Debates- Friday, 3rd June, 2011

Printer Friendly and PDF

DAILY PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES FOR THE FIFTH SESSION OF THE TENTH ASSEMBLY

Friday, 3rd, June, 2011

The House met at 0900 hours

[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]

NATIONAL ANTHERM

PRAYER

________

Mr Speaker: Order!

We have to make sure that a quorum is present before Business starts.

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: I am briefed that there is a quorum.

Hon. Members, there is one thing I would like to say. The Presiding Officers do appreciate the warm reception with which you acknowledge the entry of my procession into the Chamber. However, I am compelled to guide that it is unprocedural. Much as we appreciate the warmth of your reception, it is unprocedural. I hereby discourage it. The procession should be welcomed in silence.

Thank you.
__________

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice (Mr Kunda, SC.): Mr Speaker, I rise to give some idea of the Business the House will consider next week.

Sir, on Tuesday, 7th June, 2011, the Business of the House will begin with Questions, if there will be any. This will be followed by presentation of Government Bills, if there will be any. After that, the House will consider two Motions to adopt the report of the following Committees:

(i) Committee on Education, Science and Technology; and

(ii) Committee on Agriculture and Lands.

Mr Speaker, on Wednesday, 8th June, 2011, the Business of the House will begin with Questions, if there will be any. This will be followed by presentation of Government Bills, if there will any. After that, the House will consider a Private Member’s Motion to be moved by the Hon. Member for Nchanga Parliamentary Constituency, Mr W. C. Simuusa, MP, on the need to consolidate labour statistics in the country.

Mr Speaker, on Thursday, 9th June, 2011, the Business of the House will begin with Questions, if there will be any. This will be followed by Presentation of Government Bills, if there will be any. Thereafter, the House will consider two Motions to adopt the reports of the following Committees:

(i) Committee on Information and Broadcasting Services; and

(ii) Committee on Estimates.

Sir, on Friday, 10th June, 2011, the Business of the House will begin with His Honour the Vice-President’s Question Time. Thereafter, the House will consider Questions, if there will be any. This will be followed by presentation of Government Bills, if there will be any. The House will then consider the Motion to Adopt the Report of the Committee on Communications and Transport, Works and Supply.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

__________

THE VICE-PRESIDENT’S QUESTION TIME

Ms Kapata (Mandevu): Mr Speaker, may His Honour the Vice-President  and Minister of Justice clearly state to the nation whether Parallel Voter Tabulation (PVT) is illegal and whether it is going to be used during this year’s elections.

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, yesterday I explained that the way the PVT is understood or the type the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) want to embark upon is illegal. As I explained yesterday, that does not stop members of the public or political parties from collecting results announced by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) because that is allowed under the Electoral Code of Conduct. What is not allowed is to speculate on election results, announce unverified results which are not coming from the ECZ or make projections and speculations which can mislead the public and plunge the country in chaos. We are discouraging that kind of PVT because it is criminal.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Kakoma (Zambezi West): Mr Speaker, every district in this country has, at least, one constituency. Recently, the Government created a new district called Ikeleng’i in the North-Western Province. I would like to find out whether that new district will have a constituency and, if so, whether it will be contested for in this year’s General and Parliamentary Elections.

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, we went to the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) in order to increase the number of constituencies…

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: … but some hon. Members sabotaged the constitutional review process by voting against the increase in the number of constituencies. By so doing, we shot ourselves in the foot. This means that we have to do with 150 constituencies. That is locked in the Constitution. If we had increased the number of constituencies even by ten, all the new districts would have had new constituencies by now. We would have accommodated them in the increased number of constituencies. We lost a lot of good things in that Draft Constitution, including women representation which was voted against. I urge all the women of this country to vote against the Patriotic Front (PF) and United Party for National Development (UPND), …

Interruptions

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: … who voted against these progressive provisions.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Kambwili (Roan): Mr Speaker, why did the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) enter a nolle prosequi in the issue of the twelve Chinese nationals at Maamba Collieries when our fellow Zambians are sent to prison in Mongu? What circumstances necessitate entering a nolle prosequi?

Hon PF Members: Hear, hear!

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, a nolle prosequi cannot be questioned, not even in a court of law. Therefore, we cannot start questioning the powers of the DPP in this House which he exercises in his absolute discretion. He knows the reasons why he entered the nolle prosequi which is backed by law.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sichamba (Isoka West): Mr Speaker, can His Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Justice confirm whether this Government has done very well economically?

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

The clock is ticking away as you are talking carelessly.

His Honour the Vice-President may proceed.

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, indeed, the economy of this country is booming.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: The economy has grown by 7 per cent. We have a lot of investments in the economy and are showered with accolades by international organisations. Our superb performance has been recognised. We, therefore, shall continue to grow the economy so that we can develop this country.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr D. Mwila (Chipili): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister of Education and Spokesperson for the MMD went to Northern Province and told the Catholic Priests to go and marry and have children. Can His Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Justice comment on this statement.

Mr Kambwili: He is a former Catholic.

Laughter

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: I am a Catholic.

Laughter

Mr Speaker: Order!

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, we respect the Catholic Church. I do not think that we should use this forum to start making insinuations such as the one made by the hon. Member. 

All I can say is that we enjoy very cordial relations with the Church …

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: … and shall enter into dialogue where there are any differences of opinion or misunderstandings. This is the position of this Government which has been explained by our President.

Mr Speaker, there are many Catholics in our Government and even in this Parliament.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: We not only respect the Catholic Church, but all other churches in this country and we shall work together to ensure that there is peace and harmony in this country.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Malama (Mfuwe): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from His Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Justice when this Government will implement most of the projects for 2010, especially in the education sector.

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, we are implementing projects.

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: We have even started new ones. New schools are constructed and we shall continue implementing these projects especially that this is an election year. We want to continue with developmental projects so that people can vote for us.

Laughter

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: There is no reason we should stop development. So, we are doing everything possible to ensure that we construct schools, health centres and other developmental projects. 

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Sing’ombe (Dundumwezi): Mr Speaker, I would like to commend the Government for giving houses to sitting tenants who failed to pay for them on the Copperbelt. However, may I know if alternative land will be given to the people who were evicted from Sichifulo and those from Chief Kaingu who are squatting in my constituency along the Sichifulo River?

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, that is a matter we are looking into through the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU). Immediately the money is made available, we shall attend to the issue of resettlement. It is something we are working on.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Milupi (Luena): Mr Speaker, under the constitutional Separation of Powers, it is only Parliament that has powers to appropriate sums of money to meet public expenditure. Would His Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Justice explain why the Government is embarking on major projects such as the road rehabilitation on the Copperbelt, Lusaka and other provinces that were not included in the Budget? Where is the Government getting the unbudgeted for money to fund these projects?

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear! {mospagebreak}

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, what is being done is perfectly legal. In fact, we can move resources within the budget, of course, with the approval of Parliament. This is why we have supplementary expenditures. We know what we are doing and, as far as I know, we have budgeted for road construction works.

We are also entitled to borrow money under the Constitution, provided it is within limits. The same hon. Members of Parliament have been demanding that we should work on the roads. This is exactly what we are doing for the people of Zambia in Lusaka and on the Copperbelt.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: We must continue working on these roads, and even borrow money where we can in the interest of developing this country.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Nkombo (Mazabuka Central): Mr Speaker, the Citizens’ Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) has had its top hierarchy changed recently. I would like to find out from His Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Justice, Mr George Kunda, why there was a freeze in the disbursement of funds, which are meant to empower Zambians. From what I know, there has been no disbursement of funds in the form of loans to people who have applied through the District Commissioners’ Offices (DCOs). I would like to know it has been decided to use the DCOs for approval of loans that are not even coming through.

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, there is no freeze in the disbursement of funds to those who qualify to access them. The operations of the CEEC are backed by law. They are not driven by the DCOs as alleged. The law which guides the operations of this particular statutory body is there.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mrs Kawandami (Chifubu): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from His Honor the Vice-President and Minister of Justice why some houses in Chifubu Breweries Township were given to some tenants while other tenants are still languishing, not knowing where they will settle.

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, that question is vague. So, I am afraid I cannot give an answer.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Zulu (Bwana Mkubwa): Mr Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank the Government for starting to pay benefits to former employees of Kapiri Glass Company.

Mr D. Mwila: Kulwisha adoption!

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Zulu: Sir, may I find out when this Government is going to pay the former employees of Ndola Copper Refinery?

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, you have brought that issue to my attention. I believe there are some legal issues surrounding the terminal benefits. Give us more details, then we will look into this issue. If there are any outstanding payments, they can be looked into. However, that is a longstanding matter although most of the terminal benefits have been settled.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Simuusa (Nchanga): Mr Speaker, Kansanshi Copper Mines has an accumulated profit of about US$2 billion. This means that Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM), with a 20 per cent shareholding, is supposed to get about US $450 million. However, to date, Kansanshi Copper Mines has only paid US$33.5 million, meaning only 10 per cent of the return profits has been paid to ZCCM, which implies that the dividend policy only allows 10 per cent. Why has this Government allowed such a situation where a dividend policy only allows 10 per cent payment to the Zambian people out of the huge profits that are made at that mine?

Mr Munaile: Hear, hear!

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, the hon. Member specialises in talking about mining taxes but, in this particular case, I do not think he understands what he is talking about.

Interruptions

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: He is just speculating. There is no such a thing.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!

Mr Mwiimbu (Monze Central): Mr Speaker, this Government has been praising itself over the purported major rehabilitation of roads on the Copperbelt, Lusaka and other provinces, except the Southern Province. I would like to find out from his Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Justice what measures the Government has put in place to ensure that roads in the Southern Province are rehabilitated without being discriminated against as the situation is now obtaining on the ground.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, I know that we have rehabilitated the Zimba/Livingstone Road to very high standards, …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: … but the hon. Member is not aware of that. We have also worked on the Choma/Namwala Road …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: … which our President commissioned. I have travelled on that road and the road is in Southern Province.

In Livingstone, the tourist capital, the Government has been rehabilitating township roads and the town centre. There are several roads we are working on and this Government will continue to work on roads in the Southern Province. That is why our popularity has gone up in the Southern Province.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Speaker: Order!

Some hon. Members are not interested in what is going on in the Chamber because they are busy talking loudly. May they control their loud commentaries so that those who wish to participate may do so and their answers understood?

Mr Lumba (Solwezi Central): Mr Speaker, recently, the Minister of Finance and National Planning got some money from the mines, and I presume that Kansanshi Copper Mines paid quite a substantial amount of money for the Urban Road Rehabilitation Project. May I find out why roads in Solwezi are not being worked on under this project?

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, we are working on some of the bridges.

Mr D. Mwila: Question!

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Recently, the President went to Solwezi and launched the rehabilitation of some roads including a bridge. We shall continue to work on some of the roads in Solwezi.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr C. Mulenga (Chinsali): Mr Speaker, yet again, we have lost a life at the University of Zambia. A third year student was hit by a car yesterday under the foot bridge. May I find out when this Government is going to ensure that the damaged barrier is repaired to avoid unnecessary loss of lives on the Great East Road?

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, if, indeed, we have lost a life on that road, that is a very sad situation. However, the reason we put up a bridge there is to avoid the occurrence of such accidents. Since there is already a bridge there, all we can do is just sensitise the students to use the bridge. That is why it is there. It is for their benefit.

I thank you, Sir.

Mrs Masebo (Chongwe): Mr Speaker, what is next after the failed Constitution? The people of Chongwe are anxious to know when some of the good clauses will be brought back. What is the roadmap for the constitution-making process?

Mr D. Mwila: Hear, hear!

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, we have made it clear in this House, and even the President has made it clear that on this side of the House, as we are going to win the elections, …

Hon. Opposition Members: Question!

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: … we are going to bring back the Constitution so that we can advance the rights of women. There are a lot of good things which we lost as a result of the collapse of the constitutional review process. This very rich document is still there even for future governments. After six months, we shall bring it back to the House. That is our intention.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mrs Mwamba (Lukashya): Mr Speaker, why did the Government send Cabinet Ministers in the country to distribute obscene and pornographic materials, and yet the Government knows that this is indictable under the Laws of Zambia?

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, those people you are referring to went to sensitise the Zambian people to the dangers and immorality associated with homosexuality.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: That was their mission. Since Zambia is a Christian nation, we should sensitise our people against vices such as homosexuality which are illegal in Zambia. Of late, one of the political leaders has been promoting homosexuality …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: … and, therefore, it is the responsibility of every citizen, including opposition parties, to preach against these vices so that we can respect the laws of this country as enshrined in the Penal Code of Zambia.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Ntundu (Gwembe): Mr Speaker, I appreciate the visit to Gwembe by His Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Justice but, may I find out when he will send the grader, as he promised, so that the roads can be graded?

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, unfortunately, the hon. Member did not come to receive me in Gwembe …

Laughter

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: … and so he does not know the promises which I made there. On the issue of the machinery we bought from China, I can say that the equipment is available in the Southern Province. I wish to take this opportunity to direct the hon. Minister for Southern Province and the provincial administration to ensure that the equipment is deployed to Gwembe so that we deal with the issue of that particular road.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Speaker: The hon. Member for Chinsali.

Mr C. Mulenga: Mr Speaker, …

Mr Speaker: Order!

I understand the hon. Member for Chinsali has already asked a question and there are no second chances.

Laughter

Mr Beene (Itezhi-tezhi): Mr Speaker, one of the fundamental reasons the Budget Cycle was changed to its present one was the implementation of the projects in the country. May I find out whether the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) for 2011 will be released since we are now in the middle of the year?

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, it will be released within the Budget year. We still have a lot of time.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr C. K. B. Banda, SC. (Chasefu): Mr Speaker, while commending the Government for fast tracking many developmental projects such as the electrification of rural constituencies, may I find out whether the electrification of Chasefu Constituency has been fast tracked and, if it has, where are we and when shall we expect electricity in the constituency?

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, we are following the Rural Electrification Implementation Master Plan and, if Chasefu is included in that plan, it will be worked on.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mrs Banda (Chililabombwe): Mr Speaker, may I find out from His Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Justice where Mrs Ireen Kunda is getting the money which she has been distributing to women’s clubs. Is it from the Government coffers?

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

Stop the clock.

Mrs Kunda is not a Member of this House and so she cannot answer for herself as you pose those questions. Therefore, I shall not allow that kind of question.

Hon. Member: Shame!

Mr Lubinda (Kabwata): Mr Speaker, after much cry from citizens, especially from October, 2008, on the state of roads, this Government has now started constructing the roads in a very big hurry. There have been a lot of statements about the source of the money being used thereon. Can His Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Justice indicate to this House the source of the K1.5 trillion which translates into 6.5 per cent of the 2011 National Budget. how much was received from donations that His Excellency the President spoke about, how much is being raised from the capital market and mining taxes and who imposed those new taxes because all the money anticipated for mining taxes is already in the Budget for 2011? Can we ensure that some of the money is not from drug dealers, Satanists and those who are buying votes?

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, the money is legitimately raised. You have asked so many questions and, for us to answer them effectively, perhaps, you can put in a question. We need more time to answer them.

I thank you, Sir.

Ms Imbwae (Lukulu West): Mr Speaker, I would like to appreciate His Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Justice for taking a trip to Lukulu when we needed relief. May he explain to this House why the DCO is discriminating in the distribution of relief by leaving out all the United Liberal Party (ULP) wards?

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, last year and this year, we had a bumper harvest. It is important that our people have food and there is no reason we should discriminate against the ULP or the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) members because we want everybody to vote for us. The food should be given to all Zambians without discrimination and that is all I can say on that particular question.

I thank you, Sir.

Mrs Phiri (Munali): Mr Speaker, we know that we are all affected or infected with the Human Immuno Deficiency Virus and Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS). May I, therefore, find out why this Government wants to bring a Bill to this House to compel citizens to start paying for the drugs to contain the disease since the Global Fund is not coming through? Do you not think people are already overtaxed?

Mr Speaker: Order!

Despite the time lapse, I will allow His Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Justice to answer that question.

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice: Mr Speaker, the Global Fund will resume its assistance in this fight against HIV/AIDS and I am not aware of the Bill the hon. Member is talking about. There are also no fees being charged for the drugs. Which Bill is this?

I thank you, Sir.

_____________

QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

442. Mr Mwango (Kanchibiya) asked the Minister of Works and Supply:

(a) which company had been contracted to construct the mausoleum for the late Third Republican President;

(b) what the cost of the project was; and

(c) when the project would be completed.

The Deputy Minister of Works and Supply (Mr Mangani): Mr Speaker, the contract to construct the mausoleum for the late President was awarded to Messrs Yangts Jiang Enterprises Limited of Lusaka. This …

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

The House will pay attention.

Mr Mangani: … is the contractor who built the grave of the late President.

Mr Speaker, the total cost of the project is K2,876,147,959.20. The project was initially scheduled to be completed by 20th April, 2011. However, this could not be attained due to erratic funding. The expected date of completion is now 20th July, 2011.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mwango: Mr Speaker, this company erected the tomb for the late President, but I would like to know why the tender for the construction of the mausoleum was not advertised.

The Minister of Works and Supply (Mr Namulambe): Mr Speaker, the contractor knew the corners of the tomb. Therefore, we felt it wise that he should complete what he had started.

I thank you, Sir

Mrs Phiri (Munali): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out whether the site where our late President was buried will also be the burial site for the other presidents who have served this country when they go to rest.

Mr Namulambe: Mr Speaker, that will be determined by the families when such a thing happens.

I thank you, Sir.

Colonel Chanda (Kanyama): Mr Speaker, it is common knowledge that mausoleums take up quite a lot of space. Is this Government considering relocating to a more sizeable area for future tombs of our Heads of State?

Mr Namulambe: Mr Speaker, for now, there are no such considerations as the area we have is quite sufficient.

I thank you, Sir.{mospagebreak}

Mr Lubinda (Kabwata): Sir, in answering the question by my hon. Colleague on why that contractor was single sourced, the hon. Minister said it was because the contractor knew the corners of the tomb. Can I find out from the hon. Minister whether there is such a provision in the Zambia Public Procurement Act (ZPPA) to allow the Government to single source on the basis of a contractor knowing the corners of a tomb? Which law is he referring to?

Mr Namulambe: Mr Speaker, by law, single sourcing is allowed.

I thank you, Sir.

Interruptions

NDOLA/KITWE DUAL CARRIAGEWAY

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

443. Mr Mwenya (Nkana) asked the Minister of Works and Supply:

(a) when the Ndola/Kitwe dual carriageway would be rehabilitated;

(b) whether the ministry had a routine maintenance programme for the road; and

(c) how much money had been spent on the maintenance of the road from 2006 to 2010, year by year.

Mr Mangani: Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Works and Supply, through the Road Development Agency (RDA), intends to carry out periodic maintenance on the road in 2012. In addition, the Government, in partnership with the private sector, through the public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement, may carry out rehabilitation works on the road in future.

The ministry, through the RDA, prepares an annual work plan that outlines, among other activities, the programme for routine maintenance of all roads in fair and good condition. In the 2011 annual work plan, there is a total provision of K68,018,000,000 for routine maintenance for the nine provinces, out of which K7,124,000,000 is for the Copperbelt Province. The amount is earmarked for, among other roads on the Copperbelt Province, the Ndola/Kitwe Road.

The following is the amount of money spent on the routine maintenance of the Ndola/Kitwe Road from 2006 to 2010, year by year:

Year Amount (K)

2006-2007 90,650,056.73
2007-2008   277,006,907.00
2008-2009 93,747,697.51
2009-2010   335,814,635.32
Total  802,219,296.52

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mwenya: Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister of Works and Supply why we have allowed our roads to deteriorate to such a level if we have a routine maintenance programme in place.

Mr Namulambe: Mr Speaker, these factors are sometimes not foreseen because each road has a lifespan. We have a programme to carry out routine maintenance with a view to patching up or mending the damaged parts of the roads, hence the routine maintenance programme.

I thank you, Sir.

Mrs Sinyangwe (Matero): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister of Works and Supply if he is aware that the compound roads that the Government is constructing currently are worn out because of the trucks that are being parked at our police stations.

Mr Namulambe: Mr Speaker, the question of trucks that are parked at police stations cannot be the only reason roads wear out. However, as a Government, we have embarked on a programme to ensure that we repair the roads and, at the moment, our concentration is on the Ndola/Kitwe Dual Carriageway.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Lubinda: Sir, in the Budget for 2011, a total of K68.9 billion was allocated for maintenance of roads in Ndola and Kitwe. Now that President Rupiah Banda has found a windfall of K1 trillion for roads on the Copperbelt, does this Government intend to use the K68.9 billion on the maintenance of the Ndola/Kitwe Dual Carriageway on which lots of lives have been lost as a result of its bad state?

Mr Namulambe: Mr Speaker, the K1 trillion that he is referring to is meant for urban township roads in the three provinces, namely the Copperbelt, Central and Lusaka. We have said that we are committed, as a Government, to ensuring that these roads are made passable with a view to avoiding accidents such as the ones he talked about, hence our provision for the routine maintenance programme for the Ndola/Kitwe Dual Carriageway.

I thank you, Sir. 

RURAL ROADS UNIT

444. Mr D. Mwila (Chipili) asked the Minister of Works and Supply:
 
(a) how many roads the Rural Roads Unit (RRU) worked on in Chipili Parliamentary Constituency in 2010;

(b) how much money was spent on the works above; and

(c) whether the road maintenance equipment procured from China had had any economic benefits in Chipili Parliamentary Constituency and, if so, what the benefits were.

Mr Mangani: Mr Speaker, the RRU did not work on any road in Chipili Constituency from January to December, 2010. However, a number of roads in Chipili Constituency will be worked on this year. As no roads were worked on in the constituency, no money was spent. The work being done by the earth-moving equipment procured from China has had economic benefits to the province as a whole. Works have been structured to be undertaken from district to district.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr D. Mwila: Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister has confirmed that from the time this equipment was purchased, no road in Chipili Constituency has been worked on. Will the hon. Minister then confirm that the Government has actually been discriminating in the grading of roads?

Mr Namulambe: Mr Speaker, our annual work plan and budget indicate that we are working on almost all the roads, including in areas held by the Opposition. Therefore, the issue of discrimination does not arise.

Mr D. Mwila: No!

Mr Namulambe: I would give an example of Mwense District where some of the roads were repaired by this Government using this equipment. As such, the issue of discrimination does not arise.

I thank you, Sir.

Mrs Phiri: Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the Government whether or not works on the Mansa/Luwingu Road have been included in this year’s budget. The distance to Chipili has now become longer because people have to pass through Mwense to get Chipili. Have works on the Mansa/Luwingu Road been included in your work plan?

Mr Namulambe: Mr Speaker, we are a working Government which is considering working on all the roads which are in a deplorable state. The road that she has referred to is one of the roads which are in our plan.

I thank you, Sir.

ELECTRICITY EXPORT

445. Mr Chisala (Chilubi) asked the Minister of Energy and Water Development how much revenue was earned from the export of electricity to the neighbouring countries from 2005 to 2010.

The Deputy Minister of Energy and Water Development (Mr Imasiku): Mr Speaker, a total amount of K217,212,000,000 was raised from the export of electricity to neighbouring countries from 2005 to 2010 broken down as follows:

Year   K’ billion

2005 35,116

2006 33,778

2007 33,695

2008 22,191

2009 20,669

2010 71,763

 Total    217,212

Electricity was exported to the following towns:

Town   Country

Sakania   DR Congo

Mokambo  DR Congo

Pweto   DR Congo

Kasenge   DR Congo

Sumbawanga  Tanzania

Kasane   Botswana

Chirundu  Zimbabwe

Zumbo   Mozambique

Katima Mulilo  Namibia

 I thank you, Sir.

Mr Chisala: Mr Speaker, may I learn from the hon. Deputy Minister of Energy and Water Development, how the raised funds have been utilised.

The Minister of Energy and Water Development (Mr Konga): Mr Speaker, the revenue which was earned through the export of electricity was part of the total revenue collected by the company which was subsequently spent on normal administrative purposes.

I thank you, Sir.

Ms Kapata (Mandevu): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister why the Government decided to export electricity at the expense of the people of Mandevu who are subjected to daily load shedding resulting in their electrical appliances being damaged.

Mr Konga: Mr Speaker, the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) entered into agreements with other utility companies in the region to support them in the provision of power to citizens in those countries. This is just as the utilities in those countries also enter into agreements to support ZESCO during periods when we are faced with challenges with regard to the provision of electricity. Often times, this power actually is exported at the time when there is little demand for power in Zambia. There are peak times and off-peak times. Most of the power was exported during off-peak times when there was no load shedding.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Ntundu (Gwembe): I would like to find out from the hon. Minister how we export electricity to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I am also aware that Zimbabwe imports electricity from the DRC. Now, can the hon. Minister explain to this House what arrangements are in place which make it possible for the Zimbabwean Government to import power from the DRC and also for ZESCO to export power to the DRC. Can the hon. Minister explain how the entire process works?  Please, you are now making us ….

Mr Speaker: Order!

You are being argumentative.

Laughter  

Mr Konga: Mr Speaker, the hon. Member has asked a very esoteric question but, in simple terms, ZESCO wheels power through its transmission lines from the DRC to Zimbabwe. However, as the hon. Deputy Minister stated when answering the principal question, ZESCO also distributes power at the distribution voltage level to the border towns. However, the power that is wheeled through its transmission lines is at a higher voltage. I think that is the simplest way I can answer the question which has been asked by the hon. Member.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Lumba (Solwezi Central): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister when the Government is going to unbundle ZESCO in view of developments of private-public-partnerships (PPPs) in the power generation sector in places such as Itezhi-tezhi and other areas. When is the Government going to break up ZESCO into generation, transmission and distribution units?

Mr Konga: Mr Speaker, at present, the Government does not have intentions at all to break up ZESCO into generation, transmission and distribution units. The Government, in 1996, submitted a Bill to this House which was requesting the House to amend the Electricity Act, whereby the electricity sector was going to be open to other players both at the generation and transmission levels. At the moment, there are other players who are distributing power in places such as Lumwana which are private companies. The sector has been opened up to private companies which can now compete against ZESCO.

I thank you, Sir.

Ms Kawandami (Chifubu): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister whether the electricity company has any plans to lower its charges because a lot of people in the country have resorted to using charcoal …

Mr Speaker: Order!

You are debating, what is your question?

Ms Kawandami: Mr Speaker, when is the Ministry of Energy and Water Development going to lower the charges on electricity so as to avoid deforestation?

Mr Konga: Mr Speaker, electricity, like any other commodity, has value. Thus, the usage of electricity must be paid for. Its value is determined, from time to time, by the cost of the materials which are used to produce it. Therefore, that is the value customers are required to pay for. If you go to a shop to buy food or sugar, there is value for that. The same principle applies when you are requested to pay for the electricity that you use.

However, I would like to inform the hon. Member that previously, Zambians had challenges in paying their capital contribution for them to be connected to electricity but, now, through this very hardworking Government, the Republican President announced plans to make it easier for customers or citizens of Zambia to access electricity. Through these plans, customers will be able to pay their capital contribution  in small instalments for a period of up to thirty-six months.

I thank you, Sir.

Mrs Mwamba (Lukashya): Mr Speaker, from the answer which was given by the hon. Deputy, it is clear that huge sums of money are realised from the export of power. Why has ZESCO been struggling to complete its project at Kafue Gorge?

Mr Konga: Mr Speaker, in our response, the hon. Deputy Minister mentioned that a sum of K217 billion was realised from the export of power to neighbouring countries. To produce power from Kafue Gorge requires in excess of US$2 billion. If you convert K217 billion to dollars, I do not know what amount you are going to get.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Chongo (Mwense): Mr Speaker, with the comparative advantage that Zambia has over the DRC in terms of power generation, what is the ministry doing to ensure that ZESCO gives reliable and adequate power to the DRC, especially the Poto and Kasenga areas where people feel frustrated because of the unreliable supply of power?

Mr Konga: Mr Speaker, the priority for this Government is to supply power to the citizens of Zambia. Any surplus of power could then be made available to our neighbours. However, the Government has embarked on a very serious programme to invest in generation as has been evidenced by the new power projects that the Government has embarked on at Kafue Gorge Lower, Itezhi-tezhi and the expansion of Kariba North Extension. Kalungwishi is also being developed by the private sector and there are many other solar projects so that we can produce more power to meet national economic development. Thereafter, the surplus can then be made available, on a reliable basis, to neighbouring countries.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Beene (Itezhi-tezhi): Mr Speaker, currently, the ZESCO power lines run throughout the country without being connected to health posts and schools, and yet according to the hon. Minister’s  answer, so much money is being realised from the exportation of electricity. Is the Government going to shift its policy by first making sure that electricity is made available to all Zambians in the country before exporting it to other countries?

Mr Konga: Mr Speaker, indeed, the objective of the Government is to make power available to all of the citizens of this country. I will reiterate that His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, last week, announced measures which will make it possible for the citizens of this country to access electricity more easily.

I thank you, Sir.

Dr Machungwa (Luapula): Mr Speaker, in his answer, the hon. Deputy Minister indicated that some power was exported to Tanzania. Is the hon. Minister in a position to tell us what work has been done to start works on an interconnector from Pensulo to East Africa so that once power generation in the country increases, the country can benefit by exporting more power to East Africa?

Mr Konga: Mr Speaker, this very hardworking Government, early this week, signed an agreement with a Chinese firm called TBEA whereby some monies will be made available to ZESCO for it to construct a 330 kilovoltage line from Pensulo to Kasama with the major objective of interconnecting our power lines to East Africa so that more power can be exported to East Africa to earn more foreign exchange.

I thank you, Sir.

Captain Moono (Chilanga): Mr Speaker, from the hon. Minister’s explanation, it is seems like the Government wants to make electricity accessible to all Zambians. I would like to find out from the hon. Minister whether it is in order for ZESCO to be more expensive in connecting power to schools than private farms and other places. For instance, in my constituency, I have Munyeu Basic School, which has a power line passing over it, but it has been charged K39 million while farmers are charged as low as K5 million up to K15 million. What is the rationale used in coming up with the pricing?

Mr Konga: Mr Speaker, the intention of this administration is to make electricity affordable for all its citizens, especially learning institutions because they are the basis of development. However, we have to bear in mind that power is supplied at different voltage levels. The power lines which the hon. Member is talking about, I think are high voltage transmission lines. They cost slightly more because you will have to bring the voltage down to distribution levels which could then be used as domestic voltage. However, the hon. Member is free to approach my office or ZESCO with suggestions surrounding this issue. I assume we can find solutions to the problems we face together.

I thank you, Sir.

LUSAKA/KAFUE ROAD

446. Colonel Chanda (Kanyama) asked the Minister of Works and Supply:

(a) what the cost of the on-going rehabilitation of the Lusaka/Kafue Road was;

(b) whether the contractor for rehabilitating the road was advertised and, if so, how and when; and

(c) what the time frame for completing the project was.

   Mr Mangani: Mr Speaker, the estimated cost of the current maintenance works on the Makeni Turn Off to Mazabuka Turn Off is K7,500,000 000. The maintenance works on the Makeni Turn Off to Chirundu were procured through a selective tender because the works were emergency in nature and had to be procured as quickly as possible to avert failure of the project road at certain sections of the road. The tender, therefore, was not advertised in the press.

The duration for the completion of the maintenance works is four months. The works started on 28th March, 2011 and the expected date of completion is 27th July, 2011. The works are 70 per cent complete.

I thank you, Sir.

Colonel Chanda: Mr Speaker, it is quite evident that the works that are taking place on the Kafue Road are not cost effective considering the amount of money that has been spent. I would like to find out from the hon. Minister what his permanent plans are since the road has outlived its lifespan. Is the Government considering resurfacing the entire road? If it is, when are the works going to be done?

Mr Namulambe: Mr Speaker, yes, the Government has plans to resurface this road. The ministry has already gone through the pre-qualification tenders because the road is going to be funded by the World Bank. So far, the process has started to ensure that road works on the said road commence.

Thank you, Sir.

Mr Mooya (Moomba): Mr Speaker, I am concerned about the pot holes between the Chawama Turn off and Lilayi Turn Off that are not entirely filled and are damaging many vehicles. When are they going to be filled up?

Mr Namulambe: Mr Speaker, the contractor should move quickly on site and fill up those patches. It is our concern as well.

I thank you, Sir.

Captain Moono: Mr Speaker, are there plans in the rehabilitation programme to put up speed limits between Vuma and Chilanga as a lot of lives have been lost on that stretch of the road? I have in mind speed limits like those on the Great North Road in the Chisamba area.

Mr Namulambe: Mr Speaker, speed humps will be put up once the full rehabilitation of the said road is done.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Ntundu: Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister has mentioned that the Kafue/Mazabuka Road has been advertised for K7 billion. Now, I wonder whether the hon. Minister has taken time to drive through this road, especially at Kafue Bridge itself where the police are manning a road block. Has the hon. Minister taken time to have a look at the quality or type of work that has been done by the contractor?

Mr Namulambe: Mr Speaker, I have driven on this road to inspect it. As a correction to the hon. Member, the name of the road is not Makeni/Mazabuka, but Makeni/Chirundu Road. Now, the contractor is being paid according to the certified works. As such, where the works on the road have not been done well, the contractor is being asked to redo some portions.

I thank you, Sir.

REHABILITATION OF BITUMINOUS ROADS

447. Colonel Chanda asked the Minister of Works and Supply:

(a) when the Government would come up with a master plan to rehabilitate all the damaged bituminous roads, province by province;

(b) how much such an exercise would cost; and

(c) what the time frame for undertaking the rehabilitation of the roads at (a) would be.

Mr Mangani: Mr Speaker, the programme to rehabilitate all damaged bituminous roads has been on going since 1998 when the first Road Sector Infrastructure Development Project (ROADSIP I) programme started. We are currently under ROADSIP II, a continuation of ROADSIP I, which started in 2004 and will come to an end in 2013. The master plan to rehabilitate all damaged roads is called ROADSIP II.

Mr Speaker, the Government, through the Ministry of Communications and Transport, engaged a consultant in January, 2011 to revise and update the Master Plan ROADSIP II Bankable Document at a cost of £100,000.00. The revision of the master plan revealed that we require K5.5 trillion for a period of five years to rehabilitate all damaged bituminous roads.

Mr Speaker, the time frame for undertaking the rehabilitation of the roads in (a) would be five years.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Speaker: When the hon. Minister answers the supplementary question, could he simplify, in English, what a bituminous road is.

Colonel Chanda: Sir, I thank the hon. Minister for that answer. Lately, I have had an opportunity to travel to most provinces of the country and I have seen that the roads are completely worn out. In the next five months, the rainy season will be begin, again. So, can the hon. Minister give some urgency to this exercise and how soon is this exercise likely to start?

Mr Namulambe: Mr Speaker, a bituminous road, in simple terms, is a tarred road. In relation to the question that has been asked by the hon. Member for Kanyama, let me state that we are working on these roads. For instance, the contractors are on site on the stretch between the Serenje/Mpika and Mpika/Nakonde roads. Very soon, the contractors will be on site to work on the Kaoma/Mongu Road. The Makeni/Chirundu Road, which has been referred to, has a contractor on site. We are also working on several other roads, meaning that we are concerned about the status of roads in the country.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mwenya: Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister has mentioned ROADSIP I and ROADSIP II which began in 2004. From 2004 to date, seven years have since passed. Therefore, can the hon. Minister tell us what the hindrances have been in the construction of the dual carriageway from Kitwe, Chingola to Chililabombwe which has not begun to date?

Mr Namulambe: Mr Speaker, in the first place, when we considered the construction of the dual carriageway from Kitwe, Chingola to Kasumbalesa, the hindrance had been the fact that we did not have enough resources to carry out the said works. Furthermore, when such considerations were made, the contractors’ estimates were way beyond our capacity, hence we are now trying to encourage the private sector to partner with the Government to work on these roads considering the fact that we passed the Tolls Act. Owing to that, I think we are now receiving consideration by people who want to partner with the Government to work on the said dual carriageway.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Chisala: Mr Speaker, why has the resurfacing of the Tuta/Samfya/Mansa/Nchelenge Road delayed?

Mr Namulambe: Mr Speaker, the ministry will patch up the potholes on the stretches of the road which are damaged because resurfacing of the road from Serenje to Musaila will be like constructing a new road. So, we are going to concentrate on those areas which have been damaged because some stretches are in quite a good state and passable.

I thank you, Sir.

_______________{mospagebreak}

MOTIONS

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND TOURISM

Mr Chanda (Kankoyo): Mr Speaker, I beg to move that this House do adopt the report of the Committee on Energy, Environment and Tourism for the Fifth Session of the Tenth National Assembly laid on the Table of the House on 23rd May, 2011.

Mr Speaker: Is the Motion seconded?

Mr Shakafuswa (Katuba): Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.

Mr Chanda: Mr Speaker, your Committee considered the topic of the status of tourism in Zambia. The major challenge being faced by the industry is insufficient and unco-ordinated marketing, absence of a national brand and an insufficient budget for national marketing and promotions. Unfortunately, Zambia’s marketing budget has been, on average, one tenth of the regional average. This comes as a surprise to your Committee considering that tourism has been raised to number three among the priorities of the economy after mining and agriculture.

Mr Speaker, your Committee urges the Government to increase, to realistic levels, funding to the Zambia Tourist Board (ZTB) so that there can be meaningful marketing of Zambia as a tourist destination. This would ultimately resolve issues of marketing and branding of Zambia’s tourism product.

Mr Speaker, Zambia’s lack of competitiveness is worsened by the fact that it is an unknown and relatively expensive destination. This is because some of the key markets for Zambia’s tourism do not have direct flights into Zambia, making the cost of travel generally high. Additionally, domestic flights within Zambia are too expensive. Furthermore, there are no other means of getting to most tourist locations within Zambia due to the general poor state of roads.

Mr Speaker, your Committee recommends that the issue of expensive air fares and numerous connections should be resolved as a matter of urgency in order to make Zambia an attractive destination. In this regard, the Government needs to put measures in place that will assist the aviation industry to provide cheaper services. Additionally, road networks leading to tourist destinations need to be worked on to make travel within the country cheaper.

Sir, accommodation establishments are more expensive than the regional average in spite of the fact that standards in Zambia are generally lower. Further, there are no proper standards or a grading system in place for these establishments due to the non-implementation of the 2007 Tourism and Hospitality Act.

Mr Speaker, your Committee heard that another issue that impacts on the quality of Zambia’s tourism product is the lack of a well-skilled workforce. Unfortunately, the Government’s only tourism and hospitality school is not well-funded for it to adequately prepare students for the industry while privately-owned training institutions are running courses below standards, as they almost completely lack capacity in the provision of practical aspects of the requirements of hospitality training institutions.

Sir, in this regard, your Committee urges the Government to expedite the operationalisation of the Tourism and Hospitality Act of 2007 so that players in the industry can be regulated. This will resolve the issue of standards and grading of accommodation establishments in the tourism sector. Connected to this is the need for proper training institutions for the hospitality industry. Further, the Tourism and Hospitality Act of 2007, once operational, will also address the licensing factors that have been affecting the renewal and acquisition of operating permits. The process needs to be redesigned and aligned with current Government policy on licensing and the demands for a one-stop-shop.

Mr Speaker, your Committee undertook a tour of the Northern Circuit, specifically Kasama Airport, Kasaba Bay Airport, Nsumbu National Park and Moto-Moto Museum.

In terms of Kasama Airport, your Committee is concerned about the inadequate funding to this institution resulting in the airport being almost completely engulfed in tall grass which the airport management is unable to cut due to lack of equipment and funds. For the same reason, the width of the runway has reduced by 5m on each side as it has been reclaimed by grass. Additionally, Kasama Airport is generally under staffed with fourteen out of an establishment of forty employees. Sir, your Committee is dismayed by the fact that the departure fees are at K2,000 and that representation from the institution to review these fees upwards has not been acted on.

The Kasama Airport Management, with the help of the parent ministry, should source for the Rural Roads Unit equipment to assist in managing the grass around the airport. Additionally, the K2,000 departure fee is totally unacceptable and should be reviewed to realistic levels so that it assists the airport in managing some of its affairs such as cutting grass around the facility.

Mr Speaker, another issue of great concern is that the airport has a dispute with the senior chief in the area who is encroaching on the airport land.

Laughter

Mr Chanda: The chief has allocated some of the airport land to some individuals with one individual having built a house in the direct path of the runway.

Your Committee recommends that the Ministry of Communications and Transport liaises with the Kasama Municipal Council and the Ministry of Lands to expeditiously resolve this matter. In this regard, surveyors should go on site to re-establish Kasama Airport boundaries. As for the envisioned expansion of the runway, your Committee recommends that this be done eastwards as opposed to westwards.

Sir, it is your Committee’s view that there should be a fuel facility for aircraft that land or fly over the Kasama Airport. In this regard, the Government should either provide these facilities or issue a licence to individuals who have the capacity to provide fuel as long as such individuals meet the necessary requirements.

Sir, your Committee also urges the Government to revitalise the Zambia Air Services Training Institute and make it more functional so that it can cope with the demands for air controllers in various airports. This will address the lack of air controllers at Kasama and other airports.

Mr Speaker, I will now turn to the issue of the Kasaba Bay Airport. Your Committee learnt that although progress has been made, there have been cash flow problems resulting in the project failing to be completed in December, 2010, as scheduled. Although the completion date has been pushed forward to 31st July, 2011, the project is still behind schedule, as funding has not improved. In this regard, your Committee urges the Government to release funding for the timely completion of the project.

Sir, your Committee is concerned that the noise pollution and restriction of animal movement due to fencing of the area, since the airport will be in a national park, will defeat the purpose of bringing international tourists for wildlife tourism. In this regard, your Committee wants to know the rationale for this project.

Mr Speaker, from the tour of the Nsumbu National Park, your Committee observes that there is no cost effective way to get to the national park. The alternative routes are the road from Kasama via Mporokoso, which is in a bad state, and takes about six or more hours, by water, which consumes a minimum of 200 litres of fuel, or chartering a small aircraft at about US$3,000. This has an impact on the price of services such as accommodation and, consequently, the number of tourists visiting the area.

Sir, your Committee is aware that there is a road which is being constructed from Mpulungu to Kasaba Bay that can shorten the distance. However, your Committee is uncertain of the status of this road and when it is scheduled for completion.

Mr Speaker, the Government should expedite construction of the Mbala/Mpulungu Road to lessen the cost of transport to the area and encourage tourists to visit the area in a holistic manner.

Sir, the population of animals is generally scanty due to rampant poaching in the area. This will have a negative impact on tourism as it is mainly wildlife based. In addition, the upgrading of Kasaba Bay Airport to an international airport, as earlier stated, will have an effect on the animals, as the airport will have to be fenced off. In this regard, there is a need to have a comprehensive report on the impact that the international airport will have on the movement patterns of wildlife

Mr Speaker, the closure of Kasaba Bay Lodge has also made accommodation very expensive in the area. At the moment, there are only two lodges operating in the Nsumbu National Park. It is, therefore, important that the Government encourages investment in the area. The Government should also encourage tourism activities such as large boats for tours on the lake. This can also serve as a cheaper mode of transportation.

Mr Speaker, upon touring the Moto-Moto Museum, your Committee learnt that the biggest challenge was the low grants. In this regard, the museum only had resources to pay net salaries and consequently owed the National Pensions Fund Scheme Authority (NAPSA) compensation funds as well as salaries for members of staff. Other consequential challenges include security, lack of power and the inability to carry out research and others.

Sir, in this regard, the Government should adequately fund Moto-Moto Museum in order to resolve the outstanding issues of unpaid pensions, transport for the museum, power supply and back up, filling the establishment and advertising the museum. It is primarily important that pensioners from the institution be paid off their dues immediately so that they can vacate institutional houses to create room for current employees.

Your Committee notes, with surprise, that Moto-Moto Museum is not part of the marketing of the Northern Circuit despite being the second largest museum in the country and having the largest ethological collection and books. Therefore, the Government should include this important tourist attraction in its marketing of the Northern Circuit. Your Committee is of the view that the museum should be central in this package, as it is an already established tourism product unlike most others within the circuit which are potential tourist products.

In this regard, it is important that the road leading to the museum be graded and tarred if the museum is to be sold as a tourist product.

Sir, as for the outstanding issues from your Committee’s previous reports, the Government is directed to your Committee’s report for further action. I wish to emphasize the delay in the commencement of works on the Itezhi-tezhi Power Project that your Committee was assured would commence in October, 2010.Your Committee urges the Government to ensure that the project commences and the issue of the repair of the Itezhi-tezhi Road attended to.

In conclusion, your Committee wishes to express its gratitude to you, Mr Speaker, and the Clerk of the National Assembly for the support rendered to it during the year. Your Committee is also indebted to all the witnesses who appeared before it for their co-operation in providing the necessary memoranda and briefs. Your Committee is hopeful that the observations and recommendations contained in this report will go a long way in improving the energy, environment and tourism sectors in Zambia.

Mr Speaker, I beg to move.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

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

Mr Shakafuswa: Now, Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker, I stand to second the Motion which has been ably moved for the adoption of your Committee’s report for the Fifth Session of the Tenth National Assembly.

Sir, I wish to highlight one of your Committee’s recommendations on the need to market Zambia’s tourism products to the outside world. Before I do so, allow me to briefly share with the House some information on some of Zambia’s natural resources as obtained from www.zambiantourism.com.

Mr Speaker, as the House is aware, Zambia is considered to have the largest water resource in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, covering a total of 11,890 km². Some of the water resources include lakes, rivers and waterfalls.

In terns of waterfalls, Zambia is renowned for being home to the largest part of the Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River. According to www.zambiantourism.com, at the height of the floods, around April/May, the Victoria Falls are the largest curtain of falling water in the world with over 545 million litres a minute cascading over the rocky edge. Up north, about 33 km from Mbala on the Kalambo River, are the Kalambo Falls, which are the second highest waterfall on the continent of Africa, falling about 221 m down into the gorge below.

 In addition to the two waterfalls, Zambia has many spectacular waterfalls most of which are located in the Northern and Luapula provinces of Zambia and include Lumangwe, Kundabwika, Ntumbachushi and the Chishimba Falls, to mention but a few. The sad fact, however, is that most of these beautiful waterfalls are unknown and are difficult to access due to bad roads.

Mr Speaker, in terms of lakes, may I say that Zambia is home to Africa’s largest man-made lake, Lake Kariba, which is shared with Zimbabwe. To the north, Zambia shares the waters of Lake Tanganyika with Tanzania. This lake is said to be the longest fresh water lake and the second deepest in the world.

Mr Speaker, in addition, Zambia is also home to Lakes Mweru and Bangweulu, both of which have beautiful sandy beaches and have the potential to become major tourist destinations.

Apart from these water resources, it is interesting to note that the source of the mighty Zambezi River, which begins its journey as an insignificant little spring, is located right here in Zambia, in the corner of north-west Zambia in Mwinilunga District.

Mr Speaker, Zambia is also well endowed with abundant wild and bird life found in numerous game parks and game reserves. Notable among the game parks is the Kafue National Park, which covers an area of approximately 22,500 km², making it one of the largest game parks in Africa and a wildlife sanctuary to diverse species of wild animals, some of which are peculiar to Zambia such as the black lechwe and the endemic Kafue lechwe. 

Mr Speaker, I could go on and on elaborating how beautiful this country is in terms of its unique and abundant natural resources. However, despite all these natural resources, Zambia has lagged behind in terms of attracting large numbers of tourists compared to her neighbours.

Mr Speaker, the tourist attractions that this country has been blessed with are unique and incomparable to some of the neighbouring countries that beat us in attracting tourists, and yet Zambia is sadly an unknown tourist destination.

Mr Speaker, it is funny to note that, today, the mighty Victoria Falls are marketed as a product of South Africa and a lot of tourists who visit the falls actually fly to South Africa first then proceed here to watch the tourism attraction which the mighty Victoria Falls offer. The need, therefore to market this country cannot be overemphasised. Your Committee urges the Government to allocate sufficient funds to the tourism sector, particularly for marketing the tourism products which are spread across the country.

Mr Speaker, apart from the Victoria Falls, there are many other tourist attractions, as already outlined, that need to be marketed to the outside world. I wish to emphasise that Zambia has abundant waterfalls whose potential has not been tapped. In this regard …

Mr Speaker: Order!

Before I suspend business, there is a need to ascertain the following fact. Even as we are proud of Lake Kariba, I believe, it is no longer the biggest man-made lake in Africa. Akosombo Dam on the Upper Volta River in Ghana is bigger and so is the Cahora Bassa Dam in Mozambique.

Laughter

Mr Speaker: Order!

Business was suspended from 1045 hours until 1100 hours.

[MADAM  DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair]

Mr Shakafuswa: Madam Speaker, before business was suspended, I was saying that apart from the Victoria Falls, there are many other tourist attractions, as I have already outlined, that need to be marketed to the outside world. Let me emphasise that Zambia has abundant waterfalls whose potential has not been tapped. In this regard, may I urge the Government to urgently commence improving the access roads to some of the spectacular waterfalls in readiness for vigorous campaigns to market them to the rest of the world?

Mr Speaker, with these few words, I second the Motion. 

Mr Beene (Itezhi-tezhi): Mr Speaker, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to debate this very important Motion on the Floor. I also want to thank the mover of the Motion as well as the seconder. I will only touch a few important issues in your Committee’s report.

Madam Speaker, according to the report by your Committee, it is clear that the Government has not made a follow up on the Zambia Wildlife Act No. 12 of 1998 to improve it. This has created problems and I will mention a few.

Madam, in your report, there are some issues concerning the game management areas (GMA). These areas lie between the parks and where people reside. You have heard about people who have been displaced in Sichifulo, Itezhi-tezhi and those squatting in the Dundumwezi area. This is because the laws pertaining to such issue are not clear. As a result, people have taken advantage of the situation and are now encroaching on some of these rich GMAs where safari and resident hunting is supposed to take place. For this reason, I wish to urge the Government to immediately do something about this Act. Otherwise, the parks are under threat of human encroachment, destruction of wildlife and the ecosystem. All this is so because the law has not been checked from the time it was changed to the current Zambia Wildlife Act.

According to standard practice, the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) is supposed to start issuing permits for safari and resident hunting. However, at the moment, ZAWA is still consulting on this issue and has just been increasing hunting fees without any consultation with the stakeholders.

Hon. Member: Hear, hear!{mospagebreak}

Mr Beene: Which stakeholders am I talking about? I am talking about Their Royal Highnesses, the chiefs, because some of these areas fall under them. Then there are  people from the CRBs,  community resource boards.

Madam Speaker, the law is also not clear on tourism investments. The Government has a policy to have tourism private sector driven. However, the Government merely provides infrastructure and other requisites. At the moment, the situation is chaotic, especially after having listened to the Chairperson of your Committee’s presentation.

Madam, at the moment, ZAWA is busy increasing hunting fees for wild animals, hence compelling people to start poaching. At the moment, ZAWA has plans of increasing hunting fees. For example, to hunt a buffalo, the hunting fees have been increased from K2.5 million to K5 million. Who, among the people  living in Lubwe Village in Itezhi-tezhi and Mumbwa in Kaindu area, is going to afford that K5 million. This will encourage poaching. It is important that as ZAWA makes important decisions to make money for its survival, it sits down with all the stakeholders to discuss the sustainability of the parks for the future of this country.

Madam Speaker, the infrastructure in these areas is in a deplorable state. This is because the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources does not care at all. The Kafue National Park covers most of the land in Itezhi-tezhi. If one travelled from the Mongu Junction to Itezhi-tezhi, which is about a 115 km stretch, one would see that there are no sign posts to show that the area has wild animals. As a result, motorists run over animals. What care is there?

Madam, allow me to talk about waterfalls. As the hon. Member of Parliament for Katuba stated, this country has beautiful waterfalls. Recently, I was in Mansa and Kawambwa. Kawambwa has one of the most beautiful waterfalls, but the infrastructure is in a deplorable state. I think it was built in 1940. This is the sector the Government wants to make the third important sector in the revenue generation of this country.

I wish, therefore, to urge this Government to check the legal framework of the tourism sector if this country has to progress in this sector.

Madam Speaker, allow me to talk about the water sector. We have heard a lot about this Government having drilled 200 or 300 boreholes, and yet Itezhi-tezhi District has no proper water reticulation system despite having one of the biggest clean water bodies in the country. People have to fetch water in drums and some get killed by crocodiles in the process.

Madam Speaker, I think this Government needs to be serious. This country has been independent for over forty years, but there is nothing to be proud of.

Madam Speaker, with these few words, I wish to support the report of your Committee.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Mwamba (Kasama Central): Madam Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the debate on the report of your Committee which is before this House.

Madam, the emphasis of my debate is on tourism, which has been very neglected, especially in the Northern Province. In the Northern Province, there are a lot of tourist attractions such as the Chishimba Falls. If I am not mistaken, one of the highest falls is in Mbala where Hon. Sichilima comes from.

Mr Sichamba: Kalambo Falls!

Mr Mwamba: Unfortunately, its tourism potential has not been tapped. A lot of money has been given to the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources to market these tourist attractions but, unfortunately, this has not been the case.

Madam Speaker, allow me to talk about the Kasama Airport which is mentioned in the report before this House. Forty-seven years after independence, the Kasama Airport has not been tarred.

Before I became Member of Parliament, there were some funds which were allocated to tar the Kasama Airport. Unfortunately, this money was withdrawn and given to another sector for reasons best known to the MMD Government.

Madam Speaker, the MMD Government should be serious. How can an airport in a provincial centre such as Kasama not be tarred to date? The airports in all the provincial centres have all been tarred, but what about Kasama?

Whenever there is a by-election in Kasama, His Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Justice lands on a gravel runway at the Kasama Airport. Does he not know that it is risky for him to land on a gravel runway?

Madam Speaker, I am sure the MMD Government will try to be serious for now, but I think it does not have time. It only has four months left. Therefore, I will not dwell so much on that because the next government, which is us, will look into these issues.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lubinda: Bauze futi!

Mr Mwamba: Madam Speaker, how can this Government tar the Kasaba Bay Airport and leave the Kasama Airport which is in a provincial centre, and yet we have so many hon. Members of Parliament from the Northern Province such as Hon. Simbao? What are they doing? They should have ensured that their provincial centre airport is tarred. Unfortunately, I do not know who they are representing. If they were representing the people of the Northern Province, this should have been one of the first items to tackle when they became Members of Parliament.

Madam Speaker, it is sad to note that it is because underhand methods were used that this Government opted to tar the Kasaba Bay Airport. Millions of United States dollars have been spent on the Kasaba Bay Airport instead of the Kasama Airport which is more important. Therefore, the MMD Government should know that places such as Kasama and Mporokoso are no-go areas for it because the people there do not know where this Government’s priorities lie. Look at the state of the Mporokoso/Kasama Road. His Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Justice had a rough time getting into Mporokoso and, at one point, he even fell sick because of the bad state of the road.

Madam Speaker, I will not ask His Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Justice to look into that issue because I know that he will not come back. Even if I talked the whole day and night, I would just be wasting my breath because I know that our brothers and sisters on your right will not be there in the next few months.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Nkombo (Mazabuka Central): Madam Speaker, I am grateful that you have given me yet another opportunity to debate the report.

Madam Speaker, there is so much that can be said about this report. I would like to extend my felicitations and gratitude to the Government of the Republic of Zambia for taking the initiative to open up the Northern Circuit. In my view, I feel that Zambia requires to be developed equitably and the whole idea of opening up the Northern Province to tourism could not have come at a better time than this one.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Nkombo: However, I have a few concerns and I would like to begin by declaring that I am a Member of your Committee that went to look at the affairs of this country regarding the subject at hand. I will begin by discussing the Kasaba Bay.

Madam Speaker, the visit to Kasaba Bay was an eye opener to the haphazard manner in which the Government on your right has been conducting national affairs. I would like to qualify this statement by indicating that a road from Mbala to Kasaba Bay over the Lufubu River has been constructed on which the Government has spent K58.7 billion.

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

I think there is a need for us to concentrate on what is going on. If you have to consult, please, do it quietly. Will the hon. Member continue, please?

Mr Nkombo: Madam Speaker, I appreciate your protection.

I was saying that this Government allocated K58.7 billion to construct a road from Mbala to Kasaba Bay without giving consideration to the full bill of quantities to conclude this project. I am saying so because, after spending K58.7 billion, they came across the Lufubu River over which a bridge was required to be constructed. Its bill of quantities was not taken into account. After spending this amount, they came to a dead end and the project has stalled. It is a pity, indeed, because this road would have served this country in an insurmountable way by making sure that tourists get to Nsumbu, in a constituency which, I believe, you, yourself, Madam Chair in the seat presiding over this House, would have a great interest in.

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

The hon. Member will try by all means not to pull the Chair into the debate. Will he continue, please?

Mr Nkombo: Madam Speaker, the people of Chimbamilonga and Kaputa would have appreciated if the Government had made a full bill of quantities to see this project to its completion. As it is, the K58.7 billion that was spent without giving consideration to the Lufubu River that needed to be bridged for the road to be completed is the thrust of my message. If this road was completed, it would have been taking people a maximum of one-and-half hours to get to Nsumbu. I would like to learn from the Government why there was such an oversight of not making a bill of quantities in totality so that it completes that project.

Madam Speaker, as it is, you know as much as I do that to get to Kaputa from Mporokoso, you need a minimum of eight hours when you could have spent an hour-and-a-half had they done the correct thing. That is poor planning on the part of the Government and I want to emphasise this point. How can people take eight hours to travel a distance of plus or minus 300km? I am sure there is a serious oversight on the part of the Government.

Madam Speaker, now I would like to talk about the Kasaba Bay Airport. I was baffled at how the Government arrived at designing the runway of that airport. What is factually on the ground is that the airport is in the Nsumbu National Park. What I know is that animals have traditional routes to access a waterfront to drink water. This Government on your right decided to design the runway in such a way that animals must cross the runway to go to Lake Tanganyika. I want all of us to imagine an aeroplane that is about to land and there are animals crossing the runway and you know as well as I do that aeroplanes do not have horns or hooters to make sure that animals clear the way.

Laughter

Mr Nkombo: How shall it happen? The alternative is to fence off the area between the runway and the waterfront. Now if that happens, you obviously know what will happen. The wildlife is going to migrate because you will have disturbed their domain. They have, for hundreds of years, used traditional paths to access water at the lake. Once you fence that off, you are going to come into direct conflict with the animals and you know as much as I do that even a barbed wire cannot withstand the pressure of an elephant. Elephants, to be specific, have traditional routes to access waterfronts. They have traditional areas where they pass and they do not just loiter like human beings do.

Madam Speaker, even if you put a fence, they will raze it and once they feel threatened, they will migrate to the DRC and that game park will be desolate or will be no more and the people of Chimbamilonga will be the losers. For the many years that they have existed, the animals have had a comfortable dwelling in the game park. Instead of constructing the runway in such a way that it runs from south to north, I ask the authorities who designed the airport, Ng’andu and Associates, if they could not have done it otherwise. I congratulate the Government on giving an indigenous Zambian company a contract to build the runway. However, there should have been a lot of thought put into it to make sure that the runway runs from north to south so that it does not disturb the livelihood of the animals. It is possible because those of you who have travelled will know that the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York runs from north to south, regardless of the wind.

I do not know who designed that airport, but soon it will be a disaster. It will be a white elephant because when tourists come to Kasaba Bay, other than seeing the animals that will soon migrate because of the disturbances, what will they see? Lake Tanganyika and Mpende Fisheries is all they will see.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Nkombo: I want to now indicate that, yes, there was K160 billion that was initially planned to be allocated towards the building of this airport. However, this amount limited the specifications of the runway of that airport to only be able to carry the weight of a Boeing 737-800. That is a fact. Can His Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Justice tell me what kind of thinking this is? A Boeing 737 is a very small aircraft. What about twenty-five years from now? We will need to land jumbo jets there such as a Boeing 747-500. However, the Government decided that it was going to give Ng’andu and Associates a specification of building an airport that can only carry the weight of a Boeing 737-800.

I think there was bad planning on the part of the Government. We need to build an airport that will stand the test of time, beyond the lifespan of those on your right and I. It is folly for them to have decided to just build an airport that can carry a limited weight of a plane upon landing. I even think that it would have been better to relocate the military base in Mbala and make Mbala a commercial airport while making the one at Kasaba Bay a military cantonment because it is hidden. At the moment, commercial planes will come and land at Kasaba Bay Airport, but what will tourists see in the area? Mbala Airport has been standing there for many years and it can carry weight of bigger planes than a Boeing 737-800. I think the Government needs to put a thought to that.

Madam Speaker, coming to the issue of the Kasama Airport, when we arrived there, I asked the authority of the National Airports Corporation Limited (NACL) whether it was illegal in the province to cut grass. The Chairperson, in his report, indicated that the first thing that we saw or that greeted us, was elephant grass around the airport that had reclaimed the entire runaway. I think that the Government can do a lot better. Without diluting the argument of the hon. Member of Parliament for Kasama Central who dealt with this matter, I think that basic things such as cutting grass can easily be done. His Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Justice should realise that the NACL in Kasama is ill funded. The corporation is only given a monthly grant of K13 million when it needs much more than that.

Madam Speaker, there are no reservoirs for fuel at that airport. Even the commercial planes that go to the Kasama Airport, just to fortify the argument of the hon. Member of Parliament for Kasama Central, have to carry Jet A1 fuel in containers on board for them to refuel. This is against aviation rules. Even a motor vehicle cannot carry fuel in the hood, boot or backseat because it is a hazard. The commercial planes that go to Kasama have to carry Jet A1 fuel which is highly flammable and any little mistake can result in a whole plane turning into a ball of fire.

Why has the Government not managed to put reservoir tanks at the Kasama Airport when it claims to be developing the Northern Circuit? That is failure on the part of my colleagues on your right. There is a need to do the basic things first such as cutting grass. After that, there is a need to put up reservoir tanks. There is no reason to smile about this matter because there were a few hon. Ministers, including this one who ran away from them, Mr Mulongoti, that had an accident in the North-Western Province. Can you imagine if that plane was carrying fuel, what a disaster it would have been. We like you, but we do not like you that much …

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order! Order! Through the Chair, I think you are …

Mr Nkombo: We like them as God’s creation, …

Madam Deputy Speaker: Yes!

Mr Nkombo: … these colleagues on your right hand side. We do not want them to die. Moreover, they are the ones who keep hovering around in planes. We drive on bad roads. These individuals go by air and I am trying to protect their lives by asking them to go and establish reservoir tanks for Jet A1 fuel in Kasama. That is the normal thing to do. We would not afford to lose you, hon …

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Once again, Speak through the Chair.

Mr Nkombo: We would not afford to lose His Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Justice even if we do not like his style of management.

Laughter

Mr Nkombo: We want him around. So the basic things must be done. A tractor was taken to the airport, but it only functioned for three months. This tractor could have served the purpose of mowing the grass.

Madam Speaker, coming to a much more serious issue concerning the Kasama Airport, I was disheartened to learn that a named chief in that area had decided to usurp the powers of the local authority, which is the council, and started giving land to individuals for development on the flight path of that airport. That is dangerous. An airport requires reserved land for eventualities. This named chief has decided to overrule this Government by giving plots to individuals. Can you imagine, as you are approaching the runway, there is a house just next to it. We went to inspect this house and asked the NACL how this development came about. We were told that the chief in the area is mighty and had decided to allocate land to individuals in the absence of authority from the local authority’s planning office. Now, I think the Government, especially the hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing there - excuse me, could you listen to what I am saying (pointing at Dr Chituwo).

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order, order!

Continue debating through the Chair.

Mr Nkombo: Hon. Chituwo must listen to what I am saying because I am giving him an assignment.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear! 

Mr Nkombo: I am giving him an assignment through you, Madam Speaker, to make sure that he deals with this Kasama story because there is no way a chief can give land to individuals on a flight path. It gives a semblance of disorder and degeneration. If Hon. Chituwo calls himself an hon. Minister of the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, he must intervene immediately by demolishing that house so that going into the future, Kasama can be an international airport.

Madam Speaker, I want you to understand that the Kasama Airport is actually a confluence of about six air routes. All planes that fly from Johannesburg to London, Johannesburg to the Middle East and from Luanda, go over Kasama and, in the event that there is an emergency, a plane must be able to come down at the Kasama Airport and land.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear! That is a point.

Mr Nkombo: Now, if the hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing can continue chatting while I am delivering a very valid point, it means that he has given up on his job and, if so, …

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order, order!

The hon. Member will continue to debate in the hope and faith that the hon. Minister is listening. Now, when he takes up the role of presiding officer who is identifying who is listening and who is not, it becomes very difficult for people to follow his debate. Continue making your points, Hon. Nkombo.

Mr Nkombo: I am very grateful for your counsel. However, this is a game of seeking attention. I want the attention of the whole country.

Laughter

Mr Nkombo: The Government on your right requires to do the necessary things to make society a better place to live in.

Madam, finally, I would like to make a few remarks on Moto-Moto Museum. Where is the hon. Minister of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources? They are there (pointing in the direction of Ms Tembo and Mr Mwangala). The hon. Minister of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources must quickly get involved in the operations of Moto-Moto Museum. There is absolutely no way anybody can get into new terrain and abandon what has been existing for a very long time. Moto-Moto Museum has been one of the prides of the Northern Province. There are priceless artifacts in that place.

Madam Speaker, Moto-Moto Museum requires a standby generator because during our tour of the museum, there was a power outage. What about a tourist who pays money and has traveled all the way from the Untied States of America or London? They come and pay a paltry K2,000 fee to enter the museum, but they have spent a lot of money travelling to Mbala. Now, as they are touring the museum, they find there is a power outage and cannot see what they went there to see. The hon. Member of Parliament for Mbala who is not here should use his Constituency Development Funds (CDF) if the hon. Minister has failed to buy a standby generator so that Moto-Moto Museum can function to its full potential.

Madam Speaker, there are retirees at Moto-Moto Museum who need to be repatriated urgently. There is no security at Moto-Moto Museum. People who work there go to sleep and leave those priceless artefacts in that museum unattended to. Someday, someone will go in and steal the artefacts and it will be us, Zambians, who are going to lose out when that happens. Even though I come from Mazabuka, I still love the entire country. That is why I want the hon. Member of Parliament for Mbala and also the hon. Minister of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources to buy the generator today and not tomorrow. They should send the generator to Mbala for Moto-Moto Museum immediately. They must buy it today in the afternoon …

Laughter

Mr Nkombo: … to show me that they are part of a serious Government because it does not cost much money. Madam Vera Chiluba and Obama …

Laughter

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

You already have more than enough attention without mentioning the hon. Member’s names.

Laughter

Mr Nkombo: Madam Speaker, they need to buy this generator today not tomorrow. There is so much that can be said but, time, obviously, cannot permit me to continue speaking even though I can go on and on. If the Government is listening through you, His Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Justice, a right decision will be made because the cost of a generator is just petty cash to you. The generator can be used at the museum whenever there is a power failure. By buying the generator, you will, at least, show a semblance of seriousness in the way you are running the affairs of this country.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to debate the report currently on the Floor of this House.

Thank you, Madam.

Mr Lubinda (Kabwata): Mr Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity to debate the report which is currently on the Floor of the House. Let me, from outset, say that I support this report which has brought out a lot of very important issues, save to say to the Chairperson that next time, please, edit the report so that errors are corrected.

Madam Speaker, I want to concentrate on only part III of the report. My colleagues have already debated adequately on matters to do with tourism. I think that focus is also required on matters to do with water management and solid waste management. On page 16 of the report, your Committee complains about the failure by this Government to pay its water bills. This country’s water sector is suffering because of a number of reasons. Firstly, as everyone who cares to know will know that the water reticulation network in this country is very old. If we were to take Lusaka as an example, we would obviously know that the water intake and delivery line from Kafue to Lusaka was laid in the late 40s or early 50s. It is older than many people in this House. At the time that it was laid, the population of Lusaka was around 40,000. Today, that same delivery pipe is expected to supply water to more than 2 million people.

Hon. Opposition Member: Three million.

Mr Lubinda: Somebody is correcting me that it is, in fact, 3 million residents. How do you expect a system to supply water to 2 million people when it was designed for 40, 000?

Secondly, since its an old system, huge quantities of its water go unaccounted for. In Lusaka, more than 59 per cent of the water that is drawn from the Kafue River is unaccounted for, and yet the consumers are expected to meet the total cost of delivering and purifying the same water. Obviously, the people are getting a raw deal. They are paying more than twice the actual cost of the water they are drinking because of losing close to 60 per cent of the purified water.

Madam Speaker, it is scandalous that in Lusaka there are areas that do not have access to safe drinking water. These include places like Matero. I wonder why Hon. Sinyangwe is not here to cry on behalf of the people of Matero because they have no access to safe drinking water. The people in Gondwe Compound in Kabwata, which I am privileged to represent, also do not have access to safe drinking water. Hon. Mkhondo Lungu knows that even Lilayi has an erratic supply of water, and yet this Government is sitting here pretending to be governing this country properly when it has failed to pay its debt to water utility companies. A Government that cares for its people would invest in water because water is life.

Madam Speaker, I am sure that people can recall that in 2003, standing on this same position, we moved a successful Motion urging this Government to liquidate its debt and remain current thereafter. It owed the Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company (LWSC) K25 billion then. By the end of that year, it had only paid K15 billion of that debt. Now, today, eight years along the line, the debt for LWSC is more than K40 billion and those in Government expect us to keep praising them for doing well. Yes, well done for incurring such a huge debt and being bad borrowers.

Laughter

Mr Lubinda: Madam Speaker, as a result of that, the people of Lusaka are going without water. There is a need for large investments in the water sector in Zambia today. That sector does not deserve lip service nor does it require programmes such as the failed National Constitutional Conference (NCC) which was just a talk shop which amounted to nothing.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!{mospagebreak}

Mr Lubinda: What the people of Zambia require is a systematic and well implemented programme for the delivery of water to their households.

Madam Speaker, another area that does not seem to receive a lot of attention which, I hope, your Committee which will replace the current one will look at, is the issue of the provision of an adequate sewerage network. As you might be aware, less than 20 per cent of the households in Lusaka are connected to the sewerage network. The result of which is that most of the households in Lusaka are depending on septic tanks. In case, you care to know, that is a hazard because Lusaka sits on chalk and lime. With the perennial flooding experienced in places such as Kabwata Site and Service and Kamwala, the septic tanks also become flooded …

 Mr Nkombo: Babuze Mbuya!

Laughter

Mr Lubinda: … leading to the sewer matter overflowing. This is a danger to the people’s health. People who were brought up in areas …

Hon. Government Member was pointing at Hon. Lubinda.

Mr Lubinda: …. where they do not even have pit latrines like my friend who was pointing at me, do not understand what I am talking about. However, I am sure that people who were brought up in Lusaka and who care to know the hazards of these septic tanks will not trivialise the matter I am talking about by pointing at me and cracking jokes. This is a matter of life and death.

Madam Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member, speak through the Chair.

Mr Lubinda: Serious people would pay attention to the issue of septic tanks more so because the number of them that are in Lusaka are a risk to the underground water. You might want to know, Madam Speaker because some of the hon. Members may not know that more than 50 per cent of the water that is consumed in Lusaka is mined from underground. Therefore, with the number of septic tanks around, within a few years, that water will be polluted to a level where you will require a lot of money to purify it. A stitch in time saves nine. This is the time to make that stitch and not to wait until you have a disaster in your hands.

Anyhow, I will not lament so much because my good friend already stated that soon and very soon, there will be a replacement on that side (right side) and there will be men and women who understand the issues of governance better than those sitting there and I am sure that these matters will be addressed very quickly.

Madam Speaker, people have talked about development in this country. For the sake of those people who are bragging about statistics, the congestion on our roads as a sign of development and pronouncing the delivery of development they have brought to this country because of the number of people with mobile phones, however, let me state that human development is not measured by the number of phones that you carry around nor the number of cars that you have in a country. It is measured by the quality of life of people and this depends on the provision of life sustaining services, products and matters such as water and sewerage management. It is a scandal to learn that, in this country, there are more mobile phones per capita than there are toilets, and yet the Government brags that it has delivered development.

Interruptions

Mr Lubinda: Madam Speaker, for those who are asking me the source of this information, if you allow me, on Tuesday, I will come and lay on this Table my authority of this information to shame them because they sit and pretend that they read when, in fact, they do not.

Madam Speaker, the Fifth National Development Plan (FNDP) stated that, within five years, this Government would give to the people of Zambia 53,000 toilets. What a lavish figure. By the end of it, how many toilets did it deliver? One thousand five hundred out of the projected 53,000 toilets were provided. That is extremely well done and then we must say, “Hallelujah, we shall vote for you again,” my foot.

Madam Speaker, there is a huge problem with regard to capital contribution for water connections. People in Lusaka are asked to pay K2.5 million to have water connected and not K720, 000 like the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) is asking.

May I, therefore, ask, as a last deed in the long list of vote buying gimmicks, that this Government also goes out there to LWSC to encourage it to stagger the payment of capital contribution for water connections. The Government should do this as its last deed in vote buying gimmickry. People want water delivered to their homes.

Madam Speaker, another matter, like I said, is that of management of solid waste. At page 18 of your report, I read, with interest, the revelation by the Ministry of Local Government and Housing to your honourable Committee that the ministry is developing a generic statutory instrument (SI) to facilitate the franchise scene of service provision and private sector participation in solid waste management in cities and municipalities. This has been copied from the Lusaka City Council (LCC).

Mr Speaker, I wonder whether the hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing has done any evaluation of the LCC’s solid waste management routine to see whether it is a feasible programme. Being a councilor in Lusaka City, I want to state that the programme should not be replicated because it is poorly designed. Much as there are by-laws that compel every household to pay for solid waste management, the enforcement is pathetic.

The Zambia Police is not involved in enforcing that piece of legislation and neither has the LCC the capacity to do it. So, we leave it to the private sector. You do not expect the private sector to compel people to oblige to the provisions of the law. Theirs becomes a matter of cohesion. They go out there and plead for households to register and pay for solid waste and you know the outcome.

Madam Speaker, not too long ago, I raised a question on the Floor of this House to whose response we heard about how less than 20 per cent of the residents of Lusaka are subscribing to solid waste management. What is worse is that when the solid waste managers collect solid waste from the resident and commercial utilities, they dump it at the Chunga Dump Site where they are charged for dumping.

Now, what is amiss there is that we forget the fact that the private sector is profit motivated. It does not go out to do charity work, but make profit. If you are going to charge them for what they dump, they have every incentive to dump half of the garbage in undesignated areas so that they can exploit the people to make profit.

Mr Speaker, what we require is a system where you levy everyone so that they do not pay as much as they are paying now, the K40,000 per month. If every household in Lusaka was to be levied for solid waste management, each household would pay less than K3,000 and we would still generate even more money than these companies are making. That way, you will be able to pay the franchise holders for dumping and that will encourage them to go running looking around for garbage. In that way, you will not find any carcass of a dog on the road because every company will want to increase on the tonnage that they dump. That is what thinking people do. You do not replicate and implement programmes that have failed. This programme has been running for nine years and has failed.

Interruptions

Madam Speaker, I hear the hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing trying very hard to derail me. He has done this before, but failed lamentably and he is failing again. However, let me say to him that much as I am a shareholder in the LCC …

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Speak through the Chair and do not start mentioning names because you will make the hon. Member want to defend himself. Speak to the hon. Minister through the Chair.

Mr Lubinda: Madam Speaker, I will not pay attention to the heckler, I will speak through you. Much as I am a shareholder in the LCC, I would like to inform the House that in various council meetings where I sit as a councillor, I have objected to this programme and have encouraged that we take a fresh look at it and change it so that it becomes effective. Unfortunately, the management at the LCC listens not to its councillors, but to the hon. Minister. So, in effect, the chairperson of the board, to which I am a member, is not a Lusaka councillor, but it is somebody else who controls things with an invisible hand. That is where the problem lies and that is the reason we ought to decentralise the governance of this country quickly so that hon. Ministers do not start meddling in matters that are happening in Kaputa Council.

Madam Speaker, it is a shame to read in a recently launched report of the study done by the Commonwealth Local Government Association, which I hope that His Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Justice has seen. In that report, it is clearly stated that for councils in Africa, Zambia is the poorest performer in the sense that, in Botswana, 92 per cent of the budget of councils is financed by the central government; in Lesotho, 90 per cent is financed by the central government; in Uganda, 88 per cent of the council expenditure comes from the central government; in Ghana, 69 per cent comes from the central government and in Malawi, next door, 60 per cent of all the money spent by Lilongwe Council comes from the central government while in beautiful Zambia, under His Excellency, President Rupiah Bwezani Banda, and His Honour the Vice-President, George Kunda, SC., and hon. Minister, Dr Brian Chituwo, of every K100 that the LCC spends, only K3 comes from the centre.

Madam, compare that with the other figures I gave for Botswana, Lesotho, Uganda, Ghana and Malawi. I do not even want to talk about the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries because I might start speaking in tongues for those there (on the right side). They will not hear a thing.

Laughter

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

You may continue.

Mr Lubinda: Madam, I am sorry. Through you, they will not hear anything if I give examples from the OECD countries. I have limited myself to countries in the Sub- Saharan Region. I want to say that it is because of that that the councils are not able to deliver services to their people. It is because of the reckless borrowing of this Government that the Lusaka, Nkana, Solwezi, North-Western and Chambishi Water and Sewerage companies are not able to deliver water to the people because that Government (pointing to the Front Bench) is borrowing recklessly and is not able to pay its debt.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear. Hear!

Mr Muyanda (Sinazongwe): Madam Speaker, thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the debate on the report of your Committee.

Madam Speaker, may I thank the mover and seconder of this Motion for the job very well done. May I also extend my gratitude to your Committee for producing a good report that is worth debating in this august House as it is winding up its session.

Interruptions

Mr Muyanda: May I remind those who might be making noise that this is the last sitting. Some of you may never come back. So, please, be attentive.

Mr Mufalali: You will also not come back.

Laughter

Mr Muyanda: Madam Speaker, let me take this opportunity to thank my president, the president of the UPND, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, mwana mubotu, for having sponsored me to give the final debate in this House on tourism. I may never come back. That is how we debate in this House, with ten years of experience.

Laughter

Mr Muyanda: Madam Speaker, I will start by criticising the failure to perform by our colleagues on your right hand side on matters that every report on tourism has highlighted. Today, we are facing another component of your report on failure to maintain infrastructure in tourist destinations.

Firstly, Madam, I want to point out that this failure by the Government has been very dangerous. I will cite the situation at the Victoria Falls as an example. The planks which were used to rehabilitate the viewing stand at the Victoria Falls by Energo, a Yugoslavian company in 1968, have started rotting because of the moistened atmosphere. This moisture has eroded the planks. Whoever is managing the Victorious Falls, at the moment, has failed. In their quest of failure, the officers managing the falls are taking shrubs with foams and placing them at the viewing stands instead of reconstructing the dilapidated planks. Mukwa is one of the best woods that this country produces and it can be used in this exercise. However, anyone is free, today, to go to the Victoria Falls to see this danger.

Madam, the Victoria Falls are an area where Zambia earns or is supposed to earn huge sums of money from tourism but, for the past ten years that I have been in this House, I wonder where the problem lies. This is despite the fact that tourists pay some entry fees as much as, maybe, US$50 for foreigners and K15,000 for locals. Where is the money going? What is the difficulty about reconstructing a viewing stand at the Victoria Falls? Where is the problem? I do not see it. That is basic in management of our own tourist properties. These are public properties. When you go to view the Victoria Falls, there must be satisfaction. Satisfaction comes about when one gets a return for the amount he/she pays for a service. However, it is not there at the Victoria Falls.

I am also aware that we are winding up. We may never see you again.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Muyanda: I did not say you are going away ...

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Please, that should be said through the Chair.

You may continue.

Mr Muyanda: Madam Speaker, we may not see each other with some colleagues in this august House because this is the last session for those who have forgotten.

Laughter

Mr Muyanda: Madam, the five years is over. The life span for this Parliament has come to an end. So, the next Government, in relation to the report, must look into home holidays. Any serious Government must start a policy of encouraging the young people to go and view the Victoria Falls. In fact, it is not just this falls, but there are others in various provinces. For example, I was privileged to tour, through your office, wonderful falls in the Luapula Province called Ntumbachushi. They have equally been neglected. Ndaakasika.

Laughter

Mr Muyanda: I travelled a lot. The bridge, which is supposed to be used by tourists, was washed away years back. Let us be serious. That is a tourist destination. There is nothing at the Ntumbachushi Falls to see and I was very saddened by that. Zambia is my mother land. If a property such as Ntumbachushi, in the Luapula Province, is neglected, it equally affects me all the way from Sinazongwe.

The future Government must have a documented policy which will encourage each Zambian to go for holidays. If tourism is not supported by indigenous Zambians, who will support it?  Do we expect Europeans to come and leave their money here when Zambians are not encouraged to travel and see their mother land? It is almost impossible for the Zambian worker to visit our wonderful resorts such as the Nchete Island in Sinazongwe.

 Madam, as I debate the issue of road network and the negligence of this Government in maintaining infrastructure leading to tourist destinations, I want to talk about the Bottom Road.  This road stretches all the way from Livingstone to Siavonga.

When the Government sourced money from wherever; the money that is very loudly spoken about, why did it not think about tourism or allocating part of that fund to the Bottom Road? At the moment, the road from Sinazeze to Chongola in the next constituency is impassable, and yet these are holiday destinations.

Madam Speaker, in Zimbabwe, the roads are passable from Kariba right up to the Victoria Falls. They use molasses for the construction of roads which we also have here in Zambia. You do not need tar all the time and cry about money. Molasses can be used for the construction of roads. You can have an all weather road and that is what we shall do. We shall apply molasses on roads which can be all weather without necessarily using asphalt. That is alternative thinking.

Madam Speaker, time is running out. I feel pity for my colleagues who have tried very hard to develop tourist destinations, but have failed; too bad for them.

 Madam Speaker, the cropping of crocodiles from Livingstone up to Siavonga was last done in 1962 by white people who were running this country. They were aware of cropping crocodiles.

Hon. Member: Guy Scott!

Mr Muyanda: Somebody is saying Dr Guy Scott, but I have not seen him.

Laughter

Mr Muyanda: We do not debate individuals in this House.

Laughter

Mr Muyanda: Madam Speaker, the Government should have implemented my recommendation during the Ninth Session of the Tenth National Assembly to crop crocodiles along the Zambezi River. Month in and month out, people are being mauled by crocodiles. They are eaten, swallowed or maimed. Do you think that a person who has lost his/her limb or whose father has been eaten by a crocodile can vote for the MMD Government? One cannot do that. That is what is in the valley. The crocodiles have overgrown. They have over multiplied. There must be some management with care. There must be a Government that should care when there is a loss of human life. This has happened all the way from Livingstone to Siavonga. When you do not get votes in those areas, do you realise that it is because the tourist areas have been neglected?

Madam Speaker, the whole issue of the Bottom Road has not been well understood by our colleagues who are leaving office and winding up. The principle reason is that our colleagues across in Zimbabwe, who we share our boarder with, have intelligently harnessed the waters of the Kariba and the road is dotted with hotels and lodges right up to Siavonga.

Madam Speaker, in the ten years that I have been in this House, past reports have talked about the development of the Bottom Road. President Banda, with due respect, when opening this session of Parliament promised to work on the Bottom Road. We have now come to the end of Parliament and the Bottom Road has not been touched; not even a drop of molasses to make the road all weather so that people can appreciate that there is an existing Government. The people of Sinazongwe will live to remember that you have neglected them.

 Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Major Chizhyuka (Namwala): I thank you, Madam Speaker. I intend to specifically restrict myself to an item on page 27of your report that relates to Itezhi-tezhi.

 You know, Madam Speaker, when business was suspended, Hon. Shamusonde who is seated next to me …

Hon. Members: Hamusonde!

Major Chizhyuka: I come from Namwala and not anywhere else. In Namwala we say Shamusonde. So, if you pronounce his name as …

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Laughter

Madam Deputy Speaker: Debate the issue and stop explaining to people who may not know what you are talking about. We know him as Hamusonde.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Major Chizhyuka: I thank you, Madam Speaker. He was just telling me that he toured Namwala extensively and told me that, “the people of Namwala love you very much.”

Laughter

Major Chizhyuka: I asked him whether he had gone to Itapa, Mobola and Kazuni- Kalila. He said he did not go to all those places and I told him that, had he gone further that side, he would have been burned with love by the people of Namwala.

Laughter

Major Chizhyuka: Madam Speaker, I stand, today, to specifically debate with respect to those people of Namwala who love me and whom Hon. Hamusonde found loved me so much.

Hon. Member: Hear, hear!

Major Chizhyuka: Madam Speaker, the paragraph on page 27 reads, and I quote:

“In response, the Executive stated that a special purpose vehicle company (Itezhi-tezhi Power Company) comprising ZESCO Limited and Tata had been formed and implementation of the project had started. An Engineering Procurement Contract was signed in 2009. To show commitment to develop the project, the Zambian Government had acquired a loan of US$50 million from the Indian Government for on-lending to ZESCO Limited as equity. It was expected that the civil works will commence in October, 2010.”

Madam Speaker, I want to deal with the tail end; the item which is embedded and not really seen in this report, but which is there. As you know, in 1976, the Zambian Government created the Itezhi-tezhi Dam with a view to creating a water reservoir that feeds into the Kafue Gorge so that some of the problems associated with load shedding at that time could be mitigated by the creation of this water reservoir in Itezhi-tezhi.

In 1976, unlike in 1995, when the environmental law came in place, there was no environmental impact assessment for the creation of that dam. In the process, as you may know, Madam, nature has been disturbed.

As a result of the desertification in the Busanga Plains, which has the Kalahari sands and the fact that the Kafue Plains never flooded to the extent that it did, some parts on the peripheral of the plains would actually turn into deserts. The creation of the Mimosa Pigra has created a huge problem associated with tourism and nature. Thorny bushes covering almost a quarter  of the entire Kafue plains have emerged as a

Madam Speaker, further, due to the flooding pattern that has changed, the aquaculture on the Kafue plains has been disturbed. The fish which used to breed in December now breeds in September and June.

Madam Speaker, as a result of lack of flooding on the Kafue plains, the tradition and cultural preoccupation of the Ila and Batwa people has also been deeply affected. Thirdly, the host tick, which brings corridor disease, emerged and hundreds of cattle in the catchment area almost got depleted. We all know that this is the highest breading area for cattle in the entire country. You have on one hand the desire to generate electricity from the Itezhi-tezhi Dam and, on the other hand you have its effect on the population. These things are there wherever dams and hydropower stations have been created. In this vein, people have suffered. Therefore, what effect has flooding in as far as the generation of electricity is concerned on our environment? These are some of the answers that I want to know with regard to the construction of the Itezhi-tezhi Dam.

Madam Speaker, I am happy that so much development is coming into our area. I was listening to one speaker in the morning who was saying that there is no development in the Southern Province. I think the hydropower station is a very huge development in the Southern Province.  
 
Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!{mospagebreak}

Major Chizhyuka: The creation of the Itezhi-tezhi Dam is welcome. If we are going to have the Itezhi-tezhi Dam, Choma/Namwala Road, Zimba/Livingstone Road and a lot of other infrastructure such as schools and hospitals, these things will speak for themselves even as we leave Parliament.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Major Chizhyuka: Madam Speaker, I am actually talking about many things which will be speaking for themselves and not the jargon that we are hearing. I did not know that these things would speak louder until, over the weekend, when I was handing over a hammer mill and my competitor wanted to hand over in a sewing machine.

A certain hon. Opposition Member of Parliament went on Itezhi-tezhi Radio and started talking about how this country is not developing. Somebody went and stopped that radio conversation and further mentioned that as far as the people were concerned, there had been several developments in the area within the shortest time. In fact they cannot be enumerated.

Therefore, it does not matter what one says, but the truth of the matter is that development speaks louder.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Major Chizhyuka: It is action which speaks louder than words.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Major Chizhyuka: Madam Speaker, we are debating the matter of creating of a hydro-electric power station with respect to the people.

Hon. Minister, as a result of the generation of the electricity, do we know how much water will be off loaded downstream where the Ila people keep their cattle? Are we going to have so much flooding that, at the end of the day, the people will have no capacity to herd their cattle on the Kafue Plains? What is the quantity of water in time and space that is being created and pushed on the floodplains where these hardworking indigenous Zambians are pre-occupied with herding cattle? These are questions which affect us and agonise us in Namwala and Itezhi-tezhi over the electricity generating station being created.

Madam Speaker, I am happy that the US$50 million associated with the creation of this dam is money coming from the Zambian Government. Therefore, because this is our money, I would like to get some specific assurances that in fact when we start the operation of the Itezhi-tezhi Hydro-electric Power Station, the lives of the people who Hon. Hamusonde said love me so much, will not be affected.

Laughter

Major Chizhyuka: Madam Speaker, we are in Parliament, courtesy of those very people. We garner development as we push through the five-year period because of those very people. It would be such a pain if, in trying to bring development to them, we end up displacing them as a result of the desire to generate electricity. We have to speak for our people.

In Namwala and Itezhi-tezhi, and for the Batwa people of Mazabuka, Mumbwa, Nangoma and Mwembeshi, this is a pertinent question that we must ask ourselves with regard to the creation of this hydro-electric station. There is, however, no cause for worry because, at the end of the day, there are those of us who are here to ensure that whatever development takes place is in the interest of the people.

Madam Speaker, the time that we were creating this dam, which will create the hydro-electric station, the people of Namwala contributed a minimum of K2.50, which was a lot of money in those days even though there is very little electricity in that area now.  The commitment that I would like to get, seeing as the hon. Minister of Energy and Water Development is here, is that all these negative environmental impacts, which I elaborated on, should not be on the very people who did not only provide the land but also paid for the creation of this dam so that we could have electricity. I hope that, as the dam is constructed, due attention is given to the people of Itezhi-tezhi, Nangoma, kolya koonalubanda koo Naluvwi …

Interruptions

Major Chizhyuka: Hon. Hamusonde’s area is also affected and he has just discovered that the people of Namwala love me very much.

Laughter

Major Chizhyuka: We hope that there will be a plan that will ensure that …

Mr Hamusonde: On a point of order, Madam.

Madam Deputy Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Laughter

Mr Hamusonde: Madam Speaker, is the hon. Member who is on the Floor in order to say that the people of Namwala love him, and yet I was just telling him earlier that they will not vote for him because he has defected to another party and is no longer in the UPND?

Laughter

Madam Deputy Speaker: That is the danger of bringing private conversation into the House. Unfortunately, the two hon. Members will have to revisit their discussion outside the House because the Chair is not privy to what was said and what was not said.

May the hon. Member continue, please?

Major Chizhyuka: Madam Speaker, I am sure the hon. Member was joking because Hon. Hachipuka was there when we were talking and he told me that the people love me very much.

Laughter

Major Chizhyuka: I think that is a light moment. However, the point I am driving at is that this Government has done very well in putting up infrastructure all over the country.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Major Chizhyuka: It has also done very well in improving the roads and putting up hospitals and schools. However, as a people of the region, we are requesting that when the hydroelectric power station is installed, the people along the Kafue Flats benefit from it.

Madam Speaker, in acknowledging the two minutes time I have left, I wish to bring to the attention of the House that there is a road which starts from Nampundwe and it is along the Kafue Flats. This road is not talked about as much as the Bottom Road. It starts from Nampundwe and goes to Itezhi-tezhi and all the way up to Mumbwa. Madam, for the sake of the people who appreciate so much what this Government is doing in that area, I wish to request His Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Justice to start thinking of grading that road because it cuts across three constituencies.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Major Chizhyuka: This is important to the people who appreciate development.

Madam Speaker, let us suppose an unknown person rose up in Namwala today to shut up an hon. Member of Parliament who speaks so much about development on a radio station, the people will not entertain his/her falsehoods. This is a sign that the people of Zambia appreciate the upcoming development.

For this reason, I am asking the Government, on behalf of the people of Mwembeshi, Nangoma and Mumbwa constituencies, to tar the road that starts from Nampundwe all the way through Muchabi, Nalubanda, Kwanaluwi, Kuchikwembe and all the other places. If this road cannot be tarred since tarring is a long-term project, then it can be graded so that people can access Itezhi-tezhi which is mentioned in this report. Then people will have a road that is passable because it is a shorter route to Namwala and Itezhi-tezhi.

Interjections

Major Chizhyuka: Do you want me to repeat what I said?

Madam Speaker, whilst the people of Zambia are listening to me, I wish to state that the Government of Mr Rupiah Bwezani Banda has gone down in history as a working one. I was gathering some statistics and the Chair knows that even when we were sitting at the National Constitutional Conference (NCC), I used to get specific figures on the internet. So far, I have made an assessment that development has come in two ways. Therefore, President Rupiah Bwezani Banda’s rule is unprecedented in the history of Zambia ever since 1964.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Hon. Member: How do you measure that?

Major Chizhyuka: You can go and check.

Hon. Government Member: Hear, hear!

Hon. Member: Check for what?

Major Chizhyuka: You can go and check this. The quantum …

Madam  Deputy Speaker: Order!

Major Chizhyuka: …. of development in Zambia in the last two years is unprecedented. On that basis, the people of Zambia are going to make a wise decision.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Interjection

Major Chizhyuka: They are going to make a wise decision!

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Major Chizhyuka: Just like the people of Namwala are going to make a very wise decision.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Major Chizhyuka: So that I can, again, score another landslide victory that will be bigger than any of the landslide victories on this side of the House.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Major Chizhyuka: This year, it will be bigger. When we worked out the statistics, we found that it was the biggest landslide victory. Now, I am seeking the biggest landslide victory because I know that the humble people of Namwala are wise people.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

The Minister of Energy and Water Development (Mr Konga): Madam Speaker, allow me to sincerely thank the hon. Members who have contributed to the debate on the report, more especially the hon. Member for Namwala (Major Chizhyuka) who truly has seen the good works which this very hardworking administration has carried out in the country as regards developments in the field of energy and tourism.

Madam Speaker, allow me to state that I have taken note of the issues which were raised by different hon. Members with regard to tourism. A detailed reaction to these issues will be tabled in the action-taken-report which will be submitted to the House.

Madam Speaker, I will, however, comment briefly on some of the issues that the hon. Members brought out, especially the ones with regard to the energy sector, such as the commencement of the Itezhi-tezhi Power Project. I would like to assure the House that the Executive is committed to completing all the projects that it has initiated. As indicated in the report of your Committee, the special purpose vehicle for the Itezhi-tezhi Power Project has already been formed and very soon the ground breaking ceremony will take place. The same can be said of the Kafue Gorge Lower Project which is also supposed to be implemented.

As regards some of the concerns relating to the negative impact  on the environment which are linked to the development of the Itezhi-tezhi Power Project, I would also like to inform the House that, currently, by law, prior to undertaking any projects which have an impact on the environment, an environmental impact assessment is done, after which a project can be implemented.

Therefore, I would like to assure the House that the Itezhi-tezhi Power Project will, in no way, negatively impact or affect the Kafue Flats on which the Batwa and, indeed, Ila people of those areas depend for their livelihood.

All in all, Madam, I would like to reiterate my profound gratitude for the very positive comments which the speakers have made.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chanda: Madam Speaker, I thank all the hon. Members who have contributed to the debate on the Motion. It leaves me to thank the House for agreeing silently with your Committee’s report.

 May I just recap one issue that was brought up by Hon. Nkombo for the attention of His Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Justice on the acquisition of a power generator for Moto-Moto Museum. I think this issue should be treated with the utmost attention as the museum is experiencing power outages frequently and this, the Members of your Committee, experienced when they were right there. I hope His Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Justice has taken note of this matter. Having said that, as I said, it leaves me to thank everybody.

I thank you, Madam.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Question put and agreed to.

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

_____________

ADJOURNMENT

The Vice-President and Minister of Justice (Mr Kunda, SC.): Madam Speaker, I beg to move that the House do now adjourn.

Question put and agreed to.

___________

The House adjourned at 1235 hours until 1430 hours on Tuesday, 7th June, 2011.