Tuesday, 23rd September, 2025

Tuesday, 23^rd September, 2025

The House met at 1430 hours

[MADAM SPEAKER in the Chair]

NATIONAL ANTHEM

PRAYER

______

ANNOUNCEMENTS BY MADAM SPEAKER

MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT AND STAFF FROM THE PARLIAMENT OF AUSTRALIA

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members, I wish to acquaint the House with the presence in the Speaker’s Gallery of the following Members of Parliament and staff from the Australian Parliament, led by the Speaker of the House of Representatives:

Hon. Milton Dick, MP – Speaker of the House of Representatives

and Federal Member for the Oxley Queensland

Hon. Mary Doyle, MP – Federal Member for Aston, Victoria;

Senator Claire Chandler – Senator for Tasmania;

Senator Dorinda Cox -– Senator for Western Australia;

Senator Deborah O’Niell – Senator for North South Wales;

Senator Tammy Tryrell – Senator for Tasmania;

Ms Natalie Van Dartel – Media Adviser to the Speaker;

Ms Toni Matulick – Delegation Secretary;

Mr Isaac Matia – Deputy Head of Mission, Australian

High Commission

Mr Francis Rwodzi – Political and Trade Office, Australian High

Commission

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

I thank you.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

UNITED CHURCH OF ZAMBIA MEN’S CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP FROM KABWE DISTRICT

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members, I wish to recognise the presence, in the Public Gallery, of visitors from the United Church of Zambia Men’s Christian Fellowship, Kabwe District.

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

I thank you.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Mulenga: That is my church.

WORKSHOP ON THE BUDGET APPROVAL PROCESS FOR THE 2026 NATIONAL BUDGET

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members, I wish to inform the House that the Parliamentary Training Institute, in collaboration with the Committee Department and the Parliamentary Budget Office, has organised a workshop whose subject is, “The Budget Approval Process for the 2026 National Budget.”

The workshop is scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, 24^th September, 2025, from 08:30 hours to 12:00 hours, in the Amphitheatre, at Parliament Buildings.

The following are invited:

Her Honour the Vice-President;

Presiding Officers;

Cabinet Ministers;

Provincial Ministers;

Government Chief Whip;

The Deputy Chief Whip;

Leader of the Opposition;

Political Party Whips;

Chairpersons of Committees; and

Vice Chairpersons of Committees.

The invited Members are encouraged to attend this important workshop and to be punctual.

I thank you.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Madam Speaker: I am not saying whether it is on a voluntary basis. That will remain a secret.

Laughter

DEBATE ON THE MOTION OF THANKS

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members, I wish to remind the House that debate on the Motion of Thanks, which commenced on Tuesday, 16^th September, 2025, will be concluded this week, on Thursday, 25^th September, 2025.

In this regard, today, 23^rd September, 2025, is the last day for hon. Members from the Backbench to debate the Motion. The Frontbench will then take the final two days, Wednesday, 24^th and Thursday, 25^th September, 2025, to debate the Motion and to respond to the issues raised.

Therefore, all hon. Members from the Backbench who have not yet debated are encouraged to do so today.

I thank you.

_______

URGENT MATTER WITHOUT NOTICE

MR KAMPYONGO, HON. MEMBER FOR SHIWANG’ANDU, ON MR MWIIMBU, SC., THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND INTERNAL SECURITY BEING HARASSED BY UNRULY RULING PARTY MEMBERS

Mr Kampyongo (Shiwang’andu): On an Urgent Matter Without Notice, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: An Urgent Matter without Notice is raised.

Mr Kapmyongo: Madam Speaker, the Urgent Matter without Notice is directed to Her Honour, the Vice-President and Leader of Government Business in the House. I can see that the whole bench is empty.

The Vice-President entered the Assembly Chamber.

Mr Kampyongo: Oh, she is here.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Kampyongo: Welcome, Your Honour the Vice-President.

Madam Speaker, the Urgent Matter without Notice I am raising borders on national security. As we all know, a stable security environment is a catalyst for the prosperity of all sectors in the nation. I raise this matter with serious concerns that, of late, even as of yesterday, there has been a noticeable tendency by some unruly citizens from the Ruling Party…

Hon. UPND Members: Question!

Mr Kampyongo: … to wage a vicious war against the hon. Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security.

Madam Speaker, this matter may sound like a joke, but that is what brings chaos. The unruly behaviour of those people who are calling for the blood of the hon. Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security has gone to higher limits.

Madam Speaker, is Her Honour the Vice-President in order to remain quiet without intervening? Her security, as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief, and that of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces depend on the hon. Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security. Are we in order to allow a person holding such an important Government position to be vulnerable at the hands of unruly cadres? That is now lawlessness.

Mr Mutelo: Bakalikuli!

Mr Kampyongo: Bakalikuli should not be the case for making someone vulnerable.

I seek your serious guidance on this matter, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: Thank you very much, hon. Member for Shiwang’andu, for raising that issue, which I am not even familiar with. You have not given specific details of what has actually happened to assist me in rendering a considered opinion on the matter. So, hon. Member for Shiwang’andu, I do not have any facts surrounding what happened.

Mr Kampyongo rose.

Madam Speaker: I am still guiding, hon. Member.

Mr Kampyongo resumed his seat.

Madam Speaker: I do not have the facts surrounding what you are alleging is happening to the hon. Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security, who is also in charge of security. So, if somebody is in charge of security, and you are raising a matter touching on security against him, against his own party members, I am sure that he is able to handle it himself. So, let us leave it until you give us facts on what has actually happened. So, the matter does not qualify to be raised as an Urgent Matter without Notice.

I thank you.

There was only one Urgent Matter Without Notice. So, we make progress.

_______

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT

UPDATE ON ELECTRICITY SUPPLY AND LOAD SHEDDING

The Minister of Energy (Mr Chikote): Madam Speaker, I wish to thank you for giving me this opportunity to update the nation, through this august House, on the electricity supply and load shedding in Zambia.

Madam Speaker, my Ministerial Statement follows your directive on a Question for Oral Answer, under Standing Order No. 80, raised by Hon. Mwamba, Member of Parliament for Kasama Central Constituency.

Madam Speaker, during the drought that occurred in the 2023/2024 Rainy Season, ZESCO Limited introduced load shedding, a measure meant to avoid the generating, transmission and distribution equipment from being damaged. This was also meant to protect essential services.

Madam Speaker, the Government understands and empathises with our citizens on the negative impact of load shedding.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chikote: Madam Speaker, as you may be aware, Zambia's electricity sub-sector is facing notable strain, primarily, due to our heavy reliance on hydro-power, which historically, accounted for more than 80 per cent of the population. Currently, that has now been negatively impacted by climate change.

Madam Speaker, despite projections of normal to above normal rainfall in most parts of the country, the 2024/2025 Rainy Season enabled sufficient restoration of hydro-power reservoirs. This resulted in lower than normal water inflows into the Kariba, Itezhi-Tezhi and Kafue Gorge reservoirs. The water levels in all the reservoirs were significantly lower than they would be in the ideal situation. Under normal hydrological conditions, reservoir storage levels would be as follows:

Kariba Reservoir - 77.6 per cent;

Itezhi-Tezhi Reservoir - 77.2 per cent; and

Kafue Gorge Reservoir - 20.6 per cent.

Madam Speaker, however, as at 23^rd September 2025, our reservoir storage levels remained below optimal levels at the three sites and were as follows:

Kariba - 16 per cent;

Itezhi-Tezhi - 24.5 per cent; and

Kafue Gorge - 10.4 per cent.

Madam Speaker, with these levels stated above, our hydro-power generation still remains severely constrained.

Madam Speaker, our Government response is that at the onset of the crisis, the Government announced the following measures:

The Presidential Solar Initiative

Madam Speaker, recognising the need for a lasting solution, His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, directed me, as a Minister in charge of energy to ensure we develop at least 1,000 MW of solar generation capacity …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chikote: … by December 2025, under the Presidential Solar Initiative. This bold program is already gaining momentum with significant new capacity coming online.

Madam Speaker, so far, we have commissioned 125 MW through the projects through the following projects, in Central Province:

Chisamba Solar PV Plant - 100 MW; and

Serenje’s Mailo Solar Power PV Plant - 25 MW.

Madam Speaker, by the end of 2025, we will add the following projects:

Mansa Solar Plant - 50 MW;

Kasupe Solar PV - 7.5 MW;

Green Cities Project, driven by ZESCO Limited - 110 MW;

Rooftops on hospitals, public buildings and other public facilities - 77.5 MW;

Microgen projects and telecommunication towers - 40 MW;

Rural Electrification project (Off-grid and private sector) - 1.8 MW; and

Various private sector solar projects with a combined capacity - 162 MW.

Madam Speaker, these key projects will contribute over 425 MW as additional power to the grid by December 2025, which will reduce reliance on imports. This will improve supply stability.

Madam Speaker, in future, we intend to bring more than 1,500 MW of the new utility-scale solar, and 835 MW of the4 coal-fired power plants. This will create a stronger and more balanced energy mix that is less vulnerable to climate change.

Madam Speaker, further, I am proud to mention that yesterday, I officiated the ground-breaking ceremony of 100 MW Maamba Solar PV in Sinazongwe District. This project is expected to be completed in ten months, effective 1^st September, 2025.

Madam Speaker, …

Interruptions

Mr Chikote drank water.

Mr Mabeta: Water, water!

Laughter

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chikote: Madam Speaker, as a result of the completion of some of the projects I mentioned earlier, we have been able to implement certain measures. Under these difficult circumstances, the Government looked at the economic survival of our members of society whose livelihoods depend on electricity availability. To that effect, highly dense townships, which we call compounds, have been prioritised and are being given, at least, ten hours availability of power a day.

Hon. PF Members: Question!

Interruptions

Mr Chikote: Madam Speaker, they have been prioritised and are being given, at least, ten hours availability of power a day. Implementation of the measure is in a phased approach, with an increased number of hours being added as power sources are secured. The programme has been started in twenty-one townships, which have been selected, and we expect the number to progressively increase.

Madam Speaker, you may recall that when the Government implemented the emergency tariffs, it prioritised vulnerable members of society in order to cushion them by giving a lifeline tariff, which was reduced by 20 per cent for those who consume up to 100 units. In a normal society, when there is a crisis, the first people to be addressed are the vulnerable people, and those are the ones we have decided to start with. Hon. Members can, at least, struggle here and there. Secondly, we have not just left out the rest of the customers. Other retail customers are receiving an average of six hours per day on a rotational basis. As the projects come to completion, power supply will increase for all our customers. Throughout this difficult situation, ZESCO Limited has continued supplying constant power to key sectors of the economy such as health, water utilities, security installations, irrigation-based agriculture, education and mining.

Madam Speaker, let me take this opportunity to thank the private sector for coming on board to work with the Government in addressing the power challenges that the country is facing.

Power Imports and Exports

Madam Speaker, the Government, through ZESCO Limited, is currently importing power from the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) to support domestic generation. Over the last six months, Zambia has been importing an average of 238 MW. Alongside that, the country has clawed back 370 MW of exports from 520 MW in 2024. We are prudently managing exports of 150 MW under existing agreements, which are further expected to reduce to 106 MW by October 2025. In summary, ZESCO Limited is importing 238 MW and exporting 106 MW. PedroDex –

Interruptions

Madam Speaker: Order, hon. Members!

Mr Chikote: Hon. Colleagues, it is very important to listen carefully. This is a very sensitive matter.

Interruptions

Madam Speaker: Order!

Mr Chikote: Madam Speaker, 238 MW imports, 106 MW exports.

Mr Shakafuswa interjected.

Madam Speaker: Order, hon. Member for Mandevu!

Please, restrain yourself.

Mr Chikote: Madam Speaker, PedroDex is exporting 45 MW and GREENCO is importing 25 MW.

Madam Speaker, I want hon. Members to get this fact clearly. Coming to the independent power traders, the Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) is exporting 200 MW, which –

Interruptions

Madam Speaker: Order!

Hon. Members, if you continue, you will listen from outside. If you have any questions, please, write them down. When the time comes to ask questions on points of clarification, then, you can ask those questions. Do not interject, please.

Hon. Minister, you may continue.

Mr Chikote: Madam Speaker, the power that is transiting through our infrastructure for the CEC is 200 MW. EN-Power is transiting 70 MW and Kanona Power Company Limited is transiting 25 MW. That is the power that independent power traders source from the market to the areas they trade in. As I indicated in my last statement to this august House, the exports are crucial for maintaining regional energy stability and providing a critical and necessary financial lifeline for ZESCO Limited. However, discussions are underway with independent power traders to retain some of the transit power without destabilising existing contracts and agreements with their customers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Madam Speaker, further, the Government is implementing several power projects that are at various stages, which include the following;

the 330 kV Kafue West-Muzuma Transmission Line;

the 330 kV Lusaka West-Kabwe Step-down Substation; and

the 330 kV Zambia/Tanzania Power Interconnector. This will create a trading platform between the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) and the Eastern African Power Pool (EAPP).

Madam Speaker, with regard to the losses experienced during distribution under the existing vertical integrated system, the Government is undertaking the following measures through ZESCO Limited:

installation of prepaid metres;

installation of smart metres for all residential, commercial and large power users;

upgrading of the distribution network;

improvement of the power factor and the periodic maintenance of distribution lines; and

auditing of maximum demand metering. This involves checking the integrity and the bypass of the metres by customers.

Madam Speaker, allow me now to speak to the measures being undertaken to improve ZESCO Limited’s financial stability. To enhance transparency and ensure greater responsiveness to consumers’ needs, the following measures are being implemented:

migrating towards a cost-reflective tariff structure. my ministry is working towards achieving this sooner rather than later;

ZESCO Limited is contracting high-demand customers to power supply agreements designated in United States (US) Dollars to hedge against foreign exchange volatilities;

ZESCO Limited has also improved revenue collection by installing smart metres that improve billing quality and reduce the administrative and operational costs involved in the billing processes;

ZESCO Limited is providing an online platform where information relating to customer account statements, bills, power rationing, schedules and the company’s projects in their areas. Tracking applications for power connections can be accessed through phones and computers; and

ZESCO Limited has a call centre that operates a twenty-four-hour service and receives complaints and facilitates timely responses.

Focus for Recovery and Bright Future

Madam Speaker, allow me to state that the New Dawn Government is committed to delivering additional power generation and transmission, as outlined in our Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). Our focus for recovery is clear; increased generation from diversified resources, enhanced grid resilience and a national commitment to energy sufficiency and supply.

Madam Speaker, in conclusion, allow me to indicate that the challenges in the electricity subsector are real and pressing. The Government understands and empathises with citizens on the negative impacts that load-shedding continues to have. Through decisive leadership, strategic investment and the support of the public, we are working tirelessly to stabilise, diversify and expand power generation.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members are now free to ask questions on points of clarification on the Ministerial Statement rendered by the hon. Minister.

Mr J. Chibuye (Roan): Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister said that from the 500 MW that was being exported, the Government has recalled about 300 MW. I realise that in every contract there must be clauses that favour both parties. Considering the dire situation in the country, even when the Government is trying by all means to increase the number of hours of power supply to people, is it possible to recall the remaining 106 MW from the export table? Are there no clauses for cancelling the contract in order to retain power?

Mr Chikote: Madam Speaker, we have revised some of the clauses in the contracts. That is why we have about 106 MW still being exported. That is very important for regional energy stability. As a country, we also depend on others. So, the supply lines cannot be completely shut down. Doing that would mean inviting problems for ourselves. To maintain relations, we have reduced power exports and our clients understand the crisis we are going through. I will just quickly pick one country, Namibia, for example. The existing contracts with Namibia required us to export 180 MW when everything was fine. However, because our colleagues understand the problems we are going through, we managed to negotiate with them to drop that number to 50 MW. Hon. Colleagues need to understand that we are in a region, not in a vacuum. Therefore, we co-operate with neighbouring countries.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker gave the Floor to Mr Chala.

Hon. Government Members: Bozi Boziana!

Laughter

Mr Chala (Chipili): Madam Speaker, the market for electricity is available locally. The Zambian people can consume the power that can be imported. Why can ZESCO Limited not increase its power imports, since the market is readily available? We want to consume power and pay cash. So, what is the problem?

Madam Speaker: Thank you very much, hon. Member for Chipili. You have stopped wearing your usual attire. We miss it.

Laughter

Mr Chikote: Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for the question.

Madam Speaker, there are a number of factors that are considered when importing electricity. Firstly, there is the issue of transmission capacity. Secondly, we must understand that we, hon. Members of Parliament, have been complaining that the electricity tariffs are too high for our people and so forth. So, we need to increase the tariffs gradually. The tariffs for residential customers are far below cost-reflective ones. Those are some of the reasons that electricity imports cannot be completely cut out. That is where the lifeline for ZESCO Limited is.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Mwambazi (Bwana Mkubwa): Madam Speaker, I sympathise with the hon. Minister of Energy because I do not remember the last time I arrived home and found power. Him reading such a Ministerial Statement – I do not even know what to say. Despite being a Member of Parliament, the place where I live has had low voltage for four days now. Even if we have inverters and solar panels, they cannot be charged. Anyway, let me proceed to ask my question. Suffice it to say that I thank the hon. Minister of Energy for his submissions.

Madam Speaker, regarding the issue of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), we understand the dynamics. We need to coexist with our colleagues, including the ones who have lower production. We have to support one another and stabilise power within the SAPP.

Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister mentioned the Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC), the export of 200 MW, Kanona Power Company Limited and the rest. These companies are exporting power for commercial purposes. I think, that does not change anything. The companies are trading; anybody can trade. What I would love the hon. Minister to do is give us a road map on how we are going to stabilise power supply and mitigate the effects of load-shedding. I understand the issue of cost-effective tariffs, but how are we going to stabilise power supply because load-shedding is affecting many businesses? Every day, our constituents call us about the issue. Even Kafubu Water and Sanitation Company (KWSC) in my constituency cannot pump water into its reservoir because of load-shedding. People from Mushili Level 1 Hospital are still calling me and saying that they do not have stable power supply. So, what is the road map to ensure that the facilities we are talking about have adequate power supply, as it were?

Mr Chikote: Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for the question.

Madam Speaker, in my submission, I stated the measures that we are putting in place to stabilise power supply and reduce the power deficit that we are facing, as a country. I heard the hon. Member talk about a hospital which is struggling. I am sure that he needs to bring that matter to our attention because all our health facilities, especially Level 1 hospitals, are provided with power twenty-four hours a day. So, if there are hospitals experiencing power supply issues, the hon. Member should quickly come and we will sit down and see where the problem is.

Madam Speaker, as I stated, this Government is committed to addressing the issue of power. We have lined up a number of projects which, when completed, will make the power issue we are talking about a thing of the past. I also mentioned that ZESCO Limited will continue importing some power to stabilise power supply for our nation.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Shakafuswa (Mandevu): Madam Speaker, this conversation is very emotive for the people of Mandevu. We understand that we had drought in 2023 and 2024, but ZESCO Limited has not been able to follow the schedules that it has produced for supplying power to Mandevu. The hon. Minister is on record that ZESCO Limited is now supplying power for ten hours uninterrupted in twenty-one high-density areas, and Mandevu is one such area. In Mandevu, we are not getting water from the Lusaka Water and Sanitation Company (LWSC); we are relying on water from the water trusts. As I speak, there is no water in Ng’ombe, Kabanana and almost all the wards. It takes about three hours for water to get to the main supply tank, but ZESCO Limited has been supplying power for less than three hours in Mandevu Constituency every day. To avoid speculations, the people of Mandevu are following this conversation. They asked me to ask the hon. Minister to state the twenty-one compounds that are receiving uninterrupted power for ten hours as stated in his Ministerial Statement.

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members, there is no need to be emotive. This is a problem that has –

Hon. PF Members: No, no, no.

Madam Speaker: Yes, let us just say –

Hon. PF Members: No, there are too many people suffering.

Madam Speaker: Yes, I am just advising that let us not be emotive.

Interruptions

Madam Speaker: The idea here –

Interruptions

Madam Speaker: Order, hon. Members!

The idea is to find lasting solutions. You are not going to solve the problem by being emotive.

Mr Chikote: Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for the question.

Madam Speaker, the twenty-one compounds are Chipulukusu in Ndola –

Mr Tayali: Hear, hear!

Mr Chikote: Mpatamatu in Luanshya, …

Mr J. Chibuye: Hear, hear!

Mr Chikote: Kankoyo in Mufulira, …

Mr Mabeta: Hear, hear!

Mr Chikote: Wusakile in Kitwe, …

Mr Kalobo: Question!

Mr Chikote: Chipata in Kitwe, Kanyama in Lusaka, Chawama in Lusaka, Chibolya and John Laing, Misisi in Lusaka, Mtendere in Lusaka, Mandevu in Lusaka, Bauleni, Matero, Garden, …

Interruptions

Madam Speaker: Order, hon. Members!

Mr Chikote: Maramba, Libuyu, Linda, Sawmills, Mawaya, Zambia Compound and Makalanguzu in Choma.

Madam Speaker, if the people in Mandevu are not receiving power for ten hours, we can look at that issue because Mandevu is part of the twenty-one compounds. This is the programme being implemented. There may be one or two errors in trying to implement this programme. With pleasure, I am yet to address the challenge that could be affecting the people of Mandevu.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

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

Mr E. Banda (Muchinga): Madam Speaker. I must mention that –

Madam Speaker: Sorry, hon. Member for Muchinga. Before you proceed, there is an indication for a point of order.

Hon. Member for Mkushi South, what is your point of order?

Mr Chisopa: Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister has just announced the number of compounds that will be receiving ten hours of power supply. He has picked only three provinces out of ten regarding the twenty-one compounds to be supplied with power. I am aware that Makululu is one of the most populated compounds in this country. In fact, it is the most populated compound in Southern Africa.

Madam Speaker, even if the people of Zambia have decided to kick out the hon. Minister next year, is he in order to leave out a very important compound in this country? Is he in order to not include it among the compounds receiving ten hours of power supply?

Madam Speaker, I seek your serious ruling.

Madam Speaker: Hon. Member for Mkushi South, what Standing Order has been breached? You have not stated it.

Mr Chisopa: Standing Order No. 71, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: I am still guiding.

Madam Speaker: On account of the hon. Member having failed to state which Standing Order has been breached, his point of order is not admitted.

May the hon. Member for Muchinga continue.

Mr E. Banda: Madam Speaker, I was just about to state that the 25 MW that is coming from Mailo Solar PV Power Plant is actually in my constituency, and it has a lot of potential to produce more.

Madam Speaker, how many megawatts is Pensulo Substation able to take at the moment? Many companies have shown interest in investing in that part of the country, Muchinga specifically. We have many pylons that go to Lusiwasi and Petauke; that is where companies are targeting to be tapping power. I am told that power has to come to Pensulo Substation. So, the question that investors are asking now is how many megawatts Pensulo Substation can take. They want to know so that they start looking for land.

Mr Chikote: Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for that question. Those investors are most welcome. For them to invest, they need to follow certain procedures. So, when they have followed those procedures, that is when we are able to determine how many megawatts can be pushed through that substation. Investors are most welcome. I am sure the hon. Member heard from the Head of State that all of us should invest in the energy sector.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: In other words, hon. Member for Muchinga, please, engage with the hon. Minister for those details.

Mr Charles Mulenga (Kwacha): Madam Speaker, thank you for the opportunity given to me to ask a supplementary question to the hon. Minister of Energy. Let me also thank the hon. Minister of Energy for the measures being put in place by the ministry to stabilise power in the country. Having gone through the worst drought the country has ever recorded in its history, ...

Mr Mabeta: Hear, hear!

Mr Charles Mulenga: … is the ministry not considering constructing solar power plants in all the 116 districts so that in future, we do not have power deficits? If only each district could have its own solar plant, then the problem of power deficit would not be there.

Mr Chikote: Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for the question.

Madam Speaker, that is what this Administration is doing. Our roadmap is very clear. Instead of depending on hydropower, we have decided to explore other alternative sources of energy. For now, we are trying to attract investors in the energy sector. It is our wish to make sure that in all our ten provinces, we have these projects running. That is where we are heading to. Our trajectory is to make sure that all the provinces have sufficient supply of power.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Mtayachalo (Chama North): Madam Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to ask a question. I would also like to thank the hon. Minister for the Ministerial Statement. Just like the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) Government, …

Hon. UPND Members: Question!

Mr Mtayachalo: … the New Dawn Government is putting more emphasis on the private sector to increase power generation in the country. The reason we are in this crisis today is because in the twenty years the MMD was in power, there was no significant investment in power generation, apart from the rehabilitation works that were funded by the World Bank. Now, my question is: The hon. Minister tailored his statement on the private sector. Does the Government have plans to take a leading role in investing in power generation, alongside the private sector like in other countries in order to address electricity challenges in future? I am saying so because depending on the private alone can be a disaster in the waiting.

Madam Speaker: Hon. Member for Lundazi, be ready. You are the next one to ask a question after the hon. Minister answers the question by the hon. Member for Chama North.

Mr Chikote: Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for that question. When I was trying to read out the projects that are underway, I mentioned ZESCO Limited which is a Government utility company. So, as the Government, we will drive our economy by encouraging private sector participation. We also have projects that are being driven by the Government through ZESCO Limited.

Madam Speaker, that is the roadmap we have created for ourselves.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: Hon. Member for Lundazi is joining us via Zoom.

Ms Nyirenda (Lundazi): Madam Speaker, I want to appreciate your office for allowing me to attend the sitting virtually this time, when we are suffering this loss of a sister who passed on. We are grateful.

Madam Speaker, the people of Lundazi have a supplementary question to the hon. Minister of Energy. He has just indicated that public institutions, especially places like hospitals, are not supposed to experience load shedding. Unfortunately, Lundazi District Hospital, at Chinthuta, people are failing to deliver in a good way because they are being affected by load shedding. What is the hon. Minister going to do for the people of Lundazi, especially for the hospital which is experiencing load shedding? What instruction does the hon. Minister have to the ZESCO Limited Managing Director (MD) on what he is doing to the people of Lundazi?

Mr Chikote: Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for Lundazi.

Madam Speaker, I have stated in my submission that institutions that fall under health, mining and agriculture are not going to be affected by load shedding. If Lundazi District Hospital is on load shedding, those are matters that can be brought to our attention so that we find a solution. Already, this Government has committed itself to making sure that health facilities are supported so that the wellbeing of our people is looked after properly.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Mabeta (Kankoyo): Madam Speaker, first of all, I want to confirm that from yesterday, the people in Kankoyo have received ten hours of power supply.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mabeta: Hence, we confirm that what the hon. Minister is giving on the Floor is true.

Now, my question is: I want to find out from the hon. Minister of Energy the true cost of producing electricity using solar against the average selling price. As we are expanding to solar, is solar an economic way of generating electricity, considering our cost of selling it to the customers?

Mr Chikote: Madam Speaker, could the hon. Member repeat his question.

Madam Speaker: Hon. Member for Kankoyo, please, could you repeat your question and be clearer?

Interruptions

Mr Nkandu: I mentioned the ten-hour supply of electricity.

Interruptions

Madam Speaker: Just repeat the question. I think the hon. Minister understood the part where you mentioned the ten-hour supply of electricity.

Interruptions

Mr Katotobwe: Not ifyo iwee!

Laughter

Madam Speaker: Just repeat the question. What was the question?

Mr Mabeta: We thank you, hon. Minister for the ten hours of electricity supply.

Now, my question is: The Government is diversifying into solar, which is a more reliable source of energy. What is the cost of producing solar energy against the selling price? I am asking this question because if the production cost is higher than the selling price, then it is not sustainable. We are also looking at ensuring that all the tariffs for that are cost-reflective. So, we are in the process of looking at cost-reflective tariffs for both hydropower and solar power. That is the plan that is on the table to ensure that we can sustain the projects that we are developing.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Mutale (Chitambo): Madam Speaker, I am very grateful.

Madam Speaker, the President told this House to bring ideas. My question is in that form. We sit on the Great Rift Valley, which stretches from Zimbabwe all the way up to Kenya. Our colleagues in Kenya currently have more than 3,000 MW of power in reserve. They do not use it because they are using geothermal power. Using your office, you sent many Committees to Kenya to learn, and reports are there for the hon. Minister to read, and subject this country to geothermal power. He did not mention anything about geothermal power in his statement. Why are we not drilling wells to get power than concentrating on solar power, which is not reliable, as it has been stated by scientists who have come to learn that it is not a power source that we can rely on as a nation to undertake industrial work or generation. To add more to that, we were one of the first countries in the southern region to drill a hole in Kacholola, which has geothermal power, and the hon. Minister knows. Why can we not tap power from there and use it?

Mr Chikote: Madam Speaker, my submission to this august House was that this Administration is exploring other alternative sources of energy. So, even the idea that our hon. Colleague has mentioned is most welcome. However, it is a process. It takes investment. For now, I am concentrating on solar power because that is the investment that is on the table currently. All the ideas that the hon. Member has mentioned are welcome, and they will be considered. This Government is working out processes.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: Hon. Member, you can invite the hon. Minister for a cup of tea so that you can give him those ideas.

Ms S. Mwamba (Kasama Central): Madam Speaker, thank you for this opportunity you have given me to ask a supplementary question.

Madam Speaker, the Ministerial Statements presented on the Floor of this House are in good faith, especially one like this. We need to have an honest conversation because this is a non-controversial issue, and the citizens would like to know. The citizens are frustrated by the unplanned blackouts. The hon. Minister has told us about the ten hours, which in most cases is not correct because the schedules are neither here nor there. In simple terms, can the hon. Minister inform us of the exact current national power deficit and, in summary, give us a clear timeline as to when we can expect load-shedding not to end, but to reduce significantly, and what accountability mechanisms will ensure that the promise is met?

Madam Speaker: That is a three-in-one question.

Laughter

Mr Chikote: Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. Member, being a lady, and driver of this Ministerial Statement.

Madam Speaker, as of 23^rd September, 2025, the power deficit stands at 1,555 MW.

Interruptions

Mr Chikote: That is the deficit.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Laughter

Madam Speaker: There were other questions. The hon. Minister has only chosen one. I suggest that hon. Members also engage and have conversations on this issue to see how we can confront the problem. It is a big problem. Since the hon. Member for Kasama Central is the one who prompted this Ministerial Statement, I will give her an opportunity to ask another question, which the hon. Minister can answer.

Ms S. Mwamba: Madam Speaker, thank you for this opportunity.

Madam Speaker, I already asked, and the hon. Minister knows the question. In summary, is it possible to give a clear timeline as to when there can be a significant reduction in load-shedding and also, when he gives us that statement, what accountability mechanism is he going to give us to ensure that the promise is met?

Mr Chikote: Madam Speaker, first of all, I was missing from this House to ensure that the power deficit is addressed or that our people, at least, receive sufficient power supply. I was trotting around looking at the transmission capacity that was reduced. When we are bringing in imports, we normally use Zimbabwean transmission lines. The reduction was from 600 MW to 300 MW. So, I was forced to travel to Zimbabwe to negotiate, which we managed to do. Immediately after we concluded, that country gave us 65 MW plus. Also, in two weeks, after dynamic studies have been concluded, the capacity is likely to increase. That gives us room to import and stabilise the power deficit.

Madam Speaker, on the timeframe for us to see the results, like I submitted earlier, by December, we will complete almost 425 MW interventions and, definitely, there will be an impact in terms of power supply. So, by the end of December 2025, we are likely to see a big change. Again, by mid-2026, we will see something leading to the end of load-shedding.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Chewe (Lubansenshi): Madam Speaker, thank you for this opportunity you have given to me, on behalf of the good people of Lubansenshi Constituency, to ask a supplementary question.

Madam Speaker, I would also like to thank the hon. Minister for updating the nation on load-shedding, which has made many people a bit vulnerable because they depend on electricity to carry out their businesses.

Madam Speaker, since the hon. Minister has told the nation that about 1,500 MW is needed to sort out load-shedding, has the ministry undertaken a survey to establish how much will be needed as a nation so that when it comes to planning and focusing to end the problem, we can work with a figure? In that way, even those who may wish to come on board to support our country would know that if they invest, maybe, US$2 million, the problem would be sorted out by 2031 or so.

Madam Speaker, I want to repeat my question. How much money is the ministry looking for to sort out the problem of power supply, taking into consideration that as the Government is sorting the problem, the population is increasing, leading to increased demand for power?

Mr Chikote: Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for the question.

Madam Speaker, the question is: How do we plan to have power sufficiency or for this country to be power secure? Firstly, we are driven by the national demand. Currently, we have placed the national demand at plus or minus 2,888 MW. However, given that figure, mining operations are expanding. We are also encouraging people to go into irrigation farming. In addition, the population is growing. So, our target is to make sure that we increase our generation capacity. That is our target.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Eng. Chikote!

Mr Chikote: Madam Speaker, I am not in a position to indicate to the hon. Member how much money we need in order to fully meet the national demand for electricity. Instead, I would like to invite him to come to my office so that I can invite experts to give him the projection.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members, we have exhausted most of the time. However, since the people of Shiwang’andu use thermo power, maybe, we can hear some good ideas from Shiwang’andu.

Laughter

Mr Kampyongo (Shiwang’andu): Madam Speaker, this opportunity is most appreciated. Indeed, as the people of Shiwang’andu, we can bring some ideas to the table.

Madam Speaker, the challenge is that the hon. Minister is pitting himself against the public due to inconsistent statements. The initial assurance that was given to this august House was that by June, 2025, we were going to see a drastic drop in load-shedding or a significant increase in the number of hours of power supply. We are now heading towards December, 2025 and the hon. Minister is talking about June next year. Just yesterday, he was on television assuring people that they would be getting fifteen hours of power supply. Today, he is saying it will be ten hours. It should not look as if the hon. Minister is mocking the Zambian citizens.

Hon. UPND Members: Question!

Mr Kampyongo: Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister came here and announced emergency tariffs so that citizens can start getting enough power supply. Those emergency tariffs are still in effect and people are paying more for power, which only comes when people are sleeping so that they can just check who is snoring and it goes early in the morning.

Laughter

Mr Kampyongo: Madam Speaker, is it justifiable that Zambian citizens should continue paying emergency tariffs when the Government is not actually giving them power as promised? The hon. Minister has just picked selected areas, which he says will be supplied with ten hours of power from the fifteen-hour power supply he assured the nation yesterday.

Mr Chikote: Madam Speaker, the hon. Member has taken me aback. First of all, let me correct the hon. Member and state that when I appeared on television, I did not say that there will be fifteen hours of power supply. I said we are going to provide power to the compounds from 1000 hours to 1500 hours. That is what I said. I did not say that there will be fifteen hours of power supply. I said we are going to provide power from, at least, 1000 hours to 1500 hours. That is what I said. I mentioned that plan today. I said that we have started providing ten hours of power. The hon. Member must understand that.

Secondly, Madam Speaker, I am very shocked to hear a senior politician, who has even served in the Government, to state that people are paying for power that they do not consume. Looking at the system that ZESCO Limited has put in place, how can one pay for power that he or she is not consuming? You can only pay for what you are consuming.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chikote: When you buy units, you only utilise them when you receive power. So, there is no one who is paying for power without receiving it. This is a very controversial statement. The hon. Member must understand that you only consume power that you have been provided.

Mr Mabeta: You are right, hon. Minister.

Mr Chikote: Madam Speaker, I want to tell that senior hon. Member that one of the few things that our hon. Colleagues should have considered when they were in office was investment in the energy sector.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chikote: They were just relying on hydro-power and never thought of investing in alternative sources of energy. So, the hon. Member should be the last person to start talking like that and pointing fingers at us.

Madam Speaker, we are not mocking the people of this country. We are with them. We sympathise with what the people of this country are going through. Hence, we are putting various measures in place. We are not trying to mock our citizens. The hon. Member should understand that this country was recently faced with a drought, which was something beyond our control. However, we have not gone to sleep. Instead, we have put measures in place, which include increasing power imports and bringing private investors on board. This is a committed Government.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chikote: The country should know that this Government will work tirelessly to address the power deficit.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Madam Speaker: I think we have debated the matter enough. We need to make progress. We have Questions for Oral Answer and the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address. Since we have exceeded the time allocated for a Ministerial Statement, we will go fast into the Questions for Oral Answer.

Maybe, looking at the interest that has been shown by hon. Members, why does the ministry not organise a workshop to discuss the matter so that hon. Members can bring ideas to the table? Hon. Minister of Energy, you should arrange a workshop for hon. Members to interact with you and bring ideas on how we can improve power supply. So, hon. Minister, the ball is in your court. Please, see how you can further clear the air.

Let us make progress, hon. Members.

_______

QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

GIRLS EDUCATION AND WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT AND LIVELIHOODS PROJECT IN CHADIZA

17. Eng. Daka (Chadiza) asked the Minister of Community Development and Social Services:

how many girls, under the Girls Education and Women’s Empowerment and Livelihoods (GEWEL) Project in Chadiza District, were admitted back to school, from January, 2016 to August, 2025, year by year;

how many women were empowered, financially, under the Supporting Women Livelihood Initiative component of the project, as of the period above;

whether the Government has any plans to increase the number of beneficiaries under the project at (a);

whether men will be included on the project at (a);

and if so, when the plans at (c) and (d) will be implemented.

The Minister of Youth, Sport and Arts (Mr Nkandu) (on behalf of the Minister of Community Development and Social Services (Ms D. Mwamba)): Madam Speaker, allow me to take advantage of this opportunity to congratulate our hon. Colleagues on your left, who won two by-elections in the Northern Province, under the Citizens First ticket, in Lupososhi and Chibulula in Mpulungu. I would also like to implore our hon. Colleagues to congratulate us on winning the by-elections in Nshinshi Ward in Nsama District, especially that our hon. Colleagues only collected sixteen votes against our 463 votes. So, they, too, should congratulate us. Our party is not jealous; when our hon. Colleagues win, we congratulate them. Though, some think that winning a small by-election means that they have already arrived, yet out of seventeen by-elections, the United Party for National Development (UPND) –

Madam Speaker: Hon. Minister, I thought you are congratulating people, but you are taking away –

Laughter

Mr Nkandu: Madam Speaker, I said that I was taking advantage of this opportunity to congratulate our hon. Colleagues on their win. They should also congratulate us for winning in Chishi Ward.

Madam Speaker, the Keeping Girls in School (KGS) component of the Girls Education and Women Empowerment (GEWEL) project was only scaled up to Chadiza District in 2019.

Madam Speaker, the enrolment, year by year, is as follows:

Year Enrolment Comment

2019 214 Programme scaled up to Chadiza. Of these,

twenty-one girls who were out of school were re-admitted.

2020 171 Caseload reduced due to dropouts and

some pupils completing

Grade 12.

2021 587 Increase attributed to enhanced sensitisation

within the district

2022 1,241 High response due to continuous

sensitisation

2023 1,141 Caseload slightly reduced because some

pupils had completed Grade 12

2024 1,077 Further slight reduction from the previous

year because of the stated reasons.

2025 525 Still in progress.

Madam Speaker, under the Supporting Women's Livelihood (SWL) component of the GEWEL project in Chadiza District, 1,579 women have been supported under this important initiative as follows:

Year Cumulative No Enrolled

2020 1,128

2021 193

2022 258

Madam Speaker, the caseload reduced due to a reduction in potential eligible beneficiaries from the Social Cash Transfer (SCT) programme database. The programme was first implemented in the district in 2020.

Madam Speake, the beneficiaries were not considered under Phases V and VI, which ran from 2023 to 2024, due to reduced caseload, as referred to above.

Madam Speaker, yes, the ministry has plans to increase the number of beneficiaries. From 2025 to 2028, the ministry will support an additional 96,500 women countrywide under the SWL component, which is now called Supporting Women's Livelihood Climate Smart Productive Inclusion (SWLCSPI).

Madam Speaker, the programme itself is called “Supporting Women's Livelihoods,” so it is specifically designed for women. However, it does not discriminate based on marital status. I believe that men may benefit indirectly as members of households where women are direct beneficiaries.

Madam Speaker, while the ministry will scale up the number of women beneficiaries in 2025, there are currently no plans to include men as direct beneficiaries under the SWL programme.

Hon. Member: Why?

Mr Nkandu: Someone is asking why.

Madam Speaker, those who are above seventeen years old cannot play for the Under-17 Football Team. Men are not allowed to participate in women’s football. That is the position.

Madam Speaker, as I said, there are currently no plans to include men as direct beneficiaries, but they can benefit indirectly from the programme. The project remains focused on women, given that it is designed to support their empowerment and livelihoods.

Madam Speaker, I thank you. Madam Speaker: Thank you very much. We will be quick on this.

Eng. Daka: Madam Speaker, –

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

Madam Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Kampyongo: Madam Speaker, I raise a point of order pursuant to Standing Order No.71. I meant to raise this point of order contemporaneously, on the hon. Minister of Energy who has since disappeared like electricity.

Laughter

Mr Kampyongo: Madam Speaker, was the hon. Minister in order to duck my straightforward question, which stated that people pay more for electricity through the imposed emergency tariffs, which they do not benefit from? I do not understand where he got the logic that when we experience a few hours of load shedding or have power for only a few hours, we do not pay more for electricity.

Madam Speaker, was the hon. Minister in order to brush such a very important and pertinent question, which borders on the issue of duping citizens? Citizens were meant to believe that by paying the emergency tariff, they were going to have increased hours of power supply, but that is not the case. Now, he avoided to answer that question. Was he in order, Madam Speaker, to conduct himself in such a fashion?

I seek your serious ruling. Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: I saw that the hon. Member for Shiwang’andu had indicated for a point of order and I thought he had abandoned it. When the hon. Minister was answering the question, he said that even if tariffs were increased, people pay for the electricity that they receive. If one does not receive electricity, it means that one does not pay. Even if the tariffs are too high, one only pays for what one has consumed. So, I do not know. That is why I suggest that we need a workshop to properly discuss these issues. Otherwise, from what the hon. Minister was saying, I did not see anything wrong with it. So, he was not out of order.

Let us make progress.

Eng. Daka: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker, we do appreciate the interventions aimed at keeping and uplifting the welfare of our girls and women in Chadiza. For the information of the House, I wish to state that in 2023, we had 1,717 pregnancies in Chadiza. We are also aware that the Government took 1,077 girls back to school. So, if we match those two scenarios, we will find that the two figures correlate. This means that the programme is providing solutions to the problems that people face.

However, Madam Speaker, the concentration on girls by the Government has created an imbalance in our society. We brought this question because we do recognise the importance of education. The people of Chadiza want to know the concrete steps the Government has taken to ensure that that intervention is extended to the boys?

Madam Speaker, what kind of society will only make sure that girls prosper and leave out boys? We have observed in the recent past that most of the boys are just becoming junkies. So, what type of correlation or collaboration are we going to have where many girls are going to be empowered, leaving out the boy child? What concrete steps has the Government put in place to extend similar interventions to the boy child?

Mr Nkandu: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker, and thank you, hon. Member, for that very important follow-up question.

Madam Speaker, I feel for the hon. Member, and I think his contribution is very genuine. He started that we should not leave the boy child behind. However, as I said earlier, we also need to understand the fact that in that past, women and girls were vulnerable. That is why some programmes have been dedicated to women and girls, and this is one of them. As I said earlier, since this programme has been designed to help girls and women in terms of vulnerability, definitely, the Government will still look at some of the challenges that the boy child may be having. However, I am unable to mention when this programme will be designed, but I think it is something that needs to be looked at. Thank you for your concern; it is genuine. We need to interrogate that concern.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Ms S. Mwamba: Thank you, Madam Speaker, for the opportunity to ask a question. I also thank the hon. Minister for his response. I think I will also dwell on the issue of the boy child. I am a woman myself, and I do understand the vulnerability of a girl child as well as women, but there is a need to strike a balance. We do have ‘The Keeping Girls in School’ programme, which seems to be working well. Figures are rising. However, the boy child also, has barriers but we do not have the re-entry policy for boys or a programme for keeping the boys in school.

Madam Speaker, is there a possibility of including the boy child in re-entry programmes in future?

Mr Nkandu: Thank you, Madam Speaker, and I thank the hon. Member for Kasama Central for that question. Indeed, it is very pleasing to note that we have women who can propagate another gender. It is not common to see women helping out the other gender. I am therefore, excited that we have people who want to be so inclusive in the way we are managing the affairs of our country. However, all Governments always react to the concerns of their citizens. So, if we continue advocating for that, definitely, the Government will look at those concerns and see how best it can try to mitigate the challenges that the boy child faces. Indeed, we need to continue hammering and raising concerns. This is a very listening Government. Definitely, one day, it will be done.

I thank you very much, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: Thank you very much. Hon. Member for Chadiza, it was your question. Do you have another question?

Eng. Daka: No, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: Okay, since the owner of the question is satisfied, we can make progress. Apologies, hon. Members, we are trying to catch up.

CONSTRUCTION OF POLICE POSTS IN ISOKA DISTRICT

18. Ms Nakaponda (Isoka) asked the Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security:

whether the Government has any plans to construct police posts in the following areas in Isoka District:

Kafwimbi;

Lualizi;

Kampumbu; and

Kalungu;

if so, when the plans will be implemented; and

how many police posts are earmarked for construction in each of the areas at (a).

The Minister of Defence (Mr Lufuma) (on behalf of the Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security (Mr Mwiimbu, SC.)): Madam Speaker, the Government has plans to construct police posts in Isoka District in Kafwimbi, Lualizi, Kampumbu, Kalungu and Kafwesha in order to take services closer to the people. The Zambia Police Service has engaged Their Royal Highnesses Chief Kafwimbi and Chief Katyetye regarding the allocation of land for the construction of police posts and staff houses in those areas. Their Royal Highnesses have agreed to allocate a minimum of 2 ha of land for each police post.

Madam Speaker, the plans will be implemented after land is secured and the Constituency Development Fund Committee (CDFC) prioritises the projects.

Madam Speaker, the immediate plan is to construct one police post in each of the areas mentioned in the response to part (a) of the question.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Ms Nakaponda: Madam Speaker, my follow-up question is: What training and capacity building programmes are in place to ensure that police officers serving in rural areas have the necessary skills and knowledge to address local crime challenges?

Mr Lufuma: Madam Speaker, I am seriously having issues connecting the construction of police posts to the question that the hon. Member has asked. Nevertheless, in terms of training and capacity building programmes for police officers to be able to address issues at the community level, we have an ongoing programme in the police service called refresher courses. The training is regularly held by the police service in the schools that have been established. So, when police officers are ready and eligible, they are trained on how best to address the issues in the communities that they live in.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Chala (Chipili): Madam Speaker, in his response, the hon. Minister stated that the ministry has plans to build police posts in the areas, and that it is waiting for the allocation of land from the Royal Highnesses, meaning that it has money. If that land were given today, would the ministry start building tomorrow?

Mr Lufuma: Madam Speaker, we do not have the money in our budget. The plan is for the ministry to collaborate with the local authorities through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to construct the police posts. So, it is a collaborative effort between the CDF and the ministry.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Ms Nakaponda: Madam Speaker, how does the ministry evaluate the impact of its initiatives on rural crime rates and community safety?

Mr Lufuma: Madam Speaker, I am sorry, I did not get the question. I did not get that aspect on the rural – or something. Maybe, she can repeat the question, if you do not mind.

Madam Speaker: Okay. Hon. Member for Isoka, repeat the question.

Ms Nakaponda: Madam Speaker, I was saying that how does the ministry evaluate the impact of the initiatives on rural crime rates and community safety?

Madam Speaker: I hope the Acting hon. Minister has got the question.

Mr Lufuma: Madam Speaker, it is a highly philosophical and theoretical question. I guess the question is: How do we evaluate the impact of the initiatives on the communities served?

Ms Nakaponda: On the rural crime rates.

Mr Lufuma: On the rural crime rates.

Madam Speaker, normally, the evaluation takes into consideration the occurrences of crimes that have been committed in a particular place. In other words, we document the statistics. If the statistics, for example, decline, then, we know that we are doing a good job. If the statistics start increasing, then, that is an indication that we should pull up our socks and engage the communities. That is what we do in terms of evaluating and ensuring that given the indications in statistics, we follow up accordingly. We either accelerate our efforts so that we can decelerate the rate of crime or, at least, make an evaluation in a manner that will give us an indication that the community concerned has adhered to interventions for crime reduction. Let me just say that statistics give us an indication of how we are performing. If they are increasing, then, we have to accelerate our efforts. If they are decelerating, then, we know that what we are doing is up to what is expected.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: There is an appeal to allow more questions. Since there are only two indications, I will allow it. We will start with the hon. Member for Matero.

Mr Sampa (Matero): Madam Speaker, I wish the substantive Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security, Hon. Jack Mwiimbu, SC. was in the House.

Mr Nkandu: Question!

Mr Sampa: I wonder if he is safe with the cadres in Monze, the same ones who attacked Hon. Jean Chisenga.

Interruptions

Mr Sampa: They are looking for him for adoption there.

Madam Speaker: Order, hon. Member for Matero!

Please, just ask your question. That is why I was reluctant.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Madam Speaker: I know the opening remarks are always – Just ask your question hon. Member. I used my discretion to allow you to ask a question. So, use it wisely.

Mr Sampa: Madam Speaker, I am a very humble, loyal and obedient Member of Parliament. So, I obey your guidance so that I do not get suspended.

Madam Speaker, the Acting hon. Minister has said that the ministry is working on building police posts in Nakonde …

Mr Mtayachalo: It is Isoka.

Mr Sampa: … in Isoka, Muchinga Province. If the land is found, how will the ministry manage to do that when there are police posts, like the Mwembeshi Police Post in Zingalume, that are pending opening by the Government? The police post in Zingalume has been ready for the last three years. It has not been opened, and crime in the area is on the rise. How can the hon. Minister assure the hon. Member for Isoka that the ministry will build police posts in those areas if it is failing to open the Mwembeshi Police Post in George Compound in Zingalume?

Madam Speaker: The question on the Floor is constituency-specific. It relates to Isoka in Muchinga Province. Now, the hon. Member for Matero is bringing in a question related to his constituency. I do not know if the hon. Minister will be able to answer that because it is not part of the question that is on the Floor. We do not want to take the hon. Minister by surprise. Maybe, the hon. Minister can speak for himself.

Mr Lufuma: Madam Speaker, restricting myself to the issue about Isoka, I can assure the hon. Member that collaborative efforts between the local authorities in Isoka and the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security will see to it that once the police posts are constructed, the manpower that is required will, definitely, be there to support the operations. So, there should be no problem. As it stands, I think, we have enough manpower to second or post to the police posts as soon as they are constructed. She should be rest assured that it will be done as soon as we complete construction.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr C. Mpundu (Chembe): Madam Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to echo my voice, on behalf of the people of Chembe, on this important subject matter.

Madam Speaker, when the community starts asking for a police post, it is a sign that people are not safe. That is why the people of Isoka are asking for police posts. There are police units in the system. The regular unit cannot operate without buildings or facilities. There are also mobile units and protective units that are tasked, like in this circumstance where there is no police post, with certain logistics that they are given, and they can curb crimes. Why does the ministry not consider using the mobile or protective units, as the community await the construction of police posts?

Mr Lufuma: Madam Speaker, indeed, when people ask for police posts, they want protection, and it is indicative of the fact that there might be rising crime in that community. Given that state of affairs or situation, we would like to engage the provincial authorities, that is the Commissioner of Police in Muchinga Province, to look at that so that a unit can be provided that can, on occasion, police the areas accordingly.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

PLANS TO EMPOWER YOUTHS IN MUCHINGA CONSTITUENCY

19. Mr E. Banda (Muchinga) asked the Minister of Youth, Sport and Arts:

whether the Government has any plans to empower youths in Muchinga Parliamentary Constituency with the following:

farming equipment;
mining equipment; and
motorbicycles;

if so, when the plans will be implemented; and

if there are no such plans, why.

Mr Nkandu: Madam Speaker, the ministry has many plans to empower youths in all economic sectors, such as agriculture, transport, food production, metal fabrication and construction, to spur entrepreneurship and small-scale enterprise development, which has the potential to create self-employment opportunities among youths. The plans are ongoing and they are implemented in a targeted approach. I would like to underline the words ‘targeted approach’, which means province by province by taking into consideration the comparative advantage of every region. That entails that the ministry implements empowerment programmes according to the applications that come from various provinces. So, if youths or youth groups request for empowerment in farming equipment, and the project is verified to be viable, such will be considered. The youths of Muchinga Constituency will be empowered when the ministry empowers the youths of the Central Province, and it will be very soon.

Madam Speaker, the hon. Member may wish to note that among the youth empowerment programmes implemented in the ministry that focus on the mentioned economic sectors is the youths-in-transport initiative. The empowerment scheme is aimed at empowering youths, co-operatives and individuals in the public transport sector with ownership of motor bicycles, thereby creating employment through the transport value chain. There is also the National Youth Scheme, which is a programme aimed at providing grants to vulnerable, but viable youths, to foster economic empowerment and contribute to national development. The programme is part of a broader effort to address the challenges faced by young people, such as unemployment and lack of access to resources. Further, the general empowerment programme is needs-based. It is dependent on what the youths would want to venture into, such as poultry, piggery, saloon-running and stationery businesses. Young people are encouraged to undertake any type of business that they are passionate about. We also have skills training, which aims to provide skills training to the out-of-school youths and the never-been-to-school youths through the youth resource centres. Skills training is yet another form of youth empowerment, and, to that effect, the ministry is also focused on equipping youths with the right practical skills that will foster small and medium enterprise (SME) development, among others. The courses being offered at the youth resource centres at certificate level, for the information of the House and the rest of the nation, include bricklaying, information and communication technology (ICT), design, cutting and tailoring, food production and nutrition, general agriculture, power electrical, metal fabrication and welding.

Madam Speaker, additionally, the hon. Member may also wish to note that under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), there is a 10 per cent allocation for youth empowerment, which the youth of Muchinga Constituency can also utilise. I believe that they have been utilising it, because the hon. Member of Parliament has been doing very well. People have been applying for loans and grants for various empowerment projects that they would like to venture into.

Madam Speaker, as stated above, plans are ongoing.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr E. Banda: Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. Minister of Sport, Youth and Child Development for the answers he has given.

Madam Speaker, I must state that four youth clubs in Muchinga applied for loans for transport businesses through the ministry, I think, in 2023. However, to date, they have not received any response. The other groups are interested in agriculture, mining and transport; they want to buy motorcycles. Hence, I have brought this question to Parliament.

Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister has emphasised that the programme is ongoing and that any time, he will visit Muchinga, which is part of the Central Province. Can the hon. Minister assure the youths of Muchinga that as he goes to visit Serenje, he will also consider empowering them with farming and mining equipment? Considering that Serenje has a lot of land, it would be very possible and profitable for youths to have mining and farming equipment. Further, Serenje is a mining town, so mining equipment would be better for them. Can the hon. Minister assure the youth that they will also be on the programme for empowerment, bearing in mind that those who applied for transport loans will also be considered?

Madam Speaker: The hon. Minister of Youth, Sport and Arts may respond.

Mr Nkandu: Madam Speaker, thank you for aligning the ministry. Maybe, for the benefit of the hon. Member of Parliament for Muchinga, my ministry is no longer the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Child Development. It may not be the only ministry that has been realigned. The Department of Child Development went to the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services. This information is for the benefit of even the other hon. Members. As Madam Speaker stated, my ministry is now called the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts.

Madam Speaker, I thought I should emphasise that so that we are at the same level.

Madam Speaker, coming to the question, I thank the hon. Member for the follow-up question. I just want to assure the people of Muchinga Province, not Muchinga Constituency, that I have a programme. Very soon, I will be going to Muchinga Province to empower the young people in all the districts. From there –

Hon. Members: All of them?

Mr Nkandu: Not all of them, obviously. We may not have the capacity to empower every youth.

Madam Speaker, the people of Muchinga should be reminded that when I visit their district, I will give grants to 200 youth beneficiaries. I will give twelve motorcycles, twenty sets of jerseys and twenty footballs per district. So, I will be on the way to Muchinga Province. From Muchinga Province, I will go to the Central Province and then to Luapula Province, because I alternate. This is how I have been doing it. I am so committed to doing that before the end of this year. I am very, very committed to doing that. I am aware that there are about five districts in the North-Western Province that I need to visit. I am looking for space to finish touring the five districts remaining in the North-Western Province. I thought I should just mention this to the hon. Member.

Mrs Chonya: When are you coming to Lusaka?

Mr Nkandu: We will come to Lusaka.

Laughter

Mr Mabeta: Qualite.

Mr Nkandu: Madam Speaker, on the specific question, under the general empowerment programme, this is where hon. Members can give us ideas. Those young people who want to be empowered will give us their ideas. For example, if they want to get into farming, they will tell us. The hon. Member must be aware that under the Vice-President's Office, there is what we call the resettlement scheme. Equally, in our ministry, we have a settlement scheme. I am sure that the hon. Chief Whip is aware that we have 26,000 ha of land in Mufumbwe, which we want our young people to utilise. We also have 5,000 ha in Mporokoso, Mwange area, which we want our people in the Northern Province to utilise. We also have 1,100 ha in Mpongwe. I want young people to be encouraged to get involved in agricultural activities because there is a lot of potential for employment. So, let us encourage everyone to get involved. I am not saying that we are going to empower people in only these regions. There could be people from Kalabo who want to go and get involved in agriculture in the Northern Province, particularly Mporokoso. If people from Lukulu want to go and get involved in farming in Mpongwe, they can apply for loans and we will give them 3 ha to 5 ha of land and some equipment.

Madam Speaker, the hon. Member should help me tell the people of Machinga Province that before I go to their district, they should apply for the funding they are looking for so that as when I go there, I will look at what the applications are telling us and then empower the people. So, indeed, I will be going there to make sure that our young people, in Muchinga Constituency to be specific, are empowered. I will also visit the Central Province.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Zulu (Nyimba): Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister will agree with me that the ministry does not have Youth Development Officers in a good number of districts across the country. So, what happens is that when the hon. Minister goes to districts for empowerment programmes, him and I know what I mean, he ends up empowering the wrong people. Does the ministry have any plans of introducing or employing District Youth Development Officers, instead of having the centralised system of Provincial Youth Development Officers? In Serenje District, where Muchinga falls under, or Nyimba District in Nyimba Constituency, we should have real youths and clubs identified by the Youth Development Officers so that we empower the people who should be empowered.

Mr Nkandu: Madam Speaker, I thank the hon, Member for that supplementary question.

Madam Speaker, very briefly, because of devolution of functions, local authorities are now helping us to identify beneficiaries through Councillors. I talked about those who will benefit. Even when I am not present in an area, I rely much on hon. Members of Parliament. Ask the hon. Members of Parliament whose constituencies I have been to. Hon. Members of Parliament and Councillors are part of those who help us to identify beneficiaries. District Commissioners (DCs) are also the community leaders who are helping us. So, definitely, the hon. Member has nothing to worry about. Before we arrive in the districts, the list of beneficiaries is given to us; we just go to implement.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: The hon. Member for Muchinga will ask the last question.

Mr E. Banda: Madam Speaker, I just want to remind the hon. Minister that the youths of Muchinga do not need to apply for farmland in other areas because we have enough land. They can get land from the chiefs right there and be empowered.

Madam Speaker, I know that the hon. Minister is very instrumental in helping –

Madam Speaker: Order!

Business was suspended from 1640 hours until 1700 hours.

[MADAM FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair]

Mr E. Banda: Madam Speaker, before business was suspended, I was asking a supplementary question to the hon. Minister of Sports, Youth and Arts.

Madam Speaker, I know that the hon. Minister and his ministry have been instrumental in supporting sports in constituencies and districts. Can he assure the people of Muchinga if the ministry has allocated any amount of money through the council for the 2025 youth soccer, as we draw closer to 24^th October? If so, how much has been allocated?

They are asking. Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Nkandu: Madam Speaker, I think we have deviated to another question, but it is something I can talk about, if I am allowed.

Madam, the Government has many interventions with regard to sports. We also need to know that it is difficult for young people in rural areas of the country to access sports equipment. So, the ministry has introduced a programme called the Rural Sport Development Programme. The ministry is distributing equipment to young people in different sport disciplines. I am sure we will launch the distribution when we go to Muchinga Constituency or Serenje District. We are running the programme side-by-side with empowerment programs. As we undertake empowerment programmes, the National Sports Council of Zambia (NSCZ) will also launch that programme. So, many things will be received.

Madam Speaker, I would also like to appeal to hon. Members of Parliament who always wish to politicise everything.

Mr Kampyongo: On a point of order!

Mr Nkandu: Ecclesiastes 3 vs 1–

Hon Government Members: Hear, hear!

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Hon. Minister–

Interruptions

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order!

Mr Nkandu: There is time for everything.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: You are not allowed to quote. We leave it at that.

The last one was the hon. Member for Muchinga.

Mr Nkandu rose.

Madam First Speaker: Are you still answering the question?

Mr Nkandu: Yes, I have not fully answered.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: You may continue without quoting.

Mr Nkandu: Madam Speaker, thank you.

Zambia, being a Christian nation, sometimes, I feel like I am–

I am well-guided.

An hon. Member interjected.

Mr Nkandu: 3 vs 1.

Laughter

Mr Nkandu: Madam Speaker, I was trying to say that the Government has put many programs in place, but as a ministry, we have not been to every part of the country due to other programmes. As I mentioned, Muchinga Province and Central Province, a portion for the North-Western Province, is also there. I also need to visit Luapula Province. My emphasis on this issue is that we should separate politics from development. Development will never be stalled because we are getting to an election. As we go into the constituencies and districts, people should not view our empowerment program as a campaign tool. This is an ongoing program that we are undertaking.

Madam Speaker again, coming to the hon. Members’ question, indeed, we have another program under the Community Sports Development Programme. The ministry has allocated K30 million to be shared among all the local authorities in 116 districts. Some hon. Members of Parliament have followed through, and certain local authorities have put up tournaments using that same resource. I wish to implore hon. Members of Parliament since they are also community leaders, to be part of this community program to empower young people in sports. So, obviously, I am aware that as we near 24^thOctober, the ministry would want to see activities in each constituency using the same funds. I am aware that the allocated resources are inadequate. We are also considering ways to support activities scheduled for 24^th October. I may come to the House later and talk about how we can support the constituencies with sports equipment. Otherwise, the hon. Members will have something to smile about.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: There is an indication for a point of order.

Mr Kampyongo: Madam Speaker, thank you very much for allowing me to raise this point of order on the hon. Minister who seems to be politically charged today. He started by congratulating himself in self-denial, without congratulating–

Mr Nkandu interjected.

Mr Kampyongo: No, you did not congratulate the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Citizens First (CF). So, you one mentioned one out of three.

Madam Speaker, hon. Ministers never used to campaign at ward level. Now, hon. Ministers are becoming campaign managers for ward by-elections.

Mr Sampa: In a ward!

Madam Deputy Speaker: Is that the point of order?

Mr Sampa: Even the Minister!

Mr Kampyongo: Madam Speaker, the point of order is–

Mr Sampa: That is why football balelusa.

Interruptions

Mr Sampa: That is why bola tulelusa.

Mr Nkandu: Question!

Mr Kampyongo: I can now understand why we are losing in football. It is because the hon. Minister goes to sit in the ward.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order, hon. Member for Shiwan’gandu.

I cannot hear the point of the order.

Mr Kampyongo: Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister is pronouncing an important program that enables all constituencies to share sports equipment but he is politicising the program. No one here asked him. All he should have told us is that he would roll out the program to the constituencies. Is he in order to politicise the program before he even rolls it out to the constituencies? We, as hon. Members, we have not seen the equipment. May he be kind enough to point out where he is sending the equipment? Is he in order to issue a blank statement like that?

Madam Speaker, I need your serious ruling.

Laughter

Madam First Deputy Speaker: That point of order is not admissible, hon. Member for Shiwang’andu. It is more like a question.

I think the last one to ask was the hon. Member for Muchinga.

So, we make progress.

–––––––

ANNOUNCEMENT

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Hon. Members, I wish to inform the House that the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, will hold a meeting with chiefs at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre (MICC) tomorrow, Wednesday, 24^th September, 2025, in the morning.

Hon. Members are invited to attend the meeting and should be seated by 0900 hours.

Thank you.

_______

MOTION

MOTION OF THANKS

(Debate resumed)

Mr Zulu (Nyimba): Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker, let me just add a few words to the debate on the Motion on the very important address, which was delivered by the President. I have things to say that concern my constituency, especially on agriculture. Looking at the harvest this year, I think, we have enough compared to the harvest in 2011, maybe, even more. However, as a country, our investment in storage has been poor. You may be surprised to learn that in a constituency like Nyimba, we do not have a place to store the maize that we harvested recently. We have not put much investment into storage, meaning that there is a possibility of having wasted maize at the end of the day. My appeal to the Government is that it should look into that, because if we do not store our produce well, the money the Government is spending on purchasing the maize, and even the money that it spends on the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) will be equal to zero.

Madam Speaker, the commitment of the defence forces to farming has been great. What is coming from our defence forces is very encouraging. The problem is that the Government does not put much towards the sector in the budgetary allocation for the Ministry of Defence. If we were to construct a dam closer to one of the camps in Nyimba, for example, Zambia National Service (ZNS) Mutilizi, our men and women in uniform would produce throughout the year. What is there at the moment is rain-fed production, and it is not helping the country. We need to invest more in equipment.

Madam Speaker, when it comes to the farm mechanisation centres, I do not remember seeing any in our province. Farming is the only industry in the Eastern Province. 90 per cent of our people are into farming. However, we have not seen the mechanisation centres that were mentioned in the speech. The mechanisation centres should be dotted across our province. That is important.

Interruptions

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order, hon. Members!

The consultations are too loud. Lower your voices a bit.

Hon. Member for Nyimba, you can continue.

Mr Zulu: Madam Speaker, in terms of investment in fertiliser production in this country, a private company called United Capital Fertiliser Zambia Company Limited is doing well. Its exports are all over the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Botswana, Tanzania and Malawi. My question to the Executive is: Why are we not investing enough into Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia (NCZ) Limited? A good number of us in this House have small or large fields. So, we know that the products from the NCZ are high-quality and top-class. We were told that an investment of close to US$7 million would give us about 432,000 metric tonnes per year, but that is not enough for a country like Zambia. We need to start investing in companies that will give us profit and bring foreign exchange. The NCZ is not doing well. We need proper investment. Let us not look out there. The money we need is in this country. We borrow pension money from Europe. We can use that pension money. Our pension authorities invest in Europe, and that same money comes back as a debt. Why can we not get into that kind of productive investment using the Workers' Compensation Fund Control Board (WCFCB) and National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA)? The hon. Minister is in the House listening. That is our money. We need to invest it into sectors that can give us enough liquidity so when I want to obtain a loan from the bank, it will be easy because the banks will be liquid. That can help us.

Madam Speaker, the United Party for National Development (UPND) Government –

Madam Speaker, according to the preamble in the President’s Speech – let me quote the last words – “… Equitable Zambia …” is a concept where business and job opportunities for all Zambians should be available. However, we are not distributing opportunities equally in education. 80 per cent of the people who benefit from student loans are those in the cities. They have families who can pay for their education at tertiary schools. The people in the villages do not have that share. I propose that we use the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) method by allocating a certain amount of money to each constituency or district so that we can have the same number of students admitted to tertiary schools. Otherwise, in certain areas, like in urban areas, there will be more educated people, not that they are more intelligent than our children in the villages, but because they have easy access to student loans at the Higher Education Loans and Scholarships Board (HELSB). So, we need to start distributing that money equally to all the districts.

Madam Speaker, in terms of primary schools, no one should discourage the Government. I used to run 8 km to 9 km to go to school. Today, we have reduced that to something like 5 km. That is a plus for everyone. If one wants to pretend or was born in a privileged family, then, that is something one will not appreciate. Those of us who were born in the village and walked long distances appreciate that. We believe that use of the CDF should be encouraged.

Madam Speaker, my worry is that in all the things we are doing, while the President has balanced the Cabinet seated in this House to perfection, the people who have been employed in some companies are the ones who are killing all the good things that he is doing. It is unheard for somebody in an office, who is given a list of people who have been interviewed, to say that he or she cannot employ them because those people come from a certain region, and that person is kept in that office. That should come to an end. We cannot tolerate such in this civilised country.

Hon. UPND Members: Question!

Mr Zulu: Madam Speaker, we need to have people who are sober in such offices. It is pointless to jail people who have said the same words, while others are still operating in the offices. That is not helping us.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Nyambose (Chasefu): Madam Speaker, thank you very much for giving me an opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Motion of Thanks.

Madam Speaker, a month ago, the employees of the councils in the Eastern Province were called to Chipata, the provincial centre, for a very important meeting. That meeting was meant to deal with the integrated development plans (IDPs). They met to shape the direction of development, on behalf of the people of Chasefu. However, the hon. Member of Parliament was not included in the meeting.

Mr Nkandu: Hear, hear!

Mr Nyambose: Such meetings have been taking place. Recently, another meeting took place in the Southern Province.

Madam Speaker, what am I trying to say? The President said that we should look at the Constitution so that we take hon. Members of Parliament back to the councils for the same reason. I joined a local authority in 1995.

Mr J. Chibuye: Twaliishiba ifyo ulelanda!

Mr Nyambose: I used to serve hon. Members of Parliament in council chambers. Why were councils designed like that? We must have a common place for us to look at the development of a particular district. Nowadays, councils are making IDPs and putting in place what they want to do in particular areas without consulting a major stakeholder, who is elected by the people to champion development. An hon. Member of Parliament is provided K36.1 million as the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). However, what the CDF committee and I decide to do with the CDF is not in the IDPs. So, we need to reason.

Madam Speaker, the issue of dealing with the Constitution is not debatable. We need to amend the Constitution so that all of us –

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Hon. Opposition Members: Question!

Mr Nyambose: All the stakeholders should come and sit in an environment where we can look at development holistically as a team. This issue is non-partisan. It is not about who will be the champion. The sole purpose of the issue is to find common ground.

Madam Speaker, hon. Members of Parliament used to be members of councils. Our traditional leaders have gone back to being part of councils. Why? It is because they are very important stakeholders in terms of development. However, hon. Members of Parliament are not part of councils. I have just given an example of the IDPs that are being put in place. We are working in silos. Each group is on its own. We are un-co-ordinated. That is why the President called for the amendment of the Constitution. I am one of those people who said that because of my background, I understand the reason we should have a co-ordinated way of looking at development.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Nyambose: Madam Speaker, the CDF is a major resource for development. Why should I sit alone with the CDF committee? A brother of ours has lamented about Nyimba Town Council. Look at how vast the Kapiri Mposhi Constituency is. There is a clause in our Constitution that states that we can only carry out delimitation when we revisit the Constitution. All of us here agree that we need to delimit our constituencies into reasonable, manageable sizes. It is very hypocritical to say that we do not need to do that, yet we agree that our constituencies are big. I am one of those people who want to see the Constitution amended.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Nyambose: Madam Speaker, I have just picked on those two issues. I can elaborate, but because of time, I will not. I have given those few examples so that we, who are seated here, put politics aside and look at the country that we need. There is no way that delimitation should be in the principal law. The population is changing and other issues are coming up. So, we should revisit the issue. The Constitution says that after ten years, we should revisit the issue of the size of constituencies. However, here, we say, “We can go up to fifty years, as long as we do not touch the Constitution.”

Mr Nkandu: Imagine!

Mr Nyambose: Are we being rational? I am appealing to the conscience of every hon. Member. Let us be pragmatic.

Madam Speaker, in future, I suggest that even civil society organisations (CSOs) should be represented. I was elected by the people to come and make laws. So, why should people question me on the Constitution? The people of Chasefu gave me the right to come here. So, why should somebody from the civil society question me? Some of the people in the civil society have never been to Chasefu.

Hon. UPND Members: Hammer, hammer!

Mr Nyambose: They do not know how big Chasefu is. I am not trying to say that they are wrong. However, if I had a role, I would say that those who comment on important things must have a network in all constituencies so that they appreciate when some of us, the representatives of rural people, say that we need delimitation.

Madam Speaker, the other issue I want to comment on is the rule of law. I have seen great improvement in the rule of law, seriously speaking.

Mr Nkandu: Hear, hear!

Mr Nyambose: We are here, but I did not know that there are by-elections taking place. Why? In the past, when by-elections would be taking place, there would be headlines on how blood was being spilt. Nowadays, by-elections take place, but the situation is as if there are no by-elections taking place. This is encouraging for the country.

Mr Nkandu: Yes!

Mr Nyambose: We should go on like this so that our country can be a better nation.

Madam Speaker, I was in the Eastern Province, where I went to support my brother there, Lufeyo Ngoma, and I want to congratulate him. There was nothing like fighting during the election. We were moving together. That is how it is supposed to be. So, when Zambians are told that there is a problem with the rule of law, I say no, no. Things are getting better, but we can do better.

Madam Speaker, lastly, I want to talk about the CDF. There is no segregation regarding the way the President is giving the CDF to constituencies. I can take one hour talking about this. He is giving the CDF to all constituencies, whether the hon. Member of Parliament of a constituency belongs to the Ruling Party or to the Opposition. He does not choose. He is the President for all Zambians. He does not choose. That is how leadership is defined. Look at the nation. The 20 million people who voted for Hakainde Hichilema voted for him to not segregate. The CDF is given to constituencies at the same time. That is why I say that we have good leadership.

Mr Amutike: Hear, hear!

Mr Nyambose: The CDF has changed the lives of people in the constituencies where we come from.

Madam Speaker, Chasefu is part of Zambia. Before the enhanced CDF, Chasefu was a rural area and people there felt as if they were not part of this country. Now, we are beginning to feel that we belong to this nation because there is equity or equal sharing of resources. I want to encourage the President to have eyes on the ball. I always say, “Eyes on the ball”. He should close his ears. In Tumbuka, we say that a big animal like a lion does not check behind if a rabbit is making noise. A lion is a lion. The President is a lion. When small people make noise, he should forget about them. He is a lion and he should move forward.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Chonya (Kafue): Madam Speaker, what can I say after that eloquent debate …

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Laughter

Mrs Chonya: … from the hon. Member for Chasefu?

Mr Nkandu: Just an addition.

Mrs Chonya: Well, I will just add to the debate by saying that, indeed, we have a visionary leader who is steering the ship into the right direction.

Madam Speaker, many of us have referred to the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) as a game changer. As far as I am concerned, HH (Hakainde Hichilema) himself is the game changer.

Mr Nkandu: Hear, hear!

Mrs Chonya: Why do I say so? It is because the things we used to think were normal, bad as they may have been, have been turned around. I want to give the example of the Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia (NCZ). We all know the good story that has come out of Kafue. Maybe, what people do not know is that the US$7 million that has gone into the NCZ is not money borrowed from anywhere; it was generated internally …

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Chonya: … due to the good leadership, starting from the top.

Madam Speaker, when the President became the chairperson of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), some people expressed some misgivings and questioned why the Head of State became the chairperson of the IDC. However, we have now seen the results from the NCZ. We are happy that the recapitalisation of the company will create the jobs that youths have been crying for.

Hon. UPND Members: Yes!

Mrs Chonya: Madam Speaker, a new Multifacility Economic Zone (MFEZ) is coming up in Kafue, something that we did not see coming in the near future. Sometimes, I sit back and say that change is inevitable because it brings good things.

Madam Speaker, the story of the CDF is familiar. Nobody can continue pretending that the CDF is not making an impact in our communities.

Madam Speaker, in Kafue, we have Mulangwa, the first ever school built in rural Lower Zambezi. As I am talking, we are working on a new road in the same rural area, using the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). All that is a result of good leadership. Indeed, we must remain focused. There will always be noise makers, but I think that the New Dawn Government is really on the right trajectory, and we have to continue moving in that direction of transforming our country and consolidating economic and social gains towards a prosperous, resilient and equitable Zambia, according to the theme of His Excellency the President’s Speech.

Madam Speaker, last week, I was listening with interest to the debate in the House. I wish Hon. Mundubile were here, because he tried to trivialise the CDF –

Interruptions

Ms Chonya: I am debating. I am responding to his debate.

Madam Speaker, he wanted to make us believe that the CDF is so insignificant that it constitutes only 2.3 per cent of the Budget.

Mr Kasandwe: Do you agree?

Ms Chonya: Yes, I agree with him, but the point I am making is that if the 2.3 per cent has been able to come up with all these nice things that we are talking about, what more will it achieve when it is raised to 10 per cent? I think that is what we should be asking for; an increase so that we can achieve even more.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Chonya: Madam Speaker, in Kafue, if we have the CDF for the next three terms, I am sure that we will resolve all the critical issues we are experiencing, as a constituency. The CDF –

Laughter

Ms Chonya: Madam Speaker, the CDF –

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member, you got carried away.

Ms Chonya: Indeed, the CDF has demonstrated that we are not leaving anyone behind. As the people of Kafue, we have been able to build schools, hospitals and maternity wings in the remotest parts of the country with showers and running water.

Madam Speaker, we can do without the other things that people think the other Government did better. Our people in Chiawa would not have benefited from a flyover bridge in Makeni, for instance. Nevertheless, the people of Kafue want to see such a structure come up at the railway crossing in Kafue because traffic has increased. Not too long ago, I was personally trapped in traffic for three hours before the toll gate on Kafue Road. When I looked at all the beautiful achievements on page 34 of the report, which talks about what this Government has done in terms of road infrastructure, I realised that it is time we started looking at places like Kafue. We need the Kabwe Dual Carriageway extended. What good will easing traffic on the Lusaka/Ndola Road do when the traffic south of Lusaka is constricted? The slow movement of people and goods is not good for the economy. The people of Kafue have come up with brilliant proposals on how to address the problem. In fact, instead of disturbing our existing roads, we could actually come up with a new road from Linda Junction to the farms somewhere in Chanyanya and Mungu. That road will actually pass in front of the new Multi-Facility Economic Zone (MFEZ) that is coming up. That road will be a very important economic road. As the Budget will be presented next week –

Madam First Deputy Speaker: It will be presented this week.

Ms Chonya: That way, I think that we will save resources. Instead of undoing or redoing roads, we should come up –

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member, the Budget will be represented on Friday, this week.

Ms Chonya: The Budget will be presented on Friday this week. That is how much we are in a hurry, as the people of Kafue, we want to see what the Budget holds for us.

Madam Speaker, many nice things were said in the President's Speech. As far as I am concerned, everything was kwenyu after kwenyu after kwenyu.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Chonya: The only thing I want us to kwenyuna next time when the President comes is the issue of gender equality.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member for Kafue, what is “kwenyuna”?

Ms Chonya: Kwenyu means giving a tick for a job well done in all spheres or sectors, such as education, health, you name it.

Madam Speaker, not too long ago, we were talking about energy, the elephant in the room. One sector out of ten giving us challenges means that the pass rate is very high. The hon. Minister of Energy was here on the Floor articulating the efforts that the Government is making to address the issue of energy. He rightly pointed out that our Government is actually providing leadership. In the past, we overlooked alternative sources of energy, but now the New Dawn Government is addressing that. The exact thing happened to education. In the past, we had low pass rates because the Government forgot to invest in education or create classroom space.

Madam Speaker, I am saying that the issue of gender equality has remained a very critical area for me. I want women to sit side by side with men. In this Parliament, we are tired of having twenty women among 140 chakuti men.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member, wind up debate.

Ms Chonya: Madam Speaker, I am talking about gender equality and constitutionalism. Indeed, the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill No. 7 gives us hope for gender equality. So, we want it back.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Kamondo (Mufumbwe): Madam Speaker, thank you for giving me this good time to contribute to the debate on the President’s Speech, on behalf of the people of Mufumbwe.

Madam Speaker, in supporting the President’s Speech, –

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

Hon. Government Members: No!

Mr Kamondo: Madam Speaker, I would like to –

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order, hon. Members!

Since today is the last day to debate the Motion, we do not have time. I have seen that many people have indicated to debate. So, wasting time on points of order will not help us. The hon. Ministers will start responding to the issues that have been raised by the hon. Backbenchers tomorrow. So, I will not allow any point of order until all the people who have indicated to debate finish speaking.

The hon. Member for Mufumbwe may continue.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Kamondo: Madam Speaker, I want to contribute to debate on one issue, which is agriculture. Last time, people said that God had forsaken President Hakainde Hichilema, that is why we had drought. No sooner had they spoken like that than God answered our prayers and gave us some rainfall. Now, we have a bumper harvest. The bumper harvest has come with its own challenges.

Madam Speaker, I want to join my hon. Colleague, Mr Nyambose, in saying that we need delimitation. What has happened in Mufumbwe is that, because it is vast, the maize belonging to the people on the other side has not been bought by the Government. The budget for the Ministry of Agriculture was not enough. So, I want to encourage hon. Members to give the Ministry of Agriculture a lot of money here, next time. In Mufumbwe, we have eighteen wards. One has to travel about 600 km to reach the other side of the area, meaning that the other side is not being taken care of. My suggestion is that next time, we should put more satellite depots so that even those people in the farthest areas can sell their maize to the Government.

Madam Speaker, the other reason I want to support the President’s Speech is because of another kwenyu in Mufumbwe. I am sure that you have heard that Mufumbwe has been everywhere in the news. The Government made a proposal that all illegal miners should stop mining illegally. More than 100 people have been trained and issued with artisanal mining licenses. All they are waiting for now is to be given tenements so that they start mining. I want to say to the hon. Member for Kafue that, it is not the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) which is a game changer. I want to say that President Hakainde Hichilema is a game changer …

Mr Amutike: Hear, hear!

Mr Kamondo: … because the people of Mufumbwe have now been given artisanal mining licences. As if that was not enough, more than 200 co-operatives in Kasempa and Mufumbwe have been given artisanal mining licences and are yet to be trained. So, that this is another way of creating employment. So, we are going to see many people–

Madam Speaker, in fact, some of the artisanal miners from Kalulushi have joined us in Mufumbwe because of the gold that is there. I therefore, urge the hon. Minister of Mines and Minerals Development to expedite the process. To prevent minerals from being exploited by foreigners, we need mineral detectors. Without mineral detectors, foreigners will keep exploiting our people. So, we therefore, ask the hon. Minister of Mines and Minerals Development to make sure that as soon as the Government gives the people tenements, it should also give them loans to purchase the mineral detectors. This will enable people to detect the minerals and sell them to companies like the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Limited-Investments Holdings (ZCCM-HI).

Madam Speaker, I also want to appreciate the Government for providing education. In Mufumbwe, for the first time, we have been given a lot of money to construct two boarding secondary schools. One is in the remotest area, which is called Miluji Basic School. So far, about K13 million has been spent and there is progress. That is what we call, “Kwenyu.”

Madam Speaker, it is not only that. We also have another secondary school which is being constructed in Shukwe Ward. That is another kwenyu. We are asking the hon. Minister of Education to allocate more money towards a boarding secondary school, which at 80 per cent completion level, for it to be completed. That is going to help the people of Mfumbwe very much.

Madam Speaker, I also want to appreciate the Government for giving us more money to construct 116 km of roads. The construction company has already move on site, and the sum of K200 million has already been put aside to construct roads. Why would the people of Zambia not appreciate that? What the New Dawn Government promised is being actualised. So, the people of Mufumbwe are saying, “Kwenyu” again.

Madam Speaker, the other issue I want to talk about is the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). You and I, Madam Speaker, were here and saw how we suffered when the CDF was at K1.6 million.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member, do not put me in your debate.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Laughter

Mr Kamondo: Thank you, Madam Speaker, for your guidance.

At some point, the CDF was at K750,000.

Hon. UPND Members: Yes!

Mr Kamondo: The people of Mufumbwe would like to tell the nation that from the time they started receiving the CDF, they have received more than K100 million. That 100 million has actually enabled us to construct a maternity annex and improve the water reticulation system. Currently, we are even constructing a mini-hospital. What else are we looking for?

Madam Speaker, His Excellency the President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, needs the support of all of us here, including those seated on your left. We are what we are today because of him. Image what would have happened by now if we did not have the CDF. We would not do anything.

Madam Speaker, we used to spend a lot of money on iron sheets. Actually, we became contractors and built schools for people. However, this time around, His Excellency the President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, is saying that that should not happen again. The Government should actually construct more infrastructure. When I went to Bangweulu Constituency, where my brother there (pointed at Mr Kasandwe) comes from, I found that the CDF is working very well. So, we should not be shy to say that the CDF is actually a game-changer. Just like His Excellency the President is a game-changer, CDF is kwenyu and a game-changer too.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: What does kwenyu mean?

Mr Kamondo: Madam Speaker, kwenyu means appreciation. That is what it means.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Kamondo: Madam Speaker, finally, before I conclude, I want to say that in terms of education, I forgot one thing. We have been given Early Childhood Education Centres and a lot of money has been pumped into it, but we only talk about roads.

Madam Speaker, the construction of roads in the North-Western Province is almost complete. The only roads that need to be worked on are in Mufumbwe District. So, my appeal to this Government is that, the same way we have been told that the Katunda Road is being worked on ...

Hon. Opposition: Hon. Opposition Members.

Mr Kamondo: … is the same way we want the Mutanda/Chavuma Road and the …

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Kamondo: … the Sesheke/Kazungula Road to be worked on. Actually, we spend a lot of time talking. The people of the North-Western Province want their roads to be worked on. This is the only time we can work on the roads. We have been supporting the United Party for National Development (UPND), and we have seen it in power. So, we want our roads to be worked on the same way other roads have been constructed in some places.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Kampampi (Mwansabombwe): Madam Speaker, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to add my voice, on behalf of the people of Mwansabombwe, to the President’s Speech, which was presented to this House on Friday, 12^th September, 2025.

Interruptions

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order, hon. Members!

Mr Kampampi: Madam Speaker, I will centre my debate on energy.

Madam Speaker, what is happening at the moment in this country concerning energy is very sad. Energy is what grows the economy. What has happened to small businesses due to energy deficiency is quite saddening.

Madam Speaker, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) contribute a lot to the growth of the economy. However, at the moment, most of these small businesses are closing up because of the lack of energy. They do not have the power to make sure that their businesses move. In Mufumbwe Constituency, those running small businesses like welders, butcheries and saloons are failing to operate because of load shedding.

Madam Speaker, the people of Mwansabombwe expected His Excellency the President to give hope to the SMEs and the people of Zambia at large, but in the speech that he presented to this House, he acknowledged that his Government had failed to deal with issues of load shedding.

Madam Speaker, when the Patriotic Front (PF) took over power in 2011, the power supply was at 1,600 MW. By the time the PF Government left office, the power supply was at 3,300 MW. This showed that the PF Government worked to make sure that there was more energy in this country.

Madam Speaker, one other issue that I wish to address, which makes me worried, is the production of solar energy, which we keep preaching about as an alternative source of energy. I want to bring to the attention of the House that base load power is very important if we have to develop this country. If full capacity of base load power generated is at 3,700 MW, that can only accommodate 1,000 MW of solar energy. This means that even if we were to produce 3,000 MW of solar energy, it would not be accommodated into the national grid. So, in as much as we are preaching about investing in solar energy, we need to look at an alternative source of power such as the hydro-power or thermal start generated energy.

Madam Speaker, for example, if we generate half capacity of energy, it means that even if we had 1,000 MW of solar energy, it would not be accommodated into the national grid. I therefore, fail to understand why this Government is pushing so much to have the solar energy instead of concentrating on base load energy.

Madam Speaker, what has happened to the wisdom of Dubai, where the President had said that their country had no rains, but they still provided power. What has happened to that wisdom? That is the wisdom we need in Zambia to make sure that people in their houses are relieved from the suffering they are enduring. People have even stopped budgeting. They cannot budget the way they used to because if they buy foodstuff, and store them in their refrigerators, before they realise it, the food will go bad, which makes it more difficult for Zambians to spend their resources. Budgeting is very important for a family.

Madam Speaker, let me also touch on good governance. Many things have been preached about good governance, and the previous debater even mentioned that previously, during by-elections, many things used to happen. I have been part of a couple of campaigns, and I have been a victim of harassment and attacks.

Hon. Government Members: Question!

Mr Kampampi: My car, which is parked outside, has a dent because of by-election incidents. Madam Speaker, those are the things we talk about when we say that we should be one as the people of Zambia. Violence still happens during by-elections.

Hon. Government Member: Ah!

Mr Kampampi: Madam Speaker, it is still happening. I am speaking from experience. I have been involved in some of the things I am talking about. So, good governance should not be one-sided. It should work on both sides. If one thing happens on one side, the same should apply on the other side.

Madam Speaker, as I conclude, I would like to urge the Government to pull its socks up, and ensure that power supply is restored to the people of Zambia. It is only when there is complete power supply that the economy will develop the way we would like it to. One other thing that makes me sad is the issue of the mines. The mines have been given many concessions at the expense of the people of Zambia, yet they are the ones that consume the same power. The mines consume 70 per cent of the power that is generated by ZESCO Limited. What incentives are the people of Zambia being given?

Mr Kalobo: Kokolapo apo!

Mr Kampampi: What incentives are the Zambian people being given to help them alleviate the suffering they are going through, Madam Speaker? Those are some of the issues the Government should start interrogating. Are we being fair to the Zambian people to ensure that they also benefit from the national coffers?

Hon. Government Members: You are not fair!

Laughter

Mr Kampampi: Madam Speaker, this Government should change for the better. It is only when it starts considering the Zambian people that it may be considered in the future.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mulunda (Siavonga): Madam Speaker, thank you very much.

Madam Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity you have given me to make a few comments on the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the speech that was delivered to the House by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia.

Madam Speaker, at times, I am disturbed and shocked that, as representatives of the people, we choose to paint things black that are visibly clear. When the President talked about the power deficit in the country –

Interruptions

Mr Mulunda: Madam Speaker, the discussions are loud. I want those people to listen; the hon. Member for Mwansabombwe.

Laughter

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Just continue with your debate, hon. Member.

Mr Mulunda: Madam Speaker, I want him to listen because what I want to say is something that he also raised a few minutes ago. The President did not admit that the Government had failed. He said that in the past fifty-seven years, successive Governments paid little attention to the energy sector. The investment that was made in the sector was too small. Despite the population that was growing and the economic activities that were coming up at the time, the Governments at that time went to sleep. They did not realise that the growth of the population and the economy demanded growth in the energy sector.

Madam Speaker, I would like to talk about the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), which everyone has already talked about. Everyone knows, wherever they are, whether in Kanchibiya, …

Mr Mutelo: Bangweulu!

Mr Mulunda: … Bangweulu or Mwansabombwe, that the CDF is working, and our people appreciate it.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mulunda: Madam Speaker, if my hon. Colleagues in this House do not appreciate the CDF as a game-changer; at least, their people appreciate it.

Madam Speaker, we have seen the implementation of free education under this Government. The President has stressed that no normal or responsible Government will ever do away with the policy because theirs and our children, and our relatives in the villages and elsewhere benefit from it. More than 2 million learners have gone back to school, including learners in Bangweulu. Further, those who could not afford tertiary education have been sponsored through the CDF. Today, Hon. Katotobwe is a happy Member of Parliament because everyone is enjoying the national cake, unlike the way it was during the previous Governments.

Madam Speaker, when we talk about what the CDF has done, I look at areas in Siavonga like Chimata where we never thought we could have a school. The CDF has reached places like Makakanya, Kaumbwe, and Siyabamba, and we have seen the transformation of the lives of our people in our constituencies. We are able to sponsor those who were unable to attain tertiary education previously. They can undertake skills development, which will help them for the rest of their lives. What a responsible and wonderful Government. I cannot imagine a more caring and loving Government like the current one. I have not heard of one before. There is no Government, both now and in the future, that will surpass the record of the New Dawn Government and what it has done.

Madam Speaker, those who live in mining towns will tell you that their people were languishing in poverty, and no Government cared. The only people who enjoyed were the suppliers who were exorbitant and were even supplying air, while many people were suffering. The revamping of the mining industry has enabled Copperbelt Province to regain its name. People are doing many things there.

Ms Mulenga: Eeh!

Mr Mulunda: The hon. Member for Kalulushi is aware. She is indicating assent because everything is working. Madam Speaker, the Luanshya 28 Mine Shaft was down for more than twenty years. The Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) Plc and the Mopani Copper Mines are other examples.

Mr Nkandu: Kalengwa!

Mr Mulunda: Kalengwa Mine was not operational for forty-six years, yet Governments were there. That is why everybody is happy.

Madam Speaker, the Government is rehabilitating airports in all the provincial centres, such as Kasama, Chipata and Mongu. Works will also commence in Choma, Nakonde and Mansa. That is what the Government is doing. It is giving every Zambian a taste of the national cake in one way or another. My hon. Colleague, Mr Pavyuma, believed it, saying that everybody in Wusakile is clapping.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member for Siavonga, please, do not involve other hon. Members in your debate.

Mr Mulunda: Madam Speaker, I just wanted to mention it because we are on the same page.

Madam Speaker, when it comes to corruption, His Excellency the President stressed the point that his Government is fighting the corruption of yesterday, today and tomorrow. A few hon. Members in this House were murmuring and they asked why culprits were not being arrested and convicted. The President said that he has always been very methodical. He has followed that and slowly, we have started seeing convictions.

Madam Speaker, I could not believe it when I read that one former hon. Minister walked into a bank and withdrew US$11 million hard cash. What kind of Government was that?

Madam Speaker, presently, we are able to see what this Government is doing with the money generated locally. I want to ask the Zambian people that in the absence of the Eurobond, where are the ambulances coming from? Where are the police vehicles coming from? Where are the vehicles for monitoring projects and everything else that we see around in our constituencies coming from? Zambians should ask themselves where the money was going to in the past. Where is the money that is taking children back to school, building schools and given to people through the Cash-for-Work Programme coming from? Where was the same money going in the past? We need to think twice. What we now know is kwenyu after kwenyu because this Government has done what Napoleon failed to do.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Hon. PF Members: Question!

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Before the hon. Member for Moomba comes in, I will invite the hon. Member for Chilubi.

Mr Fube (Chilubi): I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker, I will confine myself to agriculture, since I am from a rural area. I believe that agriculture is the driving force for rural development.

Madam Speaker, I was a bit taken aback by a lot of statistics that were in the speech by the President. The President started with a paragraph on agriculture, where he talked about production. We all know that since Independence, Zambia has only done two agriculture-based censuses. The last one that was done recently in 2022 was to do with livestock. So, I do not know where the statistics in the President’s Speech came from, especially that we are talking about 3.7 million metric tonnes being the highest harvest ever. That should have been put in a better context than it was.

Madam Speaker, I am saying that because at Independence, Zambia had 3.5 million people. Currently, the population density average is 19.24 people per square kilometre. Now, when we look at the factors that go into agriculture, we have to take note of how many farmers we had in the past. If we look at the transformation of farming from the pre-independence time to the post-independence era, we will note that agriculture was pre-dominantly carried out by white farmers. Many of the current peasant farmers were confined to areas where the soil was not even fertile. So, to say that this is the first time we have had the highest production without taking into consideration the population of farmers, the population of the country and many other factors is amiss.

Madam Speaker, when we look at the data, we can see that we are still lacking. Up to date, we are still lacking both quantitative and qualitative data in agriculture because the information available is scanty.

Madam Speaker, I want to address what the President said in paragraph 37 of his speech. He talked about 2,500 tractors. He also talked about 4,025 farmers accessing mechanisation funds.

Madam Speaker, it is in this House that we debated the audit report on the Eighth National Development Plan (8NDP). Further, I will refer to the 2024 Annual Progress Report. It says that that such equipment was not delivered. However, in paragraph 37, the President says that 2,500 mechanisation equipment was delivered. I know that the President does not work alone, but people betrayed him on this particular statistic.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: It is the farmers, hon. Member. The 2,500 the President talked about are the farmers who accessed the funds, not the machinery that was distributed.

Mr Fube: Madam Speaker, I have the speech here with me. I can read it, if I am given time to do so. It says:

“To modernise agriculture, our government has for the first time, established 40 mechanisation service centres in 2024... So far, more than 2,500 farmers have accessed mechanisation services ranging from ploughing, planting, spraying and harvesting.”

Madam Speaker, the Auditor General’s report said that that never happened.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Fube: When we go to the annual progress report, we will read on pages 31 to 36 that those centres are not there. However, the President stated that it was done.

Ms Mulenga: Hear, hear!

Mr Fube: That is what I was referring to, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker, agriculture should also be seen in the context of the poverty reduction papers on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Trying to achieve those goals has influenced our agriculture production.

Madam Speaker, in agriculture, there are inputs and outputs. For instance, Chilubi has been receiving 10,500 bags of D-compound fertiliser. I want to put this in the context of how the Government’s policy really influenced the bumper harvest. I think, what we should have been comparing are the production statistics for the 2020/2021 Farming Season up to date. That is when we would say that 3.7 million metric tonnes was the highest statistic, as opposed to saying that it is the highest harvest since Independence.

Madam Speaker, I want to say that agricultural inputs also include land, labour, technology and capital. I think, these are things we have not put in place and the Auditor-General report is there to show that.

Madam Speaker, let me comment on the issue of output. It is in this Parliament that we approved K300 million for farming blocks. The hon. Minister of Agriculture admitted that that was a failed project. I expected that as the President talked about irrigation, he would have talked about that particular challenge and captured it in the right perspective so that at the end of the day, we can be on the same page.

Madam Speaker, I come from a rural area where we have a challenge with maize marketing. The Government should not pursue a mono-crop arrangement, but a mixed crop arrangement. I am talking about a mixed crop arrangement because the President mainly tackled two crops when he talked about agriculture. When we look at what is required for production of feed for livestock, for instance, we need a mixed crop arrangement. However, we have paralysed or collapsed agriculture into a mono-crop arrangement for maize. When we look at what we are producing in various subsectors of agriculture, it is a sorry sight.

Madam Speaker, the price of a 25 kg bag of feed in 2021 was K313. Today, the same item is costing K728,000. Those are very alarming statistics, especially that they have a spillover effect on the protein value chain. This means that the prices of chicken, fish and many other products will go up because feed is expensive. Even at Parliament Motel and other restaurants, the fish we are currently consuming, especially fresh fish, is coming from eleven fisheries. Those eleven fisheries depend on feed, in which maize is the base material. If the price of mealie meal is going down, why is the price of feed not going down? That is a paradox that we need to look at.

Madam Speaker, the issue of farmers selling ten bags of maize or seven bags of rice to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has to be revisited because that requirement is not helpful. Currently, we have a chaotic marketing season because the Government wants to buy just 500,000 metric tonnes, leaving 3.2 million metric tonnes on the market. Who is going to buy the remaining tonnes? Farmers are panicking about where to sell their maize. We cannot even talk about food security because we do not have the maize; the Government has captured only part of the maize on the market. Farmers are using corruption to have their maize accepted at depots. So, this scenario, Madam Speaker, –

The hon. Member’s time expired.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member, your time is up.

Silence

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Just finish your sentence. Your time is up.

Mr Fube: Madam Speaker, I know that in another paragraph, the President talked about exports. Are we going to export the 3.2 million metric tonnes of maize, and which method will be used to do that? Are we going to be giving people export permits, which are not controlled? At the end of the day, we may find ourselves with another hunger situation after we had a bumper harvest.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Ms Mulenga: Quality!

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chaatila (Moomba): Madam Speaker, thank you for allowing the voice of Moomba to be heard on this subject matter.

Madam Speaker, allow me to read from page 5, paragraph 19, of the President’s Speech.

“19. The UPND New Dawn Administration has made positive strides in enhancing fiscal prudence and addressing the debt crisis. Today, we are happy to report that over 92 percent of our external debt has been successfully restructured.”

Madam Speaker, to put that into context, under the Patriotic Front (PF) –

Interruptions

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order, hon. Members on my left!

Mr Chaatila: Madam Speaker, as the President says, figures do not lie. In 2016, our external debt was US$7.72 billion. In 2021, still under the PF, our external debt was US$14.71 billion, meaning that within five years, the PF borrowed US$6.99 billion. As of June 2025, our external debt is US$15.78 billion, which means that the UPND Government has borrowed only US$1.07 billion in four years.

Laughter

Mr Chaatila: These are the numbers, hon. Member for Kalulushi. If you subtract US$15.78 billion from US$14.71 billion, you will get US$1.07 billion.

Ms Mulenga: Ah!

Mr Chaatila: You can go to the Research Department and you will find these figures –

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order, hon. Member!

Mr Chaatila: Madam Speaker, –

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member for Moomba, debate through me. Do not involve hon. Members in your debate.

Mr Chaatila: Madam Speaker, what am I trying to say? The PF, which is now in the Opposition, is in a very serious situation. In Tonga, we say, “Wanina mumenda motekela.”

Interruptions

Mr Chaatila: What does that mean? I am sorry to use that term, but it means that when a child wants to relieve himself, he will say, “Mum, I want to poop.” What the PF or the Opposition wants to do is to offer checks and balances on the debt they acquired while in the Government.

Mr Kasandwe: Question!

Mr Chaatila: What do I mean? It is as good as them having pooped –

Interruptions

Mr Chaatila: I grew up in the village.

Hon. PF Members: Question!

Ms Mulenga: Ulelanda pa mafi!

Mr Chaatila: Madam Speaker, I am clarifying.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member for Moomba, I am sure that there is a better example than that one.

Laughter

Mr Chaatila: Madam Speaker, what I am trying to say –

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Can you just withdraw the word , “pooping” or whatever.

Interruptions

Ms Mulenga: Ulelanda pa mashinsha!

Mr Chaatila: Madam Speaker, –

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Can you find a better example.

Just withdraw what you said earlier.

Ms Mulenga: Kuti alelanda shani pa mashinsha?

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order, hon. Member for Kalulushi!

Ms Mulenga: No, teti alelanda pa mashinsha.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: I am trying to guide the hon. Member on the Floor.

Mr Chaatila: Madam Speaker, –

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member for Moomba, I said that you should withdraw what you said in Tonga and then translated into English. After withdrawing the sentence, find a better example.

Mr Chisopa: Why has he been allowed to insult?

Mr Chaatila: Madam Speaker, much obliged.

Madam Speaker, I want to withdraw the Tonga saying, “Wanina mumenda motekela.” I withdraw it.

Madam Speaker, the example I want to give is about all the mess that this country is facing now. All the mess that this country is facing now is as a result of the debt that the PF created. I was saying that the PF is in a difficult situation regarding bringing us to book because of the debt that it contracted.

Madam Speaker, I can confirm that in 2018, there was a bit of hunger under the Patriotic Front (PF) Administration. We saw what our people went through just to get a bag of maize from Mukonchi across the Kafue River, where they were not permitted to cross with two bags of maize.

Mr Kasandwe: Question!

Mr Chaatila: Madam Speaker, the hon. Member for Bangweulu can agree with me because on the Floor of this House, hon. Members of Parliament whose constituencies are on the other side of the Kafue River were denied permits to transport maize for their people. Fortunately, last year, this Government managed to feed everyone without exception.

Hon. PF Members: Question!

Mr Chaatila: Ask them. Peaple were given gaga ...

Hon. PF Members: Question!

Mr Chaatila: … which is in the third category of mealie meal. That is what they gave us for Chibwantu. Today, people want to stand here and say that this Government has not done anything.

Madam Speaker, I want to ask my colleagues, the hon. PF Members on the left, especially the senior hon. Members, to do an introspection as they stand to debate this important Motion.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Quality!

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Hon. Members, before the hon. Member for Shangombo, debates, I will invite the hon. Member for Kaumbwe, who is seated so quietly to debate.

Hon. Member for Kaumbwe, you may proceed.

Dr Mwanza (Kaumbwe): Madam Speaker, thank you so much for allowing me, on behalf of the people of Kaumbwe, to debate the President’s Speech which was delivered to this august House on 12^th September, 2025.

From the onset, I will quote what the President said:

“We can have different opinions, but we are not enemies, and we cannot afford to politicise economic development. It is all our intended purpose to see the economic development of our people, and we want to be part and parcel of that success story.”

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Nkandu: Quality!

Dr Mwanza: Madam Speaker, the Chinese say, “Zhèngzhì Yǔ Jīngjì Fāzhǎn Bùnéng Tóngbù Tuijin. It means that politics and economic development cannot move together.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Mwanza: In the shortest possible time, I will focus on page 34 of the President’s Speech, which talks about transport and infrastructure. I will relate to what would benefit my constitution as I debate this topic.

Madam Speaker, in Kaumbwe Constituency, we carried out an infrastructure audit in 2021, to check the infrastructure gap or deficit in order to have fundamental level of operations. It was observed that we need about 300 houses for civil servants, forty-four classroom blocks, ten major bridges and ten dams in Kaumbwe. So, we need to find the good financial platform that can help us narrow the infrastructure gap in Kaumbwe. The Constituency Development Fund (CDF) which is a game-changer. So far, we have constructed more than twenty 1 x 3 classroom blocks.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Mwanza: We have constructed a dam and many water supply systems.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mubanga: Quality!

Dr Mwanza: Madam Speaker, the CDF is appreciated in Kaumbwe and we look forward to the presentation of the 2026 Budget, with hope that the CDF will be increased. The infrastructure gap especially in rural constituencies is huge. Having inadequate resources makes it difficult for teachers and agricultural officers to exercise their mandates.

Madam Speaker, the allocation of the CDF per constituency which is announced each fiscal year is very inconsistent. That makes us not to perform to the best of our ability as expected. We therefore, urge the Ministry of Finance and National Planning to disburse the funds as per the CDF guidelines to all constituencies on time.

Madam Speaker, for example, right now, I am not sure whether all the constituencies have been given the K36.1 million that was allocated in the 2025 Budget. As for Kaumbwe Constituency, we are still remaining with close to K9 million. Therefore, the funding pace needs to be improved.

Madam Speaker, let me now talk about contractors who work on our infrastructure. We know that contractors are selected by the councils. It is therefore, surprising to find that a project that is supposed to take two to three months, such as the construction of a 1 x 3 classroom block, takes two years to be completed. Contractors are not even taken to court when they breach the contractual terms and yet, when we give loans our people, we take them to court when they default. It is not fair. We must balance things. If people who get loans fail to pay and are taken to court, the same should apply to contractors who breach the contractual terms.

Madam Speaker, how can the construction of a 1 x 2 classroom block take two years? We are in a hurry to build this nation.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Mwanza: Madam Speaker, page 34 of the President’s Speech talks about the Public/Private Partnerships (PPP). There is the public and private way of financing our road projects . For example, the Lusaka/Ndola Dual Carriageway, the Kasumbalesa –

Dr Mwanza (asked Mr Chala): What is the name of that road?

Mr Chala: T6.

Dr Mwanza: Yes, the T6. We have the Luanshya/Fisenge/Masangano Road. Several road works are being executed using the PPP model. The PPP Model needs to be refined in such a way that the application of the PPP laws is consistent. The following are the inconsistencies that I have noted.

The PPP Model was used on the construction of the Lusaka/Ndola Dual Carriageway and the Chingola/Kasumbalesa Road. With regard to the PPP Model on the construction of the Lusaka/Ndola Dual Carriageway, before the contractor hands the road over to the Government, he would be benefiting from the toll gates.

Madam Speaker, it is very difficult for the people of Zambia to understand the model that was used on that road because it does not apply as a PPP one. If that project was not advertised in the beginning, then that was unfair to other contractors. Otherwise, it could have even been given to a Zambian, South African or any other contractor in the region. So, the model law did not apply on the construction of the Chingola/Kasumbalesa Road …

The hon. Member’s time expired.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order!

Dr Mwanza: … or the T6 road. So, the PPP model laws must be applied throughout the implementation of the projects.

With these few words, I support the President’s Speech.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Mubika (Shangombo): Thank you, Madam Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Speech.

Madam Speaker, this group of hon. Members of Parliament, who are in this House from 2021 to 2026, are very fortunate. I am saying so because of the enhanced Constituency Development Fund (CDF). I am sure, even next year after the elections, the return ratio will be more than what was happening in the past, because as hon. Members of Parliament, we have been empowered by the President, Her Honour the Vice-President, the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning and, of course, the entire Cabinet.

Madam Speaker, in 2019, when we were given the K700,000 CDF allocation by the Patriotic Front (PF) Government, we got a portion of that money, hired Zambia National Service (ZNS) equipment, and tried to grade the road from Matebele to Shangombo. We only did 20 km of re-graveling works before they grabbed the equipment and the fuel, which was for work on the road, because I refused to vote for the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill No. 10 of 2019.

Interruptions

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member for Shangombo, please, speak to the speech delivered by the President, not what happened to you.

Mr Mubika: Madam Speaker, what I am saying is on the enhanced CDF, and what the PF did. Shangombo is the first constituency in the province to acquire the yellow machines. We now have our own graders and water bowsers. We have started working on our township roads and feeder roads because of the CDF. We are going to open up Shangombo. Some people outside this House are advocating for term limits for Members of Parliament, but who is going to pass that law?

Laughter

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mubika: So, Madam Speaker –

Interruptions

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member for Shangombo, was that in the President's Speech?

Laughter

Mr Mubika: It is on good governance, Madam Speaker. There is no term limit for Members of Parliament. I have just turned fifty years old, and our youth chairperson, the hon. Member for Mulobezi is a first-timer. Would it be fair for me to retire and leave our youth chairperson alone here, in this House?

Laughter

Mr Mubika: So, Madam Speaker, we are not going anywhere. We are going to retain our seats because of the CDF. When I first came to this House as a Member of Parliament, I was a youth. Her Honour the Vice-President was the Chief Government Spokesperson then, she used to sit there (Pointed to the Front Bench on the right). Hon. Masebo, Hon. Syakalima, and Hon. Eng. Milupi are here. I have been well-trained.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member for Shangombo, do not forget about the speech.

Mr Mubika: Madam Speaker, good governance.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mubika: Madam Speaker, as elected Members of Parliament, we should lead by example, even when people say that the youths should come, and leave. It is good governance. You can even compare. Shangombo Town Council came out as the best-performing council in the province, and that is because of experience. So, we are going to continue leading, and leading well.

Interruptions

Mr Mubika: I am not going anywhere.

Madam Speaker, I foresee Shangombo by 2031, when the term of office for President Hakainde Hichilema comes to an end and, of course, we will still continue, having more classrooms than what was there from the time this earth was created to 2021. We are going to have more clinics in Shangombo because our target is to have a minimum of three clinics per ward. We are building maternity annexes and many classrooms. There is talk outside this House; whenever there is something bad, they refer to Shangombo and Kaputa.

Hon. UPND Members: Stop it!

Mr Mubika: Madam Speaker, those people should stop it. They should first visit Shangombo and see what we are doing. Shangombo is now a construction site. Even among those civil servants who were punished in the past by being sent to Shangombo whenever they advised correctly, some of them have settled in the district, and have refused to leave. We have just formed Government. So, let me ask those people who are busy advocating outside where they were in our time of need. We are still here. We have to continue our projects.

Madam Speaker, the only difficulty that we have in Shangombo is the network. The President spoke about network connectivity. I wish the hon. Minister of Technology and Science was in the House, but through Her Honour the Vice-President, can we ensure that we upgrade the network in the district from second-generation (2G) to fourth-generation (4G) or fifth-generation (5G) of cellular network technology so that the reality of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in our schools can be achieved. Currently, in some parts of Shangombo, the network comes online around 0800 hours and goes offline by 1600 hours or 1700 hours because the batteries for the Zamtel tower expire. So, I would like to urge the hon. Minister of Technology and Science to ensure that the ministry engages Zamtel so that we can have network connectivity in some parts of the district twenty-four-seven.

Madam Speaker, as Zambians, we should thank God and the parents of this President, because he means well for this country through what he has done and what he has continued to do. We should all support this President to ensure that he has good health so that this country can benefit. I know that even most hon. Members of Parliament of the Opposition will come back because of the CDF. I would like to urge all hon. Members and the Zambians to support and vote for him next year.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member for Shangombo, I think, during the opening remarks delivered by Her Honour the Vice-President, she urged all hon. Members to not use this House as a tool for campaigning. So, you are already campaigning for next year. Please, avoid that.

Mr Mubika: I have taken note, Madam Speaker. Good governance –

Interruptions

Mr Mubika: Madam Speaker, the new hon. Member for Milenge should come for tuitions on how to come back. With free tuitions, he can come back.

Madam Speaker, all I am trying to say is that we have good leadership and good governance in place. We should all ensure that we monitor the projects in our constituencies so that the people who vote for us can also benefit.

Madam Speaker, with those few words, I would like to end by saying that we should be supportive, as hon. Members of Parliament, so that the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning can quickly release the last portion of the 2025 CDF, and we can complete all our projects so that we all come back.

Madam Speaker, without involving you, I also wish to see you next year after the elections but I cannot say that.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Before the hon. Member for Kanyama takes the Floor, I invite the Independent hon. Member of Parliament for Mpongwe.

Interruptions

Madam First Deputy Speaker: The hon. Member for Mpongwe is not in the House? Okay.

Mr Chibombwe (Bahati): Madam Speaker, thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Speech.

Madam Speaker, from the outset, I must state that I will try to be objective –

Mr Nkandu: Eh!

Mr Chibombwe: Quiet. Tekanya!

Mr Chibombwe: Madam Speaker, I will try to be objective and I will focus my debate on the energy sector.

Mr Sing’ombe: On ZESCO Limited!

Mr Chibombwe: Madam Speaker, let me begin by thanking Hon. Kampampi, the Member of Parliament for Mwansabombwe, for his debate on the energy sector.

Madam Speaker, item 91 on page 23 of the President’s Speech states as follows:

“In the 57 years prior to 2021, growth in demand for power consumption significantly outstripped investment in power generation, transformation and distribution. For too long, this issue did not receive the needed attention. Our Government is actively addressing this challenge.”

Madam Speaker, the speech reads, “Transformation”, but I think that is a typographic error. It is supposed to read ‘transmission’.

Madam Speaker, I will try to respond to that statement. In 2011, the country’s installed generation capacity was 1,600 MW. In 2021, the generation capacity increased to 3,400 MW, doubling what was there before 2021. Most of the transmission and distribution lines, and interconnectors, were installed during the period from 2011 to 2021. I must state that there was massive investment in the electricity subsector between 2011 and 2021.

Mr Kapala indicated assent.

Mr Chibombwe: Hon. Kapala is nodding.

Madam Speaker, there was massive investment and hundreds and millions of United States (US) Dollars were poured into the electricity subsector.

Hon. Member: By who?

Mr Chibombwe: Madam Speaker, let me quickly go to page 25, where the President proposed that 750 MW of solar power be set up to end load-shedding. I will endeavour to provide a solution to the load-shedding situation that we are currently facing. The 750 MW of solar power is not enough to end load-shedding. Instead of 750 MW of solar power, I propose that we target 3,000 MW of solar power so that during the day, we can use the power from the solar farms we are building. If we utilise the solar system and allow our hydro-power machines, which produce 85 per cent of our power, to be on spinning reserve to save water, then, the machines would only kick in when there is a loss of solar power generation or when demand spikes. I am sure the hon. Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development and Hon. Kapala know what I am talking about. The 100 MW being produced at the Chisamba Solar Power Plant, which the President mentioned, only supplies power during the day. As of yesterday, 1650 hours, production at the solar power plant was at zero. Production at the Bangweulu Power Company’s solar park –

Hon. Opposition Members: Yes!

Hon. Government Members: Question!

Mr Chibombwe: You do not know.

They do not understand these issues, Madam Speaker.

Ms Mulenga: That is an engineer!

Hon. Government Member: I am also an engineer!

Mr Chibombwe: Madam Speaker –

Interruptions

Mr Chibombwe: Let me speak. Give me – Shh, shh!

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order!

Mr Chibombwe: Madam Speaker, we do not have the capacity to store the solar power produced from the solar sources that we have in the country. The moment the energy is generated, it has to be used. If you visit the Chisamba Solar Power Plant right now, you will find that the output is at zero. The system is active from 0600 hours to about 1600 hours. So, if we can …

Mr N. Musonda: Question!

Mr Chibombwe: … use solar power in the morning, and keep our water to generate electricity at night, then, we will end load-shedding.

Interruptions

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order, hon. Members!

Mr Chibombwe: Madam Speaker, we should endeavour to generate 3,000 MW of solar power, instead of the 740 MW that the President talked about.

Ms Mulenga interjected.

Mr Chibombwe: Madam Speaker, I have a scenario about the power system to give all those who are saying, “Question!”. (Mr Chibombwe paced about) As of yesterday, 1650 hours, from the ZESCO Limited’s system –

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order, hon. Member!

Those movements you are making are like you are preaching in church.

Laughter

Mr Chibombwe: Madam Speaker, I can give a scenario about the power system. As at 1700 hours yesterday, production on ZESCO Limited’s power system was at 2,088 MW and zero at our solar parks. Out of 2,000 MW, 800 MW is given to the mines and 392 MW is given to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). At the same time, we are also importing about 192 MW from Zimbabwe. We imported 42 MW from Namibia Power Corporation (NamPower) and 2.2 MW from Eskom. I must state that the importation of power is state-to-state. There is no middleman in the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).

Hon. Government Member: Speak to the speech!

Mr Chibombwe: I am speaking to the speech. I am trying to talk about open access.

Madam Speaker, there is no middleman in the importation of power. The demand for power in Lusaka is about 600 MW. That is why I was very worried when somebody said that he was giving compounds fifteen hours of power. Where is that power going to come from? As of yesterday, Lusaka was allocated a meagre 300 MW. That is not enough to give our compounds ten hours of constant power.

Mr Chisopa: Acisa mukubepa!

Mr Twasa: He has run away!

Laughter

Mr Chibombwe: Madam Speaker, our people should know the truth.

Madam Speaker, as I conclude, I would like to move from energy to the road sector. The President said that works are progressing well on the Mufulira/Mokambo Road. At present, nothing is happening on that road.

Hon. Government Members: Question!

Mr Chibombwe: Nothing is happening on the Pedicle Road. The contractor has abandoned all the sites.

Madam Speaker, I must state that, as it is, there is no solution in the speech to load-shedding. The solution is what I have stated.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order!

I made a mistake earlier. I meant to say that the hon Member for Kafulafuta will debate after the hon. Member for Kanyama.

Mr Chinkuli (Kanyama): Madam Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity to add a word or two to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Speech.

Madam Speaker, from the outset, I would like to thank the President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, Her Honour the Vice-President and the entire Cabinet for the diligence they have put in the fight against corruption. You may wish to note that this country has faced significant corruption challenges for a very long time. I thank the Government for coming to the country’s rescue and for the measures that it has put in place to ensure that corruption is reduced. How do we reduce corruption? I want to quote one writer by the name of François Valérian, who said that corruption will continue to thrive until the justice system can punish wrongdoing and keep governments in check.

Interruptions

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order, hon. Members!

Mr Chinkuli: Madam Speaker, when justice is bought or is interfered with politically, it is the people who suffer. He went on to say that leaders should fully invest in and guarantee independence to the institutions that look at or uphold the law and tackle corruption. He went on to say that whilst a number of countries have managed to lower corruption to some reasonable levels, most are still stagnating or declining, as leaders are failing to act. From just this statement that I have quoted, you realise that there are a number of issues that need to be attended to for us to curb the vice. We are talking about guaranteeing the independence of the institutions that uphold the law.

Madam Speaker, if you look at the Anti-Corruption Commission Act No. 3 of 2012, you will see that it gives institutions the leverage to curb corruption or to investigate, arrest or prosecute whoever is found wanting. So, the independence of institutions is actually guaranteed. Time and again, I have heard His Excellency the President make mention that we want to leave these institutions independent so that we can hold them accountable. That shows that there is no political interference in the institutions that handle issues of corruption.

Madam Speaker, there is also the issue of investing. The same writer I quoted earlier emphasised that leaders should invest in the institutions that handle corruption issues. Very soon; on Friday, the Budget will be presented. The institutions that handle corruption issues are funded. Budgetary allocations should be assigned to them so that they are able to buy the necessary equipment to manage the scourge.

Madam Speaker, if you look at the Judiciary, you will see that more Judges have been appointed. It takes resources to do that. The infrastructure where the judges who have been appointed are supposed to operate from is being built. As we look at the Budget next week, those are some of the issues we are going to advance so that –

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order!

(Debate adjourned)

_______

The House adjourned at 1854 hours until 1430 hours on Wednesday, 24^th September, 2025.

____________

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