Wednesday, 14^th September, 2022

The House met at 1430 hours

[MADAM SPEAKER in the Chair]

NATIONAL ANTHEM

PRAYER

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ANNOUNCEMENTS BY MADAM SPEAKER

DELEGATION FROM THE PARLIAMENT OF UGANDA

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members, I have two announcements and two rulings to render.

I wish to acquaint the House with the presence, in the Speaker’s Gallery, of the following hon. Members of Parliament and a member of staff from the Parliament of Uganda:

Hon. Faith Nakut, MP;

Hon. Tonny Ayoo, MP; and

Ms Annet Tayebwa -Policy Analyst.

I wish, on behalf of the National Assembly of Zambia, to receive our distinguished guests and warmly welcome them into our midst

I thank you.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

COMPOSITION OF STANDING COMMITTEES

STANDING COMMITTEES – MEMBERSHIP

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members, the second announcement is on the composition the Standing Committees for the Second Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly.

In accordance with Article 80 of the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 2 of 2016, and the Standing Orders No. 165 (2), the Standing Orders Committee has appointed the following Members of Parliament to serve on various Standing Committees for the Second Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly:

House Business Committee (10)

The Hon Speaker (Chairperson)

The Hon Leader of Government Business in the House

The Hon First Deputy Speaker

The Hon Second Deputy Speaker

The Hon Government Chief Whip

The Hon Leader of the Opposition

Mr S. Kampyongo, MP, Opposition Whip

Mr J. E. Banda, MP

Mrs K. S. Mulenga, MP

Mr C. Andeleki, MP

Committee on Privileges and Absences (10)

The Hon. First Deputy Speaker (Chairperson)

The Hon. Minister of Justice

The Hon. Government Chief Whip

The Hon. Leader of the Opposition

Mr I. Wamunyima, MP

Mr D. M. Mabumba, MP

Ms B. Nyirenda, MP

Brig. Gen. M. S. Sitwala, MP (Rtd)

Ms S. K. Sefulo, MP

Mr J. Chibuye, MP

Reforms and Modernisation Committee (10)

The Hon. Second Deputy Speaker (Chairperson)

The Hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning

The Hon. Minister of Justice

The Hon. Minister of Local Government and Rural Development

The Hon. Deputy Government Chief Whip

Mr J. Chibuye, MP

Mr M. Kafwaya, MP

Mr S. K. Michelo, MP

Mr Elias M. Musonda, MP

Mrs M. Nakaponda, MP

Public Accounts Committee (10)

Mr A. C. Mumba, MP

Mr N. M. Mukumbi, MP

Mr W. C. Mwambazi, MP

Mr I. Wamunyima, MP

Eng. J. Daka, MP

Mr L. Mufalali, MP

Mr K. Mukosa, MP

Ms M. Phiri, MP

Mrs J. Sabao, MP

Mr V. Lumayi, MP

Committee on Delegated Legislation (9)

Mr J. Mulebwa, MP

Ms E. Munashabantu, MP

Mr K. Siachisumo, MP

Mr R.M Mutale, MP

Mr C. Chibuye, MP

Mr G Ngowani, MP

Mr P. Twasa, MP

Mr S. Hlazo, MP

Mr M. Nyambose, MP

There is one vacancy, which will be filled once the by-elections are concluded.

Committee on Government Assurances (10)

Mr E. Kamondo, MP

Ms J. Nyemba, MP

Mr G. K. Kandafula, MP

Mr E. Banda, MP

Mr E. M. Tembo, MP

Mr K. M. Mandandi, MP

Mr M. Nkulukusa, MP

Mr H. Mapani, MP

Mr F. R Kapyanga, MP

Mr R. M. Chabinga, MP

Planning and Budgeting Committee (10)

Mr P. Phiri, MP

Ms J. C. Chisenga, MP

Amb R. K. Kalimi, MP

Mr F. C. Chaatila, MP

Mr K Simunji, MP

Mr B. Kambita, MP

Mr G. Chonde, MP

Mr D. Mung’andu, MP

Mr L. Lubozha, MP

Mr M Jamba, MP

Committee on Agriculture, Lands and Natural Resources (10)

Mrs M. Mabonga, MP

Mr M. Simushi, MP

Mr R. K Chitotela, MP

Mr Y. Mtayachalo, MP

Mr S. K. Michelo, MP

Dr K. Chewe, MP

Mr L. J Simbao, MP

 

Mr M. Malambo, MP

 

Mr N. Chilangwa, MP

Mr A. Tayengwa, MP

Committee on Media, Information and Communication Technologies (10)

Mr S. Mushanga, MP

Ms B. Nyirenda, MP

Mr A. Lubusha, MP

Mr Munir Zulu, MP

Mr R. Kang’ombe, MP

Mr A. Tayengwa, MP

Mr W. Mulaliki, MP

Mr O. Amutike, MP

Mr M. K. Tembo, MP

Eng. S. R. Mabenga, MP

Committee on Education, Science and Technology (9)

Mr A. Katakwe, MP

Mr H. Mabeta, MP

Ms S. Mwamba, MP

Mr T. Mutinta, MP

Mr T. Simuzingili, MP

Mr G. Mwila, MP

Mr A. I. A. Banda, MP

Mr D. Chisopa, MP

Mr E. Daka, MP

Mrs C. P. Halwiindi, MP

Committee on Energy, Water Development and Tourism (10)

Mr C. C. Kang’ombe, MP

Mrs M. C. Chonya, MP

Mr P. Kalobo, MP

Mr C. A. B. Katotobwe, MP

Eng. S. R. Mabenga, MP

Mr G. Ngowani, MP

Mrs K. S. Mulenga, MP

Mr M. J. Z. Katambo, MP

Mr L. Hamwaata, MP

Mr R. Kang’ombe, MP

The composition of other Committees will be announced tomorrow. After I have completed announcing the composition of all the Committees, if any Hon. Member finds that he/she does not belong to any Committee, such a Member should inform the Office of the Clerk accordingly. At least I did not mispronounce any hon. Member’s name. I tried.

I thank you.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Interruptions

Madam Speaker: Can we settle down quickly. I still have some rulings to deliver.

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RULINGS BY MADAM SPEAKER

POINT OF ORDER RAISED BY MR S. KAMPYONGO, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR SHIWANG’ANDU CONSTITUENCY AGAINST HON. G. G. NKOMBO, MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT ON WHETHER THE MINISTER WAS IN ORDER TO TURN THE MOTION ON THE SUSPENSION OF THE STANDING ORDERS INTO CONTROVERSY BY INTERPRETING THE CONSTITUTION AS FAR AS THE TEACHERS’ RECRUITMENT WAS CONCERNED

Hon. Members will recall that on Friday, 22^ndJuly, 2022, when the House was considering the Motion to suspend Standing Orders 27 and 115 of the National Assembly of Zambia Standing Orders, 2021, to enable the House to sit until all business on the Order Paper was concluded on each sitting day, and Hon. G. G. Nkombo, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development was debating, Hon. S. Kampyongo, Member of Parliament for Shiwang’andu, raised a point of order.

In his point of order, Hon. S. Kampyongo, MP, inquired whether Hon. G. G. Nkombo was in order to turn the Motion on the suspension of the Standing Orders into a controversial one by stating that there would be mass by-elections as a result of the recruitment of some councillors as teachers.

Hon. Members, in her immediate response, the Hon. Madam First Deputy Speaker reserved her ruling in order to study the matter. I have since studied the matter and I will now render my ruling.

Hon. Members, Standing Order 131 provides for the procedure to be followed when raising a Point of Order. In that regard, Standing Order 131(3) states as follows:

“In raising a point of order, a Member shall cite the Standing Order, law on privilege of Members, rule of procedure or practice, which has been allegedly breached.”

Hon. Members, a review of Mr S. Kampyongo, MP’s point of order revealed that he did not cite the Standing Order, rule, law on privileges or practice on which his point of order was based. In that regard, the point of order did not comply with the requirements of Standing Order 131(3), and is, therefore, not admissible.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members, I have, on several occasions, provided guidance to the House on the need to cite the relevant rule, law, privilege, practice or procedure that has been breached whenever a point of order is raised. Hon. Members are, once more, reminded to do this whenever they raise a point of order.

I thank you.

POINT OF ORDER RAISED BY MR S. MUSHANGA, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR BWACHA CONSTITUENCY AGAINST HON. G. G. NKOMBO, MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT ON WHETHER THE HON. MINISTER WAS IN ORDER TO MISLEAD THE HOUSE AND THE PUBLIC AT LARGE THAT BWACHA CONSTITUENCY DID NOT HAVE ANY APPROVED CONSTITUENCY DEVELOPMENT FUND (CDF) PROJECTS WHEN IN FACT, IT HAD

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members will recall that on Thursday, 21^st July 2022, when the House was considering the ministerial statement by Hon. G. G. Nkombo, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development and the hon. Minister had just concluded responding to questions on points of clarification, Mr S. Mushanga, Member of Parliament for Bwacha Constituency, raised a point of order.

In his point of order, Mr S. Mushanga, MP asked whether Hon. G. G. Nkombo, MP, was in order to mislead the House and the nation at large that Bwacha Constituency did not have any approved Constituency Development Fund (CDF) projects when the Permanent Secretary in charge of Technical Services in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development had issued a letter dated 1^st June, 2022, indicating the approval of CDF for boarding secondary school bursaries and skills development allocation for Bwacha Constituency.

Hon. Members, in his immediate response, the Hon. Mr Second Deputy Speaker reserved his ruling to study the matter. I have since studied the matter and I will now render my ruling.

Hon. Members, in order to address the point of order raised by Mr. S. Mushanga, MP, I had recourse to the verbatim record of the proceedings of Thursday, 21^st July, 2022, pertaining to the ministerial statement on the release and utilisation of the CDF. Mr. S. Mushanga, MP, on a point of clarification, asked the hon. Minister of Local Government and Rural Development whether he would provide guidance on the possibility of allowing the respective CDF Committees through the local authorities to procure vehicles for monitoring CDF projects and for policing purposes on behalf of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security. In response, Hon. G. G. Nkombo, MP, stated that Bwacha Constituency did not have any approved CDF projects. It was this response that prompted Hon. S. Mushanga, MP, to raise a point of order.

Hon Members, I further had recourse to the physical copy of the letter referred to by Mr S. Mushanga, MP, in his point of order, which he laid on the Table of the House. I noted that the letter was from the office of the Permanent Secretary (PS) in charge of Technical Services at the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and addressed to the Town Clerk for the Kabwe Municipal Council.

Hon Members, the office of the PS is a public body established under Article 184(1) of the Constitution of Zambia Act, Chapter 1 of the Laws of Zambia. Therefore, the letter that Mr S. Mushanga, MP, relied upon in his point of order is a public document.

Hon Members, when a Member of the House refers to any document, he/she is expected to lay it on the Table. To this effect, Standing Order 139 of the National Assembly of Zambia Standing Orders, 2021provides guidelines on the manner in which a backbencher may table a public document in the House. Standing Order 139 states as follows:

“139 Tabling of Public Document by backbencher

(1) A backbencher may table a document provided it is an original document.

(2) A backbencher shall not table a copy of a public document unless the copy has been certified as a true copy of the original document by the relevant head of Government ministry, department or agency that has custody of the original document.”

Hon Members, I had occasion to rule on a similar matter in the case of Mr A. C. Mumba, Member of Parliament for Kantanshi Parliamentary Constituency against Hon E. C. Nkandu, MP, Minister of Youth, Sport and Arts (Parliamentary Debates for Friday, 22^nd October, 2021). In that case, Mr A. C. Mumba, MP asked whether the hon Minister of Youth, Sport and Arts was in order to mislead the House that the National Internship and Apprenticeship Programme under his ministry would continue when the National Youth Development Council, which was responsible for the programme, had issued a letter indicating that the programme would end on 31^st October, 2021. To this effect, Mr A. C. Mumba, MP, submitted to the Office of the Clerk an electronic copy of the letter referred to in his point of order. Mr Mumba, MP, did not table the letter and neither was the letter authenticated by the author, as required by Standing Order 139. I, therefore, ruled the letter inadmissible, and consequently, did not admit the point of order.

Hon Members, back to the point of order in issue. Mr S. Mushanga, MP, tabled a letter purported to be from a public officer, but the letter was not authenticated as required under Standing Order 139. Authentication of the letter is crucial to determining whether the hon. Minister of Local Government and Rural Development misinformed the House when he stated that Bwacha Constituency did not have any approved CDF projects.

Therefore, in line with Standing Order 139, the letter is inadmissible as it is not authenticated as required by the  rules and, consequently, Mr Mushanga’s point of order is also inadmissible.

I thank you.

Interruptions

Madam Speaker: Can we have order please!

Interruptions

Madam Speaker: Order!

Hon. Members, if you have a point or a complaint, you know that the Standing Orders are very clear. They can provide a procedure and you can put it in writing and it will be attended to. We made these Standing Orders for ourselves. So, let us comply with them.

Mr Mushanga rose.

Madam Speaker: Hon. Member for Bwacha, what is your point of order?

Mr Mushanga: Madam Speaker, I do not have a point of order.

Laughter

Madam Speaker: Sometimes the chair can be tiring, so, you need to stretch your feet. Let us make progress.

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MATTERS OF URGENT PUBLIC IMPORTANCE

MR MTAYACHALO, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR CHAMA NORTH, ON THE HON. MINISTER OF TOURISM AND ARTS, MR SIKUMBA, ON THE HUMAN/ANIMAL CONFLICT IN MANTEPA WARD

Mr Mtayachalo (Chama North): Madam Speaker, human/animal conflict has continued to escalate in Mantepa ward, in Chama North Constituency and the following are the affected villages:

Mwimba;

Nchili;

Kamwanyoli;

Kapunduzi;

Mbukuta;

Matala; and

Mantepa Centre.

Madam Speaker, more than fifty elephants have invaded these villages. Seventy fields of winter maize have been destroyed and 5 ha of sweet potatoes have also been destroyed.

Madam Speaker, not long ago, hippos invaded the same area and they destroyed people’s crops. This matter was actually reported to the wildlife authorities by the area councillor, Mr Gondwe. I also reported this matter to the area warden and only two wildlife officers were dispatched to the area and they were there for only five days and they have since left.

Madam Speaker, the situation has become worse such that now people are not able to move from 1500 hours up to 0900 hours the following day. So, the situation is so desperate and if no urgent measures are taken, human life will continue being under this serious threat.

Madam Speaker, it must be noted that all successive Governments have taken a laissez-faire approach in dealing with the human/animal conflict. If no urgent measures are taken, household food security and human life will continue being under very serious threat.

Madam Speaker, I seek your indulgence.

MR TWASA, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR KASENENGWA, ON THE HON. MINISTER OF HEALTH, MRS MASEBO, ON THE SHORTAGE OF DRUGS IN HOSPITALS

Mr Twasa (Kasenengwa): Madam Speaker, when you see children playing around the kitchen, they could be looking for some food. In this case, I am coming back with an issue that has already been discussed on the Floor of the House. However, I, and most Zambians, especially the people of Kasenengwa feel that this matter has not been adequately addressed. This matter concerns the Ministry of Health and it regards to the persistent shortage of drugs in health institutions.

Madam Speaker, I remember that there was a ministerial statement on the Floor of this House addressing this matter, yet we have not seen any changes. I have some newspaper extracts, and one of them reads:

“Drug Shortages, Politics at Play as Tenders for Procurement of Essential Drugs Keep Getting Cancelled. We are playing politics with people’s lives.”

Madam Speaker, another one says:

“Masebo’s Remarks Annoy Doctors.”

Madam Speaker, in this story, the hon. Minister is alleged to have said that there was serious pilferage in the health institutions by health workers and this angered doctors and other health workers. the other one, Madam Speaker, says:

         “Shortage of Drugs Artificial.”

There are so many articles, but I have just pulled these few. I owe nobody an apology but I will say I do not think there is anyone here who goes to local clinics to seek medical attention. Most of us go to private clinics, yet we have subjected our people, our voters, to mediocre health services.

Madam Speaker, is the hon. Minister of Health in order to sit quietly and watch people speculate on what is going on in the health institutions instead of her coming to address the nation and telling us exactly what is going on? It is politics at play? Is it that our health workers now have become thieves, like she alleged? Is it that this problem is just artificial? We need to know. We need the hon. Minister of Health to address this issue because it is posing a serious danger to our people. We are all at risk. Today, it is very abnormal to find medicine in clinics because shortages have become the normal way of life and this is threatening.

Madam Speaker, I need your serious guidance in this matter.

MR MUNG’ANDU, HON. MEMBER FOR CHAMA SOUTH, ON THE HON. MINISTER DEFENCE AND ACTING LEADER OF GOVERNMENT BUSINESS IN THE HOUSE MR LUFUMA, AND THE HON. MINISTER OF TOURISM AND ARTS, MR SIKUMBA ON THE HUMAN/ANIMAL CONFLICT IN CHAMA

Mr Mung’andu (Chama South): On a matter of urgent public importance, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: A matter of urgent public importance is raised.

Madam Speaker, I rise on this matter of urgent public importance due to two problems in Chama and Chama South in particular which are intricately linked. It is the issue of human/animal conflict and the hunger situation. We have experienced two very sad incidents in the past two weeks. In the first incident, an elephant chased a person in Chief Chikwa’s area. The only way that person could have escaped was by jumping into the river. Unfortunately, as he was about to get out of the water, the crocodiles caught him, and we have not even recovered the body.

Just yesterday, in Chief Chifunda’s area, Madam Speaker, another person in an area called Mapamba was, again, chased by an elephant. On a daily basis in Mapamba, we are losing not less than three houses to elephants. As people sleep, elephants come to destroy their houses as they follow food in their houses. People can no longer keep maize in their granaries. Instead, they keep maize in their houses and elephants follow them in those houses. In this sad incident, the person tried to run away, unfortunately, he was caught by an elephant and killed and thrown away. I think this was around midnight. People could not go out to look for the deceased. Instead, lions picked up the body.

Interruptions

Mr Mung’andu: This is a true story. The lions eat that person and only the head and part of the upper body were recovered.

Madam Speaker, I have been liaising with the hon. Minister of Tourism, including his Permanent Secretary (PS). They have kept telling me that they will look into the matter. We are now losing more lives. It is not that the people have settled where animals are, we have had an unprecedented increase in the number of elephants because of the project done by Frankfurt Zoological Society which is protecting these animals. The population has outstripped the habitat for these animals. Is there anything that our Government can do to ensure that people’s lives are safeguarded?

Madam, the second issue which I mentioned, that is intricately linked to this problem, is the hunger situation. In my constituency, when people plant crops, from the time of planting to harvest, they have to sleep outside their homes. When you plant your crops, you have to abandon your home and sleep outside until you harvest.

Interruptions

Mr Mung’andu: Madam Speaker, the former hon. Minister of Tourism who did not do anything is telling me to add things. I also presented this problem to him.

Laughter

Mr Mung’andu: Madam Speaker, when people plant their crops, until they harvest them, they sleep outside. As a result, as I speak, many of our people in the entire constituency do not have food. My hon. Colleague from Chama North has talked about fifty elephants in his constituency. It is now that they have that problem, and those elephants are coming from Chama South. That is nothing because in Chama South, when elephants invade a field, it takes just minutes for them to harvest everything.

Madam, is the Acting Leader of Government Business in the House, who I can see smiling there, in order to keep quiet and do nothing when the people in Chama South are starving? Is the hon. Minister of Tourism also in order to keep ignoring my request, when we have now started losing lives? I assure you that if nothing is done, more lives will be lost.

I seek your serious ruling, Madam Speaker.

MR MUNIR ZULU, HON. MEMBER FOR LUMEZI, ON THE HON. MINISTER OF DEFENCE AND ACTING LEADER OF GOVERNMENT BUSINESS IN THE HOUSE, MR LUFUMA ON THE HUMAN-ANIMAL CONFLICT IN LUMEZI

Mr Munir Zulu (Lumezi): On a matter of urgent public importance, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: A matter of urgent public importance is raised.

Mr Munir Zulu: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Permit me from the onset to mention that I rise on Standing Order No. 134, and the matter is directed at the Acting Leader of Government Business in the House.

Madam Speaker, one man’s meat is another man’s poison. What could be considered not to be important could be very important for our people. In Lumezi, Chief Chikomeni area borders with Malawi in Kasungu. Elephants have now migrated from Malawi to Lumezi in Chief Chikomeni’s area. Those elephants have tracking systems. I know very well that on the valley side of Lumezi, we also have Game Management Areas (GMAs). Animals there are equally harassing the people in Chief Mwanya’s area, Chief Chitungulu’s area and Chief Kazembe’s area. The only safe part is Chief Zimwanda’s area. Five chiefdoms are under attack from wildlife.

Madam Speaker, it is quite sad that we have to raise this matter of human/animal conflict in the presence of our visitors, but we feel duty-bound to do so. We seek your serious ruling on this matter as it is quite urgent and is life-threatening.

MR MENYANI ZULU, HON. MEMBER FOR NYIMBA, ON THE HON. MINISTER OF DEFENCE AND ACTING LEADER OF GOVERNMENT BUSINESS IN THE HOUSE, MR LUFUMA ON THE HUMAN/ANIMAL CONFLICT IN NYIMBA

Mr Menyani Zulu (Nyimba): Madam Speaker, I do not know which ministry should deal with my matter of urgent public importance. I think the Leader of Government Business has to take it up.

Madam Speaker, every life in this country matters. If you have driven on the road going to Eastern Province between Luangwa Bridge and Nyimba, in Kacholola area, then you may know that there is a stretch of 60 km, which is like a death trap for anyone. That stretch is dangerous to any motorist, whether it is you, me, or the Presidential motorcade along that road.

Madam Speaker, today, we had a fatal accident along that road, 10 km to Nyimba. We have lost a mother and child. A number of people are now being attended to in hospital. I am yet to be briefed on the matter. The question I have is directed at the Cabinet Members although I think the Acting Leader of Government Business in the House will take it up.

Madam Speaker, geographically, Nyimba is the biggest district in the Eastern Province. This is a district without a single hospital. This is a district where we have taken an administration block of a hospital which is supposed to be built as a hospital. There is no facility there.

Madam Speaker, to make the matters worse, in this district, we do not have something to call a mortuary. The mortuary which is there was repaired six months ago, broke down again two weeks ago and it can only accommodate four bodies.

Madam Speaker, the nearest hospital which is fully equipped is managed by the Catholic Church.

Mr Mung’andu: On a point of order, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Mung’andu: Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order pursuant to our Standing Order No. 65 which indicates that hon. Members should provide factual and verifiable information on the Floor of this House. Is the hon. Member for Nyimba in order to mislead this august House by saying that there is no single hospital in Nyimba, when I know that there is a hospital there. In case the hon. Member does not know, I want to give him directions to where the hospital is located.

Ms Mulenga: Muleya ku constituency.

Mr Mung’andu: Madam Speaker, as you enter Nyimba, you will cross a bridge, and within about 200 metres, you turn left as you are going to Chieftainess Mwape’s area. There is a nice modern and good hospital there. Is he in order to mislead the House? Maybe, he wants the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) to move to Nyimba.

Madam Speaker, I seek your serious ruling.

Interruptions

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members, we need to make progress. Can we have order! There is a point of order that has been raised against the hon. Member for Nyimba by the hon. Member Chama South, relating to giving verifiable and factual information. I was actually surprised when the hon. Member for Nyimba stood up to raise the matter of urgent public importance. He started by talking about an accident. Then I got lost as he started talking about the hospital. At some point, I thought he was also talking about elephants.

Laughter

Madam Speaker: Order!

He started talking about the hospital and a mortuary. So, hon. Member for Nyimba, please, as you raise your matter of urgent public importance, be specific. That will give me a leeway on how to tackle your matter of urgent public importance. Can you be precise and concise to the point so that we can identify the matter of urgent public importance and which hon. Minister you are directing that matter to. You said your matter of urgent public importance is directed at the whole Cabinet. Now, I do not even know which Cabinet Minister, and finally, you said the Acting Leader of Government Business. Issues to do with hospitals fall under the hon. Minister of Health whereas issues to do with roads should be directed at the hon. Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Urban Development and the issue of elephants should be directed at the hon. Minister of Tourism and Arts. So, hon. Member for Nyimba, wind up and also which Minister are you directing your matter of urgent public importance at?

Mr Menyani Zulu: Madam Speaker, sorry. When people are trying to justify their failures, they bring in issues which they do not understand.

Hon. PF Members: Question!

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Madam Speaker: Order!

Mr Menyani Zulu: Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Urban Development in this very House, this year, promised that the Nyimba District Hospital would be completed in June this year. However, it is not complete, meaning there is no hospital.

Interruptions

Mr Menyani Zulu: That is how it is.

Madam Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member for Nyimba, I think you can follow up that issue with the hon. Minister. Let us make progress. The hon. Member for Lunte may proceed.

Mr Kafwaya (Lunte): Madam Speaker, I rise –

Interruptions 

Madam Speaker: Order!

Hon. Whips, can you assist. There is too much noise in the House. Hon. Member for Lunte, you may proceed.

Mr Kafwaya: Madam Speaker, I appreciate and I rise on a matter of urgent public importance directed at the Leader of Government Business in the House.

Madam Speaker, this particular issue relates to the threats posed on our democracy by the actions of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ).

Madam Speaker, just tomorrow, Thursday, there will be an election in Luangwa Constituency. Tomorrow Thursday, there should have been by-elections in Kwacha Constituency and Kabushi Constituency respectively. ECZ has printed ballot papers for these three by-elections.

Madam Speaker, there is not a single stakeholder, whether participating in these elections or not, who is aware where the ECZ printed these ballot papers from. There is not a single stakeholder who is aware when these ballot papers arrived in the country, that is if they were printed outside the country. There is not a single participant who is aware how these ballot papers have been transported from however they were kept here in Lusaka to the various localities where elections are taking place.

Madam Speaker, this is the first time in the history of our democracy that ECZ is conducting itself in this manner.

Madam Speaker, this new way of secrecy –

Madam Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member for Lunte, I do not want to curtail you, but I am aware that the matters relating to Kwacha and Kabushi are now pending before the High Court and you know our rules. Once a matter is before court, we cannot delve into it. Further, the issue of printing of ballots and transportation thereof, does not qualify to be raised as a matter of urgent public importance. I am sure you can ask an urgent question if you really want that issue addressed.

If this House does not do anything right now, what catastrophe is going to happen? There is nothing. So, you can put in a question if you are interested in having that matter answered, but the matter is in court. With the separation of powers that we always talk about, we want to keep away from matters that are already pending before court.

I think we have exhausted the issues. I have dealt with the matter raised by the hon. Member for Lunte. I know you are not satisfied, but I do not want to be drawn into discussing a matter that is pending in court. I know that there is even going to be a ruling tomorrow on that issue. So, let us leave it at that. If there are any issues that will arise, they can be raised later, but not now.

Let us now go to the various other issues that have been raised. Since they are all talking about the human/animal conflicts, I will deal with all of them at a go. These are matters that have been raised by the hon. Members for Chama North, Chama South and Lumezi. The three matters of urgent public importance that have all been raised relate to the conflict between animals and human beings.

To my recollection, the issue of human/animal conflicts has previously been brought before this House and various ministerial statements have been made in relation to this problem. It is not only in Chama, but also in Sioma and various other areas. So, it appears that this is a general state of affairs found in constituencies that have people living in border areas with national parks.

The hon. Minister of Tourism has been before this House to make statements and he has made assurances. We know the procedure before this honourable House. If a statement is made and assurances are made, we can follow it up with the Committee dealing with government assurances. Even if another statement is presented before this honourable House, it seems this problem is going to stay with us. As long as we have people living in game park areas, we cannot avoid the human/animal conflicts.

However, what is important is: How are we going to manage this problem? If there is need for people to be relocated, maybe that will be a better solution. Animals have got rights also and we cannot get rid of them because they are causing human/animal conflicts and hunger in an area.

So, hon. Members who have raised this matter, I suggest that you pick up the matter with the Committee on Government Assurances. You can follow up on the assurances that were made before this honourable House by the hon. Minister of Tourism and Arts, to see how this problem can be addressed.

Like I have said, even if a ministerial statement was ordered to be delivered before this honourable House, that problem will not be gotten rid of. So, all the three matters of urgent public importance that have been raised, I understand that they are very important, but unfortunately, they are not admitted. Hon. Members can use other means to follow up and find recourse for their constituents living in these areas, so that this problem can be addressed. That is my guidance on the matter.

The hon. Member for Kasenengwa raised an issue on the shortage of medicines. The issue of medicines is not new. It has been raised previously before this honourable House. I think the hon. Minister of Health has made a number of ministerial statements before this House touching on this same matter. The shortage of medicine does not only affect Kasenengwa. I think it is also another general state of affairs obtainable over the whole country.

Since the matter is of that phenomenon, I believe that a ministerial statement will not resolve the problem. What is important is the hon. Minister having rendered a ministerial statement and assurances having been made. That is why we have the Committee on Government Assurances. The hon. Member can have recourse to that Committee to see whether or not the Government has complied with those assurances. It will not serve any purpose to direct the hon. Minister of Health to deliver a statement again because it will just be another statement.

I thank you.

_______

QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

2022/2023 FARMING SEASON INPUTS

8. Mr Simumba (Nakonde) asked the Minister of Agriculture:

1. whether the farming inputs for the 2022/2023 Farming Season have already been procured;
2. if so, why the Government has not started distributing the inputs under the Farmer Input Support Programme to fertiliser depots, countrywide; and
3. if the inputs have not yet been procured, what urgent measures are being taken to ensure the distribution is completed before the onset of the rainy season.

The Minister of Agriculture (Mr Mtolo): Madam Speaker, the procurement of farming inputs for the 2022/2023 Farming Season is in progress and is actually nearing completion.

Madam Speaker, the distribution of inputs will commence once the procurement process is completed.

Madam Speaker, the procurement process is targeting suppliers who are manufacturers and/or major distributors and/or have sufficient stock in the country.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Kapyanga (Mpika): Madam Speaker, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to ask the hon. Minister of Agriculture a follow up question and I thank him for that statement.

Madam Speaker, the people of Mpika are very worried. Those in Kasenga, Mufubushi, Mwamfushi, Kaole and other areas are very worried because this is September, and this is when the Government has embarked on the collection of biometric data for Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) beneficiaries.

Madam Speaker, apart from that, the old beneficiaries are being weaned off and the Government in the collection of that data is requesting for finger prints from the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) database. Those who did not register as voters will not be able to register as beneficiaries of FISP. Further, they are also being asked to do self deposits of user fees as individuals. Furthermore, the collection of farming inputs will be done by individuals, unlike in the past whereby cooperatives would put the money together and collect the farming inputs. This will disadvantage the old and aged –

Madam Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member, what is the point of clarification?

Mr Kapyanga: Madam Speaker, this will disadvantage the aged and disabled. Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister has just informed us that the procurement process has been completed, yet in today’s paper, it has been reported that the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) has cancelled the tender as it was marred with irregularities. Could the hon. Minister give the Zambian people the correct position regarding this exercise.

Madam Speaker, we are talking about the country’s food security, which the hon. Minister should not play with by doing politics of deceit and ‘conmanship’. I thank you.

Laughter

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members, this is an opportunity for you to ask supplementary questions. Hon. Member for Mpika, can you withdraw your last statement.

Mr Kapyanga: Madam Speaker, I withdraw it and instead ask the hon. Minister of Agriculture when he will come to the House and give the Zambian people the correct position regarding the 2022/2023 Farming Season inputs delivery.

Mr Mtolo: Madam Speaker, the hon. Member, Hon. Francis Kapyanga of Mpika has asked a number of questions. Ideally, I could have only answered one as per the rules, but because of the importance of the issues that the hon. Member has raised and the high respect I have for him, I will take time to answer all his questions.

Madam Speaker, yes, this year, we are going to use biometrics.

Mr Amutike: On a point of order, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Amutike: Thank you, Madam Speaker–

Madam Speaker: What is the point of order?

Mr Amutike: Madam Speaker, I rise on point of order, pursuant to Standing Order No. 66, on unparliamentary language. The previous hon. Member of Parliament...

Hon. Members: It has been withdrawn, sit down.

Madam Speaker: He has withdrawn.

Mr Amutike: Madam Speaker, I withdraw.

Laughter

Madam Speaker: Can we have some order! There are too many speakers in this House. May the hon. Minister continue.

Mr Mtolo: Madam Speaker, through that question, may I inform the nation and the House that, indeed, this year, we are going to be very strict regarding who we are going to deal with because we want to reach the target farmers who are going to receive the almost free, highly subsidised inputs. So, we are not going to give these inputs to people who are traders and people who do not exist. We are going to do a thorough job. Therefore, some of the issues that the hon. Member has raised are not correct, and I will take time to explain.

Madam Speaker, the biometric information that we are taking is mainly to look at a picture of the targeted farmer and ensure that this targeted farmer, indeed, exists and could exist on the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) data base, the National Registration Cards (NRCs) data base and the National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) data base as well as the data base for civil service payments. We want to make sure that we are dealing with Zambians and real farmers. We have got the register for all the farmers. We are only mirroring this information on the different information that we have in the country. So, let us go out there and be happy with the programme and tell the farmers that this is for their own benefit. So, I am not going to stand here to try to please any farmer who does not cultivate. We are here for the actual vulnerable but viable farmers, and we have no regrets about this.

Madam Speaker, yes, no farmer is going to send another one to collect their inputs. They have to go themselves to get and be identified. That is why we are using these biometric indications. So, we are not going to change on that, there will be no stealing.

Madam Speaker, the final issue that the hon. Member, Hon. Kapyanga raised–

Madam Speaker: Hon. Minister, withdraw the use of the word stealing. Maybe use misappropriation.

Mr Mtolo: Madam Speaker, there will no mischief in the collection of inputs. We will capture whoever wants to be mischievous. So, if you come with a truck and say I am collecting for society ABC, it will not happen. If you are a farmer, you come and collect the inputs yourself so that we identify you. This is what the people were crying for.

Madam Speaker, the last item that the hon. Member raised was on the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) having cancelled the tender. I can confirm that it is very true. The system which we had adopted of an open tender so that we could have more Zambians participating other than a selective tender had some technical flaws, which were missed by our technical experts. We are not ashamed to say we were corrected; we were told you made a mistake there and immediately, we adopted another method, which method should be concluded today or tomorrow. I can stand here and confidently say to you, the House and the nation that by next week, fertiliser will be moving and going to different destinations in this country.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Kampyongo (Shiwang’andu): Madam Speaker, it is really worrisome to listen to the hon. Minister of Agriculture. Yesterday, he assured us that there would be food security, yet he knows that from the way farming inputs were distributed last year, production for last season was extremely poor. The looming hunger which my colleague spoke about yesterday is real. All of us who returned from the constituencies will testify that because the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has stopped buying maize prematurely, there is no depot where you can find reasonable stocks of maize. That is very real and everybody who is coming from the constituency knows that. Now, he is saying the process is yet to be completed. When his Excellency the President returned from Tanzania, he flagged off the process. He put a red flag on the process and told the nation that there were some corrupt practices that were noted in the process at that point. We expected that your ministry could have made remedies and attend to that situation. Today, we were awaken to screaming headlines of the tender being cancelled when yesterday the hon. Minister was making assurances. This is September. How sure is the hon. Minister that with the collection of all the biometric data for our poor farmers who walk long distances, the Government will ensure the farmers get their inputs on time? We are yet to know where you are going to collect your biometrics from, whether you will follow our farmers in the villages or you will ask them to go to the districts. What assurance is the Government giving to our farmers in Shiwang’andu, Nabwalya Chombo that they are going to receive their inputs before the onset of the rains?

Mr Mtolo: Madam Speaker, I thank Hon. Kampyongo, senior Member of Parliament, for that observation. Firstly, on food security I assure you, Hon. Kampyongo, that Zambia is absolutely food secure. In fact, we are a given example in the region. Our food is being sent as far as East Africa, parts of Southern Africa and elsewhere. We are actually becoming a feeding basket for our colleagues. So, I am very proud to tell you that, yes, we are very food secure. Food security can be defined very easily. Firstly, that people should have the capacity to find the food, but most importantly, the food should be there. I will combine this with his third point which was about the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) purchases.

Madam Speaker, I am extremely delighted to report to the nation through this House that FRA had targeted to buy 170,000 metric tonnes of maize. As we are talking, the FRA reached the targeted and even went above that target. It has 220,000 metric tonnes of fresh maize, which is over and above what we had planned to buy. In fact, what we do not have is the money because if we had the money, we would have bought more. There are so many cries in the Southern Province, in the Eastern Province, in the North-Western Province to buy the maize, which is in excess. I do not blame Hon. Kampyongo because the area where he is from, a lot of maize has crossed neighbouring countries and so, some of the depots could look empty, but if you look at the other parts of the country, you will see that we have so much maize and what we do not have is the money to comb it. Hon. Member, come to the office and I will show you the statistics. The FRA has done its job to expectation. In fact, it is above its expectation. Please, be happy with information.

Madam Speaker, in terms of poor distribution of inputs last year, Hon. Kampyongo should not scratch himself because that program is what we found and I struggled with it. The hon. Members made a lot of fun of me here when I used to say we will move the fertiliser, we will do this and that. I was answering on behalf of the previous Government, but we did not look at that. Our aim was to do the right thing for the country. Where the programme failed, up to now fingers are being pointed at me and the new Government, which is very wrong. The fertilizer which was not given, which Hon. Twasa was talking about yesterday, is from the previous Government’s poor identification of suppliers. One of its suppliers has up to now not supplied 17,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser even after being paid in full.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mtolo: Madam Speaker, if you are very observant hon. Colleagues, you may have noted that because of the gravity of the ministry which I handle, I do not go into simple and primary discussions. That is why I take no offence if I am called a conman, which was very wrong, but we should be serious with this. We should be very serious with the Ministry of Agriculture and be unified as a country because hunger does not choose political parties. I just wanted to let you know honourable, through Madam Speaker that even those who were not given fertiliser because of the shortcomings of the previous suppliers, we have taken it upon ourselves to ensure that they do not pay the K400 contribution. We are going to give them the inputs that they did not get this season. That is how caring and superior the program is this season.

Madam Speaker, the other point which the hon. Member raised has to do with where the farmers are going to collect their inputs from? There will be no change, it will be exactly as it was last season. Just like we did with the satellite depots when buying crops from the farmers, so will it be with the fertiliser. If fertiliser in Shiwang’andu was at point A, B and X, we are going to take it at point A, B and X. No deduction and no addition. So, the farmers will not be inconvenienced.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members, if you have a question, do not debate while seated. Indicate your intention to ask and you will be called upon because I realise the importance of this subject. I will give it sufficient time so that hon. Members can ask their questions, so that the people of Zambia are re-assured on how the distribution of inputs is going to be done.

Mr Chitotela (Pambashe): Madam Speaker, I welcome back all the hon. Members of parliament, including you Madam Speaker. I want to speak to the conscience of the hon. Minister. Hon. Minister, Zambia is not Lusaka and Copperbelt. Zambia has ten provinces, 116 districts, and 156 constituencies. In the case of Pambashe, the hon. Minister is aware that Kawambwa is a food basket. Pambashe’s production surpasses everything produced in Luapula Province.

Madam Speaker, in Pambashe, there is an area called Chimpili, which is 150km from the Boma. The hon. Minister is saying the collection of six bags of farming inputs will be placed at the centre. Previously, the farmers would put contributions together to have the fertiliser moved by the transporters to the nearest point. I think the hon. Minister for Luapula Province knows this. Now, the hon. Minister is saying every farmer must move 150km to go and collect six bags from the centre at a cost and they would be required to transport them back to Chimpili. This is mid September, and you know that that it has started raining in Luapula.

Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister is talking about the procedure of procurement, which is not yet complete. He is good at making assurances such as “as I am speaking, the trucks are rolling and fertiliser is being delivered.” It never happened, I understand. Maybe, it is the system that failed. Now, you are assuring the Zambian people that next week, the inputs will be delivered, even before the procurement processes are concluded. The Government has not even singed any contracts with the contractors, yet the hon. Minister is saying by next week, the fertiliser will be delivered to all parts of Zambia. Bearing in my mind the challenges and difficulties the poor farmer in Chimpili is going to encounter to go and deposit K400 and covering a distance of 150km to go and collect six bags of fertiliser.

Madam Speaker, does the Government not see that next year, food availability will be a challenge in Zambia, a dangerous situation in which, the Government may fail to support the Zambian people who are eager to sustain themselves.

Mr Mtolo: Madam Speaker, I appreciate the points raised by the hon. Member for Pambashe. Maybe, just a point of correction for the hon. Member, he must check the production figures of Pambashe against Kalomo. He may be surprised to note that Kalomo produces quiet a lot and therefore, he cannot say Pambashe is a food basket. There are other districts which ...

Hon. Opposition Members: Luapula 

Mr Mtolo: ...if it is in Luapula, I withdraw my position. To get to the point, Madam Speaker, there has never been a time when farmers in this country collect inputs in September. I would ask anybody in here to stand and challenge me on this. I have been in this industry for more than thirty years. All my life, I have done only maize and fertiliser, and you do not give out inputs in September. So, let us not alarm the nation. We will deliver and farmers will get their inputs on time. What we have done is to give more people to supply than limited and therefore, the capacity is there. I assure the nation that we will deliver the fertiliser and there will be good production in this country. I think that was the thrust of the honourable senior Member’s debate. He was asking if we are able to deliver on time because the season is very close. I think the answer to you honourable is yes, through Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Simumba: Madam Speaker, equally, the people of Nakonde are very worried, and the question they are asking is: in an event that we do not receive –

Mr Chitotela: On a point of order, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: A point order is raised.

Mr Chitotela: Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order pursuant to Standing Order 206, which gives me and the Zambian people chance to ask the Government questions which it should answer as they are put. Standing Order 65 speaks to the fact that a member who is debating shall ensure that the information he or she provides to the House is factual and verifiable, especially hon. Ministers.

Madam Speaker, I sympathise with the hon. Minister because maybe it is the system. I asked precise questions, and my questions were that concerns by individual farmers were real. Farmers are required to cover a distance of 150 km to go and deposit K400s in their individual capacity. Secondly, the farmers would have to move 150 km from Chimpili to go and collect six bags of fertiliser and there are costs associated with movements. Every Government must be there to serve the people who are not able to stand for themselves.

This is not for the people of Pambashe alone, but I am speaking for the people of Monze and Kaputa as well, ...

Madam Speaker: Order, hon. Member for Pambashe!

Mr Chitotela: ...but the hon. Minister has not answered my question, Madam Speaker. For the hon. Minster to say there has never been–

Madam Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member, what you are now doing is rebutting what the hon. Minister said. You rose on a point order, but what rule has been breached? You said Standing Order 206, but Standing Order 206 deals with the dress code.

Laughter

Madam Speaker: Order!

I think the hon. Member for Pambashe has sufficiently debated his point of order. Let us make some progress.

Mr Simumba: Madam Speaker, as I was saying, the people of Nakonde are equally worried because they mostly receive farming inputs earlier than this time. However, the hon. Minister has clearly stated that we are going to receive the inputs on time. In the event that the people of Nakonde do not receive the inputs on time, what should they do? It is as if this is now a habit. We have been given many promises, but the promises are not being fulfilled. What are the people of Nakonde going to do in the event that they do not receive the inputs on time?

Madam Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member for Nakonde, may you rephrase your question, because what you are asking is speculative. Can you ask an actual situation question and not a speculative one.

Mr Simumba: Madam Speaker, what will the people of Nakonde do to the Government in the event that we do not receive...

Laughter

Mr Simumba: ...the fertiliser on time?

Madam Speaker: The effect is still the same. Anyway, since it was your question, I will allow the hon. Minister to respond.

Mr Mtolo: Madam Speaker, I appreciate the worry of the hon. Member for Nakonde. All I can do is assure him through you, that fertiliser and seed will be delivered on time. That is what we are discussing here. The question that was asked was on farming inputs for this season. I want to seriously assure the hon. Member that we are going to give the people of Nakonde the seed and the fertiliser they need on time. Be assured.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: Further, in the event that the fertiliser is not delivered, we have the Committee on Government Assurances. So, you can visit that Committee.

Mr Mung’andu (Chama South): Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. Minister. Clearly, the measures that have been put in place to ensure that those who were accessing the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) programme anyhow do not do so are good. We had a situation in Chama about seven years ago. We received about 15,000 bags of fertiliser, but we did not know where they were going. The bags ended up going into Malawi and we started making follow ups here and there. So, those measures are very important.

Madam Speaker, coming to my question or point of clarification, could the hon. Minister clarify the matter, which is a bit confusing. The hon. Minister has admitted that the tender has been cancelled. If a tender is cancelled, then it is supposed to be re-advertised. I assume that the tender was cancelled yesterday, but according to the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) guidelines, sufficient time is supposed to be given for people to respond. Thereafter, there is a period which is given, and it is not less than seven days to allow those who have put in their bids to respond and later, the contract is awarded. That is when the procurement of fertiliser should start. However, the hon. Minister has stated here that fertiliser will start flowing into respective areas as early as next week. Are we not likely to face the same corrupt process where there could be pre-determined bidders, something the President has been preaching against? We do not want to come and arrest the hon. Minister over such things.

Laughter

Mr Mung’andu: May the hon. Minister clarify. How is the Government going to ensure that it awards the contract, procure the fertiliser and start moving it? I seek serious clarifications on these points because we want to come and protect the hon. Minister as my elder brother when we take over Government.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Madam Speaker: Order, order! Can we have some order!

Mr Mtolo: Madam Speaker, firstly, let me pay gratitude to the hon. Member for the kind words he started his debate with in terms of what we are doing with the programme. In the same vein and in a very serious fashion, I want to give him an assurance that we do not deal with food in a joking manner. This is a serious issue. The responsibility that is on us is huge. Therefore, I want to assure him that there are many ways in which tenders can be awarded.

Hon. PF Members: Ah!

Mr Mtolo: In an event where you need to do things quickly, you take a measure that will not delay you. I assure you that we have followed the law to the latter and fertiliser companies will be indentified, they will supply and we are going to deliver. I want to give the hon. Member that assurance. Mine is to give him an assurance.

I thank you, Madam.

Interruptions

Mr Kafwaya: Balamikaka imwe bakalamba. Mwalakakwa imwe.

Madam Speaker: Order!

Hon. Members, I have noticed a tendency of hon. Members debating before they are called upon to debate and also debating while seated, in total breach of our Standing Orders. Please, hon. Members, I am referring you back to the Standing Orders on how you should conduct yourselves while in the House. Let us have some order, so that we can follow the questions and the answers that are being provided, so that when our turn comes, we do not have to ask the same question.

Hon. Members, can we adhere to the Standing Orders, please.

Mr Mundubile (Mporokoso): Madam Speaker, the Government is known for being methodical and meticulous in the manner it executes business.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mundubile: We have all been concerned about the dealings around the procurement of fertiliser. It does not show any methodical or meticulous approach. Is it that the cancellation of this particular tender is deliberate in design to allow it an opportunity to yet again, award these contracts to friends, as it did previously?

Mr Mtolo: Madam Speaker, I am very grateful to receive a question from the Leader of the Opposition. Maybe, I should begin by reminding the Leader of the Opposition that this is the first time that we are buying fertiliser. During the past two seasons, his Government had identified who to supply for two seasons continuously.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mtolo: So, for him to indicate the way he did, through the Speaker, could be slightly erroneous. This is the first time that we are buying fertiliser.

Madam Speaker, having said that, I would like to assure the Leader of the Opposition that procurement of a product worth more than US$300 million is not going to be done in a manner that is not accountable. He will have the facility to question, check and examine the whole process once it is over. The process we had embarked on was one of the most transparent processes that fertiliser procurement has ever experienced in this country. Unfortunately, there was a technical error, not a fraudulent error. There is a huge difference there. With respect to what ZPPA guided, we did not argue and said let it be, but we would use a quicker methodology to which hon. Members will be privileged. This House is privileged to any information. There can be no secret and hon. Members will be free to examine and check what it is going to be.

Madam, that is as much as I can say because the process is on-going.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Kampyongo: On a point of order, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: A point of order has been raised.

Mr Kampyongo: Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order pursuant to Standing Order No. 65 that the information we bring to this august House must be factual and verifiable.

The hon. Minister responding to the question from the Leader of the Opposition has informed this august House that his Government never purchased fertiliser for last year’s farming season. However, he is on record of having come to this august House to confirm that the Government had single sourced one Alpha Commodities to supply fertiliser to the Southern Province and other regions at a cost of US$1,400 per metric tonne,which was US$400 more than the price at which fertiliser was purchased from the other suppliers. Is he in order to mislead this august House and the nation at large that his Government never purchased fertiliser for this farming season and that it is only purchasing this year? I seek your serious guidance.

Madam Speaker: It is very difficult for me to recollect that statement of whether fertiliser was bought or not. Does the hon. Member have any information that can be laid on the Table, which can assist me to address that?

Mr Kampyongo: Madam Speaker, I can gladly do that if you can reserve a ruling I will be available to provide that information.

Madam Speaker: In that case, ruling is reserved.

It is now 1605 hours, we have spent a lot of time on this question. I will now only allow two more questions.

Mr Mtayachalo (Chama North): Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister mentions that the distribution of farming inputs will be based on biometric data –

Mr Mung’andu: On a point of order, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Mung’andu: Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order pursuant to Standing Order No. 65. The hon. Minister of Agriculture mentioned that there is a supplier in the past who was paid the full amount and never supplied about 17,000 metric tonnes. That involves a lot of money.

Madam Speaker: Order, hon. Member for Chama South! At the time you stood to raise your point of order, the hon. Member for Chama North was on the Floor because I had already dealt with the point of order that was raised by the hon. Member for Shiwang’andu. So, your point of order has come too late. If you have any complaint, you can put it in writing to address that point of order which you want to raise.

Mr Mtayachalo: Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister says that the Government will use the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) database to identify beneficiaries. We have Jehovah’s Witnesses who do not register as voters, but that does not make them not qualify to be citizens. Is he telling us that those Jehovah’s Witnesses will not benefit from the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP)?

Mr Mtolo: Madam Speaker, I indicated a number of options and variables which we are going to use to try and identify beneficiaries and ECZ, in fact, if I did mention it, is only one of them. There are many others. So, he should not worry that we will skip those who do not engage in voting. They will still be captured.

Madam, the primary document which is used to identify a Zambian is the National Registration Card (NRC). Over and above this, because of the mischief that has developed in fertiliser procurement and distribution over years, we want to see if can clip off some of this mischief and as a consequence, we are going to use a number of variables to identify farmers. I would expect Hon. Mtayachalo to be very happy because then, we will target the genuine farmers, not those who get a truckload of fertiliser and take it across to sell in other bordering countries. That is not the target. What we want to do is give as much fertiliser as possible to the Zambian farmer. This is a heavily subsidised fertiliser that we are talking about so we want the subsidy to go to the right beneficiaries.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Kasandwe (Bangweulu): Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister of Agriculture has just confirmed that the procurement process of fertiliser for the 2022/2023 Farming Season has been cancelled and he has informed this House that it is due to a technical problem. Was this technical problem deliberate on the part of the ministry, so that it could get around the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) Act which allows single sourcing when there is a crisis? Was this technical problem a creation of a crisis so that it could single source?

Mr Mtolo: Madam Speaker, the obvious answer is no. We are talking of a lot of Zambian money here. I wish that the hon. Members would have confidence that the people who are engaged in this procurement process are serious and would like to make sure that the right things are done. This is a very transparent process and you are free, especially as hon. Members of Parliament, to check through what would have happened. So, there is no intent for mischief at all. This has come about because probably of an error or an oversight and in order to correct that oversight, given the time which is there, there will be a different system used to procure the fertiliser.

Madam Speaker, I wished that things had been okay. I was going to be one of the most proud Ministers of Agriculture to inform the nation how transparent, good and wide people would have been captured in the process had it been allowed to go through. However, out of respect for authority, we respected what ZPPA said that there was an error and we had to redo the whole process, and redoing it under a lot of stress. So, you will be free, hon. Members, to examine the process once we have identified who can supply fertiliser and you should be free to audit it and see if there will be any error. Everything will be done by the book because that is the way the current Government would like to run; transparently and correctly.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

OPERATIONALISING THE CHIBOLYA MINI HOSPITAL AND CHIFULUBE CLINIC IN LUNAHSYA

9. Mr Simbao (Luanshya) asked the Minister of Health:

1. when the Chibolya Mini Hospital and Chifulube Clinic in Luanshya Parliamentary Constituency will become operational; and
2. what the cause of the delay in operationalising the health facilities is.

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development (Mr Nkombo) (on behalf of the Minister of Health (Mrs Masebo)): Madam Speaker, Chibolya Health Facility in Luanshya Parliamentary Constituency is an urban health centre and not a mini hospital.

Madam, Chibolya Urban Health Centre is currently operational. However, the paediatrics building which was completed in 2021 and is affiliated to the Thomson Hospital is yet to be operationalised. Chifulube is also a health post in Chifulube resettlement scheme area. It comprises a health post building, a ventilated improved pit latrine and a borehole fitted with a hand pump. The health post is not operational.

Madam Speaker, as stated above, the cause of the delay in the operationalisation of the paediatric building is due to the inadequate equipment and human resource whereas Chifulube Health Post is not operational because the health post does not have staff accommodation, the nearest health facility, Franco Urban Health Centre is approximately 6km. This would mean the nearest area where health care workers would have to live and commute in the absences of staff houses and accommodation at Chifulube Health Post.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Mukosa (Chinsali): Madam Speaker, sorry I had indicated when the previous question was still on the Floor. So, when the session ended for the previous question, the screen was not cleared.

Mr Samakayi: On a point of order, Madam.

Madam Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Samakayi: Madam Speaker, I rarely rise on points of order and my point of order is not found in the Standing Orders, ...

Laughter

Mr Samakayi: ...but I want to ride on the principle of exception.

Madam Speaker, previously, we were given note books which we would use to communicate with our hon. Colleagues within the House. I can see Madam Speaker, you are struggling to contain the noise around the House. Part of the reason there is noise is because we cannot communicate with our hon. Colleagues when we want to pass on information.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Samakayi: Is this House in order to keep us without note books where we can communicate with our hon. Colleagues within the House.

Madam Speaker, I need your serious ruling.

Madam Speaker: I direct the Clerks at the Table to provide the necessary stationery.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Simbao: I have no question, Madam Speaker.

Mr J. Chibuye (Roan): Madam Speaker, in his answer, the hon. Minister mentioned that Chibolya Clinic is a health post and not a mini hospital.

Madam Speaker, I am made to understand that when the Government embarked on this project, it was announced that it was going to be a referral or health mini hospital for the children to decongest Thomson Hospital where children who are not supposed to be there mixed with the old.

Madam Speaker, now, I am told that Chibolya Mini Hospital is operational. I am wondering when it was opened because I just came from the Constituency and I passed through Chibolya and I did not see any activities indicating the operationalisation of the hospital. Could the hon. Minister categorically state as to when it was opened.

Mr Nkombo: Madam Speaker, the details are as follows:

The Government through the Ministry of Health has provided in the 2022 Ministry of Health Budget funds for the procurement of medical equipment and the paediatrics building at the Chibolya Urban Health Centre. As you recall, I said that the paediatric wing is the one that is not yet opened, and it is yet to open at this facility. The paediatrics building is expected to be operational after the procurement of the equipment.

Madam Speaker, just to give the hon. Member of Parliament for Roan some comfort, this is how the Government intends to do it. Soon, there will be four registered nurses for the paediatric clinic, eight Zambia Enrolled Nurses, four clinical officers general, four laboratory technicians, one pharmacy technician, one environmental health technologist, two psychosocial councillors, three cleaners, one out door worker, one medical recording clerk, one laboratory attendant and two radio technicians. At this point hon. Member, you will then see activities in the paediatric wing of this facility.

 

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

REPLACEMENT OF THE ONLY MOTOR VEHICLE AT ROAN POLICE STATION

10. Mr J. Chibuye asked the Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security:

1. when the Government will replace the only motor vehicle at Roan Police Station which has been out of service for the past one year; and
2. what the cause of the delay in replacing the motor vehicle is.

The Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security (Mr Mwiimbu): Madam Speaker, the Government will replace the only motor vehicle at Roan Police Station which has been out of service for the past one year once the resources are made available by the Government. Take into account that we have already made a commitment on the Floor of this House that we are going to buy police motor vehicles for all constituencies in this country.

Madam Speaker, the delay in repairing the motor vehicle is due to insufficient budgetary allocations, but this will be taken care of by the purchase of the vehicles, which we are doing.

I thank you, Madam.

Mr J. Chibuye: Madam Speaker, Roan Constituency sits in a mining area, and of late, there have been many illegal mining activities. It is a pity that Roan Police Station has for the past two years not been able to have an operational vehicle. This has left the officer-in-charge with no option but to use his personal vehicle most of the time.

The hon. Minister has stated that when resources or funds are available, the motor vehicles are going to be procured. I am asking him, with the generosity that we know him for, could he be in a position, in the meantime, to look at this motor vehicle, which I believe if he saw with his naked eyes, would realise that it is a very intact vehicle but the only problem is the nozzle that has gone out. Could he be in a position in the interim to help officers at Roan Police Station to have this vehicle become mobile as we are waiting for enough resources?

Mr Mwiimbu: Madam Speaker, I have taken note and I will look into the issue.

I thank you, Madam.

Mr Menyani Zulu (Nyimba): Madam Speaker, I am looking at the importance of the district or should I say Roan itself; it is a town in a mining area. The hon. Minister is the one in charge of the police service, and I believe the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) are also under his ministry. Is it possible that he can get one of the vehicles, these good land cruisers that were seized from suspected criminals, so that we can take one land cruiser to Roan?

Mr Mwiimbu: Madam Speaker, I would like to inform this House that yes, there are a few vehicles that we have legally seized from those who obtained Government resources illegally, and the process has been completed. Unfortunately, there are so many competing needs. As Government, that is why we made a decision to procure motor vehicles for all constituencies. Unfortunately, as a result of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation that afflected the motor manufacturing industry in the last three years, there are very serious shortages of motor vehicles worldwide. The list of people wanting to purchase motor vehicles cannot be met by the manufacturers. The waiting period is more than one year. We are making efforts to procure these vehicles outside the country and we are trying to ensure that these vehicles are provided and made available as soon as possible, but the problem we have is that there are no manufacturing companies that are able to provide motor vehicles almost immediately.

I thank you, Madam.

Rev. Katuta (Chienge): Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister promised us that the Government would buy vehicles for all the constituencies. We have also been receiving letters from the Zambia Police Service headquarters that we, hon. Members of Parliament should purchase vehicles for the police using the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). The hon. Minister talked about the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) issue. I recently travelled and I think the hon. Minister should try and contact Toyota and Ford. Since there are vehicle dealers who have vehicles, could the Government try to buy maybe, in batches? There are certain car dealerships in South Africa which have vehicles. Can the Government start buying vehicles in batches to enable those with emergencies like in Roan to have at least one vehicle?

Madam Speaker: I believe we are now overstretching this question. The question related to a purchase of a motor vehicle for Roan Police Station, but because the hon. Minister mentioned something, I do not want to open that question. We are running behind time, so, if the hon. Member wants to ask a specific question, she can put in a question in that respect. Can we make progress.

Mr Kasandwe: Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister has just confirmed to this House and to the public that the Government is going to procure vehicles for all the 156 constituencies, but I do know that there are some constituencies that have no –

 

Madam Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member, if you were listening, following the question by the hon. Member for Chienge, you would recall that I did guide that the particular question we are discussing relates to a purchase of a motor vehicle for Roan Constituency only. Let us not stretch it to now bring in the issue of purchasing motor vehicles for all constituencies because it is not related to the question that we are discussing. As I advised the hon. Member for Chienge, if you want to ask a particular question in that regard, you can put another question, so that the hon. Minister is well-prepared to answer that question than to take him by surprise.

PLANS TO RE-PLAN KANYAMA TOWNSHIP IN LUSAKA URBAN DISTRICT

11. Mr Chinkuli (Kanyama) asked the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development:

1. whether the Government has any plans to re-plan Kanyama Township in Lusaka Urban District to provide for proper road network and other social amenities;
2. if so, when the plans will be implemented;
3. whether there are plans to compensate owners of properties that will be demolished during the re-planning exercise; and
4. if there are no such plans, why.

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development (Mr Nkombo): Madam Speaker, there is, indeed, a plan to re-plan Kanyama. Those plans are on-going. So far, the Government has prepared a draft plan for Kanyama settlement in accordance with the provisions of the Urban and Regional Planning Act No. 3 of 2015. This is being done in liaison with the community and cooperating partners such as United Nations (UN) Habitat and Germany Government through its development agency, the GIZ, in short. The local area plan will pave way for upgrading of infrastructure such as roads and drainages in Kanyama Parliamentary Constituency.

The period for implementation of the local area plan is five years, beginning from the year, 2023 and it will run through to the year, 2028.

The Government is working closely with the community to ensure ownership of the upgrading process. Should any need for a demolition exercise arise, the Government is in agreement with the community and will establish an appropriate compensation mechanism.

Madam Speaker, because there is a plan to upgrade Kanyama, part (d) of the question falls off.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Chinkuli: Madam Speaker, I have no further questions.

Mr Mukosa: Madam Speaker, how much will this activity to re-plan Kanyama over the five year period that the hon. Minister has mentioned; from 2023 to 2028, cost the Government?

Mr Nkombo: Madam Speaker, a plan is a wish list. It is done on paper. Therefore, I would like to confirm that with the co-operating partners, this has come with no cost to the Government. We are yet to know how much it will cost when the actual plan is being implemented.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Fube (Chilubi): Madam Speaker, Kanyama is sophisticated; it sits on a rock. Apart from sitting on a rock, it has got problems of water reticulation and a poor sewer system. That is compounded by the fact that it is adjacent to the light industrial area. As such, it is prone to chemical spills and many other factors. Has all that being taken into consideration?

Mr Nkombo: Madam Speaker, the answer is yes.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Tayengwa (Kabwata): Madam Speaker, what criterion is the Government going to use to identify properties that have title deeds and those that do not have. What criterion is it going to use to determine those to be compensated?

Mr Nkombo: Madam Speaker, because of the noises that are coming right behind me, I missed the question. If you can, kindly ask the hon. Member to repeat his question and I will gladly answer.

Madam Speaker: May the hon. Member for Kabwata repeat the question. Please hon. Members, let us maintain some silence.

Mr Tayengwa Madam Speaker, the question I asked was: what criterion is the Government going to use to identify properties that have title deeds and those which do not have title deeds for it to effect that compensation?

Mr Nkombo: Madam Speaker, the question is very clear now. Part of the exercise is to do a demographic survey to understand who owns what structure where and where it is sitting against existing connecting roads. It is only at this stage that it will be established whether one has a title or not and then a mechanism will be established, as it has always been done. To value, we are going to engage property valuers who are going to deal with this matter on a case by case basis and arrive at an offer to allow the owners of these properties to pave way under the law of compulsory acquisition for public good.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Rev. Katuta: Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister has said that the ministry is going to use GIZ as planners to re-plan Kanyama. So then, what is the purpose of having town planners and provincial planners under his ministry?

Mr Nkombo: Madam Speaker, it is really important to listen carefully when answers are being given. For the benefit of the hon. Colleague, can I just repeat the portion that is dealing with the cooperating partners and this is what I said.

What I said is that the programme to re-plan Kanyama is on-going and so far, the Government has prepared a draft local area plan for Kanyama settlement in accordance with the provisions of the Urban and Regional Planning Act No. 3 of 2015. This is being done in liaison with the community and co-operating partners such as United Nations (UN) Habitat and Germany Government through its development agency, the GIZ.

Madam Speaker, it is normal, it is a common phenomenon to engage co-operating partners to assist. This does not mean that the Government or even local authorities are void of planners.  That is not what this answer is suggesting. However, if the hon. Member does not appreciate the hands of the co-operating partners who are many by the way, and include the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). I am sure the hon. Member for Chinsali can attest to the fact that USAID is doing a lot in Muchinga Province under the Integrated Development Plan Process. So, if we do not show appreciation for people who come to offer helping hands, I really do not know, then, how we can proceed to develop our country.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Kampyongo: Madam Speaker, what we have noticed is that Kanyama and many high density areas have had these seemingly commercial slum upgrade or what we can call urban renewal where commercial entities that have got a bit of money go to buy off certain properties and then develop commercial properties on those pieces of land. The Government had planned to do a comprehensive urban renewal or what is referred to as slum upgrade. Is that plan you are referring to speaking to that integrated plan?

Madam Speaker: Order!

Business was suspended from 1640 hours to 1700 hours.

[MADAM SPEAKER in the Chair]

Mr Kampyongo: Madam Speaker, for clarity purposes, I will repeat the question I was posing to the hon. Minister. I was saying to the hon. Minister that we have noted that there are some kinds of commercial developments which look like slum upgrades or renewals, whereby commercial entities go and buy off residences in those areas. They then build commercial structures, which structures are supposed to fit into the integrated plan. So, my question to the hon. Minister is: Are those developments being factored in the upgrading of these slum areas, so that there is uniformity and structured development of these settlements?

Mr Nkombo: Madam Speaker, I am very thankful to the hon. Member of Parliament for actually correcting himself that these are settlements, except they are unplanned settlements, as against using the word ‘slums’. We are fully aware of the proliferation of elaborate buildings that have come up as a result of negotiations between the owners and would-be buyers and buyers eventually.

Madam Speaker, under the Urban and Regional Planning Act, there are processes that are superintended or supervised by the Department of Physical Planning in my ministry. The Department of Physical Planning is the end office that makes a determination on all applications for change of land use.

Madam Speaker, this question is so important so that those who may buy and do not go to the local authorities to begin the processes of building permission, must do that at their own peril. The normal thing, and everyone knows, is that when you want to change land use, you have to go through a normal application process which goes through the council. Normally, a full council will approve that application. The last point of authority or permission is in the ministry that deals with the entire country for the permission called change of land use. The change of land use will be granted if, and only if, that particular application and the intended building sits and is not in conflict with the plan that we have in the case of Kanyama Constituency.

I thank you, Madam.

STALLED CONSTRUCTION OF THE CHISANGA/TAZARA ROAD IN LUKASHYA CONSTITUENCY

12. Mr Kasandwe (Bangweulu) (on behalf of Mr Chisanga (Lukashya)) asked the Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development:

1. why the construction works on the Chisanga/Tazara Road in Lukashya Parliamentary Constituency have stalled;
2. when the project will resume; and
3. what the cost of the outstanding works is.

The Minister of Infrastructure and Urban Development (Eng. Milupi): Madam Speaker, the construction of the Chisanga/Tazara Road in Lukashya Parliamentary Constituency has stalled because the contractor has suspended works as a result of nonpayment for certified works due to limitations in available funds for the project.

Madam Speaker, the project has not resumed due to funding constraints. However, works will resume once the Treasury sources funds for the project.

Madam Speaker, the cost for the outstanding works on the Chisanga-Tazara Road is estimated at K8,530,000.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Kasandwe: Madam Speaker, I am sure the hon. Minister is aware that the road works have advanced and reached 80 per cent. Does he not think that delaying the release of funds further will make the project more expensive?

Eng. Milupi: Madam Speaker, we are aware of that and that is why we are looking at all avenues of possible sources of funding. Where funding is made available, we prioritise those projects that have reached 80 per cent and above. When the hon. Member says the project has reached 80 per cent, I am not sure how accurate he is because that is not the information we have.

Madam Speaker, for clarity, the construction of the Chisanga/Tazara Road is part of the contract for the periodic maintenance of the 86 km of the road from Chambeshi Bridge to Kasama and upgrading of the 10 km of Kasama urban roads in the Northern Province of Zambia, which was Lot 2.

Madam, the contract for the periodic maintenance of the 86 km of the road from Chambeshi Bridge to Kasama and upgrading of the 10 km of Kasama urban roads in the Northern Province of Zambia, Lot 2, was awarded to Messrs China Geo-Engineering Corporation of Zambia, at a revised contract sum of K1,301,065,191.52.

The original contract sum was K528,803,093.90 which was later revised to the figure I have mentioned above. Amount certified works to date on that contract is K125,169,106.70. Amount paid to date is K51,486,206 .90. Unlike the figure you gave us hon. Member for Bangwulu, our assessment of the overall progress of this project is 4 per cent. Implementation of the project has been hampered by funding challenges.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Kampyongo: Madam Speaker, I appreciate the responses coming from the hon. Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development.

Madam Speaker, the road under consideration; the Chisanga/TAZARA Road is the main link and it is one of the critical roads that help the people of Lukashya Constituency to move from one end to the other end of the constituency. The rainy season is almost near which makes it extremely difficult for our people to move. We hear that the hon. Minister is trying to look for resources to ensure that those works are expedited. What interim measures is the Government going to put in place to just ensure that our people do not get cut off in terms of passage on that road? Is he able to do some remedial works as it is waiting to do the main contract because we knew that there were challenges of dealing with those people who are in close proximity of the road, as such, it took a bit of time before the works could commence.

Eng. Milupi: Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for Shiwang’andu for the follow up questions. The road network around the area he has talked about is a source of concern for all of us, including the major roads which are Serenje/Mpika and of course, Mpika to Kasama, the whole stretch of roads. We subject these roads to periodic maintenance, but we have pronounced ourselves in this House, where any hon. Member of Parliament feels that there are communities that are likely to be cut off, he/she is free to engage with us. It is not the wish of this Government to have communities cut off. So, when these spots are identified and there is something that we can do about, even on an emergency basis, that we will be able to look at. If the hon. Member feels that this particular stretch might result in communities being cut off, that must be brought to our attention so that we see what we can do about it.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Mukosa: Madam Speaker, mine is more of a point of clarification. I would like the hon. Minister to enlighten this House regarding the value of the certified works. How much is owed to the contractor by the Government owed?

Eng. Milupi: Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for Chinsali for the point of clarification. I think I did say in my statement that the amount of certified works to date on that particular contract is K125,169,106.70 and the amount paid to date to the contractor is K51, 486,206.90. As to what is owed to the contractor, I urge the hon. Member to calculate and he will come up with a figure, which is about K74 million.

I thank, Madam Speaker.

Mr Mapani (Namwala): Madam Speaker, when this project resumes, will it be re-advertised or the Government will proceed with the same contractor?

Eng. Milupi: Madam Speaker, this gives me an opportunity to clarify some of the plans that we have. It is quite clear that we are inundated with a number of contracts that have been given in that past, which quite clearly, can no longer be serviced. I think the hon. Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, in terms of township roads and feeder roads said the same thing yesterday. Therefore, because of scarcity of funds, and our inability to borrow to fund these particular projects and the fact that most of these projects were given without reference to budgetary allocations, the Government has been unable, not just this particular administration, but even the administration before, to fund these particular projects.

Madam Speaker, what is now happening is that we are almost at the end of completing an assessment where these non performing contracts are being reviewed with a view to cancelling them or terminating them. The idea behind this is to stop the bleeding in terms of extra resources that are required. As long as you have a running contract, it attracts interest payment and down payments. If it is something that you are not able to fund, it makes sense to cancel that. However, I must make it very clear and the House may wish to understand that there is a difference between cancelling a contract and cancelling a project. The New Dawn Administration is not talking about cancelling projects. The cancelling of these contracts will be for administrative purpose to ensure that we get on top of what we need to get on top of. As we get resources, these projects will continue.

Madam speaker, whatever project was embarked upon, was as a result of necessity to serve our various communities throughout this country. As soon as we have resources, we will be able to re-advertise. Some of the contractors who may have been engaged on these particular contracts may be the ones who may win back these contracts. However, the costing will be according to our expressed desire of right price and right specification and delivery on time, over that one we shall not change. So, if a contract was given at a very high price and it gets cancelled, it does not mean that when we re-advertise, it will be given at the same cost. I thought I should clarify that

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Mundubile: Madam Speaker, I am aware that this contract had a component for compensation payable to property owners, whose properties were affected by the works on this particular project. Have these property owners been paid their compensation?

Rev Katuta went and sat next to Mr Mundubile.

Eng Milupi: Madam Speaker, the hon. Leader of Opposition, who is currently being distracted, may not listen to the answer to his question. He is asking for a detail as to what happened in terms of compensation. However, as seen, the overall progress on the project was 4 per cent. So, I can only assume that very little was done, but that is a detail for which we can seek further clarity and further information.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

CONSTRUCTION OF FUEL DEPOT IN CHILANGA DISTRICT

13. Mr Hlazo (Chilanga) asked the Minister of Energy:

1. what the contract sum for the construction of the fuel depot by Gulfstream International in Chilanga District is;
2. what the variance between the Government engineer’s estimated cost and the contract sum is;
3. how many companies participated in the tender;
4. what the bidding price by each company was;
5. how much money had been spent on the project, as of May, 2022;and
6. when the project is expected to be completed.

The Minister of Energy (Mr Kapala): Madam Speaker, the contract sum for the construction was US$123,925,000. This was inclusive of the cost of land, which was pegged at US$1.525,000.

Madam Speaker, the Government engineers’ estimates for the Lusaka fuel depot was US$121 million, but the total contract which was awarded was US$123.9 million as indicated above. Therefore, there was a variance of US$2.9 million between the estimate provided by the Government and the contract sum.

Madam Speaker, in terms of the criterion used to award, the Ministry of Energy, at the time, obtained approval from the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) to single source Gulfstream International as an emergency measure meant to ameliorate the following:

1. lack of parking space at the existing Lusaka fuel depot–this was causing tankers to park by the roadside thereby, posing a risk of fire and spillage which would have led to devastating effects on the environment and loss of lives;
2. increasing waiting time–this was causing the Government to lose more revenue as trucks that were waiting to offload were incurring demurrage charges payable to the owners of the trucks for failure to offload the product;
3. inadequate finances to fund the construction of the fuel depot–The Government had no readily available funds for the project and it could not be fully funded from the Strategic Reserve Fund. The contractor was engaged because the ministry was going to effect a commodity swap contract where a fuel contract is issued commensurate to the construction of the fuel depot. This meant that a cost line would be introduced on a fuel supplier's contract and the collections would go towards the financing of the project; and
4. lack of suitable and for the construction of the depot–The Government at the time failed to acquire suitable land for the construction of the fuel depot but the contractor had suitable land which met the criteria of location and size to house a depot of this magnitude.

Madam Speaker, in light of the procurement method used, which was direct bidding, there were no other bidders that were invited, as of May, 2022, a total of US$69,991,166.33 had been paid towards the construction of the fuel depot leaving a balance of almost US$54 million

Madam Speaker, the project was scheduled to be completed by April, 2022. However, due to financial constraints, the project is likely to be completed by March, 2023. It should be noted that the project is 95 per cent complete.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Mwambazi (Bwana Mkubwa): Madam Speaker, the storage capacity at Lusaka bulk is about 15,000 cubes × 8 tanks, which is about 150, if I am not mistaken. I can be corrected. If we look at the price, we see that it was constructed at, or the bid price which is UD$123 million and compare it with what is in the region, there is a big disparity. Was a cost-benefit analysis done before commencing that construction? Apart from the question on the cost-benefit analysis, we have seen such constructions being done at a lower amount in the region. Maybe, the hon. Minister can highlight something on that concern.

Mr Kapala: Madam Speaker, we found this as a running contract and by the time we got into Government, the project was almost about 90 per cent done. So, everything was done before our time.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

_______

MOTION

MOTION OFTHANKS

(Debate resumed)

Mr Simushi (Sikongo): Madam Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity to add a voice to the debate on the Motion on the Floor of the House. Greetings from the people of Sikongo who are very happy with the manner in which you are administering the affairs of this House.

Madam Speaker, the people of the Eastern Province say mwana wamunzako akachita bwino, umutashe. This means that when your friend’s child does well, you should praise them. It is in order that from the onset I take this opportunity to commend His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, for the well-articulated speech that he presented to this august House.

Madam Speaker, in his speech, he categorically pointed out that the first year of the United Party for National Development (UPND) in Government was meant to stabilise the economy in order to create a base for increased economic growth in the years that lie ahead. When it comes to stabilising the economy, we have seen a number of economic fundamentals that have improved compared to when the New Dawn Administration formed Government. In this case, we are talking about the inflation rate, for instance, which was at 25.6 per cent when we came in August, but today, you are talking about 9.8 per cent. That has happened within a period of one year. I think that is incredible.

Madam, we are also talking about the exchange rate which we found at about K22 to one US dollar, but now it is about K15 per US dollar. We are also talking about the import cover which stood at 1.9 months and is now 3.7 months. This is incredible. We are also talking about issues to do with fiscal discipline in the manner in which Government resources are being spent. We are talking about transparency and accountability.

Madam Speaker, it is really true and correct to say a Government that has been able to perform to this magnitude within a period of one year should be given kudos and the President, who is at the helm of handling these issues, should be commended.

Madam, the President in his speech spoke about agriculture and how important it is to the economic development of our country in improving livelihoods and the economy, especially for us coming from rural areas.

Madam Speaker, in Sikongo we depend on agriculture. I will say in Sikongo agriculture is our mainstay. That is where we have a comparative advantage. In Sikongo, what we have done is made sure that we put agriculture as our main driver of economic growth. We have now embarked on a project where we are growing wheat. We are also expanding on our rice production. We have also put up what we are calling a cotton tree that more or less does what normal cotton is known to do but, in addition, this tree gives us medicinal value. It can cure cancers and many of the ailments that we suffer from. When the President talks about investing in agriculture, it speaks very well to what we trying to do in Sikongo.

Madam Speaker, we are also saying since we are trying to increase our agriculture production, we also want to ask the Government to help us to construct the Kalabo/Sikongo Road. We are embarking on this massive agricultural development because of the market that we have in Angola. We want to capitalise on the Angolan market to make sure that Sikongo develops. So, the hon. Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development should kindly help us to make sure that the Kalabo/Sikongo Road is worked on as soon as possible.

Madam, I want to comment on another issue which the President talked about, which is the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). I commend this Government and the President for increasing the CDF to K25.7 million. That is commendable. However, I want to say that we are now moving to another level where we are going to see more implementation of CDF projects. I want to ask the ministry to develop a monitoring tool to ensure that the projects that are going to be implemented achieve the intended objectives.

Madam Speaker, they can fall back on the Zambia Social Investment Fund (ZAMSIF) Project which we had some time back under the Ministry of Finance and National Planning. A proper monitoring tool was developed under the ZAMSIF Project that was there. If that is done, it is going to help the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to make sure that these projects under the CDF are well monitored and achieve the intended results.

Madam Speaker, it is important for me to also mention that within the one year of the UPND Administration, Sikongo District, which was very poor or one of the poorest can today boast of having achieved a lot within this short period of time. We are talking about having a secondary that is being constructed, a mini-hospital, a mortuary, school and health infrastructure and 204 teachers and ninety-eight health workers employed, just to mention but a few. These are not mere achievements within a period of one year.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Hon. Government Member: They are huge!

Mr Simushi: Madam Speaker, the UPND Government through His Excellency the President needs to be commended for the manner in which it is planning to develop this country. One good thing is that this Government is trying to develop this country holistically. We are not choosing where to put what. This Government is taking development to all the corners of this country, and I think that is very important.

Madam, I want to end by talking about the need for this UPND Government to ensure that this good vision which it has for this country is achieved. However, in order to do this, there is a need to clean the system.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Simushi: We still have a lot of what I would call Patriotic Front (PF) cadres still in the system. Yes, as much as they are citizens –

Interruptions

Mr Kampyongo: On a point of order, Madam Speaker.

Interruptions

Madam Speaker: Order! A point of order is raised.

Mr Kampyongo: Madam Speaker, this is a House of dignity and we must ensure that we observe the rules. I rise on a point of order pursuant to Standing Order No. 65. Everything we debate in here must be factual and verifiable and I expect hon. Members to start sobering up and healing knowing that they are on your right-hand side. They are in charge of running the affairs of this country.

Madam Speaker, is the hon. Member in order to make unsubstantiated allegations and claims that qualified public servants, and he was a public servant himself, can be reduced to party cadres knowing that every Zambian deserves to be in the Civil Service? Is he in order to make such sweeping allegations in his debate? I seek your serious ruling.

Madam Speaker: To the extent that the hon. Member for Sikongo referred to Patriotic Front (PF) cadres, he is out of order because he has not produced any documentary evidence on the Table of the House to show that, indeed, the professionals who are working as Civil Servants are PF cadres. May the hon. Member continue.

Mr Simushi: Madam Speaker, I was referring to that because our hon. Colleagues–

Madam Speaker: Order! Proceed without questioning the ruling.

Mr Simushi: Madam Speaker, I am saying this because we are seeing a lot of sabotage to Government programmes by …

Rev. Katuta: The High Court!

Mr Simushi: … some Civil Servants. It would appear that some of their blood is still green. It cannot change to red, which is the normal colour of blood.

Laughter

Mr Mundubile: On a point of order, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: I have already guided the hon. Member. Please, hon. Member, wind up your debate without referring to the issue of cadres. It will not add value to the debate unless you have evidence to show that indeed the people you are referring to are cadres.

Mr Simushi: I am well guided, Madam Speaker. Let me end by saying what this Government has done –

Mr Jamba: On a point of order, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: Hon. Member for Mwembezhi, there can never be a point of order following another point of order. Can we have order in the House! May the hon. Member for Sikongo wind-up his debate.

Mr Simushi: Madam Speaker, in winding up my debate, I would like to, again thank His Excellency the President for the well-articulated speech. I would also like to end by saying, our colleagues from the North say ushitasha mwana wandoshi, meaning the one who does not appreciate is a child of a witch.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Jamba: On a point of order, Madam.

Madam Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Jamba: Madam Speaker, I was listening attentively to the hon. Member as he was debating.

Madam Speaker, was he in order not to produce evidence from the manifesto and regulations of the Patriotic Front (PF) that all heads of departments must be actually PF according to their laws? Is he in order not to produce that document and ascertain that the people we are talking about are PF cadres? Is he in order?

Interruptions

Laughter

Madam Speaker: Order!

Hon. Members, I have made a ruling. If these people are, indeed, cadres, why not deal with them? You are the people on the right, is it not so?

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Madam Speaker: You will not add value to the debate by accusing people when you cannot act on it.

Mr Mapani (Namwala): Madam Speaker, I would like to thank you very much for according me this opportunity to contribute to the debate on the President’s Speech, which is the Motion on the Floor of the House today.

Madam Speaker, to start with, I want to thank the President for indicating, on all the three occasions he has been here, the four pillars of what citizens of this country ought to focus on. One of them is the word love, which has always been in the President’s Speech, the three times that he has been here. The second is the issue of unity, and the third is hard working and the final thing is peace.

Madam Speaker, looking at the entire speech which the President gave us, I want to extract or deduce the issue on page 37 which borders on good governance. It is very important that for the first time or depending on what you would want to refer to, that we have a President who has consistently talked about good governance. It is from the issue good governance that the people of Zambia will know now that we have a President who is interested in looking after the affairs of the citizens evenly, regardless of the geography or affiliation.

Madam Speaker, when we look at the issue of governance, according to the way the President’s Speech was structured, we see that there are about three or four things that we need to look at. Firstly, we need to look at political, the economic, social and agricultural aspects. These four, integrated, will take us to the word which we call development. It is from this development that we are going to talk about citizens’ way of living or improved living standards.

Madam Speaker, when we look at good governance, we see that there are tenets that will actually qualify a state to be called democratic. One of those tenets is in the same speech which the President delivered. The President talked about transparency, accountability, the respect for the rule of law, respect and promotion of human rights, responsiveness and capacity building. He further talked about the issue of gender and finally about good governance and decentralisation.

Madam Speaker, looking at where we are and what we are doing currently, the President’s Speech made us realise that he is interested in making sure that whatever the current Government is doing is done in a transparent manner and that people are free to scrutinise it.

Madam Speaker regarding accountability, the President stressed the point that anything that is going to be spent by the State shall be put to good use. He added that any single coin to be spent shall be accounted for and that no resources from the Government coffers will be diverted to private earnings or gains.

Madam Speaker, further, the President talked about the issue of human rights. This is a fundamental right that every citizen, regardless of geographical location or affiliation, is given at the point of birth. The President went on to say that every citizen will be allowed to enjoy his/her rights until or unless there is need by the legal bodies to derogate from those rights.

Madam Speaker, for the first time, we are seeing citizens of this country being allowed to enjoy these rights. Among these rights is the freedom of assembly and association. This is one of the fundamental rights that all citizens in this country are supposed to enjoy regardless of where one comes from. We saw it in the previous regimes. I am not saying regime, but regimes, where citizens were not allowed, in some areas, to assemble or to meet to share what they believed was their political interest or position. This time around, everyone is allowed to meet anytime provided they have just given the police notice, and they are not required to have a permit as was the case before. This is a score by the New Dawn Government. This is one of the things that we have been crying for for quite some time.

Madam Speaker, with regards to freedom of movement, we are able to see now that people or citizens are allowed to move from one point to another two without any threats from the Opposition or the people in charge. So, this is again another achievement by the New Dawn Government.

Madam Speaker, regarding freedom of speech, we have seen that of late, regardless of where one is, this is one of the freedoms the citizens of this country have been given. People are free to speak or criticise the Government provided that is done within the confines of the law, and this is another score.

Madam Speaker, the President is on record of telling this House that Cabinet has already approved a document where the Public Order Act will be looked at or repealed. This is a plus. We all know that the Public Order Act was enacted during the colonial era. This is an instrument or an Act that was really a disservice to citizens who were fighting for independence. This is a document which was abused before because other people took advantage of hiding their inadequacies by ensuring that all those who were perceived to be competitors were not given an opportunity to exercise their rights freely. Therefore, with the stance that the President has taken, which is that all citizens, going forward, will be free and that the Public Order Act shall not be applied selectively, this document will enable people to compete using the grey matter unlike the streams, ...

Madam Speaker: Order hon. Member for Namwala!

Hon. Member for Chilubi there is an icon which you can click on if you want to raise a point of order. If you just click, I will think that you just want to debate. Therefore, I will not be able to distinguish whether you want to raise a point of order or you want to debate.

Mr Fube: On a point of order, Madam.

Madam Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Fube: Madam Speaker, my point of order is pursuant to Standing Order No. 65, and I think it has more to do with relevance. I would like to believe that we are debating the President’s Speech for this year. Many of the things that the current debater is talking about were addressed in last year’s speech.

I have perused the speech and cannot see anywhere where many of the issues that he has brought forth are. The President actually avoided talking about a lot of those things in this year’s speech. I do not know where the relevance comes in –

Interruptions

Madam Speaker: Hon. Member for Chilubi, can you be specific? In what way was the hon. Member for Namwala irrelevant in his debate?

Mr Fube: I have been following his speech. He has talked about the Public Order Act, the rights –

Interruptions

Mr Fube: Hello, hello, hello, hello, hello. I have both speeches.

Madam Speaker: Order, order!

Mr Fube: Yes. Can I be protected?

Madam Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member, do not respond to them.

Mr Fube: But handle them. Yes.

Interruptions

Mr Fube: Yes.

Madam Speaker: Do not respond to the hon. Members. Hon. Members, you know the rules; you are not supposed to heckle and also debate while you are seated. Can we allow the hon. Member for Chilubi to raise his point of order. Hon. Member for Chilubi, as you are raising your point of order, point at the irrelevancies that you are saying, that the hon. Member for Namwala is referring to. Proceed.

Mr Fube: It is fine, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Madam Speaker: Order, order, order!

Hon. Member for Chilubi, please, can we comply with the Standing Orders?

Mr Fube: Let them comply too.

Hon. Government Members: Ah!

Madam Speaker: I am warning you. If you do not comply with the Standing Orders, and action is taken against you, please, do not complain. You are advised and you are not supposed to react. I was telling you not to react to the people who are heckling. If they are heckling, it is my responsibility to tell them, and I just told them that they are not supposed to do that. The Standing Orders are very clear. Let us not be emotional; let us be patient with each other. So, now you have withdrawn your point of order.

May the hon. Member for Namwala proceed.

Mr Mapani: Madam Speaker, thank you very much. I was just talking about love, unity, hard work and peace. So, I think it is very important to exercise some of those issues that I just mentioned. Allow me to proceed. I was just talking about the issue of the Public Order Act. We shall all be happy once this Act is amended or replaced.

I thank you, Madam.

Ms Nyirenda (Lundazi): Thank you, Madam Speaker, for giving a chance to the people of Lundazi to add to the debate on this Motion of Thanks of His Excellency, Mr Hakainde Hichilema.

Madam Speaker, first and foremost, the people of Lundazi would like to appreciate the speech which was delivered by His Excellency. However, there are some issues that the people of Lundazi want to be addressed. There was good news which was talked about, which is the issue of electricity generation which increased from 9.9 million MW to 10.8 million MW. While this is good news to all the people in Zambia, the people in Lundazi have never been connected to the grid and this has resulted in children dying because Malawi switches off power at any time in our district. Whilst the increase in the megawatts has been celebrated, we wish those implementing to quickly move in and ensure that the people of Lundazi also get to celebrate the joy which others are celebrating.

Madam Speaker, the President alluded to the issue of hospitals to be completed. It is good news, that, indeed, those hospitals, including ours, which do not even have mothers shelters and mortuaries, in some cases, can be attended to during this period especially that the President gave a directive.

Madam Speaker, I will limit myself to the issue of gender. Allow me to quote. The President alluded to the fact that gender equality should be complemented by ensuring that women participate in some of the empowerment programmes. They are good programmes, but allow me to quote what Winnie Byanyima said; “Without women’s equal access to positions of decision-making and a clear process to get there, gender equality, global security and peace will never be realised.”

I cannot agree further than what Winnie said. The issue of gender equality cannot be simplified to us getting empowerment; it is about the Government giving a direct route on how we are going to ensure that women’s representation is increased. This includes coming up with a proper roadmap such as coming up with gender quotas and ensuring that some of the seats within parties are reserved for women to participate.

Madam Speaker, I want to also comment on the issue of free education. It is good to note that our children have been enrolled. The President has scored on that one. However, I want to share with the House some of the challenges that our learners may be facing, especially those who are coming from rural areas. Many girls are enrolled in school but you will find that the sanitation facilities may not be that good. I expected the President to give a directive such that even the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and all co-operating partners who wish to assist should focus or channel their resources towards coming up with proper infrastructure, especially for us who are coming from rural areas.

Madam Speaker, there is also something that I want to talk about, and that is on page 47 of the speech. As the President was about end his speech, there was something that he alluded to and it is the issue of having a duty to unite the country, to embrace values that promote peace and unity. However, the word which caught my attention was the issue of saluting the good in others. As a country, we always learn from the leader and the leader of this nation is His Excellency, Hakainde Hichilema. Whenever he decides to salute the good in others, despite what they could have done to him or whatever he experienced, the moment it comes from the head of this country, it will run down to every other person and it will settle in each and every human being.

There is a need to just make it a choice to salute the good in others. If we look out for evil, everyone has got a portion or everyone has, at some point, done something that is terrible. However, saluting the good in others will ensure that this nation remains united and we are going to build forward so that our children and our grandchildren and all those who are coming after us can find a good foundation.

Madam Speaker, on the issue of the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP), I want to make a comment on something that can really help, especially our people in rural areas. Right now, calls are coming in because some people have lost their voters cards and they are unable to meet the demand for those who are asking them to register to collect the fertiliser. Some of the rules that are set may look good but they may be binding and creating challenges and difficulties for our people in the rural areas to adapt to them. Whilst it is a good programme to remove the thieves and the corrupt people, it is important to have consideration. Even at the hospital, we always have a next of kin. What would be wrong for the blind people or those people who are lame to allow someone they trust to register them so that they can go and collect the farming inputs on their behalf?

Madam Speaker, as rules are being made, there must be such considerations. That is why even in the hospitals they tell you that if you cannot come to collect the drugs yourself, who is your buddy and who is your next of kin.

Madam Speaker, at the end of the day, we expect that Zambia can remain a united nation. Thieves and corrupt individuals, must be arrested, condemned, and taken to prison. This is why we do not have a tarmac in Lundazi.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Nyirenda: Madam Speaker, we are waiting to see that happen and the people of Lundazi are anxious to know who is it that stole the money that was supposed to have built a bridge for them in Kazimwene, Mutuwanjovu and also in –

Madam Speaker, I just want to appreciate your time.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Member: You appreciate when things are good.

Madam Speaker: We needed to listen to a lady. The hon. Member for Mongu Central, you may proceed.

Mr Amutike (Mongu Central): Madam Speaker, thank you very much for giving the people of Mongu Central a chance to say a few words on the President’s Speech. Firstly, the speech was very inspiring, full of hope and spelt out the things that the New Dawn Government has been able to do in the past one year. The people of Mongu have begun to see the benefits of their vote of what the New Dawn Government is doing.

Madam Speaker, as I am speaking now, many young people who did teaching have been employed in the Civil Service. Nurses and doctors have been employed in the health sector. They are now valuable members of their families and contributing positively to the state of affairs of their families. During campaigns, I met some of those young and they have never been employed for the past seven years. You can imagine what that does to somebody who has been at home for the past seven years.

Madam Speaker, the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) is a game changer in my constituency. As I am speaking now, in Mongu Central more than 584 young people are at Mongu Trades Training Institute learning different skills. Some are doing bricklaying and others plumbing. This is what we need to do to empower young people. When young people graduate, they will be able to employ themselves or get employed. This is how you create employment. So, CDF is doing wonderful things in Mongu Central, something that has never been done. As I am talking now, new schools are being built. There are wards like Namasho where there have been no schools and a clinic since independence, but now we, in the New Dawn Government are putting up such facilities in these new areas.

Madam Speaker, the President referred to agriculture and agro processing. The people of Mongu Central are taking keen interest in that area. We have a lot of mangos, rice, and cashew nuts in the province, especially in Mongu. I would like to encourage the New Dawn Government to take particular interest and bring value addition in that area. We want to see factories being built in that area. The President also referred to mining. As an engineer of many years and having worked in the oil industry, I know for sure without any exploration that we may have gas in the Barotseland plain. So, we want to encourage the Government to start activities that are aimed at bringing exploration in that area. If we discover gas in that area, it can turn the economy of this country around.

Madam Speaker, I also want to thank the New Dawn Government for clinching the International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal. Where others have failed for many years to try to put up this deal, the New Dawn Government has been able to do it within one year. So, the people of Mongu are saying that actually, to them it is not the IMF deal that is very important, but the heightened confidence in the economy that is likely to bring capital inflows in the economy and bring about the much needed investment. That is how you build industries and economies.

Madam Speaker, so that is what we want to do. The inflation rate is now down. Yesterday, I heard one of the Members of Parliament wondering how the exchange is now very low. it is because of the good policies of the Government which are enough to lower the exchange rate. The good policies of the Government are enough to make the exports competitive. That is what the New Dawn Government is doing and that is what it will continue to do.

Madam Speaker, I just want to thank the New Dawn Government for the positives that have been achieved in one year and the people of Mongu Central are very happy with the performance. We look forward to the next four years that are remaining to see what will be happening in our constituencies.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Kang’ombe (Kamfinsa): Madam Speaker, I will restrict my debate this evening to the issues to do with mining and particularly, I will draw the attention of the House to page 14 of the President’s Speech.

Madam Speaker, on page 14, in the first paragraph, the President refers to a commitment in addressing the challenges affecting operations at Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) and Konkola Copper Mines (KCM). Unfortunately, the measures are not elaborated and as a result of the failure to elaborate these steps, it will be important that we have a conversation around MCM and KCM.

Madam Speaker, as I debate, I want to put on record that I was privileged to have worked for MCM. After leaving university, my first assignment was at MCM. There is something very special about MCM and I think it applies to KCM as well.

Madam Speaker, the fact is that for many years, Zambian engineers have been groomed to manage these mines. I am sure the hon. Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Urban Development who was privileged to have worked for the mines will agree with me that Zambia has produced many qualified and experienced engineers who have the capacity to run these mines. So, on the issues of competences and ability by Zambians to run these mines, we can never doubt the abilities of Zambians to run these mines. I am very certain that starting with KCM, coming into MCM, we have the right mining, mechanical and electrical engineers.

Madam Speaker, so point number one is that Zambia has the competences to run these mines.  Where does the challenge come in, in as far as these mines are concerned? The first challenge that we have is the issue of recapitalisation. What I would have hoped the President to have done in his speech is to indicate that the Government intends to recapitalise these mines. I know recapitalisation is a financial term, and the experts will tell us what recapitalisation means.

Madam Speaker, from my perceptive recapitalisation can mean finding a partner, it can mean the Government injecting resources. The whole point is the issue of resources to run these particular mines. I am aware that last month or the other month, Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines-Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH) did authorise MCM to borrow US$15 million from INDO-Zambia Bank for purposes of managing some of the operational challenges that the mine is facing.

Madam Speaker, US$15 million is not enough. What the mine needs, and I think the experts have already guided is that we should have injected a minimum of US$50 million on a monthly basis purely to enable our Zambian engineers to run this mine.

Unfortunately, Madam Speaker, as I read what is on page 14, I have not read any part where the Government is telling us how much money will be injected into MCM and KCM. So, my first suggestion, even as the hon. Minister of Mines and Minerals Development is called upon at an appropriate time to come and a give a statement on this matter, is that the Government needs to spell out a very clear policy on recapitalisation.

Does the Government want to recapitalise these mines or sell them? I think it is important that we are guided, so that even as we debate this particular matter, our debate is aligned to the policies that the Government wants to implement in the area of mining at MCM and KCM. Like I said earlier on, we need to see more commitment from the Government, especially on this particular aspect.

Madam Speaker, as I wind up my debate on MCM and KCM, I want to remind our hon. Colleagues on the other side that I do recall that whenever elections were due in Zambia, one of the prominent things that we used to see from our investors in the mining sector is to place these mines on care and maintenance. Now, what used to happen is that one week before Parliament is dissolved, you would hear MCM announce that the mine was being put under care and maintenance.

Madam Speaker, that is pure blackmail to push the Government to do away with certain taxes. I am predicting here today, that if these mines are left in the hands of foreigners without Zambians having a stake through ZCCM-IH and some of these mines are offloaded, come 2025, we will, again, have the same problem of these mines being placed on care and maintenance.

Madam Speaker, I want to appeal to the Government that there are so many lessons you can learn from some of the challenges that were faced in the past and how they were dealt with. I think the decision of the Government at that time to allow Zambians to run these mines was in the best interest of the Republic. It was to ensure that there is job security. It was to ensure that those many Zambians in Mufulira, Kitwe and other places where these mines are operating do not lose their jobs in the run up to the elections.

Madam Speaker, I want to repeat that when Zambians run the mines, there is no blackmail of job losses in an election year. We have seen it happen and we do hope that the Government takes the necessary steps to ensure that these mines remain in the hands of Zambians.

Madam Speaker, as I wind up debate, my appeal is that we need to hear a statement on recapitalisation. The whole essence of Zambians running these mines is to ensure that we give them the resources. We need to give Eng. Sakanya the resources at MCM, we need to give the engineers at KCM the resources to run these mines. These are Zambians that have got the skills, competences and experience.

Madam Speaker, I am hopeful that if we speak the same language of recapitalisation, whether we find a partner or inject resources, the whole idea is to get Zambians to run these mines. I can vouch for the Zambians who are running these mines. If we give them money, these mines will be profitable.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Rev. Katuta (Chienge): Madam Speaker, thank you for allowing the voice of Chienge to be heard on this wonderful Motion of Thanks on the address that the President made to Parliament. I may not have been present, but I have read through the speech.

Madam Speaker, I want to start with page 11, where the President spoke about walking the talk. He further said that we have met the phytosanitary requirements for exports, which I believe has been a challenge for many farmers in Zambia. Many Zambian farmers would like to export their produce to foreign countries. Unfortunately, their produce is returned most of the time. Therefore, I must say well done to the Government for addressing that issue.

Madam Speaker, however, there is a challenge at the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA). When you want to export produce to foreign countries, ZRA officers demand things like import licences for seeds, for instance. They want to make sure that, indeed, you are the one who grew that produce. I think that is a bottleneck and it is discouraging most Zambians.

Madam Speaker, Zambia has a lot of potential because we have got plenty of land and labour, which we can use to produce for countries like China, but we have such bottlenecks. I think the Executive should look into that and see how the delays at ZRA can be addressed. I am talking from experience and I must declare interest. When you want to export your produce to countries like China, you really have to leave whatever you are doing in order to persuade ZRA officers to give you certain documents, so that you can proceed to get the clearance of phytosanitary documents. I note that the Government is making an effort, but I think this is a drawback.

Madam Speaker, I would like to also quickly talk about what I have seen here where the President was talking about adequate sanitation and national water security. When I read through the speech, I saw that the President was talking about boreholes that have been done in the country. I must bring this news to the House and Executive that in Chienge, this is not the case. When the hon. Minister of Water Development and Sanitation tried to intervene, we were promised that by December last year, we would have boreholes. To date, there are no boreholes in Chienge, except on paper, but we have never had these boreholes and the people of Chienge are really suffering in terms of having clean water.

Madam Speaker, I would like to find out where the money has gone since there was a contractor who was contracted. If you go to a place called Chitunda Ward, there is a school called Kabendwe. We have been waiting for those boreholes. I stood just here where I am standing to beg the New Dawn Government that we need water. This is a place where people are going to die because they drink dirty water. We were promised, but up to date, there is nothing. Therefore, it is sad that the President might have been reading this speech because it was written by technocrats who are not in contact with reality or the people like those in Chienge.

Madam Speaker, I have got this information for the President. We do not have water in Chienge. We do not have the boreholes that have been indicated in this speech. I would like to appeal to the President that we need water in Chienge. We have got a lot of water bodies in Chienge. We have got the Kalungwishi River, which has got clean water. When you boil that water, no calcium or anything else remains in the pot.

So, if the Government can help us pump water from Kalungwishi River and Lake Mweru and purify it, we will be very happy. The water in Lake Mweru is not salty. It is clean water. It just needs to be purified. Therefore, we do not know why as the people of Chienge we cannot be given water. I believe the hon. Minister of Water Development and Sanitation is getting this information. Those who are here in the Executive should know that the information in this speech is misleading. We do not have water in Chienge.

Madam Speaker, I would also like to talk about what is on page 29, where the President spoke about the water projects that have been completed and those about to be done. There is an outstanding water project that is for Nchelenge and Chienge. I think I have been talking about this and even last year, I spoke about it. I was reassured that by December last year, the contractor would be on site. As we are talking, it is just – I do not know if to call it a lie – there is nothing. We were promised and that is a government assurance that I got on behalf of the people of Chienge and Nchelenge. There is no contractor on site even to start the works for the project which is supposed to be for water supply to Nchelenge and Chienge. This is supposed to be piped water.

Madam Speaker, I would also like to quickly speak about the issue of the Social Cash Transfer Scheme. Most of the people in Chienge, especially the old and lame, have been taken off the list. It is very sad to see a sixteen or eighteen year old receiving money under this programme. I have brought this to the attention of the hon. Minister of Community Development and Social Services to say this is what is happening. I have even sent videos and pictures. People who are lame cannot even get their K800. If they are given that money, you find that it is just K300.

Madam Speaker, the Government needs to move in quickly because this new Government is talking about it being corrupt free. Please, come and help us in Chienge. The disabled and those who are really vulnerable are not accessing the Social Cash Transfer Scheme. I even said it on the Floor of this House that we need to remove the technocrats or officers we have under this programme. Maybe we can have new ones, so that we start on a new page and help the people who are in need.

Madam Speaker, with those few words, I want to say thank you so much for allowing me to add my voice to this discussion, but the Executive should please know that we need water. The water that is being talked about in terms of boreholes, we do not have it in Chienge. There is no water.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Samakayi (Mwinilunga): Thank you very much, Madam Speaker –

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

Madam Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Munir Zulu: Madam Speaker, I have tried to peruse through the Standing Orders, the National Assembly (Powers and Privileges) Act, and the National Assembly of Zambia summary of conditions of services for hon. Members. Many a times, you have said that parliamentary business takes precedence over any other business.

Madam Speaker, the video circulating where ministers are campaigning in Luangwa and–

Madam Speaker: Order hon. Member! When you raise a point of order, it has to relate to the, ...

Mr Munir Zulu remained standing.

Madam Speaker: Maybe, you can take your sit as I guide.

... subject that is being debated on the Floor of the House. If that issue is not affecting or is not being debated, you are at liberty to write a complaint or a letter to the Speaker’s office and it will be attended to just like a point of order. Unless you are raising that point of order on any member who said something while we are here, you may proceed. I noticed that you had gone out and you came in and immediately raised a point of order. So, please, put it in writing to the Speaker’s office and it will be attended to. Hon. Member for Mwinilunga, you may proceed.

Mr Samakayi: Thank you, Madam Speaker, for the opportunity to add a voice of the people of Mwinilunga to the debate on the Speech by the President to this august House.

Madam Speaker, I congratulate the President for giving or delivering such an inspiring speech through this House to the people of Zambia. The speech gives hope to the people of Zambia in that we are moving to the next level in terms of development. The information that was provided ranged from economic growth coming from negative 2 per cent to 4 per cent is very good for Zambia. Inflation coming down from a runaway per cent of 25 per cent to 9 per cent and also import cover from 1.9 months to 3.7 months is an indication that this country is in safe hands and on its way to prosperity.

Madam Speaker, there is everything for everyone in this speech, be it the public sector, the private sector or individuals, there is something that you can take home from it.

On free education, every child deserves an education, whether it is a child of an hon. Member of Parliament, a rich man or a poor person, they deserve free education. That is what good leaders do and the New Dawn Government has demonstrated that. We have heard from our hon. Colleagues on your left side trying to rubbish the free education policy saying it has come with problems of lack of learning and accommodation facilities. Obviously, that is what people who exert their efforts towards helping the citizens do. We have a challenge with learning and accommodation, but we also have the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) which we can use to build more classrooms and accommodation for the teachers in order to reduce the shortages.

Madam Speaker, I believe that in Mwinilunga, we are doing that. I am also given to understand that many of our hon. Colleagues on your left side are doing that as well in their constituencies. So, the issue of learning accommodation is being addressed. Even if we have this year, employed 30,000 teachers, we believe that there is still a shortage. However, the Government has pronounced itself that it will continue with the programme of recruitment. I believe that at that stage, my brother from Chipili will dance and he will dance even more when he sees more teachers being employed.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Samakayi: Madam Speaker, the President pronounced himself on the issue of enhancing agriculture productivity and encouraging value addition through creation of cottage industries. I believe that agriculture is one economic activity that you can involve many citizens in and improve the welfare of our people.

Madam Speaker, the next thing that I want to talk about is the issue of the President having touched on the four pillars of our economic transformation which are tourism, manufacturing, agriculture and mining. I think the delivery on all these issue was, exceptional, excellent.

Madam, I now want to move to decentralisation. I think what this Government has done has never happened.

Interruptions

Madam Speaker: Order hon. Members!

Hon. Member for Lunte, you are just seated next to the Leader of the Opposition and you are not being advised. I can hear whatever you are saying in vernacular. Some of the words you are using are not good. Can we restrain our selves, please. Leaders, can you also manage your people. Let us work together. May the hon. Member continue.

Mr Samakayi: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. The hon. Member cannot destabilise me because we came at the same time and we have the same experience.

Madam Speaker, I am talking about decentralisation. This Government has done very well in terms of moving decentralisation forward where many Governments in the past failed. The Government has gone full throttle to carry out fiscal decentralisation, money has moved to the local authorities and functions have remained behind.

What the Government must now do is formalise the reporting relationships between sector heads in the districts with local authorities. After all, when the money is sitting in the council, it is going to be applied on these sectors. The money is applied in education, health and agriculture. These are the functions that they are given to undertake, and that is where the money is applied. So, they are already working together with council officials. Therefore, what the Government needs to do is simply formalise the reporting relationships and operational relationships between sector ministries at district level and the councils. There is no need to procrastinate on this issue, so that our operations can move smoothly.

Madam Speaker: Order!

The hon. Member’s time expired.

Mr Tayengwa (Kabwata): Madam Speaker, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to the President’s Speech that was delivered to this House last week on Friday.

Madam Speaker, allow me to highlight four or five things which I think were critical points that I got from the President’s Speech. These are: education, agriculture, health, employment and strengthening institutions that are helping us to govern the country.

Madam Speaker, firstly, on education, when the President came here, he made a call to each one of us here as hon. Members of Parliament to ensure that no school-going child sits on the floor by the end of 2023. For that call to be achieved, it will take leaders who are committed to doing what they have been elected to do.

Madam Speaker, the other issue that the President called for on page 23 of his speech is building or constructing 120 secondary schools, including 115 that were abandoned by the previous Government. When a leader comes out and talks about education, he understands why education is so important. As you all may know, education is the best equaliser. Without education, you cannot develop a nation.

If you look at countries such as Luxembourg, you will see that it has one of the highest level of literate people in the world, and that is because it decided to educate their children and the whole nation. Once you do that, you will discover that even developing a nation will not be challenging.

Madam Speaker, I also want to talk about the issue of skills. In my constituency; Kabwata, as much as we appreciate that we need to build more skills training centres for our youths, we need to rehabilitate the existing ones. If you go in all the constituencies that we have around, especially urban constituencies, you will discover that there are issues of junkies. Everyone knows about this issue. Most of these junkies are people that have been to school. They even have Grade 12 certificates. Some of them even qualify to be hon. Members of Parliament, but why are they where they are? They have been neglected because some of the skills training centres that we have are not motivating to them. They are in a deplorable state. That is why in Kabwata, we are insisting that before we talk about building other skills training centres, let us first rehabilitate the old ones.

For instance, Chilenje Skills Training Centre was built many years ago, but if you look at the state in which it is, you will see that it is a sorry sight. That is why we are saying let us first start by rehabilitating the old skills trainings centres.

 

Madam Speaker, some people say Kabwata, my constituency, is a fully developed constituency. I beg to differ with that statement. I think that is why the people of Kabwata opted to send me to represent them here. Kabwata Constituency has over 220,000 inhabitants. These 220,000 inhabitants have so many challenges. We are still talking about education. For instance, many schools do not carter for children with special needs. The only place that is able to do that is the University Teaching Hospital (UTH).

Madam Speaker, in Kabwata Constituency, we will be able to liaise and involve the business community, so that we can build or expand the existing infrastructure and accommodate children with special needs.

Madam Speaker, if I were to tell you right now to go out there in my constituency, you will find that there are so many children living with special needs, yet you cannot see them in schools. Why is that so? It is because there is that stigma which we need to break.

Mr J. E. Banda: On a point of order, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr J. E. Banda: Madam Speaker, thank you for giving the good people of Petauke this opportunity to raise a point of order on the Deputy Independent Whip, Hon. Chibuye. If you can, ask him to sit where he sits because he is disturbing the proceedings.

Madam Speaker: I have been watching from here. Hon. Chibuye, can you take your appropriate seat because you have been laughing, chatting and disturbing the hon. Members seated next to you. May the hon. Member for Kabwata continue.

Mr Tayengwa: Madam Speaker, I was talking about the issue of children with special needs, and how they are being stigmatised and how parents are keeping them in their houses. We want to break this stigma and invite these parents to come and register their children so that they can be admitted in different schools. We are going to negotiate with the business community to expand the existing infrastructure so that we can allow children living with disabilities in school.

Madam Speaker, I will just touch a bit on agriculture. As much as we appreciate the issue of the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) as it is a good thing and it sounds so sweet, but to be honest with you, I think we also need to invest a lot in livestock.

Madam Speaker, on health, the President made a call that we need to construct district hospitals, and I think there is a need for one in my constituency too. Kabwata Constituency has five wards and each of the five wards has its own unique challenges. If you look at Kamulanga, you will see that it is the least developed ward. You would even wonder what somebody was doing for the past twenty years, leaving out only one ward. The ward has no hospital and no police station. It does not even have a market.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Tayengwa: This is what we are talking about. If I were to invite you to see for yourself how Kamulanga was left out, you would feel pity. So, we are going to make sure that development is shared equally.

Madam Speaker, as regards employment, we all know what this Government has done. Look at the numbers the Government has managed to employ in the health sector. Over 11,000 health workers and 35,000 teachers have been employed. The Government made this commitment while still in the Opposition. It promised and it is still delivering.

Rev Katuta: IMF!

Mr Tayengwa: Madam Speaker, I can go on and on, but the greatest thing that I want us to understand is the issue of empowering women. Before you empower women, you first need to start respecting them.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Tayengwa: There is no way we who are called hon. Members of Parliament can start demeaning women. It is not right. Let us start by respecting women before we think about empowerment. Without respecting women, we are eroding our moral standards in this country.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Tayengwa: Madam Speaker, it is a pity and for lack of a better term, shameful to see how hon. Members outside here demean women. I can tell you women are the greatest asset God has ever given us. It is high time we started respecting the womenfolk. With these few words, I beg to move.

I thank you, Madam.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Madam Speaker: On behalf of the women, thank you for those remarks.

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

Madam Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Munir Zulu: Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order based on Standing Order 65 in relation to the content of speech by the hon. Member for Kabwata Constituency regarding relevance as guided yesterday.

Madam, we have districts which have no hospitals in the country. Kabwata Constituency is the most developed constituency in the country and the hon. Member decides to be irrelevant by mentioning a ward when we in Lumezi Constituency do not have the privileges he has. I needed your guidance on that matter, especially since yesterday you made a ruling that I was out of order because of relevance.

Madam Speaker: The hon. Member for Kabwata is speaking on behalf of the people of Kabwata and what their requirements are. In terms of relevance, the President, in his speech, addressed the issue of building medical facilities and districts hospitals. So, I believe it is in that regard that the hon. Member talked about the requirements for Kamulanga Ward in his constituency, which requires a hospital. So, he is not out of order.

Mr J. E. Banda (Petauke Central): Madam Speaker, thank you for giving the good people of Petauke this opportunity to thank the President for the speech he delivered in this House.

Madam, firstly, I want to start with the anniversary of the New Dawn Government. We want to thank the Government for the things it has delivered to the good people of Petauke. In the agriculture sector, we want to thank the New Dawn Government for including the new cooperatives in the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP), but we also want to ask the hon. Minister to look into the matter where farmers are asked to make deposits individually. We have got districts and wards in Petauke where there are no banks, and districts in the Eastern Province where there are no banks like Vubwi and Chadiza. How are all the farmers going to manage to travel to Chipata to go and make the deposits? We ask the New Dawn Government to look into that matter so that it can assist the farmers, not forgetting the good people of Petauke who are also farmers. In the past, when the chairmen for cooperatives used to make deposits, they used to spend nights because of the long queues in the bank.

Madam Speaker, in the education sector,we also want to thank the New Dawn Government for recruiting 30,000 teachers. It has uplifted the standards of learning institutions because before, I am sure that in most schools the teacher-pupil ratio was not good and as a result, pupils were affected. However, I am sure with the recruitment of 30,000 teachers, that will be a thing of the past.

Madam, we also want to appreciate the New Dawn Government for upgrading forty-five community schools to primary schools in Petauke Central Constituency. I can confirm that all of them have received six teachers each.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr J. E. Banda: However, we have got the issue of lack of infrastructure, and I am asking the hon. Minister of Education to look into that. However, the leadership of Petauke has not just gone to bed. We have found a solution. We will work together with the churches and we will be using the church infrastructure as school infrastructure as we are waiting for structures.

Madam, in the health sector, the President promised that the New Dawn Government will build hospitals in each and every district. Petauke already has a specialised hospital; Kalindawalo General Hospital, which is partially opened. We thank the previous Government for finishing it. However, we are asking the New Dawn Government to officially open it so that people can stop being referred to the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) because it is very costly to transport back to the Eastern Province bodies of loved ones who we lose here in Lusaka.

Madam Speaker, the road network from Luangwa to Lusaka is not good. So, people get involved in accidents as they travel to seek medical attention. We are asking the New Dawn Government to officially open that hospital, if it can.

Madam, in the transport sector, we want to thank the President for the public service vehicle (PSV) drivers’ licences. Previously, PSV drivers would renew their licenses every year, but that is now a thing of the past. They will be renewing their licenses after five years, which is a commendable job done by the New Dawn Government.

Madam Speaker, we thank the New Dawn Government for maintaining the rule of law. We just saw yesterday the Kabushi and Kwacha by-elections being stopped. We need to commend the Government for accepting that.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr J. E. Banda: Madam, on the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), we want to commend the Government for increasing it from K1.6 million to K25.7 million and the good people of Petauke witnessed the receiving of grants last week.

Madam Speaker, with those few remarks, I thank you.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Madam Speaker: Order!

ADJOURNMENT

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

Question put and agreed to.

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The House adjourned at 1851 hours until 1430 hours on Thursday, 15^th September, 2022.

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