Friday, 16^th September, 2022

The House met at 0900 hours

[MADAM SPEAKER in the Chair]

NATIONAL ANTHEM

PRAYER

_______

Madam Speaker: At least, there was some energy in the singing. Well-done!

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

ANNOUNCEMENT BY MADAM SPEAKER

RESEARCH AWARENESS EXBITION

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members, I wish to inform you that the National Assembly, in partnership with the Inter-Parliamentary Union, will hold a three-day Research Awareness exhibition under the theme: “Scaling up the use of Evidence among Parliamentarians.” 

Hon. Members, the event will be held from Tuesday, 20^th September to Thursday, 22^nd September, 2022, here, at Parliament Main Buildings.  The exhibition will be preceded by the official launch on Tuesday, 20^th September, 2022, at 0930 hours, at the foyer of the Main Reception. All hon. Members are invited to attend the launch and should be seated by 0900 hours.

I thank you.

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BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

The Vice-President (Mrs Nalumango): Madam Speaker, before I acquaint the House with the business it will consider next week, allow me to congratulate the Patriotic Front (PF) for winning the Council Chairperson by-elections for Luangwa District in a democratic manner.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Madam Speaker: Congratulation, hon. Members on my left.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Laughter

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, this is democracy.

Madam Speaker, I rise to give the House some idea of the business it will consider next week.

Madam Speaker, on Tuesday, 20^th September, 2022, the Business of the House will begin with Questions for Oral Answer, if there will be any. This will be followed by Presentation of Government Bills, if there will be any. Thereafter, the House will continue with the debate on the Motion of Thanks to His Excellency the President’s Address.

Madam Speaker, on Wednesday, 21^st September, 2022, the Business of the House will start with Questions for Oral Answer, if there will be any. This will be followed by Presentation of Government Bills, if there will be any. Thereafter, the House will consider Private Members Motions, if there will be any. The House will then continue with the debate on the Motion of Thanks to His Excellency the President’s Address.

Madam Speaker, on Thursday, 22^nd September, 2022, the Business of the House will start with Questions for Oral Answer, if there will be any. This will be followed by Presentation of Government Bills, if there be any. The House will then continue with the debate on the Motion of Thanks to His Excellency to the President’s Address.

Madam Speaker, on Friday, 23^rd September, 2022, the Business of the House will commence with The Vice-President’s Question Time. This will be followed by Questions for Oral Answer, if there will be any. Thereafter, the House will deal with Presentation of Government Bills, if there will be any. Then, the House will continue the debate on the Motion of Thanks to His Excellency the President’s Address.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

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MATTERS OF URGENT PUBLIC IMPORTANCE

MR MUNG’ANDU, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR CHAMA SOUTH ON THE HON. MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND INTERNAL SECURITY ON THE VIOLENCE IN LUANGWA DURING THE COUNCIL CHAIRPERSON BY-ELECTIONS

Mr Mung’andu (Chama South): Madam Speaker, I want to thank Her Honour the Vice-President and His Excellency, for congratulating the Patriotic Front (PF) for the win that it has recorded in Luangwa. That is how it should be. Indeed, our democracy is growing.

Madam Speaker, I raise this matter of urgent public importance because of the violence that took place in Luangwa.

Hon. Government Members interjected.

Mr Mung’andu: I was there and you were here. No wonder you lost. So, do not urge.

Laughter

Madam Speaker: Hon. Member, just ask the question. Do you have to rub it in? Just ask the question and then we proceed.

Laughter

Mr Mung’andu: Madam Speaker, while Her Honour the Vice-President was in Luangwa, the United Party for National Development (UPND) cadres went to attack the Socialist Party campaign centre. They smashed the vehicle there and injured some people. We were told that in the process, one of the UPND cadres fell into a ditch. Unfortunately, by the time we were leaving the previous night because we also feared for our lives, we were told that that cadre had lost his life and it is confirmed. As we arrived there in the morning, we were told that the place was not safe for us and we had to retreat. We started going back.

Madam Speaker, we were led by two vehicles, a Toyota Hilux and a Ford Ranger, which was full of UPND cadres who blocked our way. I managed to negotiate with them and they allowed us to pass. Before we could reach Luangwa, they ambushed a female councillor, by the name of Madam Maanda, who was badly beaten, phones damaged and left for the dead.

Madam Speaker, your hon. Member of Parliament, Mr Emmanuel Tembo, who was also in Luangwa not only for campaigns but also, to welcome Her Honour the Vice-President, because that is our civic duty as an hon. Members of Parliament – When His Excellency visits Chama, I want to assure him that I will be there to welcome him. When Her Honour will be in Chama, I will be there to welcome her. We do that.

Interruptions

Mr Mung’andu: Madam Speaker, I am the Provincial Chairperson and I have ordered all the mayors in Muchinga Province to welcome our leaders whenever they visit because that is their civic duty.

Madam Speaker: Hon. Member, go to your question.

Interruptions

Mr Mung’andu: Madam Speaker, the UPND cadres equally attacked your hon. Member of Parliament, Mr Emmanuel Tembo. Madam Speaker, your Parliamentary vehicle, as I speak, is smashed by UPND cadres.

Madam Speaker, this is what the President has been preaching against. I can confirm that the Provincial Chairman for UPND, Lusaka Province, was the one who was organising this violence.

Hon. Government Members: Question!

Mr Mung’andu: Madam Speaker, if they want to provoke me, it will even damage them further because we gathered all the evidence. He was recorded, for their own information.

Madam Speaker, we are one Zambia, and I think the UPND can do things differently from probably, what the Patriotic Front (PF) used to do. These are the same things that the UPND used to complain about. It will be good for them, for our country and for all of us to do things differently.

Madam Speaker, is the very smart-looking hon. Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security in order to keep quiet without issuing a statement on this very bad behaviour by the UPND cadres, which behaviour, is damaging our Government, for your own information? Is he in order not to have issued a statement or at least, warned the cadres who were involved by yesterday? Those are well-known individuals and if such actions are condoned, more lives will continue to be lost.

I seek your serious indulgence, Madam Speaker. Those who are saying I should lay evidence on the Table, I have a newspaper here which reads:

 “Mayhem in Luangwa...as cadres run amok.”

Madam Speaker, these are their cadres; they are UPND cadres. I want to lay this newspaper on the Table as proof so that it can also guide you in making your decision.

Mr Mung’andu laid the paper on the Table.

Madam Speaker: Thank you. In view of the allegations that have been made –

Interruptions

Madam Speaker: Order!

In view of the serious allegations that have been made, I direct that the hon. Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security comes back to this House on Friday, next week to deliver a ministerial statement on the matter so that the nation can be guided on who perpetuated the violence and what exactly happened. So, I have guided.

For the next item, the hon. Members are advised to log in using the Electronic Chamber (e-Chamber.)

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THE VICE-PRESIDENT’S QUESTION TIME

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members, as we ask questions, let us not debate. Let us ask questions which are precise and to the point so that as many hon. Members as possible can ask questions. The idea of taking two to three minutes to ask questions will not be allowed anymore.

Mr Mundubile (Mporokoso): Madam Speaker, the English say, “On a good day, let only good words be spoken.” Today is, indeed, a very good day. So, I will take this opportunity to thank and congratulate our campaign team, led by Hon. Christopher Shakafuswa, ...

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mundubile: ... and the hon. Member of Parliament for Feira, Mr Emmanuel Tembo, for the victory that we (the Patriotic Front) have recorded in Luangwa.

Madam Speaker, people speak through elections. When we lost the elections last year, we learnt our lesson. We hope that the United Party for National Development’s loss in Luangwa will make it reflect on its performance in the past twelve months. Let me proceed to my question.

Madam Speaker, in the recent past, we have raised concerns over the increasing number of questionable Government procurements, tenders, contracts and cancellations of tenders, the recent one being the cancellation of the fertiliser contract, which was awarded only a few weeks ago. It is very clear that this is white-collar crime; it is very clear that somebody is trying to create an opportunity for single-sourcing of those lucrative contracts. Why is the Ant-Corruption Commission (ACC) still quiet on those questionable tenders?

The Vice-President (Mrs Nalumango): Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for his question. Maybe, let me just comment on the preliminary comments he made before asking his question.

Madam Speaker, on the hon. Member’s preliminary comment before his question, let me state that the United Party for National Development (UPND) has not lost Luangwa; the Patriotic Front (PF) has retained Luangwa. That must be made clear.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Vice-President: Since we came into power, there have been several by-elections, and we have seen our colleagues lose. Those were losses; you only lose when the seat was yours.  

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Vice-President: For now, we congratulate our colleagues, maybe, I should put it on record clearly, for retaining Luangwa. The people of Zambia have said where changes have been made.

Madam Speaker, the substantive question the hon. Member has asked is particularly on the cancellation of the tender regarding fertiliser. On that, I will start by saying that this Government, the New Dawn, is very sincere with its pronouncements and actions. The hon. Minister of Agriculture is somewhere near, and he will guide me if I mislead the House, but what I know is that the cancellation was done on some technicality. In fact, it was not really the ministry that cancelled the tender. The recommendation for the cancellation came from the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA), which realised that the instrument used did not allow for the participation of outsiders in the bidding process. What I mean is that it only allowed for the participation of Zambians, not international companies or companies outside Zambia, unless Zambians did not meet the requirements. I think, they allowed the tender process to be open. When ZPPA noticed that, it recommended that this tender be cancelled because the instrument used was not the right one.

Madam Speaker, as people who listen, we are a listening Government. We must follow the law. This is why people should not be surprised when decisions that seem to be against the Executive are made because it is part of the Government. That is the way it is. So, the ministry listened and the tender was cancelled. That is the way it was done. It was not initiated by political thinking; it was real. Some wrong instrument was used and participation was not according to that instrument. So, it was done like that. Yes, they may think we are looking for certain things, but now, it will be a selective tender because of time. People will see transparency. Maybe, I should mention, hon. Minister, that there was a petition when this tender was awarded and it is that petition that brought out the irregularities ZPPA noticed.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: Order! Stop the clock briefly.

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ANNOUNCEMENT BY MADAM SPEAKER

DELEGATION FROM THE PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE 

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members, I wish to acquaint the House with the presence, in the Speaker’s Gallery, of the following two hon. Members of Parliament from the Parliament of Zimbabwe:

Hon. Oscar Gorerino, MP; and

Hon. Joseph Muzenda, MP.

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

I thank you.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

_______

Mr Kampyongo (Shiwang’andu): Madam Speaker, I thank you and we appreciate your congratulatory message.

Madam Speaker, I want to welcome Her Honour the Vice-President back from Luangwa, where in her tour of duty, assisted us retain the seat as the Patriotic Front (PF).

Madam Speaker, Her Honour the Vice-President superintends over one key institution that anchors democracy in this country, which is the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ). Last week, an Independent candidate who was supposed to participate in the Kwacha Parliamentary Constituency by-election pulled out, citing lack of transparency in the manner the ECZ is conducting aspects of elections.

Madam Speaker, one major aspect of elections is the printing of ballot papers. Previously, all the stakeholders would be involved to witness the printing of ballot papers but this time around, it was not the case and that triggered one of the candidates to pull out.

Madam Speaker, we want to get it from Her Honour the Vice-President. Where did the ECZ print the ballot papers that were supposed to have been used in both Kabushi and Kwacha by-elections? Where did it print the ballot papers that were used in the mayoral by-elections that were held in Luangwa, which the PF managed to win against all odds?

Madam Speaker, we would like to know from Her Honour the Vice-President, if indeed, the ballots papers for the two constituencies on the Copperbelt were equally printed, and if she can also go further to give us how much the cost was.  

Madam Speaker: Order!

Stop the clock briefly.

To my knowledge, there is an urgent question on that matter which has been submitted by the hon. Member for Lunte. So, maybe, the Clerks at the Table can guide.

Mr Kampyongo: Madam Speaker, I can replace that question.

Madam Speaker: No, I was asking the Clerks at the Table. According to our Standing Orders, once a matter is pending consideration or a question has already been put, it cannot be answered. So, we will wait for that question to be put before the House, and only then, can it be tackled. I am talking about the printing of ballots papers.

Interruptions

Madam Speaker: You know the rules; look at them.

Mr Kampyongo rose.

Madam Speaker: I have not recognised the hon. Member for Shiwang’andu. I have already made a decision. Actually, even yesterday and the day before, the same question was asked, the same question that has been asked by the Leader of Opposition, but out of courtesy, I allowed it. Now, it looks like we are drifting into the same pattern. So, we can go to the next question. Hon. Member for Petauke Central. 

Mr Kampyongo interjected.

Madam Speaker: Sorry! Let the hon. Member for Shiwang’andu replace his question.

Ms Mulenga: E democracy Ba Mwiimbu!

Interruptions

Mr Kampyongo: Madam Speaker, the hon. Members need to acquaint themselves with the Standing Orders. My next question will be a rider on a question posed by the hon. Leader of Opposition. We are in September, and it is coming to an end. We recorded poor harvest this year, and the hon. Minister of Agriculture did confirm that the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) only managed to buy less than 200,000 metric tonnes of grain.

Madam Speaker, I want to assure the House that what we present from this side (the left side) is what we find on the ground. We all came back from our constituencies and there is looming hunger there. Her Honour the Vice-President being responsible for the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) must start preparing for this. With that cancelled tender which is very unprecedented because the procedures are very well known, what guarantee do we have that our farmers in the rural areas are going to receive the inputs on time before the onset of the rains?

Madam Speaker: It is a similar question that was answered. Maybe, let me not get involved.

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, I am even being advised not to answer because it is tedious to continue going round and round issues in the House. The Executive has a duty to give responses in this House.  When a response is given, sometimes it may not satisfy the one who has asked the question, but it is a response. The hon. Member mentioned the issue of looming hunger which is there currently. Yes, I may not be sure of the harvest, but as at today, the Food Reserve Agency (FRA), which had targeted to purchase 170,000 metric tonnes of maize, has bought over 220,000 metric tonnes.  These are facts and the hon. Member should not mislead the people. The FRA has purchased 220,000 metric tonnes of maize. It has gone beyond its target by 30,000 metric tonnes. There is still maize in the country. The hon. Member was in the Government not too long ago and he knows that the FRA takes care of the food security. So, let there be no food security concern. Zambia has enough maize according to our plan.

Madam Speaker, I am aware that there are farmers who still have maize which FRA has not purchased. That should be the concern. It is the duty of the Government to start looking at how we can help the farmers. The hon. Member is making the situation look so bad when in fact, it is not. The Government is still finding out how much maize is still out there, and also, if the farmers need help. I think we did state that maize can be sold anywhere. Farming is a business. When the Government buys maize through FRA, the remaining maize can be sold elsewhere. 

However, the Government is discussing how it can help those who cannot sell their maize. So, the situation is not that bad. Last year, there was a reduction in production. They should remember that we found a mess in the procurement of fertiliser and I do not want to go backwards.  We all know exactly what happened in the procurement of fertiliser. We are trying to clean up that situation. This is reality. The Zambians know what I am talking about. They cannot play politics here because they know the reality on the ground. So, the hon. Member should know that there is no hunger. There is food in the country and I am sure people can testify. We have done our vulnerability assessment and we know exactly where there may be less food on the ground. The Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) is aware and we are trying to work on how we can look after our people.

I thank you, Madam Speaker. 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr J. E. Banda (Petauke Central): Madam Speaker, thank you for giving the good people of Petauke this opportunity to ask Her Honour the Vice-President a question. Greetings from Peta-UK Central Constituency to Her Honour the Vice-President. The good people of Petauke have got a specialised hospital, just like the University Teaching Hospital (UTH), which can benefit the whole province because it treats cancer patients.

Currently, when people get sick, they are referred to UTH. The road network from Luangwa to Lusaka is not in good state. Now, the question from the good people of Peta-UK is: When is this Government going to officially –

Madam Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member, you were guided last time that it is Petauke and not Peta-UK.

Laughter

Mr J. E. Banda: In English –

Interruptions

Mr J. E. Banda: Madam Speaker, when is the Kalindawalo General Hospital going to be officially opened, so that the good people of Petauke and the Eastern Province at large, can benefit from that good infrastructure in Peta-UK?

Laughter

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, thank you for the greetings from Peta – Since we speak English here, the hon. Member is now telling us that Petauke is now called Peta-UK in English.

Laughter

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, I think he has caught me unaware because I thought Kalindawalo General Hospital was operational. If it is not, and he is disputing because he comes from there, I will –

Mr Kafwaya: It is operational.

The Vice-President: It is operational?

Mr Chilangwa: Yes!

Mr J. E. Banda indicated dissent.

The Vice-President: He is still saying no.

Hon. PF Members: He does not know.

The Vice-President: He does not know?

Laughter

Madam Speaker: Order! Order!

I do not know what is going on because it is now becoming free for all. Time is running out. If hon. Members want to squander time, so be it.

Mr Michelo (Bweengwa): Madam Speaker, I am hugely delighted for this opportunity. In 2016, the Republican President then, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, fired Mr Mutembo Nchito and replaced him with Ms Lillian Siyuni, and there was no uproar in the nation. No one challenged the President, and everything went on smoothly. This year, President Hakainde Hichilema has just suspended Ms Lillian Siyuni and has appointed Mr Katongo Ian, as Acting Director of Public Prosecution (DPP). This time around, a –

Madam Speaker: Order!

Maybe, just as a matter of guidance, that matter is already in court. Is it a related question or not?

Interruptions

Madam Speaker: Maybe, we allow him to continue, but please, avoid issues that are pending in court.

Interruptions

Mr Michelo: Madam, I have not asked the question. Maybe, give me time to ask.

Madam Speaker, there is a gentleman who is moving around with toy binoculars giving ultimatums to President Hakainde Hichilema to rescind his decision of suspending Ms Lillian Siyuni, by Monday and if he does not, the entire country will go flat out to protest. The President has got a constitutional right to fire and appoint. That man is challenging the President who has got a constitutional right to fire and appoint. Is this man who moves with toy binoculars for under five children not committing an offence for trying to incite the people of Zambian to protest? May Her Honour the Vice-President help the country.

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, the main issue, as you have guided, is in the court, but the issue of the man with binoculars is not in court. The hon. Member has called it a toy and if it is a toy, it is just as such. It is a toy and has no effect on anything. However, if anybody acts unconstitutionally or indeed, assumes rights which he or she does not have, like the man with binoculars, then the law will take its course. I do not want to go into the other issue. So, that man with binoculars does not even know that it is a toy.

Laughter

The Vice-President: It is in the perception in his mind, speaking to himself, but Zambians know what they want.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Kapyanga (Mpika): Madam Speaker, during the consideration of the K22 billion, Supplementary Budget, the House and nation at large were informed that part of it will go towards the dismantling of the packages for retirees of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA). This Government is also on record to have told the nation that all the retirees in Zambia had been paid. However, a check at the Ministry of Transport and Logistics has revealed that TAZARA retirees are not included in the K22 billion, Supplementary Budget.

Madam Speaker, may I find out from Her Honour the Vice-President when the retirees of TAZARA will be paid their retirement packages.

The Vice-President: Madam, I would not venture into a very specific issue. I will ask that the hon. Member gives me time, probably having another opportunity next Friday, for me to give a specific answer after finding out.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Wamunyima (Nalolo): Madam Speaker, late last week, the Acting Secretary to the Cabinet announced that the committee that was set up by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia to look into the plight of those who were retired in national interest had concluded its work. Out of 1,868 cases looked at, 154 cases had been earmarked for reinstatement. My specific question to Her Honour the Vice-President is: When does this reinstatement begin?

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. Member for Nalolo for that question. An announcement will be followed by action. The reinstatement will definitely be on personal basis. It may not be a situation where everybody is reporting at one point because the hon. Member will remember that these are cases that come from different institutions. Therefore, as stated, that will be done. It was not easy, but it has been done and verified.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Mushanga (Bwacha): Madam Speaker, thank you very much and Good morning to Madam Vice-President. Allow me, Madam Speaker, to join the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Brian Mundubile in congratulating the Mighty Patriotic Front (PF) ...

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mushanga: ...which some political parties thought it was a dead party.

 

Madam Speaker: Order hon. Members! Stop the clock!

Hon. Members, I have received notes – Hon. Member, resume your seat.

I have received notes from hon. Members complaining that we are taking too much time to ask questions. Three hon. Members of Parliament took so much time to ask questions. Let us ask questions. We can convey the congratulatory messages when we finish the question and answer session, so that hon. Members are given enough time to ask questions. Please, hon. Members, I am requesting.

Mr Mushanga: Well guided, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker, this question is coming from the many people of Bwacha Parliamentary Constituency, if not the whole country. When is our utility company, ZESCO Limited, going to connect the 30,000 plus Zambian households who in this case, made applications and payments a year ago, to the national grid? How much should our people pay for new domestic connections? Madam Speaker, many thanks for the opportunity to ask Her Honour the Vice-President this question.

Mr Kapala conversed with Her Honour the Vice-President.

Hon. PF Members: Question!

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, I stand here to represent the Executive. I am not giving my personal thoughts, and this must be understood.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Vice-President: I get information from the Government.

Madam Speaker, I get the concern by the hon. Member except I refute one word “mighty” which he used, although, Madam Speaker, ruled over it. There is no mighty PF. Instead, there is diminishing PF.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Laughter

The Vice-President: We can analyse the results.

Madam Speaker, let me give a general answer on the issue of ZESCO Limited. It is true that there is need for ZESCO Limited to connect the Zambian households to the power source which is the national grid. I know that ZESCO Limited is working on increasing the power generation in different types of energy, including solar, as long as households are connected. We have to grow power generation as people heard from the President’s Speech. Generally, ZESCO Limited has started working on that. There was too much backlog and ZESCO Limited is working on ensuring that households are connected.

Madam Speaker, I think out of 62,000 households, 40,000 households have already been connected. The backlog has been there for a long time. The hon. Member must trust this Government because it is pushing the utility companies to work. The utility companies are also self-driven. Households will be connected because that is the only way we are going to reduce on, for example, deforestation. People will depend on charcoal if we do not do that. So, it is a big agenda. Households will be connected to power. Let the people hold on a bit as they have done for the past ten years or more.

Mr Kafwaya (Lunte): Madam Speaker, political efficacy is about people believing that they can achieve something desirable. It is also about people trusting that the Government is listening to them. Given the United Party for National Development (UPND)’s loss in Luangwa and the self-Government induced confusion in Kwacha and Kabushi, what is Her Honour the Vice-President’s assessment of the current political efficacy?

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Madam Speaker:  I am sure the question will receive an appropriate answer.

Laughter

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. Member for Lunte for bringing in the issue of political efficacy. It is very clear how people have spoken in Luangwa. That is why in the second last question, I did say that we have to learn to be analytical as we make assessments or look at the results. Truly, we have to ask: Where were the people of Luangwa last year? What kind of language did they used to overwhelmingly speak for the Patriotic Front (PF)? This time, there has been minute or very little difference –

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Vice-President: To me, this is how one should analyse politics. The people of Luangwa are moving on but since that seat has been held by the PF for a long time, that is why we have that situation.   

The hon. Member also talked about “politically induced confusion”. I believe that the people of Kabushi and Kwacha have lived in that confusion for a long time. Now, they are on the way to be rescued, if the hon. Member wants to talk about politics. What he sees in Kabushi and Kwacha is total chaos and –

Ms Mulenga: There is no chaos!

The Vice-President: Yes, I was there. Let us be politicians. People should not go out to give handouts to people for political gain when they are living in sewer.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Vice-President: Do not do that.

Madam Speaker: Order!

Can we listen to the  answer. We asked the question and let the answer be given.

Interruptions

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, I do not even know who asked the question now. Everybody, including the Leader of Opposition and his Deputy Whip is asking questions while seated. What is the problem? The hon. Member asked his question very correctly. Yes, there is confusion there. People are suffering and yet, others are called “bonanzas”.  Come on! Do they think they will win?

Hon. PF Members: Yes, we will win!

The Vice-President: Well, if that will be case, we will still look at the efficacy.

Laughter

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, the people see and understand. The efficacy of politics really, is to listen. When one chooses to put wax in the ears, he will not hear anything. The situation has changed and people have moved on. This is time for the New Dawn. The Zambians can tell how much this Government is doing, what it means, and what Mr Hakainde Hichilema stands for. They will appreciate today that there is the rule of law. In those days, who would have even dared to do so? I think I have said enough.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Laughter

Madam Speaker: Order! Stop the clock! Order in House!

Hon. Members, we are debating while seated. Should we continue with the Vice-President’s Question Time?

Hon. Members: Yes!

Madam Speaker: Then we have to behave ourselves. Otherwise, I will curtail the whole process.

Interruptions

Madam Speaker: I can do that. So, from now on, if there will be any noise, we will move to the next item.

Mr Mutale (Chitambo): Madam Speaker, thank you for this opportunity and good morning to Your Honour the Vice-President.

Madam Speaker, cancelling a tender for fertiliser at such a time is quite dangerous. It is something that should worry all of us. The Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) was involved in the preparation of the tender documents and it actually guided. ZPPA came at the tail end to advise on the cancelling of this tender. Has the Government done a thorough investigation to find out whether this cancellation of a tender was deliberate? What has the Government done to the officers who were involved in the preparation of such an important tender?

Madam Speaker: Order! Stop the clock again.

We do talk about repetitions. This question was asked by the Leader of the Opposition yesterday. The Patriotic Front (PF) Whip also asked a similar question. Now, the hon. Member for Chitambo is asking the same question.

Interruptions

Mr Mutale interjected.

Madam Speaker: So, your question is about who prepared the tender?

Mr Mutale: No!

Madam Speaker: Maybe, repeat the question.

Mr Mutale: Madam Speaker, what I am asking about is the tender preparation process. We are told that this tender was cancelled because of a technicality. My question is: ZPPA advised the ministry to cancel the tender and was part of the preparation of this tender. It again turned around to advise the ministry to cancel the tender after it had already been awarded. Has the Government investigated this matter to see whether that was a deliberate move to prepare a tender with such a technicality? If so, what has the Government done to the people who prepared that tender? Are they suspended, fired, or are still working? I am asking because this might continue.

Hon. PF Members: Or promoted.

Mr Mutale: We want to know if these people were promoted or demoted.  That is what I want to find out.

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. Member of Parliament for Chitambo for the greeting this morning.

Madam Speaker, it is dangerous to cancel the tender at this hour. Probably, let me pick one new component on the issue of investigation. Yes, the Government is as concerned as the hon. Member is. So, we will go through the whole process, but the issue of natural justice is very important. We cannot just do things anyhow. Yes, we are concerned and we will follow it through. If anybody through the entire system is found guilty, they should not call us any name.

Madam Speaker, I think I have said something to the hon. Member.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Mtayachalo (Chama North): Madam Speaker, I have perused through the media statement from the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) to Zambia. The Zambian Government has made an undertaking that it will reduce agriculture subsidies to 1 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025. What short, medium and long-term measures is the Government putting in place to help small-scale farmers to access affordable farming inputs in order to safeguard the household and national food security?

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, may I thank the hon. Member of Parliament for Chama North. We miss his questions every day.

Madam Speaker, I think we have read the document and the conditionalities that go with it. The Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) is one way in which the Government subsidises fertiliser. I think worldwide, people are concerned about food security for many reasons, which include climate change. Therefore, on this matter, FISP remains. The hon. Minister is here and I think we have said that if it remains, the subsidies also remain.

Mr Ngowani (Mpongwe): Madam Speaker, the Government has been giving traditional leaders vehicles without drivers. Does it have any plans to employ drivers for those traditional leaders?

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. Member of Parliament for Mpongwe for the concern he has raised. At the moment, the Government has no plans right to employ drivers for traditional leaders and hon. Members of Parliament.

Ms Halwiindi (Kabwe Central): Madam Speaker, the people of Kabwe Central are very happy with the New Dawn Government. This is evidenced by what I have seen in my constituency, where communities are donating money to work on the roads that are critical in their areas. Through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and other ways of lobbying, we are also working on various roads in the compounds.

Madam Speaker, the challenge is that the constituency is 90 per cent urban and we do not have sources of gravel. The only available source of gravel is the borrow pit which is owned by the Department of Forest under the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment. However, we are told that we need to pay a lot of money, which is very costly. For example, we had a contract that cost K1 million to work on the road. We are now told to pay K1.2 million just for gravel. Is the New Dawn Government able to give us a waiver so that we can leverage on the construction of the roads we are working on?

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. Member of Parliament for Kabwe Central for her question, and comment that the people in Kabwe Central can even donate money towards public works. That shows that they have confidence in the Government that the money will not go to waste and that, it will be used properly.

Madam Speaker, as regards the issue of the source of gravel, I think I cannot answer that question while standing here. I need to understand the regulations that are followed for us to have access to gravel, under the Department of Forest. So, I will have to find out before I give an answer that is truthful.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Kamondo (Mufumbwe): Madam Speaker, the New Dawn Government has just disbursed the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) which constituencies are supposed to utilise. What message does Her Honour the Vice-President have for the hon. Members of Parliament and the people of Zambia at large, as regards to the disbursement process?

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for Mufumbwe for the comment or concern on the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). Indeed, the Government has given a lot of money to the constituencies in the quest to decentralisation. That gives all of us in this House, who hold constituencies a lot of responsibilities to ensure that Zambians who are the targeted beneficiaries can benefit from the CDF. So, I indeed, encourage hon. Members that the CDF must be used as we have agreed.

Madam, I will make one observation. This CDF from the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, the Treasury, is given to every constituency, irrespective of which political party holds that constituency. It is, therefore, this Government’s belief that when it goes down to disburse or award this money to the people in clubs, co-operatives and companies that may want to be part of the CDF, there will be no political inclination. This is my call to this House. We should not go and use this money in a political manner. That will be defeating its purpose.

Madam, this Government is for everybody, whether in Opposition or not. One cannot be left out if he or she is part of Government. We are an inclusive Government. If one is part of the Opposition, one should not go and start giving this money to only those who are in the Opposition or those who are Opposition aligned. That will be a disaster for us. It will defeat the purpose for which this CDF increase was intended.

Madam Speaker, for me, sitting here as a Zambian, I hear stories from some of the constituencies that there was selective distribution of the CDF, and that it was based on political affiliation. If that was our intention, we, as the Government, would have given the CDF to only members on this side (right side). I hear some time back, people would receive the CDF in Kanchibiya and not in Monze.

Interruptions

The Vice-President: That is no longer an issue. Everybody is included in this programme. Let Zambians benefit because this K25.7 million should get to Shiwang’andu Constituency and grow the economy there. This means that the people’s lives in Shiwang’andu must get better.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mumba (Kantanshi): Madam Speaker, in Her Honour the Vice-President’s answers, she attributed to the word “trust”. She said that Zambians must trust the Government of the day.

Madam, mining is a backbone of our economy. Kantanshi Constituency is a mining constituency. Today, as I speak to Her Honour the Vice-President, the contractors in the mines have not been paid for the work they have done. In the process, the workers, who are the miners have not been paid their salaries for the last six months. As of yesterday, 400 miners received termination letters of their services, meaning they have gone to the street.

Madam Speaker, what is the Government doing, considering the fact that the mining sector supports our economy and that there should be no warranted reason why contractors should not be able to provide salaries for their people or indeed, Mopani Copper Mine not pay its contractors that, invariably, will need to pay their workers? We are worried in Mufulira District because that is where our main economic activity comes from. Can Her Honour the Vice-President clearly clarify this to the people of Mufulira?

The Vice-President: Madam Speaker, I would have escaped that question by time but –

Laughter

The Vice-President: I think all of us, including this Government, must be concerned when such things are happening anywhere. We understand that if contractors are not paid, miners will not get their salaries, and there will be hunger and poverty at household level. This Government is very concerned and that is why it needs to dialogue. We will engage these mining companies so that they understand the whole thing. This will ensure that our people do not suffer. However, right now, I think I need to consult a little more to see how far we have gone to ensure that our contractors are paid so that our people can also benefit at household level.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

_______

QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

2022 HARVEST SEASON

19. Mr Samakayi (Mwinilunga) asked the Minister of Agriculture:

(a)        whether the Government is aware that a lot of farmers are stuck with maize and other crops from the 2022 Harvest Season following the Food Reserve Agency’s decision to stop buying the crops on 31^st  August, 2022; and

(b)        if so, what urgent measures are being taken to assist the affected farmers to have their crops purchased and avoid the crops going to waste?

The Minister of Agriculture (Mr Mtolo): Madam Speaker, the Government is fully aware that some farmers who delivered their grain at various satellite depots across the country, including Mwinilunga, are still stuck with the crop which is yet to be purchased. The Government, through the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) had, during the 2022 Crop Marketing Season, targeted to purchase 170,000 metric tonnes of white maize for the National Strategic Food Reserves. The FRA managed to achieve this target by the end of August, 2022, in both quantity and monetary terms as per Budget allocation.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

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

Madam Speaker: A point of order is raised. What is the point of order?

Mr Chitotela: Madam Speaker, my point order is on Her Honour the Vice-President, and it is in relation to Standing Order No. 65. As you may be aware, we have no opportunity to raise points of order while the Vice-President is on the Floor.

Madam Speaker: What is the point of order?

Mr Chitotela: Madam Speaker, this is in relation to the response given by Her Honour the Vice-President to the hon. Member of Parliament for Chama North, where she clearly indicated that the subsidy on agricultural produce would continue while the publication by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) makes it clear to everyone in the public domain that the Zambia Government has undertaken to reduce the subsidy on the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) to 1 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by the year, 2025.

Madam Speaker, is Her Honour the Vice-President in order to mislead the people of Zambia and the international community who have read the publication by the IMF that the subsidy will continue against what has been published?

I seek your serous ruling, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Madam Speaker: Hon. Member, do you have any documentation to support what you are saying? I cannot say which side is telling the truth because I do not have any documents to base my ruling on.

Mr Chitotela: Madam Speaker, with your leave, if you reserve the ruling, I am more than ready to render the publication by the IMF. I have it on soft copy.

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members, once a point of order is raised, you should be ready with whatever supporting documents you have. If the hon. Member does not have the supporting documents to support what he is saying, then the point of order is not submitted.

Mr Kapyanga (Mpika): Madam Speaker, allow me to take this opportunity to appeal to your hon. Members to take care of themselves as sodomites are on the loose, taking advantage of the freedom provided by the New Dawn Government.

Madam Speaker:  Order, hon. Member for Mpika.

This is time for supplementary questions. This idea of standing and talking about things that are not related – We are talking about the issue of excess maize that has not been bought. How does the issue of sodomy come in here? If you have no question, we move to the next hon. Member.

Laughter

Madam Speaker: Order!

Let us listen to the supplementary question.

Mr Chanda (Kanchibiya): Madam Speaker, Hon. Kapyanga is my neighbour in Mpika.

My question to the hon. Minister of Agriculture is: Given the abrupt stoppage by the  Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to procure the maize, clearly, this is going to have a domino effect on the poor farmers especially those in rural areas, who depend on FRA as there only stable market for their produce.

Madam Speaker, this will affect their planning for the coming farming season, and there must be remedial measures by the Government to intervene and help these farmers. Maybe, as a bonus to this question hon. Minister, we have talked about value addition to this particular industry. When do we see Zambia exporting maize, not just exporting maize but a finished product called “mealie meal” because the market in region is huge? How does that fit into their strategic plan as the ministry and the Government?

Mr Mtolo: Madam Speaker, thank you very much hon. Member for Kanchibiya for that enriching question. The hon. Member gives an indication that stoppage to procure maize by FRA was abrupt, I want to correct that impression. It was not abrupt. We had given notice and even after the notice, there was an extension up to 2^nd September, for farmers who had already delivered, to be allowed to deliver their maize. In fact, we did not send back any farmer whose maize was within the precinct of our buying points. If there is any such farmer, I would like the hon. Member to bring it to my attention so that we correct it because we do not want farmers to suffer by going back with their maize. So, all the maize that was delivered will be paid for. That is what made us move from the target of 170,000 metric tonnes to 220,000 metric tonnes, because we did not want to send back farmers carrying the maize back home. We would never do that.

Madam Speaker, the other very important question the hon. Member raised is on export. I would like to put it to the House that what the Ministry of Agriculture is doing is to encourage private sector participation in the process of maize management. We would not like the ministry to be exporting maize. We would like the private sector to do that. Madam Speaker, you will recall that over and over, I have encouraged hon. Members in this House to be part and parcel of the process, to be exporting maize on behalf of the vulnerable farmer, who might not have the capacity.

Madam Speaker, however, let me extend that answer to indicate, hon. Member for Kanchibiya, that a lot of mealie meal has been exported out of Zambia by the millers and other members of the private sector. Most of the people the FRA has sold maize to, have bought it for export. It is now when the Kwacha has gained so much strength that the exports have slowed down.

Just as the hon. Member asked a bonus question, I will give him a bonus answer. We are contemplating to look at export markets, so that we can absorb the maize that is in certain provinces, like the North Western, parts of the Southern, the Eastern and Central provinces. So, we are trying to see if we can work out a scheme where we can capture an export market as the Government and then, receive this maize. So, we are looking at helping the farmers, Hon. Samakayi, to make sure that we receive the maize and export it. However, once we make the arrangements, we will inform the House, the nation, and the farming community about our intentions.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear.

Mr Samakayi (Mwinilunga): Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. Minister for that response. The hon. Minister has ably answered the first question and not the second one. He has said that the Government is aware that there is a lot of maize that has not been purchased from the farmers. The second question is: What measures is the Government putting in place to ensure that the Government buys the maize that the farmers will not manage to sell? Is there any additional funding to the FRA to buy the remaining maize? We know that FRA has finished the money that it was allocated. Clearly, the Budget was inadequate. Is there any additional funding to FRA for it to purchase the maize that farmers are stuck with?

Mr Mtolo: Madam Speaker, I thank Hon. Samakayi, for being very clear in his request. The answer is: Yes, we are looking at it and the only way we are looking at it as at now, is not to put pressure on the Treasury. The hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning is here and I talk to him every day. It is not to put pressure on the Treasury, but to see if we can get a good export market. Only then, once we are sure that we will pay the farmers, could we receive the maize. I want to make this absolutely clear. We do not have money to receive maize and hold the farmers’ maize without the resource to pay them. That would be a huge disincentive to the farming community. So, we are trying to see if we can find a market, accept the maize, and pay with the money from the market.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Samakayi: Madam Speaker, I am very concerned about Mwinilunga. As you know, Mwinilunga receives very early rains. As I speak now, in all our six chiefdoms, maize is stuck outside and the rains are about to come. I am being told that the Government is still looking into issues of money and this is worrying the farmers. How can their maize be secured if measures are still being looked into? I think we are worried in the North Western Province, Mwinilunga, in particular.

Mr Mtolo: Madam Speaker, let me put it this way. FRA has a given capacity in its operation. Right now, your agency, as Her Honour the Vice-President had put it, has more than 800,000 tonnes of maize. We need to be careful of how we operate. If I accept this maize which is very easy for us to do, it will be this House that will put us under a lot of stress as to why we are keeping peoples’ maize without paying for it. We were warned last season and we took heed of the warning. However, I have heard and I think all the other officials responsible for this have heard, and we will see what we can do. I will continue bothering the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning to see if I can extract some resources from him, so that we pay and secure the maize that the farmers have grown.

Madam Speaker, I cannot go beyond this. It is a question of capacity.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Fube (Chilubi): Madam Speaker, when the President travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), we were informed that he went there to see whether Zambia could have a maize market in the DRC, and possibly other countries.

Madam Speaker, this season was marred with a lot of activities surrounding the purchase of maize. The hon. Minister can confirm that at one point, I even alarmed him about the buying of maize by the private sector and his response was to my satisfaction.

Madam Speaker, given the bottlenecks that we are having currently, is the Government considering an export policy that protects the poor farmers? Currently, the farmers do not have the capacity to bargain properly especially, in inter-country trade. Is the Government considering an export policy where a poor farmer will be cushioned from the Government point of view unlike what is happening, where we have left the private –

Madam Speaker: Ask supplementary questions, hon. Member. You are debating now.

Mr Fube: I was qualifying the question, Madam Speaker.

Interruptions

Mr Fube: Madam Speaker, well-guided.

Mr Mtolo: Madam Speaker, I was admiring the hon. member’s attire which is absolutely marvellous.

Laughter

Mr Mtolo: Madam Speaker, the hon. Member raises important points. He questions what happened to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) market, and other markets in the region. He further asks how the Government is going to protect the farmer who has no capacity to trade internationally.

Madam Speaker, we are still hoping that the issue of the DRC will work out. There is a lot of mealie-meal and maize that has gone to the DRC such as that the Northern enclave, where the hon. Member comes from, all the way, there is hardly any maize the Government can buy. There is no maize along the borders with Angola and the DRC. The maize is on the lower part of the borders from the Western Provinces, all the way up to parts of the Eastern Province. That is where we have got the problem of extra maize. So, we are waiting for the DRC market.

Madam Speaker, last week, the Governor for Lualaba Province should have come but she did not. We were all looking forward that we could conclude the transaction.

Madam Speaker, East Africa had also indicated that they wanted 560,000 metric tonnes. There is correspondence from my office to my colleague in East Africa. We kept on chatting but immediately after the elections, my colleague has been a bit quiet. We are waiting to see what will happen. So, we are still prodding. That is why I am saying that if we succeed, we are going to sweep all this maize taking into account of course, what the hon. Member, Mr Samakai said, that the rains could become an inhibiter in the process. However, there is only so much that we can do.

Madam Speaker, the hon. Members should help us export this maize. Hon. Fube should find a market for his people and export the maize. He should help us export the maize as country. That is the way we should look at things.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Kampyongo (Shiwang’andu): Madam Speaker, the question posed by the hon. Member for Mwinilunga and the concerns he has raised are not only limited to Mwinilunga. Both hon. Members on your right and left, whose constituencies are rural, have this situation obtaining regarding our farmers.

Madam Speaker, yes, we can help the Government to find the market but does the hon. Minister know that currently, the Government is procuring subsidised inputs which will be given to our farmers deliberately, so that they can grow these crops which they can then sell to the consumers at affordable price? That is a nexus between the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) and the grain that is produced by the farmers whom the Government supports under that programme. That is the reason the Government goes to the Treasury to look for resources to procure the grain because already, it has pushed in money through FISP to support these farmers. Therefore, in as much as the Government would want to export, it is also asking us to be subsidising the export market. How does that work?

Madam Speaker, in the past, Food Reserve Agency (FRA) was allowed to go to the private banks. The current Food Reserve Agency Act allows some flexibility for FRA to source money in order to mop, at leeway, either rice or any crop from the farmers. Is the hon. Minister not going to consider that option so that farmers who are stuck, like the farmers in Mwinilunga, can be assisted and also, produce for the next farming season?

Mr Mtolo: Madam Speaker, let me engage the hon. Member in a debate. It is actually horrendous or frightening to hear the hon. Minister talk like that.

Interruptions

Mr Mtolo: Well, a minister will always be a minister.

Hon. Government Members: No!

Mr Mtolo: Alright, I withdraw! He is an hon. Member.

Interruptions

Mr Mtolo: Let us not get into that; we will just take time. I withdraw, hon. Members. Sorry.

Interruptions

Mr Mtolo: Madam Speaker, it is important for the people of Zambia to start knowing that farming should be treated as a business. We help our farmers with free or subsidised inputs to uplift them from poverty to becoming more potential. Now, if we are going to sit here as hon. Members of Parliament and push FRA to do a buy of last resort because the farmers, for example, the 5 million able Zambians, cannot find an export market, where are we putting ourselves? This maize should be procured by FRA to an extent where FRA gives food security, which food security we have now.

Madam Speaker, when the Vice-President was being asked questions, she mentioned that we have enough maize such that even if we stopped buying anything, we would still have enough grain to take us up to 2024. That is how secure we are. So, do not alarm the Zambians that Zambia is food insecure. We have sufficient food that can take us to 2024, not 2023 but beyond. 

Hon. Government Members: Correct!

Mr Mtolo: Madam Speaker, let me get back to the issue of maize. If we are going to talk about maize the way we are talking in this House, we are going to create a problem because then, the Government will be forced to reduce the quantity of fertiliser supply to only that which is needed in food reserve, which is not right.        

We should be able to stand up and export maize. This maize has been cheap at US$200 a metric tonne. It is now that it has increased because of the value of the Kwacha. It is now about US$250. Let us find the market. I am not afraid to say that we are looking at it very positively, and I am very, very sure that in the next few weeks, this issue of maize with farmers will be gone because the ministry will find a way of handling it. Yes, the maize should not be with the farmers such that they do not know what to do with it. It is our responsibility as able Zambians to get that maize and export it.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Rev. Katuta (Chienge): Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister of Agriculture has said that he is looking at how he can organise some funds to buy off the stock that is still lying around even in Chienge. I want to bring it to his attention that our farmers depend on the money they are paid by the Food Reserve Agency (FRA), so that they can make their contributions towards the coming farming season. Looking at how the hon. Minister has explained the programme, how is he going to help his people, the people of Chienge, in order for them to get some money from the Government through the agency and then, contribute the K450 that they have been paying towards the farming inputs? This is very important as the farmers have no other means of raising the money to contribute. That is the only way. As we are talking, people in some places in Chienge still have maize which they could not take to the satellite depots on time.

Madam Speaker: Anyway, it is an expanded question. The hon. Minister of Agriculture may answer.

Mr Mtolo: Madam Speaker, I sympathise with the hon. Member for Chienge because that situation is not different whatsoever, from the situation in Mwinilunga and certain parts of Petauke. It is a common position and that is what we are discussing. So, I can only repeat that as a listening Government, one should take serious consideration of issues raised by the hon. Members of Parliament, who are representing their people. I can only say that we are working on it and we can only hasten our process so that we reduce the pain. So, we are likely to come to Chienge and resolve the problem.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Chitotela (Pambashe): Madam Speaker, I am getting worried by the responses by the hon. Minister. When His Excellency the President was addressing the nation here, he kept on emphasising the respect for Budget laws. The Ministry of Agriculture has exhausted the money to buy maize from the farmers, but now the hon. Minister is saying that we need to organise money to buy maize from the farmers. Which Budget line is he going to use? Once that maize is sold, in which account is it going to be deposited? How does he intend to sort out the legal implication in relation to the Public Finance Management Act, and the Budget that we approved? I seek the guidance of the hon. Minister.

Mr Mtolo: Madam Speaker, I will be very patient with the hon. Member for Pambashe. If we did not respect the Act and the orders that the hon. Member is talking about, we would have received the maize already. We would have already started looking for the money by pushing the Treasury but, we avoided that. That avoidance is what we are discussing here. We have not collected huge stocks of maize beyond our Budget line. We will be able to resolve the difference between 170,000 metric tonnes and 220,000 metric tonnes. As for the extra maize beyond the 220,000 metric tonnes, would create a problem if I just accepted that the FRA should receive the maize.

Madam, our aim is to find a buyer, for example, from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). If this buyer puts in money with us, we can give him maize that we have and use this money to replace it with what is already out there. So, it is a question of fungible issues. You can use this money for current stock and sell old stock. That is what we are talking about. I said we will try to see what we can do. The hon. Member is now moving and hiding, using the task here. What we will do is that if someone comes to buy, we use the money to pay the farmer. We will try to revolve the money. That is the act which we want to do.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Madam Speaker: The hon. Member wants to know which account the money will be deposited in. 

Mr Mtolo: Madam Speaker, the account which we will use to receive the money and also, pay the farmers, is the food reserve account

I thank you, Madam Speaker. 

ZAMBIA RAILWAYS LIMITED RETIREE PAYMENTS

20. Mr Mushanga (Bwacha) asked the Minister of Finance and National Planning:

1. whether the Government has completed payments to the former Zambia Railways Limited employees who were retired between 1993 and 1996;
2. if the payments have not been completed, why;
3. what the total number of the affected former employees was as of June 2022; 
4. how much money was owed to the former employees at (c); and
5. when all the former employees will be paid in full.

The Minister of Finance and National Planning (Dr Musokotwane): Madam Speaker, the Government, through Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) paid all retirees who were retired between 1993 and 1996. The payments made to the employees included the retirement package which was paid as per Zambia Industrial and Mining Corporation (ZIMCO) conditions of service. However, some of the former ZRL employees retrenched during the same period were dissatisfied with the payments and sued the company on various issues relating to their conditions of service.

Madam Speaker, ZRL paid all its retirees who retired normally. The retrenchees who sued the company were also paid in line with the court judgment. However, the ZRL has continued to receive pension claims from former employees. These are being submitted to the Zambia Railways Limited Pension Scheme. The verification of the veracity of the claims has been a challenge due to missing documentation because of passage of time. The ZRL is working together with the claimants for them to avail any documents in their possession to aid the verification process and subsequent payments.

Madam Speaker, the total number of employees as at June, 2022, is 142.

Madam Speaker, the actual amount cannot be determined by the ZRL because it requires an actuarial evaluation by the experts as this relates to those claiming pension contributions. However, the process is underway. Actuaries have been engaged to undertake the evaluation of the Zambia Railways Limited Pension Scheme.

Madam Speaker, the House may wish to note that the only former employees with outstanding issues are those claiming employer pension contribution. This relates to the court issues, and the company has continued to deal with any specific outstanding claims emanating from court judgments as and when they are brought forward.

Madam Speaker: Order!

Business was suspended at 1040 hours until 1100 hours.

[MADAM SPEAKER in the Chair]

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Speaker, before business was suspended, I was merely winding down on the last part of question (e), and I was saying that the former employees with outstanding issues are those claiming the employer pension contributions, and I said that this relates to issues that are in court. The company has also continued to deal with specific outstanding claims emanating from court judgments as and when they are brought forward as the claims are being handled on an individual basis.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Mushanga (Bwacha): Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning, for the responses provided so far to all the five questions. The hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning may or may not be aware that the former Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) workers doted along the line of rail, from Livingstone, Choma, Mazabuka, Lusaka up to Kabwe and especially the Copperbelt, had been to so many offices during the previous Administration. Even now, if I am not mistaken, they have been to the office of the current hon. Minister for Central Province.  

Madam Speaker, focusing on the hon. Minister’s response to question (a), where he has stated that all the former ZRL workers have been paid, why have they continued frequenting the ZRL offices including other Government offices to claim that they have not been paid their dues? The hon. Minister for Central Province and the hon. Member of Parliament for Kabwe Central, Ms Halwiindi, may be aware that on the list for Kabwe, we have more than 120 ZRL former workers who have continued to frequent these offices, saying that they have not been paid. What is the hon. Minister’s response to the question?  

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Speaker, as I have indicated, our records show that everyone was paid. Those who go to the offices are the ones with specific issues on whether they were correctly paid or not. I have also indicated that it is up to them to prove those claims so that they are processed. As far as the Government is concerned, they were all paid. So, the ball is really in their court for them to prove their claims.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Mumba (Kantanshi): Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning will agree with me that many a times, payment of retirees has always been an electoral issue. It is always a campaign promise that when the Government is formed, all retirees will be paid. The hon. Minister will agree with me that in their first year in Government, a lot of payments were made.

Madam Speaker, with direct reference to Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL), and many other Government agencies or parastatals, is there any system that the Ministry of Finance and National Planning has put in place to actually monitor and capture that the Government is really paying the right people, and that those people will not come back to make claims? On one hand, the Government is paying these people and on the other, there is a stream of people going back to claim their money. This is creating an impression that payments were not being made. Is there any system or a team that has been assigned to make sure that when these payments are made, it is very clear that the Government has accurate information so that this, going forward, should not be a campaign issue?

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Speaker, indeed, this Government made claims and assurances that once it comes into office, it would pay the Government retirees. I must also indicate that a lot of progress has been made. By the end of this year, all those who had claims accumulated over the years, most of them would have been paid. Very soon, we will get to the stage where when one retires within three months, the Government pays the dues. So, a lot of progress has been made.

Madam Speaker, hon. Member mentioned a very important point because the mere fact that somebody comes to make a claim does not mean that that claim is genuine. Some claims are genuine and some are not. This is something that we have observed over the years. Indeed, the Government has a system in place and that is why we are able to state that as far as we are concerned, the former employers were paid. Those who are making claims are doing so not because they were not paid, but because they have disputes regarding what was paid and what they consider should be their dues out of their pension. So, the system does exist.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Kampyongo (Shiwang’andu): Madam Speaker, my question is a rider to Hon. Mumba’s question and partly, a follow-up on the response from the hon. Minister, who said that the Government dismantled some debts. In the course of this week, we saw some retirees who attempted to go to the Community House, who had confrontations with the Zambia Police officers and some of them got arrested. This issue of Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) has been ongoing for a long time.

Madam Speaker, is the hon. Minister considering conducting a special audit to ascertain the number of those who are genuinely making claims and those who are merely taking advantage of the situation? This is because when we were in Government, we had this same problem. So, it has been going on for some time. Like Hon. Mushanga said, there are lists of former ZRL workers, that keep flying around Kabwe and Copperbelt. Would the hon. Minister consider a special audit to put these matters to rest?     

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Speaker, each time payments are made, there is an audit that is made before and after the payment has been done. I think hon. Colleagues from Ndola will testify that for those who have been paid at the Indeni Petroleum Refinery, no payment was made before the audit was done.

Madam Speaker, I want to repeat that it is up to those who feel that they were not paid to state and prove their claims. It becomes very onerous to put the task on the Government offices to audit over and over again. How many times are we going to audit? So, really, the ball is in the court of those who feel that they are owed, to prove their case. Of course, they are also free to go to courts or anywhere, in pursuit of their claims. If those claims are proved to be true, something will be done.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Mushanga: Madam Speaker, thank you very much for the second opportunity to ask a question, and I thank the hon. Minister for the responses he continues to provide.

Madam Speaker, looking at the good leadership of the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning and wondering why his good office and that of the Ministry of Transport and Logistics cannot engage the former workers? According to the leadership of the former workers, whom we continue interact with, they are saying that there is a risk that the Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) management gives incorrect information to the ministries, hence the issue not ending.

Madam Speaker, this may end up in the hon. Minister giving incorrect information to this House and the nation at large. The hon. Minister is the one who is keeping the resources of this country and at the end of the day, other ministries are paying through his ministry. Therefore, can his ministry and the ministry responsible not come in to engage these workers? Is he confirming, especially that he said that it is upon individual workers to prove that they are being owed some money, and that they have not been paid? Is he confirming to this House that it is true that there may be some former workers who have not been paid their dues, especially after working for this country diligently?

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Speaker, at the risk of repetition, let me just say that before these people were paid, thorough audits were done. It is just that they are disputing money that was owed to them on account of their pension. We have opened doors to these people, but in opening the doors, it does not mean that we are going to accept any unverified claim. Any claim that is put before the Government for payment has to be verified. If we do not do that, you can imagine the avalanche of claims that will come. So, it is up to them to prove their cases. We have never chased anyone away. We are open and so, let them come forth and prove their claims.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Anakoka (Luena): Madam Speaker, interacting with some of the retirees, I have come across a number of them that have confirmed that they have been paid their pension dues, but are still around waiting for the repatriation payment. So, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister whether he is in a position to confirm that as pension obligations are being cleared, repatriation is part of the package that is being settled at the moment or there is a separate arrangement for repatriation.

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Speaker, in determining how much to pay each individual claimant, the payments are guided by the contracts that were existing between the employee and employer. The entitlements of the claimants or former employees are well-known. Therefore, the payments that are made are in accordance with their entitlements.

Madam Speaker, if it is payment for passage that was not paid, I repeat that let them come forth and put their claim. We will examine the documents that we have and examine the documents that they have. I am sure the truth will come out.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: The last question will be from the hon. Member for Chinsali.

Mr Mukosa (Chinsali): Madam Speaker, when the hon. Minister was responding to the question regarding how much is owed to the retirees, he said he could ascertain as he was in the process of engaging actuaries to help in ascertaining the exact amount.

Madam Speaker, my concern is on the issue of the reliability of the financial statements that have been prepared by the institution in the past. You cannot have unqualified accounts if you cannot provide a reliable estimate of the liabilities of an institution. Therefore, my question to the hon. Minister is: How then has the institution been able to prepare financial statements, when they cannot have a reliable figure of a certain element of the financial statements, which are the liabilities of the institution?

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Speaker, I am not sure whether what the hon.  Member says is true or not. However, whatever the case is, this is why we are saying that in putting forth the claims, let the former workers come and lay out all the information that they have in claims to their own pension authority scheme.

Madam Speaker, this is not even about the Central Government. This is about the pension scheme of the ZRL. That is the one that is liable in the first instance. The Government may only come in if there are problems. If this was a Government company, then maybe, that could come in, but it is not possible for anyone to lay a claim on the Government, the hon. Member, or anybody else and say, “You owe me so much”, then we take money from your pocket or bank account and pay that person without proof. That is impossible.

Madam Speaker, all that we know ourselves is that the workers were paid. If there are outstanding amounts, let them come forth. ZRL is ready to entertain them. We can also take a look at that. If their claims happen to be true, then of course, they will be paid. However, remember I said that not everyone who comes with a claim does so genuinely. That is why it is important to prove the claims. Otherwise, it becomes an impossible situation.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

MUNGWI MODERN MARKET

21. Amb. Kalimi (Malole) asked the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development:

1. why the construction of Mungwi Modern Market in Mungwi District has      

               stalled;

      b. when the project will resume;

      c. how much money was paid to the contractor, as of February, 2022; and

     d.  what the cost of the outstanding works was. 

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development (Mr Nkombo): Madam Speaker, I wish to inform the hon. Member through this august House that the construction of Mungwi Modern Market has stalled because the contract expired. The project will resume in 2023. The contractor was paid a total sum of K10,843,466.68. The value of the outstanding works at the contract rate of 2015, stands at K7,139,699.57

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Amb. Kalimi (Malole): Madam Speaker, as the hon. Minister may be aware, the structure where the traders are trading from, is temporary and almost collapsing. In the rain season, one would find that marketeers are subjected to the rains most of the times and as a result, trading is affected. What measure is the hon. Minister putting in place for traders to sell their merchandise in a conducive manner as we wait for the project to start?

Mr Nkombo: Madam Speaker, the process to renew the expired contract is the only way that we can use in order for our people in Malole to trade under safe conditions. The hon. Member of Parliament may wish to note that the process of renewing this contract had to be restarted because there were changes or variations in the original contract price, which was done in 2015, which changed the entire scenario, altogether. Therefore, the process of re-contracting this work is supposed to be subject of tender and treasury authority. As soon as this is done, this project is going to recommence, and I am sure everybody will be good to go.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: Any supplementary questions? Hon. Member for Malole, do you still have another question?

Amb. Kalimi: No, Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister has answered everything.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

ELECTRIFICATION OF VILLAGES IN SIKUKA

 22. Mr Mandandi (Sioma) asked the Minister of Energy:

1. whether the Government has any plans to electrify the villages around                                 Sikuka area in Sioma Parliamentary Constituency;
2. if so, when the plans will be implemented;
3. what the estimated cost of the project is; 
4. what the estimated time frame for the completion of the project is; and
5. if there are no such plans, why.

The Minister of Energy (Mr Kapala): Madam Speaker, yes, the Government of the Republic of Zambia, through the Rural Electrification Authority (REA), has got plans to electrify the villages around Sikuka area in Sioma Parliamentary Constituency. REA plans to undertake feasibility studies in the third quarter of 2022. By the end of this month, REA would have completed the feasibility study to determine the cost and scope of electrifying the villages around Sikuka area. I should take this opportunity to point out that the team is already on the ground and this exercise is underway.

Madam Speaker, the estimated cost of the project will be established once the feasibility studies have been conducted. Currently, the desk top review indicates that the cost will be approximately K2 million. The estimated time frame for the completion of the project will be determined once the scope of the project has been estimated. However, I should take this opportunity again, to inform this august House that this project is estimated to take about eight months. So, it should be completed by next year.

Madam Speaker, as earlier alluded to, Government has plans to electrify villages around Sikuka.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Mandandi (Sioma): Madam Speaker, those are the response we want to hear on the Floor of the House, which give hope to the people out there.  I am so delighted, and the people of Sioma, Sikuka and Sankandi, have heard for themselves. That response constitutes the Government assurance and I will follow it to the later.

Mr Fube (Chilubi): Madam Speaker, is the electricity power project in Sioma part of the national master plan?

Mr Kapala: Madam Speaker, I want to assure my colleague from Chilubi that we follow the master plan. There is no discrimination or making shortcuts in following procedures when implementing the rural electrification.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Kambita (Zambezi East): Madam Speaker, I notice that the hon. Minister has given a response in relation to the master plan that the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) is following. That affects most of the rural constituency whose hon. Member of Parliament has asked this question which is Sioma. Similarly, in Zambezi East, we have situations were some of the constructors are now going back to pick some of the materials which were on site. So, we seem to have had a little bit of confusion in the last Parliament, were towards the end, the hon. Minister made an announcement about the master plan. Later on, there were some documents which were put in the pigeon holes. Many members here are actually in the dark. They do not know what is happening to specific constituencies in as far that master plan is concerned. Would the hon. Minister care to come back to this House and lay bare their master plan so that it is very specific and that each and every hon. Member here, is clear about what is ahead of us in terms of REA projects.

Mr Kapala: Madam Speaker, if I remember correctly, I did put on the Table the master plan that the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) is following. However, maybe the hon. Member is confusing it with the request that was sent out to rural Parliamentarians on the need for them to utilise part of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), so that REA can carry out that in conjunction with what is based on the master plan. 

I thank you, Madam.

Mr Anakoka (Luena): Madam Speaker, just like the people of Sioma, in Sikuka Village and surrounding areas, the people of Luena, in particular Makapaila area, were assured by the Rural Electrification Authority (REA), and an announcement was made publicly to the effect that REA would be commencing the electrification of that area later this year. I would like to find out from the hon. Minister whether what is happening in Sioma currently, where he said that feasibility studies are already being undertaken, is also happening in all the indentified areas in that corridor, which include, Luena Constituency?

Maybe, as a bonus–

Madam Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member, it is just one question, and your question is even expanded.

Mr Kapala: Madam Speaker, I should confirm that a team from REA is on the ground in the Western Province. So, Luena, will be looked at and it will be covered as per the promise that was given.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Katakwe (Solwezi East): Madam Speaker, the responses the hon. Minister has given are quite overwhelming. However, the hon. Minister mentioned that rural constituencies could use part of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to facilitate rural electrification. I want to find out if the people of Solwezi East in Mushindamo District can use the CDF and procure solar systems in order to have electricity? Does the Government have any plans to consider a waiver in terms of duty so that maybe, such kind of materials can be duty free to enable us have our villages electrified?

Madam Speaker: That question is definitely out of contest of the question that is being handled right now. The hon. Member can either put a question or engage the hon. Minister directly.

Let us make progress.

REHABILITATION OF FEEDER ROADS IN MILANZI

23. Ms Phiri (Milanzi) asked the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development how many feeder roads are earmarked for rehabilitation in Milanzi Parliamentary Constituency in 2022, ward by ward.

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development (Mr Nkombo): Madam Speaker, the Government is rehabilitating the following feeder roads in Milanzi Constituency:

1. C6 via Mzime Katawa to Chinzule in Dole Ward;
2. Kafumbwc via Kalimeta Road in Kamphambe, Katiula, and Kazala wards; and
3. T4 RO d125 Tikondane via Umodzi in Kazakalowa Ward.

Madam Speaker, it is important for me to inform the hon. Member of Parliament through this august House that progression on these roads has stalled as a result of there being no insufficient funds to continue.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Ms Phiri: Madam Speaker, considering that work on these roads has stalled, are there any plans to engage new contractors? When will funds for these works be released?

Mr Nkombo: Madam Speaker, the commencement of new contracts and consequently, the rehabilitation of these roads is a function of Budget provisions, which is also, a function of availability of funds. I have been in close engagement with the hon. Member of Parliament to the effect that, as her colleagues have done, in areas that were threatening to cut off, provisions were made for councils to prepare Bills of Quantity (BOQ), in order for us to attend to those needs as emergencies. However, for the moment, only if funds are available, are we going to reenter new contracts, get Treasury authority, and appoint contractors via public tender, will work commerce.

Madam Speaker, further, it is important that the hon. Member checks with her Council if they submitted these roads under our current ten-year Road Sector Development Plan (RSDP), so that we can understand whether these roads are indeed, a high priority in her area or not.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Twasa (Kasenengwa): Madam Speaker, I want to find out from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, what qualifies a road to be of priority?

Mr Nkombo: Madam Speaker, there is no cast description of what is classified as a priority road. It is safe to say that these are roads that are of high economic value. Meaning that they provide connectivity in areas where there are economic activities. Such would normally be classified as economic ones. Therefore, they are roads of very high priority in terms of their maintenance. This information again, can only be obtained from local authorities in local jurisdictions. They are the ones who would give primary information of what road must earn priority attention. That is what I would answer the hon. Member of Parliament for Kasenengwa.

Madam Speaker, in the case of Musoro Road, which he asked about yesterday, as he went away to grab a seat in Luangwa, we deliberated on that road – By the way, congratulations are in order because we are civil people.

Madam, Musoro Road is a very high priority road. So, it is up to the local authority to advise the ministry which one they consider to be a road of high priority.

Madam Speaker, I thank you

Mr Menyani Zulu (Nyimba): Madam Speaker, I just want to have clarity from the hon. Minister of Local Government and Rural Development. If Hon. Phiri goes back to the local authority and convinces the councils that these are priority roads but they are not in that ten-year plan, is there any chance that they can resubmit the list to the ministry?

Mr Nkombo: Madam Speaker, from my little understanding of his question, the hon. Member of Parliament from Nyimba is maybe, speaking to the issue of incompetence on the part of people who are in the local authorities. The local authorities are structured in such a way that they operate under directorates, which include the Director of Engineering, Director of Administration, and so on. So, if somebody omitted a road that is currently on the cards for work, one would only assume it is deliberate or they are incompetent, therefore they should not be in a job.

Madam, in the unlikely event that that happened in Milanzi Constituency, it would also rub off on the councillor and, indeed, the Member of Parliament herself. I know she knows her constituency very well and this is the reason why she may have brought this question. The answer would be in her hands to see whether or not, her staff in the council submitted these roads to be in the ten-year road sector programme for our administration.

Madam Speaker, maybe, let me take advantage of this question to ask hon. Members of Parliament to be involved in the operations of the council to find out such raw basic information so that even as they bring these questions over, they already have half the answer.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Munir Zulu (Lumezi): Madam Speaker, permit me to say it is gratifying to note that today, most of the hon. Minister’s answers are those with a lot of humbleness. That is the way it should be.

Madam Speaker: Hon. Member for Lumezi, you are not the assessor of questions. Just ask your question.

Mr Munir Zulu: I have forgotten my question.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Laughter

Madam Speaker: I do not know whether we call that humbleness.

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

Madam Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Kambita: Madam Speaker, I will always rise on a point of order citing Standing Order No. 65 when the decorum and etiquette of this House are threatened by irrelevance on the Floor of this House. Our rules as prescribed by that Standing Order I have cited are very illustrative.

Madam, is the hon. Member, who just created a little bit of drama here in order to continue on that trajectory wasting the time of this honourable House with trivia and the like, when we have a lot of business to cover here? Is he in order to continue on that trajectory without facing consequences for his actions?

Madam Speaker: The hon. Member for Lumezi was definitely out of order for that conduct. We will leave it there for now. Let us make progress.

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MOTION

MOTION OF THANKS

(Debate resumed)

Mr Mulebwa (Kafulafuta): Madam Speaker, thank you very much for according the people of Kafulafuta a chance to submit their humble debate on the Floor of –

Hon. Member: On the Motion on the Floor.

Mr Mulebwa: Madam Speaker, kindly allow me to congratulate the Patriotic Front (PF) on their victory in Luangwa. We celebrate with them.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mulebwa: Madam Speaker, I wish to take a different angle in the debate on the President’s Speech because a lot has been said by a number of hon. Members. I also share the opinion that the achievements of the United Party for National Development (UPND) Government cannot be questioned at all. We have seen fuel prices going down; we have seen the appreciation of the Kwacha; and we have also witnessed the great employment of 30,000 teachers; and the recruitment of 11,200 health workers. So, the achievements are unquestionable.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mulebwa: Madam, I wish to say something about the achievement I believe we have scored in my constituency. My debate will lean on the increased Constituency Development Fund (CDF). As I stand in this honourable House, I have got seventy-seven graduates from the Technical and Vocational Teachers' College (TVTC), who did bricklaying, carpentry, metal fabrication, tailoring and food production. I should say that my constituency has changed over this short time with seventy-seven graduates, who have attained skills to improve their lives.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mulebwa: Madam Speaker, I have also got eighty-eight students at the Northern Technical College (NORTEC) and eighteen of them graduated in the operations of caterpillars and things like that.

Madam, I have received numerous calls from the parents of the graduates and the graduates themselves as they feel I have done a great job as their hon. Member of Parliament, but I realise that thanks should not come to me. I am therefore, here to convey the thanks for the vision of the President and the UPND as a Government. I convey the thanks of the many people of Kafulafuta.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mulebwa: However, I have one concern.

Madam Speaker, however, I have one concern. As I have already said, we have seventy-seven graduates from the Technical and Vocational Teachers' College (TVTC). These graduates have not yet engaged intangible work because of the prohibitive guidelines that demand that they need to have so many documentations before they can commence to work. My prayer is that we torn down on the requirement for contracts to be given out. As it is, we have so many jobs that need to be done in my constituency. We have construction work and we already have bricklayers. People have done metal fabrication as well as carpentry. So, to me, I should not look anywhere else to acquire desks for the schools that we are going to construct. Metal fabricators will work together with carpenters to ensure that we have desks in our constituency.

Madam Speaker, I have already had a sample of doing this at Mutaba School, where the school had 125 frames of desks. We engaged the young people who knew how to fix this and that, and they did a fabulous job. The pupils at Mutaba are no longer sitting on the floor. I think the part that really needs to be addressed here is that of slowing down on the requirements before contracts are given out. This is because we might find ourselves killing the expertise or the skills that the students acquired, if they take too long to engage in work. So, it is my sincere prayer to the powers that be that we slow down on the requirements that are needed in order for a contract to be given.

Madam Speaker, in his speech, the President talked about the rule of law and he has always talked about it. He also mentioned the rule of law during the campaign time. I believe that this has yielded immense results because we can see them. However, I observed that for the rule of law to operate effectively, it should work hand in hand with the separation of powers. On one hand, we have the rule of law and on the other, the separation of powers to enable us stick to our offices. I am saying this because right now, some of us have problems with the District Commissioners (DC), who think that because they own the district, they can go anywhere and do whatever they want.

Hon. Member: Kokolapo apo.

Mr Mulebwa: So, if we had a proper separation of powers, we would work in corroboration and lessen confusions in our constituencies that in the end, would slow down development. I really pray that, that issue would be addressed so that we are able to work effectively and as a team instead of fighting one another.

With those few words, I wish to rest my case.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Eng. Mabenga (Mulobezi): Madam Speaker, I want to thank you for giving me an opportunity to say something on the speech by His Excellence the President of the Republic of Zambia.

Madam Speaker, the President has demonstrated strong leadership in this country. He has got a vision, which I admire a lot. The President’s Speech is non-controversial because it is a straightforward plan for the country. He talked about the economy which is actually expanding, exponentially. This is supported by various economic indicators like the exchange rate, inflation, and the food basket, which have actually come down. He also talked about various developments in the ten provinces of the country. He did not select specific provinces.

Madam Speaker, he talked about value addition to the manganese, which is being mined in Luapula. He talked about the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) again, which has made everybody happy including, all hon. Members of Parliament because it is adding towards the development of this country. Therefore, let us appreciate the efforts of others.

Madam Speaker, he also talked about the four pillars of development, the first one being agriculture. Under agriculture, he talked about fish farming and beekeeping, which we really needed in Mulobezi Constituency. He also talked about mining but I am not going to dwell much on it because other hon. Members have already expounded it.

Madam Speaker, the President mentioned tourism. In order to expand tourism, the critical part which I got from the speech is to have the single licensing system. The last one among the four pillars was manufacturing. He mentioned a company in Kafue, which is producing 12,000 litres of mukuyu and ngai drinks per month. He talked about this company expanding to other provinces. I therefore, request that the next station be Mulobezi. We need this company in Mulobezi because we have a lot of wild fruits there, including mangos and guavas.

Madam Speaker, the President talked about the 120 secondary schools which will be constructed in the country. This is new in this country. The construction of 120 secondary schools, plus 115 secondary schools, whose construction started previously, will give us a lot of schools. I hope Mulobezi will get a share from these schools.

Madam Speaker, the President also talked about continuous registration of voters. In the last elections, many people in Mulobezi did not vote because they could not get the National Registration Cards (NRC). This plan which has been put in place for continuous registration of voters is a welcome achievement. It is the first one in this country so far.

Madam, he also talked about decentralisation of land to provincial centres. People where suffering travelling all the way from rural areas to go and chase for papers at the Ministry of Lands and natural Resources. Since this has been decentralised, it is a welcome plan. Therefore, we need to give credit where it is due. The President also talked about the Hon. Members of Parliament being part of the council. This is something we have been struggling to achieve. This is a welcome move. He mentioned the Constituency Development Fund Act to be reviewed in Parliament, and we are waiting for it.

The President also talked about revamping the Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) and Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL). This is a good move. Heavy loads of goods should move away from the roads to preserve the road assets. Goods should be transport by train. I would also like to request that the revamping of the TAZARA and ZRL, should also be extended to Mulobezi train because it also carries animals and a lot of items.

The President also talked about water, which is life. There are small township water projects in places like Nakonde, Mpika, and many other towns. We would also like to have such projects in Mulobezi Constituency because water is life. The President also talked about street children who need to be rehabilitated.

This is a very good move because so far, we have many children on the streets. Now, if they become productive, it means Zambia will have many productive citizens. We need these children to learn some skills wherever they will be taken.

Madam Speaker, the President also talked about decentralisation of the Attorney-General’s chambers to the provinces. So far, it is only confined to Lusaka. This decentralisation means taking the law closer to the people.

Madam Speaker, with those words, I thank you.

Madam Speaker: Order!

ADJOURNMENT

The Chief Whip and Acting Leader of Government Business in the House (Mr Mulusa): 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 1201 hours until 1430 hours on Tuesday, 20^th September, 2022.

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