Wednesday, 19thJune, 2024

Wednesday, 19^thJune, 2024

The House met at 1430 hours

[MR SECOND DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair]

NATIONAL ANTHEM

PRAYER

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ANNOUNCEMENTS BY MR SECOND DEPUTY SPEAKER

TEACHERS AND PUPILS FROM FRANCISCA COVENANT PRIMARY SCHOOL

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Members, I wish to recognise the presence in the Public Gallery of pupils and teachers from Francisca Covenant Primary School, in Ndola District.

On behalf of the National Assembly of Zambia, I warmly welcome our visitors into our midst.

I thank you.

TEACHERS AND PUPILS FROM GREAT NORTH ROAD ACADEMY

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Members, I wish to recognise the presence in the Public Gallery of pupils and teachers from Great North Road Academy, Special Needs Unit, in Lusaka District.

On behalf of the National Assembly of Zambia, I warmly welcome our visitors into our midst.

I thank you.

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URGENT MATTERS WITHOUT NOTICE

MR KAFWAYA, HON. MEMBER FOR LUNTE, ON MR LUFUMA, THE HON. MINISTER OF DEFENCE, MR MWIIMBU, SC., THE HON. MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND INTERNAL SECURITY, MRS MASEBO, THE HON. MINISTER OF HEALTH, AND THE GOVERNMENT CHIEF WHIP, MR MULUSA, ON THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MR J. E. BANDA, HON. MEMBER FOR PETAUKE CENTRAL

Mr Kafwaya (Lunte): Mr Speaker, my urgent matter without notice is directed at the hon. Minister of Defence, the hon. Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security, the hon. Minister of Health, and the Government Chief Whip.

I can see the Government Chief Whip is there (pointing at Mr Mulusa).

Mr Speaker, hon. Members of Parliament, including myself, have a very well-established welfare plan. The hon. Ministers to whom I direct this issue, including the Government Chief Whip, are aware that the health welfare of hon. Members of Parliament is equally very well-established.

Mr Speaker, Hon. J. E. Banda has been unwell for a long time now. He was abducted. When he was found, he chose a facility of good standing, according to him, where he went to seek medical attention. However, the Government forcibly moved him to a military hospital. Today, as I speak, Hon. J. E. Banda has disappeared from the military hospital. To only –

Interruptions

Mr Kafwaya: No one is aware, Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker, the hon. Government Chief Whip is concerned about my welfare as much as he is concerned about the welfare of other hon. Members, including Hon. J. E. Banda. However, the Government Chief Whip has been quiet from the time Hon. J. E. Banda was abducted up to today.

Mr Speaker, is the hon. Minister of Defence in order to have allowed Hon. J. E. Banda to be kept at Maina Soko Military Hospital without his consent? Is the hon. Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security in order to have forcibly moved Hon. J. E. Banda from Medland Hospital to Maina Soko Military Hospital? Is the hon. Minister of Health in order to remain quiet, when an hon. Member’s health is being managed by a health system he has not approved, as a matter of fact, a health system that is not part of the healthcare providers of the National Assembly of Zambia?

Mr Speaker, is the hon. Government Chief Whip –

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member, you may resume your seat.

Mr Kafwaya resumed his seat.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Let me caution hon. Members. Issues concerning hon. Members, including their welfare, are in the custody of the Government of the Republic of Zambia. That is why the Government has taken keen interest in the health of Hon. J. E. Banda. Certainly, we are not here to make assertions regarding the same matter because certain issues are under investigation.

Mr Speaker, last week on Thursday or Friday, I cannot be precise, paid a visit to Hon. J. E. Banda. This issue is being handled by the Government. The Government has always taken keen interest in hon. Members of Parliament; Hon. J. E. Banda is not an exception. We are all aware of the matter. We are also happy with the return of Hon. Kalimi because it shows that the Government has been taking care of his welfare. Certainly, the Government is handling Hon. J. E. Banda’s affairs. So, let us not dwell on that.

MR MUMBA, HON. MEMBER FOR KANTANSHI, ON MR CHIPOKA MULENGA, THE HON. MINISTER OF COMMERCE, TRADE AND INDUSTRY AND DR MUSOKOTWANE, THE HON. MINISTER OF FINANCE AND NATIONAL PLANNING, ON THE CROP FORECAST SURVEY FOR THE 2023/2024 SEASON

Mr Mumba (Kantanshi): Mr Speaker, my urgent matter without notice is directed at the hon. Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry and the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: You may proceed. The Government Chief Whip and the Acting Leader of Government Business are present.

Mr Mumba: Mr Speaker, yesterday, we received the comprehensive report on our crop output. Expensive as it was, it has created an opportunity for the Government now to clearly outline how it intends to ensure that our economy is not disrupted by factors like inflation and high prices. The Government has to ensure that all Zambians are on board on what it will do to ensure that our economy remains afloat.

Mr Speaker, I will give one or two products as examples. The hon. Minister talked about our famous crop, maize, and what the Government intends to do about it. Within the maize production area, the poultry industry will also be affected because maize is not in abundance. That means we expect a spike in prices of poultry and other products like fish and so on and so forth. That will affect the cost of living. The hon. Minister also mentioned wheat; the price of wheat influences the prices of bread. High prices can create unrest if the Government does not come out clearly on the strategies it intends to use to address the situation.

Mr Speaker, yes, I know that the Budget will be presented to the House. We have already been told that it is going to be realigned to focus on averting hunger and so on and so forth. In terms of the general economy, the Government needed to come out clearly on what plans it has put in place to ensure that our economic infrastructure is not affected. Already, our economic growth rate has been downgraded from 4.7 per cent to 2.7 per cent. With the current load-shedding, it is very possible that we might –

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member, you should be brief. You know the current Standing Orders that have been circulated –

Mr Mumba: Mr Speaker, –

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: May you resume your seat.

Mr Mumba: Mr Speaker, I wanted to add context to why this matter is important and urgent. I am now asking for your indulgence to give a brief background to the concerns of the people of Kantanshi and what is prevailing in terms of the cost of living.

Mr Speaker, when will the Government come up with a clear roadmap to avert escalation of prices to levels that might even lead to unrest? You agree with me that the cost of living is high. I have seen interventions on the price of sugar, for example, –

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member, may you resume your seat.

Mr Mumba: Let me just conclude, Mr Speaker.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: The current Standing Orders are quite explicit in terms of time. There is time limitation, that is, two minutes for making a point.

You may resume your seat because your time has already run out.

Mr Mumba resumed his seat.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: In the next two days, the hon. Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry will come to the House to address those concerns.

Thank you.

MR B. MPUNDU, HON. MEMBER FOR NKANA, ON MR MWIIMBU, SC., THE HON. MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND INTERNAL SECURITY, ON THE ABDUCTION OF HON. J. E. BANDA

Mr B. Mpundu (Nkana): Mr Speaker, Members of Parliament are here to represent the Zambian citizens and their well-being, whether those citizens are mad or not. Not long ago, a Zambian young lady by the name of Pamela Chisupa was abducted. The following day, this House asked the hon. Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security to issue a statement with regard to the abduction of that young lady because her life mattered. The life of every Zambian, be it normal or mad, matters to this Republic.

Mr Speaker, is the hon. Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security in order to have remained quiet, when one of us, your own brother, our friend, whom we pretend to care for, was abducted? The hon. Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security decided to conveniently remain quiet. It has been almost a month and twenty-five days today since one of us was abducted.

Mr Speaker, the hon. Member of Parliament for Petauke Central was moved from a military hospital ...

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member –

Mr B. Mpundu: ... to Sikanze Police Camp clinic.

Is the hon. Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security in order to keep quiet as if the ...

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member –

Mr B. Mpundu: ... life of Hon. J. E. Banda does not matter?

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member, may you resume your seat.

Mr B. Mpundu: Is he in order?

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member, you are misguiding yourself. This matter was raised as an urgent matter without notice, but now you are raising it as a point of order.

Mr B. Mpundu: How?

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: You are raising it as a point of order.

Mr B. Mpundu: What, Mr Speaker?

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: May you resume your seat, hon. Member.

You indicated to raise an urgent matter without notice, but you are raising a point of order.

Mr B. Mpundu: That is your own brother, Mr Speaker.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member, may you resume your seat.

Interruptions

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: You were raising it as a point of order. The two are different.

Hon. PF Members: How?

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: You said, “Is the hon. Minister in order?”

Interruptions

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Let me guide you.

I think, we are all aware that earlier, the hon. Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security came on the Floor of the House to give a Government assurance regarding what is happening in the country.

Interruptions

Hon. PF Members: That is your brother.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Members, the Government has given its position. That issue is under investigation by the police.

Mr B. Mpundu: Even Pamela’s issue was under investigation.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Yes, it is under investigation.

The Government is investigating and doing its work.

Let us proceed to the next business. I have permitted the hon. Minister of Community Development and Social Services to render a ministerial statement.

Hon. PF Members walked out of the Assembly Chamber.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Members, if you are leaving the House, please, leave quietly because this is a House of honour.

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MINISTERIAL STATEMENT

DROUGHT SHOCK RESPONSE INTERVENTIONS

The Minister of Community Development and Social Services (Ms D. Mwamba): Mr Speaker, following the declaration of a national disaster and emergency by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, on 29^thFebruary, 2024, the Government embarked on the implementation of a number of response measures through the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services. These include the Emergency Cash Transfer and the Emergency Wetland Cropping of the Food Security Pack (FSP) response aimed at enhancing the purchasing power of the vulnerable and improving food and nutrition security.

Mr Speaker, under the Emergency Cash Transfer, the ministry will target those already on the regular Social Cash Transfer programme. Most of the over 1.3 million beneficiaries currently on the regular Social Cash Transfer will receive an additional K200 per month on top of what they are already receiving.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Ms D. Mwamba: In addition, the ministry, in collaboration with various stakeholders, conducted a countrywide rapid assessment on drought to ascertain other affected people who are not on the regular Social Cash Transfer programme. After the assessment, over I million households have been successfully registered for the Emergency Cash Transfer and will receive K400 per month. The Emergency Cash Transfer programme will run for twelve months on both categories. The existing payment systems, which include the payment service provider modality, the urban type and the pay point manager for rural areas modality will be used to deliver the emergency cash transfers to beneficiary households.

Mr Speaker, under the Emergency Wetland Cropping of the FSP programme intervention, the ministry will provide farming inputs to poor, vulnerable drought-affected households in all 116 districts. This is aimed at supporting over 300,000 poor and vulnerable but viable small-scale farming households to grow white maize, relying on irrigation using furrows, streams, dambos, cranes or any other water point accessible by the communities.

Mr Speaker, I wish to assure this House that the Government, through the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, is working on all modalities to ensure that all eligible households access the necessary and much-needed support in the spirit of leaving no one behind.

Thank you for your kind attention.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

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

Mr Charles Mulenga (Kwacha): Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to ask a follow up question to our most hardworking mother, the hon. Minister of Community Development and Social Services.

Mr Speaker, let me start by thanking the hon. Minister for the ministerial statement she has just presented. I want her to comment as to whether the Government has plans to increase the number of beneficiaries from the current figure to something that may cater for a wide range of beneficiaries. Speaking specifically for Kwacha, the number of vulnerable people who require assistance from the Government continues to grow. That has caused a challenge to the people in terms of their well-being. Does the Government have any plans of increasing the number of beneficiaries to cater for more people in the country?

Ms D. Mwamba: Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for Kwacha for that comment. Yes, the Government has plans to increase the number of beneficiaries on the Social Cash Transfer programme and the FSP programme. In the budget that was presented last year, we did mention that we are scaling up. In 2023 we moved from 950,000 to 1,027,000 beneficiaries. This year, we are at 1.3 million beneficiary households and we are scaling up to 1.5 million households. I want to take this opportunity to also mention that we are going to increase the transfer value of the social cash.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mumba (Kantanshi): Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Minister for the ministerial statement. It is a practical statement and a direct response to the questions people have out there.

Mr Speaker, I must mention that before the implementation of the Social Cash Transfer, the ministry should have sorted out the concerns that have been raised even on the Floor of this House. For example, sometimes the money for beneficiaries is transferred to wrong accounts or phone numbers, and beneficiaries do not get their money. I am sure that the ministry has reports on such issues from as far back as December. There is also a disconnect, for example, between the office of the Member of Parliament and the Community Welfare Assistance Committees (CWACs). This is something that should have been resolved by the ministry so that we optimise delivery of services to the beneficiaries. When is the ministry going to sort this out? Probably, it can learn from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development on the way it works with the Ward Development Committees (WDCs) to get input on projects. The Ministry of Community Development and Social Services can use the same method as a starting point for identifying hon. Members of Parliament to work with and speak the same language in terms of beneficiaries. When are we going to see the ministry carrying out that exercise so that the money can benefit the people as soon as possible?

Ms D. Mwamba: Mr Speaker, on the modalities of payment for the Emergency Cash Transfer and the regular Social Cash Transfer, I clearly stated that we are going to use the pay point manager modality for rural areas. This is a modality where pay point managers give out cash to beneficiaries. On that point, I want to encourage all hon. Members of Parliament to educate the beneficiaries. It is very complicated and tedious to pay cash to over 1 million households in whatever form. Even for pay point managers, it is not safe for them. It is also a nightmare for banks to take out money daily for paying the Social Cash Transfer beneficiaries. We are talking about paying out over K600 million cash. It is a nightmare. We need to encourage more beneficiaries to receive money through their mobile phones, which in any case, they do. Most of our people have a habit of asking for money through their mobile phones, and they do receive the money. They know how to use mobile phones. If you give us that opportunity as a ministry, we are going to work on other things that are going to benefit the same beneficiaries. It is not too much to ask for a beneficiary to receive K400 through a mobile phone.

Mr Speaker, hon. Members come on this Floor and tell us that it is better to be paying cash to beneficiaries in rural areas. They call it “Tambikeni.” Yes, politically, it is a good move because there is face-to-face interaction, but in terms of security or accountability, it is dangerous. When we pay cash over the table, we get reports that pay point managers did not pay certain people in certain areas. As of December 2021, the ministry had improved technology to carry out this programme. We managed to put desktop computers in all the 116 districts so that our District Social Welfare Officers would be linked to a server in the ministry. The ministry planned to eventually give each hon. Member of Parliament a link to the information on the programme. If an hon. Member of Parliament wanted to know which areas were going to be paid on a particular day, he or she would get the information at the click of a button and see where a payment had been made and who had received it. This would reduce speculations that people do not receive funds. However, the traditional way of doing business seems to be favoured by most hon. Members here. So, we will go by what the people want; we will pay over the table.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Chaatila (Moomba): Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Minister for the statement, and I congratulate her for coming to the aid of our people. This shows that the Government is concerned about the welfare of our people, unlike the Patriotic Front (PF) Government. During the PF Government era, the money for the beneficiaries of the Social Cash Transfer programme disappeared, and because of that, donors stopped giving us money.

That is the way to go, hon. Minister. I am grateful.

Mr Speaker, currently, our people are receiving the money bimonthly, but I heard the hon. Minister say that the people are paid monthly, which is the same thing. However, just for the avoidance of doubt, is the ministry considering giving monies to the beneficiaries every month, maybe for twelve months, considering the challenges we are facing?

Ms D. Mwamba: Mr Speaker, yes, indeed, we are discussing this because the current situation is an emergency. People are hungry and they want to use that money as soon as possible. So, we are discussing with the Ministry of Finance and National Planning and other stakeholders as to whether they could allow us to pay beneficiaries on a monthly basis. That is being considered.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Miyutu: Mr Speaker, I appreciate the gesture or the quick intervention by the Government. However, there is a section in our community that does not seem to be eligible to receive funds under the programme. Many males seem not to be eligible. For example, during the latest registration exercise that was conducted, officers from the ministry were registering females who had babies and pregnant women. Most males do not seem to be eligible for the programme. Are males not affected by hunger, drought or the difficult situation we are in, such that they are not considered eligible for registration on the programme?

Ms D. Mwamba: Mr Speaker, this is the second time this question is being asked, but in a different version. I really sympathise with the hon. Member. His observation is correct that there are more women or females on the Social Cash Transfer programme than males or men. That is true. We all know that hunger has a face of a woman. Poverty has a face of a woman. Sixty-five per cent of the Social Cash Transfer programme beneficiaries are female-headed households. Who are these women? Those are women with young children who have been abandoned by men. We put them on the Social Cash Transfer …

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Ms D. Mwamba: … programme to support the young children. The beneficiaries are female-headed households and mothers who have been left with children. The Government steps in to make sure that there is an extra income to cushion the poor and vulnerable households.

Sir, I am glad we are having this conversation. The issue is not how beneficiaries were picked because it is a fact that they are female, poor, extremely vulnerable and have children. Now, if the hon. Member of Parliament had to assess between putting a woman who has three or four children and an able-bodied male figure on the programme to support them, who would he put as a priority on the programme?

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Anakoka (Luena): Mr Speaker, the people of Luena are very grateful for the interventions by the Government, and they are grateful to His Excellency the President for the interventions in this very difficult period we as a nation are going through.

Mr Speaker, in Luena Constituency, there were a few wards that the team that was going around registering beneficiaries could not reach. The wards are Nangula, Miyule and Namboma, which represent about 25 per cent of the constituency. Do we have teams on the ground now to reach the areas that were not captured during the period when the registration of beneficiaries was going on so that our people, especially those who were not included in the programme, can benefit from the payments?

Ms D. Mwamba: Mr Speaker, the concern of the people of Luena is genuine, like in many other places. I want to inform the nation that officers have gone back to the communities to capture as many people as possible. Maybe, as Minister of Community Development and Social Services, I spoke too soon. I do not know the feelings of the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning. There is another programme coming for the poor and vulnerable people and that is where men will be listed. There will be a number required. This is a food for work programme or public works programme. This is where those who will be identified as poor and vulnerable will be given work to do in the community. We are still discussing whether they will be given food in terms of maize or money.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Ms Kasanda (Chisamba): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister said that the beneficiaries are required to receive the money through their mobile phones. Most hon. Members of Parliament come from rural constituencies, and the biggest challenge they have in terms of beneficiaries receiving the funds through mobile phones is the networks. Is the hon. Minister working in collaboration with the Ministry of Technology and Science and erecting more communication towers so that the networks improve and people could start receiving the funds easily through their mobile phones? That way, the tedious way of giving cash would be avoided.

Ms D. Mwamba: Mr Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. Member for Chisamba for the comments and the question. As to how the beneficiaries in rural areas are going to receive their funds, I was very clear. What I forgot to mention was that we have heard the concerns and cries of our people. Therefore, in rural areas, there will be pay point managers to pay the money over the table. In terms of connectivity, we are alive to the fact that in November 2021, to be precise, the hon. Minister of Technology and Science presented a ministerial statement on connectivity in the country. Again, in 2022, he returned to the House to talk about connectivity. It is a pity that as I stand here, we have reverted to the rural payment model for our beneficiaries.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mwambazi (Bwana Mkubwa): Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Minister for the ministerial statement that has highlighted many things. First and foremost, the hon. Minister is doing a recommendable job giving beneficiaries payments from the Emergency Cash Transfer programme. In Ndola District, about 29,500 beneficiaries are receiving the payments, and we are very grateful to the Government for that.

Mr Speaker, my question is on the modalities of making payments to the beneficiaries. The Internet Service Providers (ISPs) transmit funds on behalf of the ministry. There are times when monies are remitted to the mobile phone service providers, but they fail to send the funds to the beneficiaries because they have wrong mobile phone numbers or because of other issues. How is the ministry ensuring that monies from the Emergency Cash Transfer programme reach the beneficiaries in the quickest time possible?

Ms D. Mwamba: Mr Speaker, yes, indeed, there are connectivity issues in most areas, and as a ministry, we have experienced them. Where we as a ministry experience connectivity issues, and where there are concerns and cries from our people, we are going to use the payment model for rural areas, which is cash over the table.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Ms Halwiindi (Kabwe Central): Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Minister so much for this programme on behalf of the people of Kabwe. When the President said that no one would die of hunger, this is what he meant. Her ministry is doing a commendable job reaching out to our vulnerable people.

Mr Speaker, has the ministry educated the Community Welfare Assistance Committees (CWACs) on how they should handle our vulnerable and aged women and men who have no National Registration Cards (NRCs)? I say so because in my constituency, I have come across a number of people who lost their NRCs and have no relatives to help them with information about where they come from. Of course, they are able to remember where they come from, but there is no one to help them. I do not know whether the CWACs have been educated on how to handle such cases.

Ms D. Mwamba: Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for the follow up question on the missing or duplicated National Registration Cards (NRCs). Indeed, that is a real issue. We are concerned about leaving out vulnerable people because of lack of identity cards. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has come to our aid. It has provided funding to make sure that poor, vulnerable people who do not have NRCs obtain them through the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security. We are working closely with the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security to make sure that those who have been identified as poor and vulnerable are given NRCs as soon as possible.

Mr Speaker, as to whether our community workers in the Community Welfare Assistance Committees (CWACs)sensitise people, that is one of the guidelines they have been given. They have to go to communities to identify the poor, vulnerable people and find out whether their NRCs need to be replaced. Apart from that, as the Minister mandated to look into the welfare of all children in the country, I want to mention that in 2021 soon after assuming office, I realised that most children in rural areas are stateless. They do not have birth records to ascertain whether they are Zambians or foreigners. So, we have also asked our CWACs to make sure that all children have documents such as birth records indicating their status.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Wamunyima (Nalolo): Mr Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. Minister for the ministerial statement because it has come at a time when the country is grappling with hunger. I would like to find out whether the reintroduction of pay point managers in rural areas will apply even to the normal Social Cash Transfer programme. I would like to inform the hon. Minister that the change from payments over the table to mobile phone payments is a big problem in rural areas. For example, in my constituency, in seven out of the twelve wards, we will have issues when the monies are audited. Is this a new policy direction for rural areas?

Ms D. Mwamba: Mr Speaker, the change applies to both the traditional Social Cash Transfer and the Emergency Cash Transfer programmes. We have reverted to the rural payment model even for the regular Social Cash Transfer programme because of hunger. We are responding to the concerns regarding the programme, as directed by His Excellency the President. So, yes, indeed, on both programmes, we will pay the beneficiaries in rural areas across the country but not in provincial capitals using the rural model.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr J. Chibuye (Roan): Mr Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. Minister for her candid response. My question has been overtaken by the hon. Member for Kalabo Central, but allow me to pay kudos to the hon. Minister for the job she is doing, and especially for having increased the number of beneficiaries to 1.3 million. I only hope that even those who are pregnant and carrying babies on their backs, who are victims of being left by their spouses as she said, shall benefit from the same.

Ms D. Mwamba: Mr Speaker, I would like to say thank you for the congratulatory message.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: It is good to get encouraged when you are doing well.

Mr Kolala (Lufubu): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister is doing a very good job, but there are certain things we need to begin bringing out. When you look at the number of people who are vulnerable in Zambia, you see that it is high. I do not know if the ministry has the statistics to understand me. I am asking this question based on what I hear from my constituency. Some people complain that they have been left out of the programmes but they qualify to be on them. I have seen the number of beneficiaries grow within three years. Does the ministry have a programme that is going to cater for all the vulnerable but viable people?

Ms D. Mwamba: Mr Speaker, the hon. Member’s observation is correct. There are many people who are poor and vulnerable, but are not on the Social Cash Transfer programme. The ministry has picked the most poor and vulnerable to be on the programme. However, now we have a database so we know who is on the verge of stepping into extreme poverty.

Mr Speaker, earlier I said that the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, working with the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, will issue a statement on the public works programme for more beneficiaries to be added. This is where that category of our vulnerable people will benefit from. We are doing something for them in the spirit of leaving no one behind, as directed by His Excellency the President.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: This statement has generated many social issues so I have added six minutes to the allocated time.

The hon. Member for Kantanshi may take the Floor.

Mr Mumba (Kantanshi): Mr Speaker, actually, there is a note I sent for you.

Mr Mutinta (Itezhi-Tezhi): Mr Speaker, I may sound monotonous, but the people of Itezhi-Tezhi would also like to join others in thanking the hon. Minister for the great works her ministry is doing through the social safety net programme.

Mr Speaker, across Africa, everyone knows that social safety nets are quite expensive for governments. I know it is not easy for the Government to take the decision to continue increasing the number of vulnerable people to be on the programmes. Is the hon. Minister able to assure the nation that the Government will remain committed to sustaining the social protection programmes over a long period of time?

Ms D. Mwamba: Mr Speaker, I think, there is no country in the world that wants to have poor people on social protection programmes permanently. As the New Dawn Government, our aim is to uplift our people out of poverty as soon as possible, and to find alternative interventions for them such as farming crops or fish farming. The other intervention that will be put in place is the public works programme, which will encourage most of our poor, vulnerable people to earn extra income by doing some sort of work. As much as the Government is going to continue with the Social Cash Transfer programme, it is also encouraging people to find livelihoods so that they can be independent for the rest of their lives.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Mung’andu (Chama South): Mr Speaker, clearly, everyone in this House is very happy with what the ministry is doing. Even the people of Chama South are happy about it.

Mr Speaker, in some rural constituencies like Chama South, there are areas like Mwila and Flaza in Chief Chikwa that are unreachable. Even now, they are unreachable. In most cases, our officers are unable to reach those areas. There are many old women who are highly impacted when it comes to poverty. I know the hon. Minister knows Chama very well. One can only reach Mwila in September or October, but that is when we have sittings here. Is the ministry in a position to encourage the Social Welfare Officers in rural areas to share information with hon. Members of Parliament? I have tried several times to request information on the actual beneficiaries in my constituency so that we could help each other in terms of identifying the highly impacted members of our communities. Is the hon. Minister able to do that, particularly for those of us who come from really disadvantaged rural areas? If possible, we can help the officers reach those areas. As politicians, we can sacrifice and reach those areas to capture the most marginalised people.

Ms D. Mwamba: Mr Speaker, the observation or contribution by the hon. Member of Parliament is correct and true. In some areas, it has been extremely difficult to reach our people. It has been difficult not only in his area but in other constituencies. I can mention a few like Sikongo and Shiwang’andu. When we went to Shiwang’andu in April, we reached a certain village for the very first time. It is difficult to reach certain places in most constituencies. As Minister of Community Development and Social Services mandated to implement social protection programmes in the country, I understand how difficult it is to reach certain areas. That is why I do not take kindly to stories of people misapplying resources because it has been difficult to find the resources.

Mr Speaker, just for the comfort of the hon. Members, in the last two-and-a-half years, the ministry has managed to reach difficult areas; I am sure the hon. Member will agree with me. We reached the opposite village to the one the hon. Member mentioned for the first time this year, and we put people on the Social Cash Transfer programme. So, I fully understand what the hon. Member talked about. I know, we are not supposed to bring in religion, but I pray to God to give us strength, courage and wisdom to find the people and put them on the much-needed support, especially on farming. When people say there should be food for work or public works in such areas, sometimes I keep quiet because there is nothing to do in those areas. What can they do? What works for people in such areas is probably farming. That is why I went further to talk about the increase in the number of beneficiaries on the Food Security Pack programme. Traditionally, on the wetlands component, we have 40,000 poor, vulnerable but viable farmers. On the rain-fed component of the Food Security Pack, we have 200,000 beneficiaries, and because of what the hon. Member has submitted, under the emergency component of the Food Security Pack, we have 300,000 beneficiaries. We have put people who have never been on both the Social Cash Transfer and the Food Security Pack in rural areas on these programmes, and we will make sure that the farming inputs reach them.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

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QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

Mr Fube (Chilubi): Mr Speaker, I continue to wish Hon. J. E. Banda a quick recovery and safety.

PLANS TO CONSTRUCT LANDING JETTIES

367. Mr Fube asked the Minister of Transport and Logistics:

(a) whether the Government has any plans to construct landing jetties to facilitate safe landing of big boats at the following harbours in Chilubi District:

Chaba;
Muchinshi; and
Santa Maria.

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

The Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development (Eng. Milupi) (on behalf of the Minister of Transport and Logistics (Mr Tayali)): Mr Speaker, the Government has plans to construct new harbours and modernise the existing ones across the country, including in Chilubi District. These harbours will include all auxiliary infrastructure such as landing jetties, slipways, passenger shelters and warehousing facilities.

Mr Speaker, the plans will be implemented once resources are made available, as this was not provided for in the 2024 Budget. Further, since the management of harbours, which includes construction of landing jetties, is in the process of being devolved to the local authorities, the Government will consider making provisions for the construction of landing jetties at Chaba, Muchinshi and Santa Maria wards through the local authority, working with the Central Government.

Mr Speaker, the estimated cost of the project will be determined once an assessment is conducted by the Central Government, working with the local authority.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Fube: Mr Speaker, one of the reasons we are losing life is because big boats are not able to dock at the three harbours highlighted in the question. We have continued losing lives. I think, just last week, we lost about five people. The harbour can only accommodate small boats.

Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister said that the Government intends to construct landing jetties, but resources are currently not available. This question has come at the right time. Is the Government considering including an allocation for the construction of landing jetties in the 2025 Budget? I know the hon. Minister has talked about spreading the construction of harbours throughout the country, but is the Government considering that option?

Eng. Milupi: Mr Speaker, the development of a budget in any nation, especially in Zambia, is all-encompassing. There are usually consultations with all stakeholders. So, I encourage the hon. Member to get involved during the development of the 2025 Budget. Even before the Budget is in the House, he can engage with the relevant ministry so that he puts in a word for the inclusion of these facilities.

Mr Speaker, as I mentioned, the responsibility to handle harbours has been devolved to the local authorities. We need to engage at all levels. The hon. Member can speak with the local authority in Chilubi and at the same time, engage with the ministry to ensure that this item is included in the 2025 Budget. The Government’s desire is to ensure that such facilities are provided. The limiting factor, as always, is the availability of resources. I have been very reluctant to point the hon. Member for Chilubi to the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) because sometimes we abuse it. I know the cost of developing jetties. Let us use all means possible between local authorities and the Central Government to put jetties in place.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Fube: Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister indicated the availability of funds. I think, he also indicated that the local authority would be well-positioned to tackle that task. I also buy into what he said, that using the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to address this problem would be wrong. Since local authorities get their funds from the CDF and the Local Government Equalisation Fund, in conjunction with the Central Government, what other possible funding mode would he propose to deal with the landing jetties?

Eng. Milupi: Mr Speaker, I am not sure whether I got the question fully. Maybe, he can repeat the last part so that I give justice to the answer.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Fube: Mr Speaker, I agree with the hon. Minister that the CDF might not be a good option to finance the construction of the landing jetties. Further, he indicated that the task of handling harbours has been transferred to the local government. He also indicated the involvement of the Central Government. What would be the possible funding mode for landing jetties since the local authorities can only use the Local Government Equalisation Fund and the CDF for projects? Could the Government increase the Local Government Equalisation Fund? Or channel some resources separately to the local authorities?

Eng. Milupi: Mr Speaker, all those are possibilities. I am aware of the costs; some of them are high. I know that we have given out contracts for some projects at Lake Mweru in Nchelenge District at the cost of K18 million. In Bangweulu, Samfya District, the cost was just over K25 million. I know the magnitude of the cost associated with this.

Mr Speaker, coming to the local authorities, the hon. Member is right that the funding options or the sources of funds for them at the moment are the Local Government Equalisation Fund and the CDF. Most of our local authorities have ignored any other sources of funding, and they look at the CDF as a windfall. They have neglected to raise funds in the traditional way that local authorities do. I am not just talking about local authorities in rural areas but all over. They could be raising funds in the traditional way; however, they find it easy to simply supervise the CDF projects. I hope they will use the CDF for the intended purpose specific to constituencies, but also continue to improve upon the local revenue-raising mechanisms in addition to the Local Government Equalisation Fund from the Government.

Mr Speaker, having said that, whereas the construction of a jetty might cost as much as K18 million or even more than that, it does not have to be done at once. If the local authorities have limited funds, in the first year, they could work on one thing, then continue working on other things in the following years until all the work is completed. As I said earlier, with the involvement of the hon. Minister at the local authority level and the Central Government level, the works could be provided for within the parent ministry and then allocated fully to the local authority.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Kolala (Lufubu): Mr Speaker, I think, Chilubi was the only constituency that was neglected by the former Government because every day there is a problem on the Order Paper from there.

Mr Chinkuli: Hammer!

Mr Kolala: Mr Speaker, last week, the hon. Member of Parliament even said that five people died there. I am sure the ministry has that statistic. If five people died last week, it means in the past ten or thirteen years, many people have died. Why has the ministry not taken this as an urgent issue in the New Dawn Government, which is the hope of the people of Zambia?

Eng. Milupi: Mr Speaker, you see, the neglect of specific areas, especially non-urban areas, I am trying to avoid certain words that might cause problems, was throughout the country. I cannot say it was just specific to Chilubi because even other areas were affected. If you mention Nchelenge here, people will say a similar situation is prevailing regarding waterways. When you go to Chienge, you will find a similar situation. Even in his own constituency, Chifubu, there is an issue about the pontoon. This is what I meant by lack of development previously, even when people claimed that there was unprecedented infrastructure development. That was pure politicking, which was totally unnecessary. What should have happened is recognising the need to have various forms of infrastructure, including in the wetlands. I come from a wetland area so I know the needs of those areas. Chilubi has specific needs. If you went there, you would know that you are not dealing with an ordinary constituency. You have to understand the needs of the people in wetlands. Canals, jetties and slipways like the ones we are talking about, are important there. What is key is beginning the process of addressing the situation, and that is why I am inviting the hon. Member to get involved and do everything to facilitate that which can be facilitated.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Chewe (Lubansenshi): Mr Speaker, I appreciate and acknowledge the responses the Acting hon. Minister has provided. Since the Government has plans to construct the landing jetties for big boats, is the hon. Minister also in a position to tell the people of Chilubi whether the Government has intentions to buy big boats? Could the hon. Minister inform this House so that the people of Chilubi could be well-informed about this development? At the moment, we only have one boat called Luchele Nganga Boat.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Although the question is a bit different, the hon. Minister may shed light on it.

Eng. Milupi: Mr Speaker, even though I am the Acting hon. Minister, I know that this question has been asked on the Floor of the House before. There are a number of boats that service Chilubi Island, especially from Samfya. However, to get a comprehensive answer to the question as to whether the number of boats can be increased, I would humbly request that the hon. Member files a separate question, then I would address it.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Michelo (Bweengwa): Mr Speaker, this is a clear indication that our people in this country were really neglected by the former regime. Look at the three landing jetties that have not been worked on for the last twenty or thirty years in Chilubi. It is really very embarrassing. Our people in Chilubi Island have suffered enough. In the last ten to twenty years of the Patriotic Front (PF), nothing was done in that area. Now, we are in the United Party for National Development (UPND) era. What temporary measures is the ministry going to put in place so that our lovely people of Chilubi can have landing jetties to land safely, and so that we do not continue losing lives? If we lost five people last week, calculate how many lives were lost in the last ten years of PF rule. Please, help us so that the people can be encouraged and have hope that the New Dawn Government is really doing something for the people of Zambia.

Eng. Milupi: Mr Speaker, let me assure the hon. Member for Bweengwa that the New Dawn Government looks at the whole country as one. Not a single constituency will be neglected. When we campaigned for so many years to seek the support of Zambians to put us into office, we always emphasised that we would take development and services to the people equitably. That is what we said. We understand the need for the wetland areas to have jetties, dredgers and canals to help our people.

Mr Speaker, with respect to what the hon. Member said about emergency measures, I ask that our people in the ministry as well as the local authority inspect the areas and put temporary measures in place. It is not always that there must be a functioning jetty to make an area safe; there are other ways in which some of these places could be made safer so that we do not suffer any further loss of lives. It would sadden this caring New Dawn Government if that were to happen. Our people at the ministry as well as the local authority in Chilubi will be asked to see what can be done whilst we await the full resources to ensure the safety of the people by procuring jetties.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

RESETTLEMENT OF VILLAGES FROM ISANGANO NATIONAL PARK

368. Mr Chewe asked the Minister of Tourism:

(a) whether the Government has any plans to relocate people from the following villages in Isangano National Park in Northern Province to avert human-animal conflict:

Yakobo;
Munungwa;
Nyemba; and
Kasunga;

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

(d) if there are no such plans, why.

The Minister of Water Development and Sanitation (Eng. Nzovu) (on behalf of the Minister of Tourism (Mr Sikumba): Mr Speaker, the people living in Yakobo, Munungwa, Nyemba and Kasunga villages in Isangano National Park are illegal settlers. The ministry also acknowledges that there is heavy encroachment in the park, contrary to Part III, Section 18(1) of the Zambia Wildlife Act No. 14 of 2015. These illegal settlements have contributed significantly to the reduction of wildlife numbers in the park, apart from various migratory species and water birds.

Mr Speaker, the ministry has not received any reports of human-wildlife conflict in the area.

Mr Speaker, you may also wish to note that Isangano National Park is located in the Northern Circuit, which is earmarked for tourism development. However, the Government cannot immediately relocate these illegal settlers as logistical arrangements with all relevant Government institutions and departments are being made.

Mr Speaker, as alluded to in part (a) of the question, logistical arrangements with all relevant Government institutions and departments are being made to relocate the illegal settlers.

Mr Speaker, the settlement of the affected people will be determined by the Department of Resettlement once all logistical arrangements have been put in place.

Mr Speaker, part (d) of the question is not applicable.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Fube: Mr Speaker, since Isangano National Park falls within Chilubi and Lubansenshi districts, I want to find out whether the hon. Minister knows that there are already gazetted Government institutions in some parts of Isangano National Park. Negotiations are going on to rectify the boundary of the park. Could the hon. Minister comment on the issue, especially that there are already gazetted Government institutions like schools, clinics and others specifically in Chishiwa Ward, which is partly in the national park?

Eng. Nzovu: Mr Speaker, I wish to inform the hon. Member that settling in forest reserves, Game Management Areas (GMAs) and game parks was the order of the day in the past. One does not have to look very far to see this. See what is happening in Mumbwa Game Reserve Area, which is just a few kilometres from here. I think, the practice of constructing Government institutions in national parks or gazetted forests is not good, and as the New Dawn Government, we are discouraging it. We are encouraging gazetting of institutions that are already in the GMAs and other protected forests. However, for settlers and those intending to settle in protected areas, this Government is discouraging that practice. I am speaking like this because I am the former Minister of Green Economy and Environment and I faced similar situations. So, I encourage the hon. Minister, sorry for promoting you, sir –

Mr Fube: It is coming!

Eng. Nzovu: I encourage the hon. Member for Chilubi to discourage our people from going into GMAs, national parks and protected forests because all these forests are ecologically sensitive.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Chewe: Mr Speaker, on behalf of the good people of Lubansenshi Constituency, I would like to shed more light on the game reserve area in question. People are already living there, and the Government has been constructing various infrastructure there. We still have many areas where we need to do more in terms of construction of schools, health facilities, you name them. The Government is encouraging us to continue working together and looking after the welfare of the people. The response from the hon. Minister is that we should discourage people from settling in protected areas. Is the hon. Minister in a position to visit Isangano National Park with the hon. Members of Parliament for Chilubi and Lubansenshi, to engage the people on the ground so that we ascertain the boundary? This is key for me. We are taking development to those areas and the people of Isangano should not be left out. The hon. Minister should remember that there is the issue of taking electricity there. We should not waste resources by taking facilities there that will end up not being used. Is the hon. Minister willing to accompany the hon. Members of Parliament to go and face the people on the ground?

Eng. Nzovu: Mr Speaker, I really sympathise with my fellow hon. Members of Parliament because this is a very difficult subject. I want to state very clearly that before coming to this House, I consulted widely with the hon. Minister of Tourism. So, we are on the same page. The House may also wish to note that the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment, the Ministry of Water Development and Sanitation and the Ministry of Tourism thrive when there is good environmental protection. We cannot have a healthy tourism sector without a healthy environmental sector.

Mr Speaker, a joint visit with the hon. Minister of Tourism and hon. Members of Parliament is very necessary, if we have to be on the same platform. I will forward the comment to the hon. Minister of Tourism and I think he will be very glad to go with the hon. Members. However, it is important that we talk to our people and discourage them from occupying GMAs, national parks and protected forests.

Mr Speaker, we do not have to look far for the consequences of settling in protected areas. Climate change effects are devastating us right now. We are food-insecure because we did not produce enough food mainly because our people are encroaching on very ecologically sensitive areas. We are also experiencing energy insecurity. Most of the GMAs, game parks and protected forests are the sources of rivers and make our rivers flow. So, our people must not be occupying or encroaching on those areas. This message might be tough, and I sympathise with my fellow hon. Members of Parliament, but we must put it across to our people. We must be very clear that the effects of climate change we are experiencing are as a result of human-induced activities. We need to protect the environment and utilise our natural capital in a sustainable manner.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Menyani Zulu (Nyimba): Mr Speaker, first and foremost, the said national park is one of the most depleted parks in the nation. Therefore, we need to restock it. In addition, we need to understand and acknowledge that the population of Zambia has increased. When the national parks were created, the population was about 4 million, but now it is 20 million. That means people are going to settle in the national parks. It is like we have surrendered villages to the animals, but it should be the other way around. My village, which was one of the biggest villages when the area was called Petauke, was surrendered to animals. Now elephants are living where I was born. There are animals in Mfuwe cropping area, where the hon. Minister for Eastern Province comes from. Even at 1600 hours or 1800 hours, one is able to see the animals. Does the hon. Minister have any plans of ensuring that the people living near the so-called parks are protected? The place where I was born was declared a national park. I was born there and I grew up there, but now there are animals. Does the ministry have a plan of creating a situation in which people can live with animals in Mfuwe, like they do in the Serengeti and Masai Mara national parks? The people and the animals are merely separated by a fence. I know the Executive has been saying it cannot fence parks. Countries where tourism is flourishing have fenced GMAs. Does the ministry have a plan of ensuring that Zambians live side by side with animals?

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member, the question was quite restrictive; it spoke to specific areas on which the hon. Minister was supposed to respond. You expanded it.

I do not know whether the Acting hon. Minister would like to respond.

Eng. Nzovu: Mr Speaker, again, I understood his question quite well. I think, I am able to answer it because of my previous position. I have worked very closely with the hon. Minister of Tourism, the hon. Minister of Energy and the hon. Minister of Agriculture before because we all operate in the same environment. I acknowledge that we need to strike a balance by sharing the GMAs with animals. However, I must state very clearly here that doing so would lead to human-animal conflicts increasing, especially that watering holes have dried up because of the drought. Some of the watering holes are near where humans live so conflicts would increase. I am aware that the Ministry of Tourism and my ministry are trying to map the areas. We need to clearly map the areas where animals and people will have complete jurisdiction. Fencing is one way we could do that. I saw the reality of the human-animal conflict in Chama South, where the animals are causing devastation by eating crops and killing people.

Mr Speaker, we are trying as much as possible to discourage our people from going to settle in the GMAs, game parks and protected forests. We need to strike a balance. I can assure the hon. Member that my ministry, the Ministry of Water Development and Sanitation, and the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, are coming up with measures including construction of watering holes for wild animals so that they are confined in their own space. In addition, we will be providing water for domestic animals to communities to reduce human-wildlife conflicts. Mapping of these areas clearly is the intervention we are coming up with.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Chewe: Mr Speaker, the issue at hand is really serious because it looks at the welfare of the people. People need to survive; that is a fact. Since the Government has no plans to tell the people to leave or vacate, it means they will continue living in the GMAs, national parks and protected forests. That is why schools, clinics and other important facilities are needed. When will the Government sensitise the people about not settling in protected areas? For your own information, people are not aware that they are living in national parks, in the first place. As the hon. Minister said, the population will keep increasing, leading people to settle in the protected areas. On paper, a place might be a national park, yet people will go and settle there because of population increase. When is the ministry going to carry out sensitisation programmes so that people understand the way forward?

Eng. Nzovu: Mr Speaker, I will leave the issue of when people will be relocated to the substantive hon. Minister. I will pass on the question. However, I would like to state very clearly with no fear of any contradiction that illegal settlements in protected areas are discouraged. As the Minister of Water Development and Sanitation, I will come to this House to give notice to our people that recharge areas, river sources, river banks and minimum distances as prescribed by law should be observed, and that there will be sanctions instituted against those who will break the law, going forward.

Mr Speaker, water utility companies right now cannot produce enough water for the people because some rivers are drying up. So, we need to unite and discourage encroachment on protected areas. As hon. Members of Parliament, we need to unite in discouraging our people from encroaching on the ecologically sensitive areas.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Mutinta (Itezhi-Tezhi): Mr Speaker, the settlers in Isangano National Park even have a leadership system. The headmen will show you the letters of consent on how they settled in the area. I think, we need to start having very honest conversations on the root of the problem. We need to know who admitted the people into that area. How are we addressing the root of the problem?

Eng. Nzovu: Mr Speaker, this is a very important question. I have not been to Isangano National Park, but I have been to Kafue National Park. The situations in the two areas are the same. In Kafue National Park, there are headmen. Some chiefs installed headmen in national parks and protected forests. Those are illegal activities and they should be discouraged. Gone are the days when the Government would look away while illegal activities were carried out. You will recall that illegal activities, particularly in land allocation and encroachments, existed in the previous Government, but it looked away and made the problem very big. I do not think the solution is to look away now. The solution is to tackle the problem head-on because it is very big. Encroachment is a big problem. With the climate crisis and the punishing drought we are facing, we cannot afford to look away while our natural capital is not being sustainably utilised.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Hamwaata (Pemba): Mr Speaker, like the hon. Minister has rightly indicated, there is always an entry point into the protected areas and in this case, it is the headmen and chiefs allowing people to settle in the game reserves. Do we have a deliberate programme to sensitise headmen and chiefs around protected areas so that encroachment can be halted in the near future?

Eng. Nzovu: Mr Speaker, again, this is a very important question on sensitisation. We have carried out various sensitisation activities. One way to resolve this problem is to sensitise our people. The other way is to utilise the law because it does not allow illegal occupation of protected lands. The hon. Member who has asked the question comes from Pemba. I can tell him that one of the biggest issues the Southern Water and Sanitation Company (SWASCO) has to resolve right now is the production of water from a reservoir which is drying up. Right now, there is a huge challenge of water in Pemba. All of those issues are as a result of land degradation, deforestation and encroachments. So, we must stop those practices. I will come and inform the House, many areas where springs, streams and rivers are drying up. One way to mitigate the negative effects of climate change is to protect ecosystems, forests and the environment as a whole. It is said that if you do not protect the environment, the environment will harm you. The realities of this saying are with us so we cannot continue in the same manner.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

_______

MOTIONS

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON YOUTH, SPORT AND CHILD MATTERS ON DRUG

AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE AMONG THE YOUTHS IN ZAMBIA

Mr Chitotela (Pambashe): Mr Speaker, I beg to move that this House do adopt the Report of the Committee on Youth, Sport and Child Matters on Drug and Substance Abuse Among the Youths in Zambia, for the Third Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly, laid on the Table of the House on 19^th June, 2024.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Is the Motion seconded?

Mrs Munashabantu (Mapatizya): Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.

Mr Chitotela: Mr Speaker, in accordance with Order No. 209 of the National Assembly of Zambia, Standing Orders, 2024, your Committee undertook a study on drug and substance abuse among the youths in Zambia.

Mr Speaker, during its study, your Committee interacted with several stakeholders, who tendered both written and oral submissions before it. Allow me now to highlight a few of your Committee’s findings on the premise that the hon. Members have had time to read the report.

Mr Speaker, the first issue I will address is the inadequate number of treatment and rehabilitation centres in the country. These are essential centres where youths who are involved in drug and substance abuse may receive treatment and rehabilitation services. In this regard, your Committee strongly recommends that the Government considers increasing the number of treatment and rehabilitation centres in the country. This will lead to effective treatment and rehabilitation services for the many youths who are suffering from the effects of drug and substance abuse.

Mr Speaker, your Committee noted that not much has been done by successive Governments in terms of providing public awareness on the effects of drug and substance abuse, especially among the youths in the country. What is even more worrying is that some community members are not willing to co-operate with relevant drug and substance abuse prevention officers and are ready to shield notable members of the community who engage in the consumption and sale of drugs to the youths. Your Committee, therefore, strongly recommends that the Government considers strengthening public awareness and sensitisation programmes on the effects of the abuse of drugs and other related substances. Communities must also be made aware of their role in the prevention of drug and substance abuse, and on the important role played by the drug and substance abuse prevention officers.

Mr Speaker, your Committee had the chance to tour a number of districts in order to ascertain the extent of drug and substance abuse amongst the youths. During the tour, your Committee observed with concern that the problem of drug and substance abuse is widespread, and if not attended to, the scourge is likely to escalate to unmanageable levels.

Mr Speaker, we had an interaction in Chawama, where your Committee was met with a very worrying circumstance: a father was living in one room with his two wives. He made a bunk bed and slept on the top bunk bed with his two wives while his nineteen-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter slept on the one below. This matter is very worrying and must be dealt with the speed it deserves.

Mr Speaker, what is also worrying is that the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) is not present in all the districts in the country, a situation which is contributing to the perpetuation of drug and substance abuse amongst the youths. Your Committee recommends that the Government deliberately considers establishing DEC offices in every district in the country. This will minimise the cases of drug and substance abuse among the youths.

Mr Speaker, Sections 27, 29 and 36 of the Liquor Licensing Act No.20 of 2011 provides for prohibition of the sale of liquor outside permitted hours. The Act also restricts the sale of liquor to children. Unfortunately, your Committee observed that there is a lack of compliance with these provisions of the law. In most communities in the country, alcohol is easily accessible to young people at any time of the day. In order to curb the growing trend of alcohol abuse among our youths, your Committee strongly recommends that the Government, through the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, ensures that the law is upheld and enforced to regulate the times at which liquor can be sold and also regulate the sale of alcohol to underage groups.

Mr Speaker, I appeal to the Executive to study and implement the recommendations contained in the report in order to address the unfortunate growing trend of drug and substance abuse among the youths in the country. Let me also appeal to all hon. Members of this august House to support your Committee’s report.

Mr Speaker, in conclusion, I wish to thank all the stakeholders who appeared before your Committee and tendered written and oral submissions. I also wish to thank you and the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly for the guidance and support rendered to your Committee throughout the session.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

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

Mrs Munashabantu: Now, Sir.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Munashabantu: Mr Speaker, in seconding this Motion, allow me to make a few comments on the closure of the Zambia National Service (ZNS) youth rehabilitation centres. I am not sure when they were closed, but since that happened, youths have had problems because we do not have rehabilitation centres. The rehabilitation centres that are there are all privately-owned. Government rehabilitation facilities would have been of help to the youths in the current era of substance abuse. There are drugs in all kinds of shapes. Some are not inhaled but cracked onto the skin. I have seen many drugs emerge that are not even listed on the list of prohibited drugs by the Government. They need to be identified and tested.

Mr Speaker, there are many other problems regarding the same issue. Some of the problems are created because of lack of funding. For example, the mover of the Motion mentioned earlier that your Committee visited a rehabilitation centre in Kamwala and found it overcrowded. The centre indicated that it receives only K5,000 per year as funding from the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services. That is not enough. Therefore, when youths are taken there, they are released back into the community after some time because the place does not have funds to keep them. Unfortunately, there is nowhere to take the children because rehabilitation centres have been closed. Therefore, I urge the Government to increase resources to rehabilitation centres.

Mr Speaker, the emergence of new drugs should be looked into. We see many illicit drugs like nsunko, which is commonly consumed by people of all ages. In the old days, nsunko was used by elders.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: What is nsunko?

Mrs Munashabantu: It is snuff tobacco.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: What?

Mrs Munashabantu: It is the tobacco that one sniffs. It is commonly known as nsunko.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Who sniffs it, women or men?

Laughter

Mrs Munashabantu: Mr Speaker, both. In this case, even children. Right now, people are modifying the drug. We were even told that Compound D fertiliser is used as one of the ingredients to create the drug. That is quite unfortunate. As I said earlier, there are drugs which are not listed. I urge the Government to look into the drug abuse problem because it is escalating. The children using drugs are growing and will soon be the working class. You will agree with me that some of the children who had been smoking nsunko graduated into being elderly working-class men and women, but they are still sniffing it. One can see that those people have a funny behaviour and realise that they take drugs. However, the drugs do not show in their system because they are not listed as illicit drugs by the Government.

Having made those few points, I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr J. Chibuye (Roan): Mr Speaker, from the outset, allow me to appreciate the mover of the Motion, who is the hon. Member of Parliament for Pambashe, and the seconder, the hon. Member of Parliament for Mapatizya.

Mr Speaker, as I support this Motion, I agree that drug abuse in our country and worldwide has become a major concern. Drug abuse affects three types of groups: the person abusing drugs himself, his family, and his community at large.

Mr Speaker, I want to speak on certain salient matters regarding drug abuse. We are seeing many ailments in Zambia today caused by drug abuse. Some ailments are caused by a high level of intoxication. Today, young ones are suffering from ailments such as liver failure and respiratory problems. There are also cases of mental disorders in many of our children and the elderly in our country today.

Mr Speaker, the other issues causing drug abuse and negative ramifications are social problems. Drug abuse can lead to family conflicts. We have seen many families broken today. We have seen children who imbibe alcohol or participate in taking drugs, killing their own parents. Families are in disarray because of drug abuse.

Mr Speaker, the other issue is economic problems. Today, as early as 0600 hours, you will find children who should be actively participating in driving the economy of our country totally drunk or rubbishy drunk. That is because drug abuse is on the increase.

Mr Speaker, increase in income is one of the negative ramifications of drug abuse. This is also linked to many criminal activities such as theft and drug trafficking. Today, people have taken drug abuse as a business. We have heard from social media and several print media that people are now actively participating in drug abuse, drug trafficking and other things without fear.

Mr Speaker, the other negative ramification of drug abuse is social isolation. People who take drugs sometimes look like zombies. As they take the drugs, they isolate themselves. They start thinking deeply and they do not know what they intend to do next. Drug abuse is also affecting family setups,

Mr Speaker, the other thing affecting children in our country or promoting drug abuse is psychological problems. Psychological problems are a very big issue that can lead to depression and anxiety. Sometimes people who abuse drugs contemplate suicide and subsequently commit suicide because of drug abuse. The other big thing resulting from drug abuse is the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, HIV/AIDS.

Mr Speaker, as I agree with the mover of the Motion, I also urge the Government to improve the infrastructure of rehabilitation centres. If you went to the Copperbelt today, you would find that the entire province has only one psychiatric facility at Ndola Teaching Hospital. The construction of a modern psychiatric unit at that hospital has taken long. Therefore, I urge the Government, through the hon. Minister of Health and, of course, the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning, to quickly complete the infrastructure. When you are trying to rehabilitate people, but you put them in unsanitary conditions, rehabilitating them becomes a challenge.

Mr Speaker, I also urge the Government, through the hon. Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, to start doing its work through the local authorities. In my constituency, people start drinking opaque beer or all sorts of beer as early as 0800 hours. I want local authorities to take up their role and ensure that the law is followed to the letter regarding the time to open bars and age restrictions. Bars should only allow people who are eligible to enter.

Mr Speaker, today there is a drug called Artane that people who drink chibuku are adding to it and other opaque beer. It is strange. That drug is administered to people who abuse drugs, people who are taken to psychiatric centres in order for them to act normally. Some people are adding the same drug to chibuku. One wonders where they are getting the drug. The mover of the Motion has encouraged the Government to go deeper to unearth the sale of Artane because the drug should be strictly found in the custody of the Ministry of Health.

Mr Speaker, because of drug abuse today, our children have no respect for elders. Today, our children dress as if they do not want to. They dress as if they are being forced to, with their trousers hanging on their buttocks. Today, our children have no respect. They knock at the parents’ bedroom door when the parents are asleep, which is strange. We never used to do that. Today, a child will knock at the bedroom door when the parents are sleeping. If the parents hesitate to open, he or she will go and knock at the window of the bedroom and tell them to wake up and open for him or her. Today, if a mother has not left nshima for a child, he or she will make sure the mother wakes up and cooks nshima. The reason is drug abuse. Strangely, after the late President sold council houses, today it is very funny that in some constituencies, including my constituency, children are wishing their mothers and fathers dead so that they can remain with the houses. The reason is drug abuse.

Sir, as I support this Motion, I urge the Government to move quickly and ensure that bars do not open at the wrong time and ensure there is strict adherence to admitting eligible people only. It should also stop the abuse of the famous nsunko or snuff tobacco, which the seconder of the Motion alluded to. Though we do not discuss ourselves, if there is anyone amongst ourselves who sniffs nsunko, it is high time that he or she stopped because it has negative health ramifications.

Mr Speaker, I thank you for allowing me to participate in the debate on this Motion on behalf of the good people of Roan.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Chaatila (Moomba): Mr Speaker, I will debate in under four minutes. Firstly, let me thank the mover of the Motion, Hon. Chitotela, and the seconder, Hon. Munashabantu.

Mr Speaker, I want to put on record that I support the report. I noted a few things from it. First is the adequacy of the laws, especially on liquor licences. Your Committee has indicated the challenges regarding this issue. One of them is that councils do not have the capacity to handle liquor licences, and I agree with that. Therefore, I wish we could involve traditional leaders in the fight against drug and alcohol abuse. According to the report, the Committee tours were only confined to compounds in urban areas. Your Committee did not travel to rural areas, something that it should have done. Why do I mention the involvement of traditional leaders? Traditional leaders play a very critical role. As we all know, local authorities do not have the capacity to implement and monitor certain provisions of the law. So, I encourage your Committee to go to rural areas next time to ascertain the situation on drug abuse there. Rural areas are very special to hon. Members of Parliament, especially we who come from there.

Mr Speaker, if alcohol abuse continues, in the next twenty to thirty years, this country will struggle to have food on the table. The previous speaker mentioned that our youths start drinking as early as 0400 hours, 0500 hours, 0700 hours or 0900 hours. Last week, we heard the hon. Member for Mitete and Hon. Chinga Miyutu complain about this. By 0800 hours or 0900 hours, our youths are already drunk. You can imagine the situation if we let that continue. Those people are supposed to wake up early in the morning to go to the fields to cultivate crops. If we leave the situation unattended, next time we will not be talking about drought or El Nino. There will be plenty of rain, but we will not have labour to cultivate crops because our youths will be specialised in drug abuse.

Mr Speaker, I should put on record that I am not ashamed to mention that growing up, my mother used to brew gankata, which is commonly known as Seven Days. I used to sell it, and it is not because we could not afford things. We had many animals, but my mother used to brew gankata and I would stand behind the drums to sell the beer. However, as the hon. Member of Parliament for Mitete mentioned, gankata did not have the effects we are seeing now because there was a modality in terms of who could take it. You could never see young ones taking it because there was order. My father would send me to go and buy gankata. I knew that if my former headmaster were to see me carrying it, I would be punished at school and because of that fear, young ones were afraid to indulge in substance abuse. I encourage your Committee and this House that it is possible to address the problem. Going forward, we need to seriously look at how to engage our traditional leaders such as chiefs and headmen to ensure that there is law and order to cage the vice.

Mr Speaker, I promised that I would debate under four minutes. I just wanted to emphasise the critical role we are overlooking: the role of traditional leaders. Traditional leaders can play a role and manage the vice. I am not an urban person so I wanted to talk more about the rural areas.

Mr Speaker, with those few words, I support the report.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Anakoka (Luena): Mr Speaker, thank you very much–

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Order!

Business was suspended from 1640 hours until 1700 hours.

[MR SECOND DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair]

Mr Anakoka: Mr Speaker, I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the debate on this report on behalf of the people of Luena. This Motion has been moved by the hon. Member for Pambashe and seconded by the hon. Member for Mapatizya.

Mr Speaker, I would like to start by indicating that quite often, the link between substance abuse and mental health is missed. I would like to bring that to light. Some of the mental problems we are grappling with in the country are as a result of substance abuse, which is so widespread that sometimes the effects show even in the august House. That indicates the extent of the problem the nation is grappling with.

Mr Speaker, the first problem we have with substance abuse is that it is widespread. Alcohol and related substances are available twenty-four-seven. They are available anytime and everywhere in street shops, filling stations, bus stops and in what are supposed to be official drinking places. Access to those places is for all ages. There is absolutely no attempt to control the people who can access those places. There is no restriction in terms of the maturity level of the people being allowed access to those places. Therefore, I would like to support the observation that we need to strengthen measures to reverse this trend.

Mr Speaker, when you look around in our country, you will notice that today abuse of substances is not restricted to what are described as official alcoholic beverages. We even have energy drinks. In the recent few years, there has been a proliferation of energy drinks on the market. They are officially being sold as energy drinks but they have the same effect as alcoholic beverages. I know some brands of energy drinks such as Kumbucha and ginger drinks that are abused in our communities. People drink them like they are alcoholic beverages, and before you know it, a person is unable to take two steps forward because he or she has become intoxicated. That brings into focus the need for the Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZBS) to take a closer look at energy drinks and ensure that they only contain ingredients for energy drinks and not alcohol. I know that some energy drinks are also taken by many adults for other reasons, but I am concerned with the energy drinks that have an alcoholic effect.

Hon. Members: Question!

Mr Anakoka: Mr Speaker, there is a variety of energy drinks on the market. Those drinks have become so popular such that a window of what I can term as illicit energy drinks has been created, and there is a need to check or control them.

Mr Speaker, in order for us to manage the situation, we cannot rely on sensitisation alone because sensitisation without effective control is of no use. How are we going to control the widespread abuse of alcohol? It starts with us accepting first of all, that alcoholic beverages have been with us since man has been in existence. However, production and consumption of alcohol was always highly controlled. A few days ago, the hon. Member for Mitete had a question and answer session with the hon. Minister of Local Government and Rural Development and focused on Seven Days, otherwise known as sipesu, bucwalawa malozi. This substance was a controlled product in the Western Province.

Mr Speaker, we can pass as many laws as we want here, but if we do not have affective collaboration with local communities in order to control production, supply and consumption of alcohol in our communities, the effect of what we are doing here will be nil. So, let us give back control of the production of local beverages to rural communities. At any given time, there never used to be two households producing sipesu in one silalo. A silalo is a collection of villages. Also, there would be no beer drinking on any day other than over the weekend after 2 o’clock. Now, in this country, we currently have access to alcoholic beverages from as long as a shop is open. Shops open at 6 o’clock, and some of them do not even close at all; they are open the whole night. Some of our neighbouring countries have also grappled with substance abuse. Botswana comes to mind. It put in place very strong regulations, including no sale of alcohol before 2 o’clock on certain days. If we are not bold enough to take such steps, it does not matter who we are going to send out there to control the consumption of illicit beverages, the problem will still exist. Even if the alcohol is not illicit, the effects of what we are grappling with now will not be under control.

Mr Speaker, with those few words, on behalf of the people of Luena, I support the observations and recommendations made in this report, and I would like the Government to take them on board.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Menyani Zulu (Nyimba): Mr Speaker, I support the report that was presented by Hon. Chitotela and seconded by the hon. Member for Mapatizya. I would also like to thank the Chairperson of the Committee for the report. This is what we need as a country. People should be told what is happening out there.

Mr Speaker, in supporting this report, I just want to talk about a few things. We have drug abuse today. Yes, it is a worldwide problem, but in the case of Zambia, what are we doing to our relatives? Are we supporting them? The children who are abusing drugs today are coming from homes. Some of them are from very respectable homes. Why are they abusing drugs? You will find that a son or daughter of a Minister or a high-profile person in the country is the one in the forefront abusing drugs. Where have we as a nation gone wrong? I want to talk about what we as a country have done wrong. Firstly, as a nation, we have done away with our traditional culture of supporting our relatives and those who are not doing well in our community. We have decided to do away with those families that are not doing well. We only focus on ourselves and our children, and it ends there. Some of us here were raised by extended family members, but we have stopped looking after them. That is where we as a nation are going wrong.

Mr Speaker, you will agree with me that today if you went to a good number of schools in Lusaka or other developed towns in Zambia, you would find that recreation facilities like football pitches have been turned into residential plots. Our children have no time for sports in schools. Previously, in Government schools, one would knock off at 1300 hours and then go for sports and eventually knock off at 1600 hours or 1700 hours. Sports kept us busy in schools and we could not abuse drugs or alcohol.

Mr Speaker, I want us as leaders to search ourselves. Are we talking about what is happening out there or are we just trying to fulfil what we need to fulfil? The truth of the matter is that, as a nation, we need to start walking the talk. We talk so much and do a little. I challenge the hon. Minister of Youth, Sport and Arts to tell us how much money is in the budget to look after our children who are involved in sports. Today, you will realise that a good number of drug abusers in Chibolya or Kanyama here in Lusaka and in other cities are very good sportsmen and women. What is the ministry doing to help them? Is it coming up with facilities to help them out? Sport is a multi-million industry. If you produced one, two or three top players in any field, they would bring in a lot in terms of foreign exchange. As a nation, how much money have we invested in sports?

Mr Speaker, today you will agree with me that we have done away with our traditions and have taken what imweba mu town call ati English manners. As a result, some children from well-to-do families are abusing drugs. If you asked the hon. Member for Kanyama about the people abusing drugs in his constituency, he would tell you that a good number of them are not residents; they come from somewhere else, from well-to-do families. What are we doing wrong? That is what we as a country should be addressing.

Mr Speaker, if you look at point number 3.0 in the report, if I am not mistaken, you will notice it talks about unemployment among the youths in our nation. We have set up our education system to produce graduates to be employed. They cannot do anything on their own. We must start training ourselves and our children to take up what we call entrepreneurship. Since we are re-aligning the Budget, I wish we can allocate money to the Zambia National Service (ZNS). Today, we are talking about farming. We could get a number of unemployed youths as labourers in ZNS farms so that they could get something for themselves and their families. We can manage this problem, but it will take political will. It will take people with zeal to end the scourge of drug abuse.

Mr Speaker, let me come to sentencing of would-be offenders on drugs. You will agree with me that the big guys, the traffickers, buy their way out, but those people at the end of the chain with no financial muscle are the ones who go to jail. That is where we as a nation are losing it. I wish the Government could come up with stiff laws. I know there are laws already, but we can come up with a system under the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) to ensure that if a certain case is dismissed because of failure by colleagues from the DEC to prosecute, a commission of inquiry should be set up to see why those who trafficked drugs were set free but those who used drugs were sent to jail. Somebody with 0.5 g of drugs is sent to jail while another person with 10 kg of drugs is not sent to jail. That is what we should be addressing. If we fail to address those issues, it is going to be very difficult for us to resolve the problem of drugs.

Mr Speaker, thank you so much for this time.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: The hon. Member for Kafue may debate.

The hon. Member for Kanyama may debate.

Mr Chinkuli (Kanyama): Mr Speaker, thank you so much. I almost cried foul.

Hon. UPND Members: Our own hon. Member!

Mr Chinkuli: Thank you so much for those remarks.

Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity you have given me to add a word on what is being debated on the Floor. As the House may be aware, each time people talk about drugs, everyone pretends that Kanyama is not involved. We can talk about anything and Kanyama will be involved. So, I think I should have had ten minutes to air my views.

Mr Speaker, I want to align the issue of drugs with the fight against corruption. Much has been said about the fight against corruption, including rules, national policies and the like, but we are still at the same place. The same applies to the fight against drug abuse. This is not a new thing; it has been debated over and over, but I think we lack solutions. We know what the problem is, the causes and the consequences. So, we need to find the way forward. I do not want to waste much time; I just want to provide the way forward.

Mr Speaker, the report clearly says that the legal framework is adequate. So, there is no doubt about that. However, the question is: Where do we miss it? After analysing and going through certain literature here and there, I have come to learn one thing: there are certain small, basic issues we need to undertake for us to achieve what we need to achieve. If you wanted to kill a tree completely, you would not cut the leaves but the roots. Where are the roots of the drug problem? They are in places like Kanyama. I do not want to talk about other constituencies because that will be gossiping. I know that a number of activities in relation to what we are discussing are happening there. Why are the officers from the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) not going on the ground in Kanyama together with myself? The police and a few other institutions that deal with this issue can sit down and enquire what is causing those boys involved in drugs to do that. Once we know, we can work from there. Believe you me, the fight against drug abuse would become a thing of the past.

Mr Speaker, there are three groups of people regarding this problem: those waiting for rehabilitation in rehabilitation centres, those addicted but still within the community, and those who could become addicted because society breeds their behaviour. We need to sit down with those who are addicted in the community and talk to them because they are our children. They hail from a number of houses and their parents are there. Like one hon. Member mentioned, it is very true that drug abuse has devastated a number of families. So, as leaders, together with those tasked to fight the problem, let us take a step to speak to the boys affected. That is a preventive measure. Let us not look at curative measures alone, where people are incarcerated in facilities and given medication or therapy because that is costly. Why can we not go on the ground and do what we are supposed to do, which is talk to those boys affected and find out exactly what causes them to behave in that manner? If we went on the ground, we would realise that solutions to the problem are simple and achievable. Anxiety, peer pressure and lack of opportunities are some of the issues that cause our boys to get involved in drugs. Mind you, they are the potential leaders of tomorrow. They are the ones we expect to be sitting here in future. Now, if we do not take measures to curtail whatever they are doing, this will not be a good country.

Mr Speaker, a week ago or so, the DEC officials were celebrating something to do with drug-related issues. Instead of having the event in Kanyama, where there are drug-related problems, they decided to go to Levy Mall. They were jogging and dancing. Come on. Are we being serious? We need to hit the nail right on its head. Let us go to the places affected and establish why people are behaving in the manner they are behaving. The DEC can also partner with other ministries and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) like The Beginning to see how best they can fight the drug problem. Definitely, those organisations would come to our aid. Then we would attend to the issues instead of saying there is no money. Let us not leave everything to the Government. We ourselves, with the talents we have, can manage to handle this problem, as we wait for the Government to look for resources to revamp infrastructure, provide therapy to the boys affected and buy whatever is needed. As individuals, we have a tool we can use to ensure that our children are advised against using drugs.

Mr Speaker, with those few remarks, I support the Motion.

I thank you, Sir.

Mrs Sabao (Chikankata): Mr Speaker, thank you for allowing me to support this progressive report on behalf of the people of Chikankata. Also, allow me to appreciate the mover and seconder of the Motion on drug and substance abuse among the youths.

Mr Speaker, the youths are the future leaders. They are also co-partners in development today, hence it is very important that as a society we take care of this group of people. We have a challenge in this country of drug abuse because of lack of employment. That is the major cause of drug abuse. Our young people have nothing to do, hence there is peer pressure among them to take drugs.

Mr Speaker, we are lucky because the New Dawn Government, under the able leadership of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, has given us a policy that is helping the young people of this country under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). Skills training is provided under the CDF. Under this programme, young people are educated to venture into entrepreneurship. The richest person in the world is an entrepreneur, but we taught young people in this country that when they finish studying at university or college, they have to wait for a white-collar job. That has been the challenge. As a result, our people are getting involved in drug abuse. We are sending our young people to undertake skills training using the CDF and when they come back, there are grants and loans they can be given so that they venture into entrepreneurship. That way, we help them create employment for themselves and other young people. That is what I call a progressive policy under the New Dawn Government, unlike what we saw in the last ten years, where young people were taught what was called “Dununa reverse,” which means going backwards in all activities of development.

Mr Speaker, drug abuse is not an issue for the Government alone. Even as parents, or as communities, we need to get involved. Like the mover said, some women in this country take a substance called nsunko and children, especially girls, are watching. I hear that nsunko is helping women but, as a woman, I do not understand that. It has brought challenges among our women –

Laughter

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member, the information you give on the Floor of the House has to be factual. In which way does nsunko help women?

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Sabao: I thank you, Mr Speaker. I will tell the nation.

Sir, there is a myth in communities that nsunko makes a woman’s body warm. That is a myth that has been accepted by society. However, it is destroying our society because parents who are supposed to help the young people to stop abusing drugs are doing the same thing. Children are being encouraged to use drugs because they are seeing their parents doing the same thing. That is the reason I am saying for us to help our young people, let communities, traditional leaders and parents be involved in educating them about the dangers of drug abuse.

Mr Speaker, this is the time for parents to send their children to school. If some people are not able to send their children to secondary school, there is a provision under the CDF) for secondary school bursaries that they can use. Constituencies are paying for children in schools. That means we have a Government which believes that when you educate children, you build an entrepreneurship spirit in them so that they can stand on their own. Then they will not have time to waste in the community.

Mr Speaker, it is said that a dull mind is a devil’s workshop. That is the reason the only thing our children can do is venture into drug abuse. As a Member of Parliament for Chikankata, I am happy that we have come up with many activities for the young people in my constituency, which will make them stay away from drug-related activities.

Mr Speaker, with those remarks, I support this very progressive report.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwambazi (Bwana Mkubwa): Mr Speaker, I thought of adding a few remarks to the debate. Let me take this opportunity to thank the mover of the Motion, Hon. Chitotela, and many other hon. Colleagues who debated on this important report.

Mr Speaker, I will just speak on a few issues. First and foremost, drug and substance abuse in this country among the youths has become rampant, and it is a detriment to the well-being of the youths as well as the nation. There is a saying that imitiikula empanga, which means that the young generation is the future. If we do not take precautionary measures to prevent drug abuse among our youths in this country, we will not be a progressive nation. It is important that we come up with interventions to protect our youths, starting from those in primary education to those in tertiary education. We can carry out sensitisation about substance abuse and illicit drugs that are rampant among the youths. We can also come up with measures and policies to ensure that some drugs that are rampant on the market and can be easily accessed by our youths are kept under lock and key. Apart from that, it is important to come up with fully-fledged rehabilitation centres for youths in various jurisdictions so that those affected can be reformed and eventually released back to their communities to actively participate in the well-being of this country.

Mr Speaker, youths in universities studying in various fields are also abusing drugs. Even among our peers and family members, there are children who have abused drugs. However, there are no robust rehabilitation centres to rehabilitate the children. Therefore, we end up keeping them at home, and they continue engaging in those vices because they are not reformed.

Mr Speaker, the report has suggested the things we need to look at to curb the abuse of drugs and other related illicit drugs that are now common on the market. Let me proceed to highlight some of the issues that have been fervently recommended by your Committee as the way forward in curbing the abuse of drugs by our youths. As I already alluded to, we need to ensure that facilities that stock some of the drugs that are abused, for example, Chainama Hills College Hospital, come up with mechanisms to investigate how some substances they stock end up on the streets. Our children are getting the substances and putting them in their drinks and various other things. Now, they are turning into junkies and attacking people. In my area, Bwana Mkubwa Constituency, there is a place called Kaloko. There are various reports from Kaloko that fourteen-year-old children are attacking people every day. They are stealing cell phones from people and attacking elderly people because there is rampant use of alcohol and other drugs in that area. So, it is very important that we come up with short and long-term mechanisms to mitigate these issues.

Mr Speaker, issues of sensitisation, the causes of drug abuse and the ripple effects need to be emphasised. As the Government, we need to come up with systems to ensure that even those people who are not in schools in our localities are sensitised on the causes of drug abuse and its ripple effects using sketches or other programmes. We need the students and the youths in general to contribute to the well-being of the country.

Mr Speaker, I just wanted to highlight those few things. I support this report.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Sialubalo (Sinazongwe): Mr Speaker, thank you so much for giving me an opportunity to say one or two words on the debate on this important Committee report, ably moved by the hon. Member of Parliament for Pambashe and seconded by the hon. Member of Parliament for Mapatizya.

Mr Speaker, some of us were privileged to have been born in the First Republic. The drug abuse we are seeing today was not there then. So, where did we as a country go wrong? We need to trace where things started going wrong so that we correct them. What has happened to the nation is a total loss. When you go to Sinazongwe Constituency and look at the youths who are supposed to take over from me, you will see that many of them are abusing drugs at a tender age. They are fifteen years old and above. They feel that they cannot be helped by society. Therefore, they make the disastrous move of spoiling their future by abusing drugs. The youths are supposed to take over from many hon. Members of Parliament in the near future, but society has degenerated into something that is unacceptable.

Mr Speaker, you will recall that one time when I was debating, I indicated that as a nation, if we are not careful, this Parliament will be full of junkies in future, and your job as the Speaker will be very difficult. The behaviour of our youths has become inhuman because of the drugs they take. Now, what can we as leaders do about this situation we have found ourselves in as a country? As a nation, we need to take your Committee’s report very seriously and act on it. It is not the duty of the Government alone but everyone in the country to care about what society we are going to leave behind when we are gone. Are we going to leave a society in which people have to take drugs for them to work?

Mr Speaker, if you went to some taverns or bars, you would find our youths taking methylated spirit. Look at the damage that is causing. Some of the beers they are taking are mixed with Nugget shoe polish and something else to come up with a drug, I do not know what they call it, tijame. We as leaders need to take action. We need to be counted. People should say that when we were here as leaders, we corrected the wrongs. The report by your Committee is not something that should be left to gather dust; action needs to be taken.

Mr Speaker, as hon. Members of Parliament, let us take stock of what we are doing to reunite extended families. When we had extended families, such vices were not there. If you asked hon. Members in this Parliament how many of them reach out to their nephews and nieces and take them to school, you would find that each hon. Member of Parliament has confined himself or herself to his or her children whom he brought on earth. In the olden days, my father kept many nephews and nieces at home. We were more than twenty at home. Family values were practiced, not what we are seeing today. It starts with us. Are we extending support to the orphans who have been left by our brothers and sisters? Are we extending the little resources that we come across to educate them, look after them and give them parental guidance? Very few leaders are doing that.

Mr Speaker, we are the same people who abuse the youths when it comes to campaigns. We buy them beer and whatever else so that they get intoxicated. We forget that what we are planting is something that will not give us a good fruit but a disaster to the nation. As we campaign, let us give our youths normal food that we can eat, not buying them drugs or alcohol that we ourselves cannot partake of. It starts with us. We need to take centre stage in delivering what society demands.

Mr Speaker, with those few remarks, I support the report.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Dr Kalila (Lukulu East): Mr Speaker, I am truly honoured to contribute and participate in this very important debate. I would like to take note of all the sentiments that have been expressed by various hon. Colleagues. Truly, listening to the debate –

Interruptions

Dr Kalila: Mr Speaker, I am the Member for Lukulu East, as you said.

Interruptions

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member, you are not the Chairperson of the Committee, you are debating as an hon. Member, is that right?

Dr Kalila: Yes.

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: He is debating as an hon. Member. So, avoid passing comments.

Interuptions

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: No. He is debating.

You may continue, hon. Member.

Some of you hon. Members have a problem. It is not good to show that you know a lot.

Dr Kalila: Sir, it is substance abuse.

Laughter

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: I picked him because he is an expert and he can help us. He has a deeper understanding of the matter. That is the role of the Presiding Officer. As a nation, we should hear what he has to say.

You may proceed, hon. Member.

Laughter

Dr Kalila: Mr Speaker, let me put the issues of alcohol and substance abuse in perspective. Let me bring to the attention of the hon. Members that alcohol and substance abuse currently is driving mental health issues in the country. My hon. Colleague, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, touched on the issue the other day. He said that if you took a walk next door to Chainama Hills College Hospital, you would find that 56 per cent of the people in the outpatient section are there as a result of alcohol disorders. Of those admitted, 40 per cent, in other words, four out of ten beds in Chainama Hills College Hospital right now, are occupied by some of our citizens whose illness is directly related to alcohol and substance disorders. If we went back to 2010, we would find that the contribution of alcohol disorders to mental health illnesses was only 15 per cent. Today, the number has skyrocketed exponentially to around 56 per cent. So, what we have is a time bomb in the making. Therefore, I support the attempt by your Committee to bring this topical issue to the Floor of the House.

Mr Speaker, the other day, the Hon. Madam Speaker mentioned that we need to join hands and come up with practical, actionable steps to address the matter. You can see that the cost of not doing anything about it is producing a nation of sick, young people who will not be able to contribute to the economic development of this country. Hon. Musokotwane is facing sleepless nights to address the economy. We are also going to consign many of our young people to the delinquency we are all complaining about. You heard the hon. Minister say that it is fashionable for our youths today to even insult a chief when they have taken some substances. So truly, we need to do something about drug and substance abuse. It is high time we supported all the institutions that are in the forefront of fighting this scourge. On one hand, the Ministry of Health is looking at the health side of things and on the other hand, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) are looking at enforcement.

Mr Speaker, I suggest that we become blunt and straightforward. We know the problem, as we always do here in Zambia, but we do not do anything about it. We just talk about it and do not take any steps to address it. What could be the problem if today we stood up and said we have banned shisha, which serves as an entry point to drug use for some of our young people? Other countries have done that. Why can we not do it? Why can we not pronounce that we have banned junta? Years ago, Hon. Luo banned tujilijili. We can still pronounce today that we have banned junta. Why can we not wake up today and pronounce that we want to get rid of all alcohol selling points in our markets and bus stops? What stops us from doing that? We know that these places are the havens of alcohol and drug abuse. We are happy to come here and talk about them but we do nothing about them. Alcohol and drug abuse is sending our people to committing suicide, to be depressed, psychotic, delinquent and to contributing less to society.

Mr Speaker, three out of four types of beer consumed in this country are illicit. So, only 30 per cent is the correct stuff. Most of it is bad alcohol, which my hon. Colleague here talked about. So, if we know that, why can we not do something about it?

Mr Speaker, the alcohol industry is highly unregulated at the moment. Anyone can come in and bring anything. One can manufacture anything in the backyard. One can mix ginger with something, call it any sort of name and give it to our people to consume. We know about it, but we are not doing anything about it. We need to begin making a difference by enforcing certain laws. Some of my hon. Colleagues have said that we need policies. We have policies. I am sure, you recall that when His Excellency came to the House in March, he mentioned that the Government had just launched the Substance Abuse Policy. We have some of the best alcohol policies, but we simply do not enforce them. We simply do not follow some of the tenets there; they are just gathering dust. So, it is high time we begin making laws out of those policies and proactively enforce them.

Mr Speaker, we also need to begin conducting random checks for alcohol and drugs, starting right from here in Parliament to various sectors of our society, including schools. We need to begin conducting random checks. We need to start using breathalysers so that we catch some offenders.

Mr Speaker, lastly, we now have some of the best local government systems. Through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), we get frequent circulars that tell us to use local or sub-national structures to do certain things. We can write to all our councils and ask them to immediately get rid of all the illicit alcohol selling points in the markets, shut down all producers of illicit alcohol, and ask our Councillors to begin educating our people that a person can die from consuming shoe polish and fertiliser mixed with methylated spirit. Last week, we were talking about the same issues, but none of us cared about doing something about them; we just talked and ended there. I second the idea that Hon. Madam Speaker brought on the Floor, that we should not end here but take action on the matter. Maybe, one or two Committees should sit with all hon. Members and tease out practical and actionable steps from our laws and policies in order to deal with the matter.

Mr Speaker, when we want to treat those people who are afflicted by alcohol-related illnesses, we take them to Chainama Hills College Hospital. There, they are stabilised and then sent back home. Why? It is because we do not have Government-owned rehabilitation centres to treat our citizens who have been afflicted by drug abuse. We have private institutions that cost anywhere between K6,000 to 8,000 per month. How many of our ordinary citizens can afford to go to those centres? This problem affects everyone and it is at all levels of society, including right here. I am very aware of that. So, it is high time we did something about it.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Munsanje (Mbabala): Mr Speaker, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to add my voice, on behalf of the people of Mbabala, to the debate on this Motion, ably moved by the hon. Member of Parliament for Pambashe.

Mr Speaker, the issue of alcohol and substance abuse speaks a lot to the way we have carried ourselves as a society. As the Chairperson, Hon. Dr Kalila said, we have not paid strong attention to the problem as a country. A few years ago, in 2019, we enacted the Mental Health Act, but we left a gap in the legal framework of mental health issues.

Mr Speaker, regarding drug and substance abuse, last year, we looked at the drugs that can be bought off the shelf and those that can be bought using a prescription. As a country, we have not yet managed to deal with the problem of illicit drugs because people are still able to buy drugs even when they might not have the right prescriptions. Even non-prescriptive drugs like cough mixtures are bought and mixed with other things to make them intoxicating. Therefore, as Hon. Dr Kalila suggested, we need to have a substance abuse policy to help us improve surveillance on abuse of drugs. As long as we remain with the current structures, we will not curb this problem. We need to improve our surveillance to the extent that we can quickly test people for substance abuse. There are scientific methods that can be used to quickly test somebody who looks intoxicated so that we find out whether he or she is using one of the illegal substances, and then we can try to trace the source of the substance. What we are not doing in this country is tracking the source of drugs. We need to track drugs so that we improve. We need a law or policy to test people and to know where the drugs are coming from and then bust the source. Once we deal with the source, we will deal with the drug problem.

Mr Speaker, the second aspect I want to talk about is having a scientific approach to the problem. We need a scientific approach to the problem. We have dealt with the issue of drug abuse using various line ministries such as the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services. That ministry has been picking some children and taking them for rehabilitation. The Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health all have activities on drug abuse. However, we have not come together to set up an anthropological team to conduct a study on how our society is arranged and where human behaviour comes from. A very detailed scientific approach is needed. I urge this House to recommend the setting up of a team to conduct a detailed scientific study of our Zambian society. What we need, going forward, is social engineering to influence positive behaviour in both the in-school and out-of-school children from a very tender age. We need to invest in changing human behaviour from a very young age of three years and below so that children grow up with certain positive behaviours or characteristics. If we focus on and invest in the social engineering of our society, the dividends in the next ten years will be huge. We are going to see a different behaviour in our children. The lost decade when we rewarded thuggery and other negative behaviours is a very big debt that will go a long way. The children who were destroyed in the last ten years when we rewarded thuggery and all other bad behaviours are now youths. They are becoming young adults and running homes in some areas, hence we continue seeing the big problems. We have seen that in the police service, there are junkies. We have also seen them in various compounds and they are called “fluffies.” Rewards were given to people who exhibited bad behaviours of stealing money from people and various places. People using get-rich-quick methods were rewarded, and that is why we used to see them flashing all kinds of money and burning it. It is because there was a moral decay and the leadership failed to control such things. So, the consequences from that decade when young people were destroyed are going to be with us for some time. That decade still has an influence on our society. We need to go back to the basics by social engineering at a very tender age. We now have an opportunity to do that using the curriculum review by the Ministry of Education. We need to begin inculcating a new culture by investing in the study I have talked about. It can be done by putting a strong team of experts to redesign a number of things for children inside and outside school for our society to regulate behaviour.

Mr Speaker, I talked about surveillance of drugs because the other day, I witnessed somebody open a car boot, get some quick drinks, mix some substances and then sell them to some youths. Then he closed the boot and left. Without surveillance, you cannot catch the people with such behaviours. If we do surveillance, we will be able to catch those kinds of people and test what they sell to find out whether their products can be consumed by our people or not. From there, we can prosecute them. We need bylaws that will allow quick prosecution so that we can have good examples of people going jail. Hopefully, as we continue to reform the Zambia Correctional Service, those who were jailed can come back to society as good citizens, be integrated into society and contribute to the economy of the country.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

The Minister of Small and Medium Enterprise Development (Mr Mubanga) (on behalf of the Minister of Youth, Sport and Arts (Mr Nkandu)): Mr Speaker, thank you most sincerely for giving me this opportunity to make a statement to this august House and to the nation, on the debate to adopt the Report of the Committee on Youth, Sport and Child Matters on Alcohol, Drug and Substance Abuse Among the Youths in Zambia.

Mr Speaker, first and foremost, I would like to commend your Committee for its detailed and insightful report on issues pertaining to alcohol, drug and substance abuse among the youths in our country. I have no doubt in my mind that the report reflects issues that once acted upon, will contribute immensely to the betterment of the lives of our children and the youths.

Mr Speaker, the youth are a critical and treasured investment. If well-positioned, they can drive the development of this country. According to the Zambia Census Projection Report of 2011-2035, the youth population between nineteen to thirty-four years age group in 2023 was above 5,369,150 out of the total population of 20,122,521 people in our country. This means the youth accounted for 26.7 percent of the total Zambian population, of which 2,677,952 were males and 2,691,198 were females, representing 26.7 percent and 26.6 percent respectively. The youth population is thus a key demographic group that can immensely contribute to the unlocking of the country's social and economic potential if well-managed. However, the country has witnessed an increase in alcohol, drug and substance abuse among the youth. As highlighted in the report tabled today, this situation is worrisome and has the potential to lead to an increase in mental health disorders among the youth, increase in crime rates, and increase in the youth dropout rates from learning institutions and ultimately lead to a dysfunctional youth population. This could, in turn, negatively affect the general population and the socio-economic development of the country.

Mr Speaker, as you may be aware, the Government, through the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts, the Ministry of Technology and Science, the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services and the Ministry of Education, is currently implementing programmes aimed at preventing drug and substance abuse and creating awareness on the dangers of alcohol, drug and substance abuse among the youth. These programmes are implemented at various institutions of learning and in communities.

Mr Speaker, as highlighted in the report, the country has an adequate legal framework supporting programmes against alcohol, drug and substance abuse among the youths in Zambia. However, there is a need for the country to scale up efforts to cure or combat abuse of alcohol, drugs and other illegal substances among the youth. It is worth noting that the report tabled today has just cemented what the country is currently witnessing, especially the growing, disheartening "junkies" in our communities. This calls for the Government, Members of Parliament and non-state actors to strengthen efforts to address this problem and ensure that it is given the much-needed attention it deserves.

Mr Speaker, the phenomenon of abuse of alcohol, drugs and other substances was very prevalent among the youth in urban areas in the past, but now even the youths in rural areas are affected. This report has given us an opportunity to relook at the measures that have been put in place to cure alcohol, drug and substance abuse among the youth. This action will enable the nation to determine what measures are working and which ones are not.

Mr Speaker, as highlighted in the report, the country has continued to face many challenges in addressing matters relating to drug and substance abuse. Some of those challenges include:

(a) lack of a clear referral mechanism;

(b) limited treatment and rehabilitation centres;

(d) lack of public awareness and sensitisation programmes on drug and substance abuse;

(e) absence of Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) officers in some districts in the country;

(f) inadequate financial and material resources for programmes against drug and substance abuse;

(g) poor reporting and documentation of drug and substance abuse among the youths in the country;

(h) lack of compliance to Sections 27, 29 and 36 of the Liquor Licensing Act, No. 20 of 2011; and

(i) closure of the Zambia National Service (ZNS)-run youth rehabilitation centres.

Mr Speaker, the Government will endeavour to enhance our co-ordination mechanisms to foster clear referral mechanisms through partnerships, establish more rehabilitation centres, enhance awareness and sensitisation programmes, enforce compliance among proprietors of alcohol selling points and re-introduce rehabilitation centres for the youth living on the streets, where consumption of alcohol, drugs and substances is on the increase.

Mr Speaker, as I conclude, I wish to repeat the measures that the Government has put in place to address matters of drug and substance abuse:

(a) laws regulating the manufacture, production, cultivation, possession, sale, supply, storage, distribution, import and export of such substances;

(b) allocation of sufficient financial and material resources towards programmes that address matters of drug and substance abuse amongst our youths in the country;

(d) incorporation of drug and substance-related topics especially in school curricula so that we educate our children in schools.

Mr Speaker, the Government of the Republic of Zambia will continue to implement programmes and initiatives aimed at addressing issues affecting the youths in Zambia, including those who are abusing alcohol, drugs and other substances. The interventions will include:

(a) provision of socio-economic youth empowerment programmes;

(b) provision of rehabilitation services; and

With those few remarks, I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chitotela: Mr Speaker, I thank everybody who debated. I need to highlight that alcohol and drug abuse among the youths is a very serious problem. When you are seated here, you might think the problem is just in Kanyama, as the hon. Member for Kanyama said. We might be burying our heads in the sand on this issue. This problem has spread across the country including in our higher learning institutions. If you went to our universities, you would find our children taking drugs.

Mr Speaker, all the stakeholders were incorporated in the entourage during the tour. We drew staff from the DEC, the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts, the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, and from other non-state actors.

Mr Speaker, I thought the hon. Minister would state the practical steps to address the problem. There is no single Government rehabilitation centre for drug-related matters. There is zero. He said the Government would endeavour to put in place certain interventions. Like one debater said, our children who are university graduates, are the future Members of Parliament and Ministers for ministries such as the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts and the Ministry of Finance and National Planning. I wonder how our country will be if the problem will continue. We need to look at the report and come up with practical steps to enhance education on the matter. The funding we are giving the DEC for prosecution can be channelled to education so that people are sensitised on the dangers of drug abuse. That way, we will be building a nation that we could all desire to live in.

Mr Speaker, I do not want to reopen the debate, but as the hon. Member for Roan stated, there are socio-economic factors at play regarding alcohol and drug abuse. We should not politicise issues. Let me speak on the closure of the Zambia National Service (ZNS) camps in the past three years. The Permanent Secretary (PS) in the ministry submitted that in the past three years, nothing has been going on in the camps where youths used to be trained. A Provincial Minister directed a PS to release money and then he withdrew the money meant for the rehabilitation of the youths and misused it. Some issues can be dealt with by putting money where it matters most. We should devolve from politics and concentrate on building a society that we want to have tomorrow. As the saying goes, if you are not infected, you are affected. The youths are our future sons and daughters-in-law. So, we need to deal with the alcohol and drug abuse problem head-on. This matter should be devoid of politics, and we need to deal with it in order to build a country that the citizens of Zambia will love to live in. When a drug abuser comes to marry your child, you will see the consequences of drugs on both males and females.

Mr Speaker, I make a passionate appeal to the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts to reopen youth resource centres. There used to be collaboration between the ZNS and the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts. However, in the past three years, no retraining and shaping of youths has been done.

Mr Speaker, I thank everybody who debated, and urge the hon. Members to support and adopt the report.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Question put and agreed to.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL SERVICES

(Debate resumed)

Dr Chilufya (Mansa Central): Mr Speaker, thank you for this opportunity to contribute to the Motion on the Floor of the House, on the Ratification of the Treaty on East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC).

Mr Speaker, as well read by the mover of the Motion, the East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community abridged as ECSA-HC, is an inter-governmental association that focuses on the interests of Member States on the health of their citizens. I would like to emphasise that the thrust of this organisation is firstly, health system strengthening and in particular, human capital development for health and secondly, key public health thrusts such as the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, HIV/AIDS, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and communicable diseases such as Tuberculosis (TB)and global health diplomacy.

Mr Speaker, human capital development is fundamentally critical to our aspiration as a nation for universal health coverage.

Mr Speaker, I will focus my debate on the ECSA-HC in relation to human capital development and relate it to Zambia’s aspiration for universal coverage. When the ECSA-HC was formed, the Member States looked at the common interests and health for everyone everywhere. What were the challenges they were facing at the time? It was inadequate human resource for health, poor supply chain, inadequate research and poor health security. The focus of the ECSA-HC at the time was to ensure that the Member States fostered a partnership that looked at promoting their common aspirations in addressing the health of their citizens.

Mr Speaker, as I said earlier, I would like to focus on human capital development. Zambia, in following the steps that the ECSA-HC took, established the Zambia Colleges of Medicine and Surgery (ZACOMS) in 2018, which focused on training 500 new specialists. Today, ZACOMS is a success story. Just last week, seventy-nine new specialists with the first ever female neurosurgeon trained in the country graduated from there. That female neurosurgeon was the 281^st specialist trained under ZACOMS. It is a success story. In 2016, we had only 192 specialists in the country, but today we have 281 new specialists. This was an inspiration from the ECSA-HC health community. Therefore, it is important that Zambia ratifies this convention, this treaty, because Zambia identifies with the principles that the ECSA-HC stands for.

Mr Speaker, global health diplomacy is another important principle that the ECSA-HC stands for. Under global health diplomacy is public health security. Recently, as a very important deliverable under the ECSA-HC, there was a meeting where member countries agreed to form an association that would look at health emergencies so that there could be swift responses when we have health emergencies such as Ebola and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Mr Speaker, Zambia took pole position by establishing the Zambia National Public Health Institute (ZNPHI). This is also an inspiration from the ECSA-HC. It is important that we push the ratification of the ECSA-HC treaty today so that we continue aligning with the principles that underlay the formation of the ECSA-HC.

Mr Speaker, the ECSA-HC was formed in 1974, and it was formed out of an agreement at Commonwealth level for Member States that were from Eastern and Southern Africa. In 1980, that Commonwealth community surrendered the responsibility to a regional body called the ECSA-HC and since then, we have seen deliverables. Firstly, 2,130 health workers have been trained as specialists under the ECSA-HC colleges, and we have established a health emergency department that will respond swiftly to health emergencies in the region. The collaboration amongst Member States has resulted in their ability to co-ordinate in the midst of specialist training. The ECSA-HC has inspired member nations to ensure that colleges for training are set up in their respective institutions. Zambia has trained eighty-one health specialists in just five years in comparison to 182 from 1964 to 2016. That is a huge millstone.

Mr Speaker, in conclusion, as we talk about ratifying the ECSA-HC treaty, Zambia must look at its own human capital development programme –

Mr Second Deputy Speaker: Order!

ADJOURNMENT

The Minister of Finance and National Planning and Acting Leader of Government Business in the House (Dr Musokotwane): Mr Speaker, I beg to move that the House do now adjourn.

Question put and agreed to.

_______

The House adjourned at 1828 hours until 1430 hours on Thursday, 20^th June, 2024.

____________

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