorded favourable performance in comparison to last year. It has recorded favourable performance in comparison just in one year.  We have recorded a favourable performance in comparison to last year with the number of international tourist arrivals increasing substantially from around 240,000 in the first half of 2021 to more than doubling, 496,500 in the corresponding period this year.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, it is not about the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). It is this Government’s agenda to making Zambia as a centre of conferences.

Hon. PF Members: Question!

The President: Madam Speaker, it is a strategic decision. This as I said, is more than double the numbers.  Life is not poker or insolo. Life is strategic management of the economy.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, this increase has attributed to a number of factors.  As I said already, the clear decision this Government made from day one was that we were receiving or hosting fewer and fewer conferences. That is why we see more conferences now being held in Zambia. This is only the beginning and people can already see the benefits. This is it. We want tourism to take its place in the development agenda of our economy.

Madam Speaker, it is also key that we relax certain measures.We will ask Parliament when the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning presents the Budget to support those measures which include reducing the visa fee and I dare say, waving the visa itself, in a number of countries. That is how it works.

Madam Speaker, the revenue that would arise from such increase in tourist numbers out ways the little revenue visa fees.There is no question about it.That is the way it works and we shall drive in that direction.It is also important that in doing or putting in these measures in place, this House, all of it, shall be consulted.The private sector, the Church, and non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) shall be consulted so that we can walk together.  The two cannot walk together unless they agree. So, we intend to secure agreement as we run to implement the turnaround of our economy for social-value delivery to all our people.

Madam Speaker, we come with more good news. To reduce the cost associated with the establishment and operation of tourism enterprises in our country, the Government shall introduce a single licensing system for the tourism sector ...

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: ... so that we can kill out the bureaucracy, time wastage, and multiplicity.  This will add to more value. Watch the space. You will see it next year. 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: The Government shall also upgrade tourism sites to improve the product offering and infrastructure leading to sites such as the Kasaba Bay in the Nsumbu National Park.  I know the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning led a team there and measures were recommended.  We are working and implementing them very quickly.  Nsumbu National Park is very important to our tourism product in our country, the total offering which will also help the Northern Circuit, but without ignoring the genetic historical tourism destinations of Livingstone and others.  There is no question about it.  That is how you do business.  You do not ignore one sector and focus on another.  If you invest in the old traditional sector, you should invest more in the new sectors. That way, you will have an upgrade and not a downgrade and obviously, the Liuwa National Park in the Western region.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, to improve access to rural communities, the Government, as at June, 2022, had rehabilitated and maintained over 1,000 kilometres of rural roads in the Central, the Northern, Luapula, and the Eastern provinces. Works will commence in Muchinga.  Mulekutika?

Laughter

The President: Madam Speaker, I am saying, I hope this House is listening and I know it is listening. I said that the roads works will commence in Muchinga, the Southern, the Western, the North-Western, and Copperbelt provinces while we target the remaining rehabilitation of an additional 4,000 kilometres plus of roads in 2025.  We had to schedule this work knowing that the resource envelope had shrunk as demonstrated in the decline within the growth of the economy.  There should not be an argument on this matter.  It is a straight forward matter.  The envelope shrunk.  It was taken and eaten away.  We are rebuilding it so that we can do more roads.

Madam Speaker, to improve the operational efficiency of the railway sub-sector, the Government is in the process of improving the operations of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) system as well as the infrastructure at Zambia Railways.  We cannot allow the railway system to go down because it just increases the cost of maintaining our roads.  So, we understand.

Hon. Government Member: The money was stolen.

The President: Yes, the money was stolen before we came into power.  I agree with you.

Laughter

The President: Madam Speaker, lifted by travel demand following the decline in the global COVID-19 infections, the aviation sub-sector is now showing signs of recovery, with the general passenger movement recorded at just below 680,000 in the first six months of 2022, compared to below 290,000 in the same quarter in the previous year. Hon. Members, please, make these numbers over the same period. They are sending a message. That is how you do comparisons. You should benchmark correctly.

Madam Speaker, again, numbers do not lie. They tell a story. That is why you are seeing an upswing in the economy.  The numbers were projected.  However, it is all deliberate and not by lucky or chance.  That is what is important.

Madam Speaker, while the reintroduction of the Zambian Airways should improve domestic and regional connectivity, your Government is clear that this sector must be watched carefully. No excitements must ride what we do.  We must be realistic because we understand the challenges of running an airline even for big countries.  We know what is going on in this sector.  So, we therefore want to ensure that we are very measured in what we do in this sector so that we do not perpetuity wastage of public resources.         

Madam Speaker, electricity and petroleum products continue to be critical to enablers for the industrial growth and transformation of our country’s economy. As such, it is a key policy objective of this your New Dawn Administration that your Government will ensure stability, availability, and indeed, affordability of supply for our people and businesses alike.  We are spending long nights with key colleagues in the sector, working and realigning things, so that this sector can take its centre role in enabling economic development in our country.  

Madam Speaker, you will be very delighted that we have increased electricity generation to –

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, I shall continue.  We have increased electricity generation to 10,800,000 MW hours –

Hon. PF Members: PF!

The President: Hear it properly.

Madam Speaker, we will come to that. During the first half of the year –

The President: Just wait a moment. You will hear how this happened. We have increased electricity generation to 10,800,000 MW hours from 9,900,000 MW hours in a corresponding period in 2021, with the increase largely attributed to –

Hon. PF Members: PF!   

The President: Yes!

The President: Wait! Thank you very much.

Madam Speaker, I beg to move. From MW hours in a corresponding period in 2021, with the increase largely attributed to the improved water levels and most importantly, the recommencement of the work that was suspended in 2019 –

Interruptions

The President: Madam Speaker, facts are what should guide us. The Kafue Gorge Lower Project got suspended before the elections in 2021. When came back, our priority was to quickly look at how to restart that project. We found the money, the reason for which the works were suspended because the money was gobbled in other things.

Madam Speaker, by being prudent, we were able to renegotiate the extravagant tariffs at Itezhi-tezhi Hydro Power Project, Maamba Thermal Power Plant and the Ndola facility. Surprise, surprises, we were able to raise money to do –

Interruptions

The President: Madam Speaker, let me conclude on this part.  We were able to check where we could intervene quickly, realised mistakes and corrected them outside the straight line, innovatively. We were able to complete generator number two. When the works were suspended, there was only generator number one which was done. We later had generator number two, three and four. We will be concluding generator number five in two months.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Interruptions

The President: Madam Speaker, this is the prudence we used to talk about when we were in the Opposition.  That is what we are doing and nothing less. More of these things will show their positive signs soon. Sometimes, it takes a bit of time.  Sometimes, work needs to be done and we are doing the work.

Madam Speaker, as a result, we have increased electricity generation to supply local needs, andI dare say, to support exports to countries within the region, while we are aiming to commission the remaining unit at the Kafue Gorge Lower Hydro-Power Station and it will be done ahead of schedule. That is important.

Furthermore, to facilitate the export of electricity to the East African Region, through the Eastern Africa Power Pool, the Government will complete, very rapidly and working very hard, the remaining circuits for the Zambia-Tanzania-Kenya interconnector to enhance the Zambia-DRC interconnector to allow us to evacuate the power to the markets as we planned years back, and realise our commitment to make Zambia truly the electricity hub in this region.We are on the road to doing that.  Abana Luapula, Kalungwishi is hotly being worked on and you will be very delighted very soon.

The President: Thank you. Do not worry about that. It is in the plan. There is an organised work going on in this country now.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, the Government shall ensure that major electricity generation projects, such as the Batoka Gorge Hydro Power Station has the potential to generate, let me put it differently, 2.4 GW which is 2,400 MW.  That is what it means. We want to implement what I talked of. Obviously, in keeping with our commitment to grow and diversify our electricity supply base, we shall ensure that alternative sources of clean energy, such as wind, geothermal and solar, are fully exploited.

Madam Speaker, the Government is restructuring the petroleum sub-sector to bring efficiency in the petroleum supply chain, including the restructuring of Indeni Petroleum Refinery, which is no longer economically viable and cannot compete with modern refineries in the form it is.

Madam Speaker, instead of processing crude oil, it is not even crude oil but co-mingled stuff, the company shall be blending locally produced bio-diesel and ethanol with imported finished petroleum products, ultimately, providing a ready market for locally produced bio-diesel and ethanol. This will trigger exponential growth in these sectors in the economy as well as contribute to reduction of the cost of importing either the co-mingled stuff or the finished products.That is how it works.

Madam Speaker, it is also envisaged that Indeni Petroleum Refinery shall also manage fuel depots and mark petroleum products to guarantee product integrity and prevent tax fraud, while the Tanzania Zambia Mafuta (TAZAMA) pipeline will be used to transport finished products from the high seas to –

Hon. Government Member: Country!

The President: Absolutely! It will transport finished products from the high seas into our country. 

Hon. PF Member interjected.

The President: The work is already under way. You are behind schedule, Sir.

The President: Madam Speaker, in order to promote efficiency and stability in the petroleum sub-sector, as well as enable the Government play its rightful role of a regulator, a fundamental policy shift shall provide for the private sector to drive the bulk procurement system for the petroleum products. Hear our words. The Government will retain its regulatory, oversight and security of supply responsibilities. You should be very conscious of that.  

Madam Speaker, our Government is excited with the current digital revolution offering limitless opportunities to accelerate socio-economic development of our country.  There is an urgent need for us to invest in the digitalisation of our economy by rapidly investing, I dare say, in efficient and effective internet connectivity.  The quality of internet at the moment is not good and we are aware and understand.  So, there is need to invest in that.

Madam Speaker, the issue of broader connectivity across the country, urban or rural is something that is vexing our minds at the moment.  As it stands, the numbers do not look good. I do not even wish to read them out here, but our plan is to have basically, exponential growth in this sector.

Madam Speaker, with regards to technology, as you will hear soon, I am looking at the hon. Minister of Technology and Science, allows us to leapfrog in this sector.

Madam Speaker, the nation will be very delighted. When we are done with work behind the scenes, we will be able to tell the country the good news that is coming soon in that sector.  In this regard, a digital transformation strategy has been developed further, to support this agenda.

Madam Speaker, additionally, information and communication technology skills development is also being promoted through initiatives, such as the national skills development for youth employability and entrepreneurship across the country.

Human and Social Development

Madam Speaker, as an Administration, we are of the unwavering belief that education is the best ever platform of socio-economic progress in any decent and organised country.  There is no question about it. The Government should make education available for all its citizens. 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, for this reason, I know some in this country never believed that it was possible to make education available for all the children. For this reason, our Government has done away with longstanding encumbrances such as tuition and examination fees. It is providing, not surprising to us, but to others, free education in public schools, from early childhood to secondary school, so that more of our children, who were unable to attend school on account of affordability can be given an opportunity to do so, the way this President was given an opportunity to come out the village and sit in this position.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: We cannot argue that issue. It is a foregone conclusion that education is the better investment for any country or community.  Let us just work together and stop arguing. 

Madam Speaker, to fill up the gap in finances created by this fantastic free education policy, we have increased grants to schools, as well as ensuring timely delivery of these grants to cater for the schools normal operations.If you ask any school now, they will tell you that they are receiving their grants on time, and not in a few schools, but in all the schools of the ten provinces of Zambia.Equality and fairness are the words, and not as it was before.

The President: Madam Speaker, to prop-up the quality of education, the Government has recruited and employed over 30,000 teachers and posted across all the schools in the country.  I was delighted when I heard the children in Kawambwa saying that they were out of teaching jobs for five years, after graduating and that they got jobs without knowing anybody in the Government. More importantly, one young lady teacher said, “I got a job without paying ka something.”

Laughter

The President: Madam Speaker, this is the way this Government will run the country.  This is the way citizens and others must get used to what is happening because that is the right thing and not what was obtaining before. This will improve the teacher-pupil ratio, no doubt about it, which will contribute to increasing the quality of education. This is the way things must work.

Madam Speaker, the Government has continued to pay boarding fees.  There is another component for free education, school grants, and boarding fees to pupils who go to boarding schools in Government schools.  These three are not one and the same. They are different. Of course, this will enable the Government provide education grants for disadvantaged adolescent girls to encourage the girl child to remain in school longer, and obviously the boy child, as well as to allow ourselves to continue to keep the girls in school projects. This is very important. Approximately, 59,000 girls are currently benefitting from the component of our free education loan in one year. That is fantastic.

Madam Speaker, to create additional learning space, the Government shall construct an additional 120 secondary schools, in addition to the 115 secondary schools, whose construction started in previous years, but got abandoned because the money ran out at it was diverted to other things.  

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, this Government understands that no asset should stand idle because it is not complete. We want to put these assets into useful and gainful utilisation. Therefore, we will put money onto them. It does not matter whether they were started by the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) Government or the Patriotic Front (PF) Government, this Government will complete them.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Further, to ensure that no child sits on the Floor – This makes me emotional, Madam Speaker. It is personal. To ensure that no school going child sits on the Floor by the end of 2023, the Government has embarked on an ambitious exercise to leverage the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). All hon. Members of Parliament and other stakeholders, other than the eight nominated ones, hear me out. We want to work with you to ensure that before the end of 2023, no child should be sitting on the Floor.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Let us make progress. The ills are known. You are failing to utilise the first instalments. 

Madam Speaker, I invite all the hon. Members of Parliament irrespective of their political parties, including hon. Independent Members of Parliament to agree to this agenda that no child should be sitting on the Floor. The Government will and is already supporting all constituencies equitably. Let us just work together. Let us stop the petting. Let us stop the argument. Let us work together.

Madam Speaker, to mitigate the challenge of high youth unemployment, the Government is implementing various youth skills development programmes. This year alone, over 12,000 youths have been trained in various skills such as metal fabrication, plumbing, carpentry, joinery, mining, bricklaying, and in general, agriculture. We are truly grateful to the Church and the civil society for the additional support that they are providing in this area. Now, we work as a team.  We have said before and we repeat it in this House that the New Dawn Government is not in competition with the Church, civil society, NGOs, and the private sector. We are partners in development. That should stay with us longer and longer.

Madam Speaker, we underscore our commitment to providing affordable and quality health services. We have employed 11,000 medical staff to ease health service delivery.

Madam Speaker, to take health services as close as possible to our people, the Government has continued with the construction of thirty-six district hospitals countrywide, which are at various stages of completion, while working on completing the construction of the remaining sixteen out of a target of 115 mini hospitals, as well as eighty-three out of a target of 650 health posts. This work will continue. There will be no marginalisation because this is our country and it will be done in all parts of the country. This is, indeed, the good and lovely music that citizens want to hear across the country.

Madam Speaker, going forward, the Government will continue to undertake recruitment in the economic and social sectors to continue improving service delivery to our people. To ensure steady supply and availability of essential drugs and medicines, a matter that interests most Zambians, if not all, the Government has procured a year’s supply of essential medicines and medical supplies ...

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: ... while promoting local manufacturing of pharmaceutical products. Our challenge is to continue improving the delivery systems, so that our citizens access medicines. We acknowledge that challenge and we are working on it. This is to improve resilience and efficiency of our pharmaceutical supply chain, but also focusing gradually on replacing imports with locally produced drugs in our country. That support is clearly there and its benefits are jobs and business opportunities.

Madam Speaker, the New Dawn Administration remains committed to the fight against COVID-19. We are very committed to protecting our people’s lives. We are happy to note that the COVID-19 vaccination campaign that was re-launched on 8th October, 2021, coupled with other interventions, has now, if you like, encouraged citizens to get vaccinated, with our national COVID-19 vaccination status having dramatically improved from less than 10 per cent, to be specific, only 3 per cent or there about at the changeover of Government in 2021, to now a national vaccination average of well over 46 per cent.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: This is just in one year, but is not enough. We are not satisfied as the Government and efforts shall continue in this direction. We have since attained above 70 per cent immunisation in twenty-two districts and we would like the remaining districts to move quickly.

Madam Speaker, our Government shall continue to prioritise food and nutrition security through diversification of food production initiatives and ensuring the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of ensuring zero hunger in our country. We are pleased to report that the country is food secure, with over 1.2 million tonnes of surplus maize in stock already.

Madam Speaker, to guarantee and enhance national food and nutrition security, the Government is implementing the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP), because some thought it was discontinued. No, no, we are going ahead, except we want to expand the sector through the Agriculture Support Programme (ASP) by supporting, as it were, over 1 million small and medium-scale farmers with fertiliser and seed. This will continue.

In addition, the Government is implementing the Food Security Pack Programme to take care of the most vulnerable in our communities. This programme is benefitting 263,700 recipients in the name of households, with 40,000 households being supported with inputs such as fertiliser and seed for something new called wetland farming. Something is going on there. I invite hon. Members of Parliament ...

Mr Chilangwa: In Bangweulu!

The President: ... to watch what is happening there, which is very important to your constituencies and to this country. We want to go into wetland farming because we have water in the rainy season flooding and we could do rice. In the dry season, we just need to put fire to that area, but now, we can produce food in the dry season.

Interruptions

The President: Market is not an issue. You are behind. Listen to me.

Laughter

The President: Madam Speaker, the Government remains committed to implementing various interventions aimed at improving access to clean and safe drinking water, adequate sanitation as well as ensuring national water security. The Kafue Bulk Water Supply Project, Kaputa Water Supply and Sanitation Project and Mufumbwe Water Supply Project have since been completed and commissioned, and are benefiting over 485,000 people. The Chinsali Water Supply Project will also be commissioned very soon. This will benefit additional thousands of our people.

Ms Mulenga: Hear, hear!

The President: The Government is also working towards completing the Kafulafuta Water Supply Project. The works are going on now. They had stopped, but they are going on now. The Nkana Water Supply and Sanitation Project as well as the Chipata Water Supply and Sanitation Project are also being worked on. These are very important projects.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

The President: The ongoing projects still to be completed are integrated small town cheap water supply and sanitation projects in Nakonde – Ya tata, ya mayo.

The President: Madam Speaker, ya tata, ya mayo simply means mother and fathers.  We are also working on transforming rural livelihoods in Mpika District. There is the Western Zambia Project and the Zambia Water and Sanitation Project on the Copperbelt. There is also the Lusaka Emergency Water Supply and Lusaka Sanitation Programme. Once completed, these projects will provide safe and clean drinking water to well over 1.5 million of our people.

Madam Speaker –

Interruptions

The President: Madam Speaker!

Interruptions

The President: I am addressing, Madam Speaker.

Laughter

The President: Madam Speaker, a total of ninety-four piped water schemes were constructed in just the first half of this year, where 438 additional boreholes were constructed, and 871 non-functional boreholes were rehabilitated. Abandoned boreholes have been rehabilitated countrywide and a further 279 sanitation facilities were constructed.

Madam Speaker, in order to sustain the continued implementation of water supply and sanitation projects to improve the health and wellbeing of our people, we shall work on ensuring the commercial viability of our utility companies. We are aware that the water utility companies are underperforming. They have been basically not doing exactly as we want them to do as citizens. We are working on that. We are alive to that.

Madam Speaker, we need to improve the quality of management and leadership. Leadership is the key in anything. I am sure the country has seen it in the last one year. Leadership is the key.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, to reverse the devastating effects of poverty and inequality among our people, especially in rural areas, the Government has enhanced the provision of social protection programmes, I had mentioned this earlier, such as the Social Cash Transfer (SCT) to ease the burden for the poor and vulnerable. We understand that every society will have such people and we are responsible for looking after them as well as other sectors of the community. Under the SCT programme, our Administration has increased the number of beneficiary households across the country, with the number of beneficiary households being supported increasing from 887,759 in 2021 to 913,254, this year. Please, understand comparisons and benchmarking. We are targeting to reach a whooping 1 million beneficiary households by the end of this year.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, the Government has also increased the transfer value for all the SCT beneficiaries. It is not just the number of beneficiaries but also, the value of the support from K300 to K400 for one category, and a bigger number for persons living with disabilities from K600 to K800. That is what it is. Our Government has worked exceedingly hard to ensure that we are up-to-date in paying these benefits. Again, there is no segregation. The segregation of the past is gone.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Everybody who is a citizen is entitled to this. The qualification is that you are a citizen, first of all, and secondly, you are entitled. Epela, endita mukwai.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

The President: I mean just that. Everybody is entitled. There will be no fidgeting, no but, no if. Every citizen eligible is on the programme. That is all. Thank you.

Madam Speaker, on a separate day, I will encourage citizens to learn Zambian languages, and not to stick to one language. When they do that, they become a bit inadequate.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, the Government is implementing the ‘Cash Plus’ approach to link SCT beneficiary households to other social protection programmes, such as the Food Security Pack and the Girls Education and Women’s Empowerment and Livelihoods (GEWEL). It is very important to link these together because there are inefficiencies, duplications and overlaps in there. So, we intend to clean these up so that more Zambians can come onto the programmes.

We are also mainstreaming nutrition in these social protection programmes to improve nutrition among our poor and vulnerable households. I hate the word ‘poor’. I must say, Madam Speaker, I hate the word ‘poor’. I want to say that the social protection programmes will improve nutrition among our disadvantaged households because the word ‘poor’ is really not a good word to use.

Madam Speaker, to promote gender equality and equity, the Government is implementing various women empowerment programmes, with 9,614 women so far having received productivity grants for various economic activities under the Supporting Women’s Livelihoods (SWL) intervention.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: That is the programme.

In addition, under the village banking programme, 4,301 women accessed micro credit support and financial literacy, as well as life and business skills to enable them engage in various businesses.

Madam Speaker, we are concerned with the increasing number of children living on our streets. As such, the Government is removing these children out of the streets to rehabilitate and reintegrate them in society.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: There is more good news, Madam Speaker. To further enhance the wellbeing of children in our country, the Children’s Code Act No. 12 of 2022 has been enacted.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

The President: This will comprehensively promote and protect the rights and welfare of our children.

Madam Speaker, we have additional good news. The Government is revising the National Policy on Disability to enhance the welfare of persons living with disabilities and promote their effective participation in national development programmes in the country.

Environmental Sustainability

Madam Speaker, our country’s socio-economic transformation agenda is anchored on the principles of sustainable development. We are resolute to develop without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their aspirations. This is important. To this end, we are implementing programmes aimed at strengthening climate change adaptation and mitigation, and promoting sustainable environmental, and natural resource management.

Madam Speaker, to reverse forest and land degradation, the Government is implementing the Transforming Landscapes for Resilience and Development Project across Luapula, Muchinga and the Northern provinces to promote the sustainable management of our natural resources, while improving the livelihoods and resilience of our communities. The project targets to benefit well over 500,000 people, with at least 50 per cent of the beneficiaries being female-headed households. This is very important.

Madam Speaker, by implementing the Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) programme, 11,600 ha of wetlands and forests as well as 3,250 ha of agriculture land will be rehabilitated by 2025 across the damaged ecosystems of the Lukanga and Bangweulu wetlands.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

The President: As we know, the Lukanga and Bangweulu wetlands are in Central and Luapula provinces.

Mr Kafwaya interjected.

The President: Thank you. We care for you all the time.

The President: These restorative measures will result in 50,700 people benefitting through various economic activities such as agriculture, fishing and forest-based industries.

Madam Speaker, hear me out. We are promoting afforestation, reforestation and regeneration of indigenous forests by promoting and supporting the use of integrated and Community-Based Sustainable Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) systems across the country. These initiatives are helping communities to adopt climate-resilient agricultural practices, thereby reducing their vulnerability to climate change.

Madam Speaker, we remain determined to reverse the trend of deforestation by discouraging the use of charcoal and wood fuel by promoting forest-based activities such as bee-keeping, mushroom harvesting and tree crop planting, as alternative sources of income because sometimes, our people have no choice but to sell a bag of charcoal to buy salt. Luckily, they do not have to sell charcoal to send their child to school. That cost is taken care of and that should also help reduce the deforestation. This is how connected the economy and community are. You give free education and free the parents from the burden. They will sell less bags of charcoal. Instead, they now can do bee-keeping, fish farming, collect mabuyu and sell it to someone and there will be juice there.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, we are pleased to note that some of our people are adopting green and renewable energy sources, such as biogas, solar and wind. We are very pleased to notice that.

Madam Speaker, to address the challenge around the indiscriminate exploitation of our forests, particularly cutting down of trees, the Government is strengthening regulation and enforcement of the law. The good news is that technology will soon allow us to know in real time who is cutting what tree and where. Indeed, this will be through satellite-based technology.

Laughter

The President: This will be very soon. So, if you are hiding there and you are sponsoring deforestation, soon it will become difficult. That is why we are excited with Information and Communication Technology (ICT), which is satellite based. Do not say you were not warned.

Laughter

The President: Madam Speaker, with the support of local financial institutions, the private sector and international financing institutions, the Government will strengthen the policy framework on climate change to enhance the country’s efforts towards climate change adaption, mitigation and resilience building for the attainment of a sustainable, inclusive, climate-resilient and green economy.

Madam Speaker, you will be very delighted to note that the UN Climate Change Conference  (COP26) which we attended is already beginning to bring us into the League of Nations, to be equals among equals as a country. We want to look at climate adaptation funds in a clever way and access these funds to support our own domestic climate change programmes. That is how the world works. You do not isolate yourself from the world. You work with the world and you network. You will benefit if you know what you are doing.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, the Government is concerned with the unabated levels of pollution and the indiscriminate disposal of waste in our country. We are strengthening the enforcement of regulations to address this problem, while ramping up efforts to ensure that waste is reused, reduced and recycled to protect the environment. Again, technology will allow us to do things we were not able to do just three years ago. This is very important. We are in a situation where we urge our local authorities – Please, hon. Members of Parliament, you are part of the local administrations –

Mr Chilangwa interjected.

The President: No, no, do not worry about that. You are already behind. We are ahead of that concern.

Laughter

The President: Madam Speaker, we understand the dislocation which was caused in the past. It was unreasonable. It did not make sense. You do not isolate a key member of a local community and put them aside and hope to have holistic approaches to the problems. So, do not worry about that.

Madam Speaker, we urge our local authorities to truly localise and be more proactive in the provision of waste management services to our communities. The key word is to ‘localise’. Who dumps garbage? It is people in the local communities. So, who should clean the garbage? It is the people in the local communities. We do not expect the Central Government there to collect garbage heaps. It is local authorities in the polling stations, wards, constituencies and districts. That is where it should happen, but we must all work together in making sure that it happens.

Good Governance Environment

Madam Speaker, we cannot overemphasise the role of good governance in creating a conducive environment for economic transformation. We cannot do it without bringing this aspect of it as a package. We are, therefore, implementing measures to strengthen the policy and governance environment, rule of law, human rights and constitutionalism, as well as international co-operation and foreign relations. We are members of the League of Nations.

Madam Speaker, to improve the governance environment, the Government is resolved to implementing decentralisation by taking public services and their delivery closer to the local authorities. The local authorities will be taken closer to Kalulushi.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Mulenga: Quality!

The President: Thank you.

Laughter

The President: Madam Speaker, we are working on that. We want delivery responsibility, again, to be that of local authorities, as well as empowering our communities to take and make decisions on their local development priorities. Lusaka cannot be dictating as it was before. Lusaka is not Zambia. Kaputa is Zambia. Kashinakazhi is Zambia. Kambombo is Zambia.

Mr Mung’andu: On a point of order!

The President: Yes, Chief Kambombo’s area.

Mr Mung’andu: Is Zambia?

The President: Kwacha is Zambia.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Indeed!

Madam Speaker, we are also empowering our communities to decide on their local development priorities and not just give them the right to decide, but also the financial support to implement their local decisions. That is the methodical and systematic approach which this country has been missing for many years. Participation is not by word of mouth. It is by action and financial support and we expect anyway, responsibility at that level. The Auditor-General will follow these activities up to the local level. Maybe that is the important news that must be attached to what we have just said.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: To this effect, the New Dawn Administration has significantly increased, as you all know, the allocation of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) from a mere K1.6 million, per constituency, per year, to a huge increase of K25.7 per constituency, per year. Really, why should the Government and local communities not deliver development? There is no reason.

We are watching as the Government, how to ensure compliance on the utilisation of these resources. We are working out measures and we invite suggestions from all of the hon. Members of this House and the Zambian community because this is not for the New Dawn Government but for all the people of Zambia. That is important. We have expanded the scope of the fund to include components to support the women, youth and small businesses.

Interruptions

The President: Yes, yes! Mulekutika.

Laughter

The President: Madam Speaker, I am saying I hope people are hearing.

Madam Speaker, we are alive to the challenges that have led to the low uptake of the resources under the fund. We are aware of the challenges that have slowed down the uptake of the CDF, as well as the restrictions imposed by legislation because when the change was made in quantum allocation, the legal and other procedures, including procurement procedures, lagged behind. So, we now want these to catch up with the vision. It is very important that we do that together and not in isolation. There is no need to winch. Just come to the table and make suggestions.

Madam Speaker, community leaders must be involved in the CDF. To deal with these challenges, we shall streamline operations of the CDF at all levels and review relevant legislation to allow our expanded stakeholder participation and indeed, inclusivity.

Furthermore, the Government has embarked on a review of the National Decentralisation Policy of 2013 in order to address the impediments to the implementation of the decentralisation reforms. We do not want to discard the good work that may have been done in the past. We want to build on it and ensure alignment of our New Dawn Government policy with the Constitution, as well as address emerging issues.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, to enhance the institutional capacity of rural local authorities to effectively deliver decentralised public services, the Government has secured US$210 million from the World Bank, our World Bank. This is because of the goodwill and credibility that this Government brings to strengthen financing, institutional reform performance, and accountability in a lot of local authorities in the ninety-six rural townships, so we can make them better prepared to manage these resources.

The New Dawn Administration has and shall continue to respect the autonomy of oversight and governance institutions, such as the Office of the Auditor-General, Office of the Public Protector, Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC), Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and Human Rights Commission (HRC).

Hon. Members: Hear, hear! 

The President: Madam Speaker, we bring more good news. To provide for better management of public debt contraction that led to extravagance and a debt crisis yet again just ten years after the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) completion point, unbelievable, this responsible Government of yours wants to reign on this irresponsibility and ensure it does not return ever again. We should not be doing the same things over and over again. It is not good. It is wasteful and actually, very embarrassing. Sometimes, we must have a sense of shame, just a bit of it, so we can learn lessons to help communities.

Madam Speaker, I must repeat that to provide for better management of public debt contraction, as well as operationalise the provisions of the Constitution, your Government is undertaking public finance management reforms as part of strengthening transparency and accountability and not to allow repetition of costly mistakes. This is evidenced by the enactment of the Public Debt Management Act No. 7 of 2022. I say thank you to this Parliament for passing that law.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

The President: It has now been enacted and there shall be no more games around this issue.

Interruptions

The President: Madam Speaker, I already called for a bit of shame and that can help improve the future. This amended Act empowers you, the hon. Members of Parliament who are the representatives of the people of Zambia, to provide oversight on debt contraction so that never again should our country go back into a debt trap.

Hon. Government UPND Members: Hear, hear!

The President: The voters of Zambia are watching and listening. I think they have understood what it means to elect leadership.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, the fight against corruption is a core component of our strategy, not only to enhance transparency and accountability in the administration of public resources but also, as a matter of justice in the way we deliver socio-economic dividends to our people. We have established the Economic and Financial Crimes Court to speed up and fairly dispose of economic and financial crime cases. There are teething issues in there. The hon. Minister of Justice is aware. We are looking at them, including courtroom space, because we need to get on with the job.

Madam Speaker, to strengthen the policy framework on the fight against corruption, the National Anti-Corruption Policy is undergoing review, with the principle aim of strengthening stakeholder engagement in the fight against corruption. We cannot succeed without the stakeholders and communities being involved in this fight.

Madam Speaker, in order to re-establish the tenets of integrity and total accountability in the public service delivery, the crusade against corruption is gathering momentum. When others thought that it is dying, it is actually gathering momentum. It shall remain decisive and will be crosscutting with no sacred cows. May we reiterate that the law shall be applied fully and sternly, but fairly against all those who shall be found wanting of past, present and future crimes.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: No!

Madam Speaker, the citizens of Zambia deserve leaders who understand the difference between public and private assets. Over the years, we had basically the convolution, perception or misaligned mindsets that what belongs to the public belongs to individuals. This must come to an end and we must co-operate. With what we see on how public resources were personalised, there cannot be an argument to say that the fight against corruption is ethnic driven. There is no ethnicity in here. It is individuals who thought that public money belonged to them. You abused the trust the citizens gave you and do not complain. Do not appeal to ethnic persuasions. We will not agree to that.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, going forward, as a country, as citizens, let us replace corruption with the art and value of work, work, harder and smart work.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

The President: We shall be alright and still look after our families through hard work and not shortcuts. No, no!

Madam Speaker, our Administration continues to address the gaps in the electoral process, with the Government committed to reviewing relevant electoral laws and regulations, in line with international best practice.

Mr Chilangwa interjected.

The President: Yes, that is the meaning. Further, we have commenced implementation of the continuous voter registration, which was not done ever before, despite the law being put in place years back. So, in line with the Electoral Process Act No. 35 of 2016, and to heed to wide-ranging stakeholders’ concerns and the need for building consensus on the matter, we invite stakeholders to work together and co-operate for national good, and not for sectoral interests. Sectoral interest is English, chizungu. S-E-C-T-O-R-A-L.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, we are pacing up the use of digital platforms to enhance the delivery of public services in our country. As we said, by mid this year, 147 services provided by the Government ministries, departments and statutory bodies had been integrated on the government service bus with commercial banks and mobile network operators incorporated on the Government Service Bus and Payment Gateway system to increase the payment options for public services.

As a result, Madam Speaker, you will be delighted to know the good news that we have been able to enhance revenue collection and reduce leakages. This is only the beginning. I must say here that more work needs to be done in this area. I am the first one to say so and I ask others to agree. More work and efforts shall be made to seal loopholes in and around the payroll.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: What sits there, Madam Speaker, is unacceptable. Money is being taken by people who do not work for the Government. A Government worker will receive two or three salaries. The Auditor-General is on it. At our behest, the Auditor-General is on it. So, I repeat that more work and efforts shall be made to seal loopholes in and around the payroll for the Central Government, Local Government and related institutions such as parastatals and regulatory bodies. This hole is big. So, again, there should be no complaints. Let us work together. When we save resources from there, we can meet our target of desks for all the children by the end of 2023.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: That is the connection.

Madam Speaker, the empowerment of our people with land ownership particularly, the women and youths, remains high on our agenda. In 2021, your Government allocated 28.4 per cent of all available land to women. The Government is going ahead to implement the policy of allocating 50 per cent of available land to our women.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Absolutely. We are deeply concerned, however, with the unscrupulous manner in which some of our local authorities and, no need to skirt around, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources itself, are allocating land.

Interruptions

The President: Well, Madam Speaker, a lot of these issues are legacy issues. They are inherited issues. They should have been resolved in the last ten years, but they were not. Now we are going to resolve them. We would like the local authorities and the central arm of the Government, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, to take out corruption, double and triple allocation of plots, which is causing people to fight and in some cases, to injure each other. We can prevent this. Again, automation and ICT will help us better.

Madam Speaker, I want to say that it is regrettable and extremely unfortunate that some of our citizens have had to suffer demolition of their properties for want of procedure, and in some instances, a glaring disregard of the law. We want to work within the rule of law. I think we lost this aspect of societal values. There is no blame game here. What was going on is evident.

Madam Speaker, again, I repeat, let us just search our consciences. We should have a sense of shame. If you did something wrong, acknowledge and repent. Do not make noise.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, those participating in the illegal allocation and acquisition of land will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

Madam Speaker, the Government shall undertake land reforms to operationalise the National Land Policy, and carry out a review of various statutes relating to land management to ensure enhanced equitable access to land for increased productivity among our citizenry. We shall also decentralise land registration to provincial centres and digitise. Through the Speaker,  to the hon. Minister of Science and Technology, cabinet office,  the hon. Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, and local authorities, alubelekeni amoho.

Interruptions

The President: Madam Speaker, alubelekeni amoho means let us work together. That is what I am saying. Let us work together.

Madam Speaker, our Administration strongly believes in the respect for human rights, civil liberties and freedoms for all as given and guaranteed in the Constitution. We shall continue to respect and promote the people’s human rights within the confines of the law.

Madam Speaker, over the years, the Public Order Act, Cap 113 of the Laws of Zambia, has been a subject of contentious public debate and court action, with some sections of society calling for its total removal. Some sections of society conveniently abused this law, for years and not for months.

Hon. Government Members: Kampyongo!

Laughter

The President: Madam Speaker, as a demonstration of our commitment and desire for citizens to exercise and enjoy their civil liberties and freedoms, including the right to freely assemble and associate as provided for under the Bill of Rights in our Constitution, Cabinet has approved, in principle, to repeal and replace the Public Order Act.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, this process is transparent and comprehensive, and involves all stakeholders for better consensus building. All stakeholders, particularly political parties, hon. Members of Parliament from the Independents, Opposition and the Ruling Party, alubelekeni amoho,  let us work together. Amubelekele antomwe, let us work together. If you are a Zambian, you should know what those languages are. This is the point I made earlier, Madam Speaker, that Zambians must consider themselves as true citizens and consider themselves as equal to one another, irrespective of how they twist their tongue in the name of a language.

Madam Speaker, to ensure that the country has harmonised penal provisions, the Government has commenced the process to repeal and replace the Penal Code, Cap 87 of the Laws of Zambia, and the Criminal Procedure Code, Cap 88 of the Laws of Zambia. The review also seeks to amend provisions relating to the death penalty and criminal defamation of the President, among others.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

The President: In the interim, the Ministry of Justice has since concluded the drafting of legislation to repeal the provisions relating to the imposition of the death penalty and the law relating to criminal defamation of the President.

Madam Speaker, the said legislation is scheduled to be tabled before this House during the coming session, subject to approval by Cabinet. The good news is that going forward, there shall be no more citizens put on the death penalty. This is what other failed to achieve. This is what the New Dawn promised and is delivering.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, suffice to indicate that these pieces of legislation have archaic provisions that do not conform to the International Bill of Rights, which Zambia is a signatory, while locally or at the local level, these laws have penalties which in some cases are inconsistent with other pieces of legislation for similar offences. I do not know how judges sometimes make the rulings because you find inconsistencies in the legislation. So, we need to harmonise these things.

The President: Yes!

Madam Speaker, to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the representation of the Government in civil proceedings, as well as enhance clearance of contracts and agreements to which the Government is party to and to depart from the ills of the past, the Attorney-General’s chambers will be decentralised to all provinces, in accordance with Article 177 (6) of the Constitution of Zambia.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, to enhance access to legal services, especially amongst the poor – I replace the word “poor” with “less privileged and disadvantaged”.  To enhance access to legal services, especially amongst the less privileged and disadvantaged, the Legal Aid Board has established offices in five additional districts, namely Mwinilunga, that is the correct pronunciation,  Nakonde,  Mbala, Mazabuka and Petauke.

Madam Speaker, Zambia shall continue to assume the role of peacemaker whatever and wherever this requirement becomes necessary, because we understand and know that instability anywhere is instability everywhere. If there is instability elsewhere, you may have no chance to take your lunch because the conditions will not allow.

Madam Speaker, in this regard, we are committed to promoting the return of the peace that is so essential in the Cabo Delgado Region of Northern Mozambique, as well as in several other parts of our region, our continent and the global community threatened by conflict. Instability anywhere is instability everywhere. So, we should be concerned.

Madam Speaker, we are really truly honoured and on behalf of the people of Zambia to having been elected as in-coming Chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Region at the last sitting of the SADC meeting in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which happened to be my first meeting at this platform. The SADC members chose to elect us to chair the critical organ of this organisation and we pledge to discharge this responsibility to the expectation of member states and all our populations in our countries.

Conclusion

Madam Speaker, as we move to conclude, I would like to mention that just over a year ago, the people of Zambia overwhelmingly gave us the mandate to preside over the affairs of this nation. We promised to fix the economy and we are on course. We are managing the debt situation. We are managing the resilience and resurgence of the local currency. We are containing inflation, as well as restoring macro-economic stability essential for growth.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: We promised free education for our children and we have delivered. Now education is no longer a preserve of those with money. It is available for all our people. We are determined to keep it that way. Nothing will stand in our way. We promised to increase the CDF and we have increased it exponentially.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: That is the truth. We have increased the CDF, thereby putting our citizens back at the heart and centre of community development.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: The teething problems are being addressed.

We promised to fight corruption and we are fighting it.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: You will see what happens going forward in the next few months. We promised to bring to an end the brutality of political party cadres in our markets, bus stops …

Mr Kangombe: In Kamugodi!

The President: … including Kamugodi and other public places. Law and order has been restored and our people are now free to mingle. They can wear any colour of a shirt or dress and nothing will happen to them.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Again, sometimes, if a little shame is what helps, please let us have a bit of little shame.

Madam Speaker, we have a duty to unite this country. We have a duty to embrace values that promote peace and unity, saluting the good in others irrespective of their culture, traditions, the language they speak, as someone got concerned when other languages are mentioned. When other languages are mentioned, there is no concern. Just one time you mention another language, there is concern. That is an inferiority complex and it should come to an end.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, we want to salute the good in others, irrespective of their culture, traditions, the language they speak because that is God’s gift, and status in society. We have a duty to remain united under our motto of “One Zambia, One Nation, One People”. We are doing it. This is our cherished commitment. This is our noble mission. This is our narrative, rising above our challenges in pursuit of a better Zambia for all and a free, fair and productive nation.

Madam Speaker, under our leadership, only hard work remains the source of wealth and livelihood in all corners of our country and together, 19 million people plus, must share this value. No one should say, “I do not agree”, because everybody should agree and should be part of it.

Madam Speaker, there should be no shortcuts, no stealing, small or large, in darkness or during the day, no corruption, no tantameni, no ka sumfing.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The President: Madam Speaker, it is now my honour and privilege to declare the Second Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly officially open.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

The President: May God bless all of us. May God continue to bless our efforts, so we can enjoy the fruits of our labour. May God bless our beloved country, the Republic of Zambia.

Madam Speaker, I thank you for your kind attention.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

The President left the Assembly Chamber.

Madam Speaker took the Chair.

________

MOTIONS

MOTION OF THANKS

The Vice-President (Mrs Nalumango): Madam Speaker, I beg to move that at its rising today, the House do adjourn until Tuesday, 13th September, 2022.

Madam Speaker, may I start by expressing on behalf of the House and indeed, on my own behalf, sincere thanks to the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, for the inspiring and well thought out speech that he has just delivered.

Hon. PF Members: Question! Hollow!

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, I am sure all hon. Members will join me in congratulating the President for delivering an inspiring address. The President has raised a number of important issues which need careful analysis by all of us. The President’s message is very clear and was centred on unity, economic development, the fight against poverty, disease, and corruption.

These issues deserve the House’s serious introspection and analysis. Consequently, I am of the view that the House should rise now so that hon. Members are allowed ample time to read the speech and reflect on the important issues that the President has raised. In this way, hon. Members will be able to make intelligent and constructive contributions during the debate on the Motion of Thanks starting on Tuesday, 13th September, 2022.

Madam Speaker, this is a straightforward Motion and I request hon. Members of this august House to support it.

Madam Speaker, I beg to move.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Halwiindi (Kabwe Central): Madam Speaker, allow me to put on record my profound gratitude and that of the people of Kabwe Central Constituency for the rare opportunity accorded to me to speak on the important Motion moved by Her Honour the Vice-President, on the occasion of the Official Opening of the Second Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly.

Madam Speaker, I am in agreement with Her Honour the Vice-President and Leader of Government Business in the House that hon. Members be allowed ample time to carefully study and digest the message which has just been delivered by the President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema. The adjournment is necessary because most of the issues that were raised in the President’s Speech are related to the many concerns and problems prevailing in the country. Hon. Members need time to critically analyse the speech and be able to raise particular challenges and present them to the Executive in the quest for tangible responses.

Madam Speaker, it is, therefore, necessary that hon. Members are given ample time to carefully study the issues contained in the President’s Speech to this august House. Adjourning today will enable us to come back fully prepared next week and be able to contribute to the debate meaningfully. In this regard, I fully support the Motion and urge all hon. Colleagues to do the same.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Madam Speaker: Order, hon. Members!

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, I am very grateful to the House for its unanimous support ...

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Hon. PF Members: Question!

Laughter

The Vice-President: ... of this Motion, including Hon. Mundubile.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Question put and agreed to.

ADJOURNMENT

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, I beg to move that the House do now adjourn.

Question put and agreed to.

_______

The House adjourned at 1315 hours until 1430 hours on Tuesday, 13th September, 2022.

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