DAILY PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES FOR THE FIFTH SESSION OF THE TENTH ASSEMBLY

 Thursday, 30th September, 2010

The House met at 1430 hours

[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]

NATIONAL ANTHEM

PRAYER

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ANNOUNCEMENT BY MR SPEAKER

PRE-BUDGET TRAINING

Mr Speaker: Hon. Members, I wish to inform the House that the National Assembly, in collaboration with the Parliamentary Centre based in Ghana, will conduct a one day Pre-Budget Training for all hon.  Members of Parliament on Saturday, 2nd October, 2010. This is to equip hon. Members of Parliament with the necessary tools and skills to analyse the National Budget. All hon. Members of Parliament are invited to attend this important training and should be seated in the Auditorium by 0845 hours.

Furthermore, members of the Committee on Estimates and Chairpersons of all Portfolio and General Purposes Committees, including the Committee on Parliamentary Reforms and Modernisation will attend a Pre-Budget Training Workshop at Chaminuka Lodge from 3rd to 5th October, 2010. The Clerk’s office will avail them the details about this workshop in due course.

Thank you.

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QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

MICRO-FINANCING INSTITUTIONS

55. Mr Mwango (Kanchibiya) asked the Minister of Finance and National Planning what measures the Government had taken to ensure that Micro-financing institutions (MFIs) provided credit facilities at manageable lending rates.

The Deputy Minister of Finance and National Planning (Ms C. M. Kapwepwe): Mr Speaker, in the early 1990s, the Government liberalised interest rates and other prices as part of the broad range of measures aimed at encouraging the growth and development of a private-sector driven economy.

Mr Speaker, developments in the economy, since the introduction of these reforms, indicate that they have generated significant benefits to the economy. This is evidenced by the positive economic growth recorded since 1999 and the general improvement in the macro-economic environment.

Mr Speaker, the Government is, however, concerned about the high interest rates that are charged by the financial sector, including the MFIs. As a response to this, we have put in place the following measures:

Full Disclosure

Mr Speaker, to enable borrowers make informed decisions, the Bank of Zambia requires full disclosure of interest rates and other charges applied by the MFIs and other credit providers on all their products and services. Furthermore, on a quarterly basis, financial service providers are required to disclose to the Bank of Zambia the financial charges, fees and commissions for accounts and other general services and transactions provided. These are then published in daily newspapers of general circulation.

Increasing the Level of Competition

Sir, in order to encourage more players in the market, the licensing process for IMFs has been streamlined. Requirements for setting up MFI have deliberately been made less stringent in order to encourage competition in the market which is expected to ultimately translate into reduced charges.

Sir, the capital requirements for a deposit taking MFI has been placed at K250 million, while that for a non-deposit taking MFI is K25 million. This should be compared to K12 billion for commercial banks and K2 billion for savings and credit institutions and housing finance institutions.

Stable Macro-Economic Environment

Mr Speaker, the Government has continued to appeal to the financial sector, including MFIs to review their charges and lending rates downwards in line with the reduction and yields on Government securities.

Credit Reference Bureau

Mr Speaker, one of the reasons advanced by MFIs for the high interest rates charged for their services is the high risk of default and lack of credit information about the borrowers. In order to address this concern, the Government has facilitated the operationalisation of a credit reference bureau. It is our expectation that MFIs will reduce interest rates, as the risk premium embedded in the rate is reduced.

Discourage Anti-Competitive Behaviour

Mr Speaker, in order to discourage anti-competitive conduct, the Banking and Financial Services Act prohibits financial service providers, including MFIs from making any agreements or arrangements with respect to interest rates on deposits, loans and other charges on products and services to the public in a manner that restricts competition.

Mr Speaker, with these measures, we are hopeful that MFIs will begin to reduce interest rates in the medium term.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mwango: Mr Speaker, interest rates at these lending institutions are as high as 17.5 per cent. Is the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning or the Government happy about this?

The Minister of Finance and National Planning (Dr Musokotwane): Mr Speaker, the hon. Deputy Minister has indicated, in her reply, that the Government is not very happy with the lending rates.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Muyanda (Sinazongwe): Mr Speaker, what is the Ministry of Finance and National Planning doing about people conducting a business commonly known as kaloba who lend money at as much as 100 per cent interest? I am saying so because this has affected many families to an extent where they are so broke that it is difficult for them to survive.

Dr Musokotwane: Mr Speaker, obviously, the Government is not happy with the lending rates. It is important, therefore, that we advise our families, friends and relatives about the dangers of borrowing from institutions that the hon. Member has referred to. People who borrow from these institutions are never forced to do so. They choose to borrow from the institutions. Therefore, while the Government works on the programme, hon. Members should counsel friends and relatives about the dangers of borrowing from such institutions. 

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr C. Mulenga (Chinsali): Mr Speaker is the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning aware that people are forced to borrow from shylocks because of low salaries? 

Dr Musokotwane: Mr Speaker, I am not aware.

I thank you, Sir.

BOREHOLES IN KANTANSHI

56. Mr Mukanga (Kantanshi) asked the Minister of Energy and Water Development how many boreholes were sunk in the following areas in Kantanshi Parliamentary Constituency:

(i) Chiwele;

(ii) Mupena;

(iii) Harasio;

(iv) Mokambo; and

(v)  Murundu.

The Deputy Minister of Energy and Water Development (Mr Akakandelwa): Mr Speaker, the Government, through the Ministry of Local Government and Housing’s programmes on Rural Water Supply and Sanitation and the National Urban Water Supply and Sanitation, has drilled two boreholes in Mupena, one at a basic school and the other at a health centre. Four boreholes in Mokambo, at the border post, in the police camp, at a basic school and at Zambia Compound have been drilled. Three more boreholes have been drilled in Murundu.

Mr Speaker, although Hansio and Chiwele have a rural background, they are actually peri-urban settlements. Mulonga Water and Sewerage Company has plans to provide water and sanitation services starting next year.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, Chiwele, Mupena, Harasio, Mokambo and Murundu are all peri-urban settlements. I would like to know why the Government has not drilled any boreholes in Chiwele and Harasio when the prevalence rate of trachoma in these areas is the highest. What is the Government doing about it?

Mr Akakandelwa: Mr Speaker, I indicated, in my response, that these programmes will start next year.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Beene (Itezhi-tezhi): Mr Speaker, the programme that the hon. Deputy Minister mentioned has been going on for some time, with communities making advance payments of K1.5million. Will the Government consider providing clean water to communities that have failed to pay this amount?

Mr Akakandelwa: Mr Speaker, I am aware of these conditions. However, the hon. Member needs to know that these are conditions that were agreed upon between co-operating partners and the Government and, therefore, the conditions stand.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Chazangwe (Choma Central): Mr Speaker, safe water is a human right. In the past, the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) policy was to …

Mr Speaker: Order!

Ask your question.

Mr Chazangwe: Mr Speaker, when will this Government drill boreholes in each village since water is a human right?

Mr Akakandelwa: Mr Speaker, the Government is embarking on a programme to provide clean water to all areas that need it. The hon. Member knows that, at the moment, there are programmes running to provide this service. Choma is, in fact, one district that is privileged to have quite a number of boreholes provided by the Government.

 Thank you, Sir.

GARBAGE COLLECTION

57. Mr Hamusonde (Nangoma) asked the Minister of Local Government and Housing whether the Government had any plans to provide garbage collection facilities in all townships and compounds countrywide.

Dr Musokotwane (on behalf of the Minister of Local Government and Housing (Dr Chituwo)): Mr Speaker, I wish to inform this House that the Government has identified solid waste management as one of the key elements in maintaining hygiene in all townships and compounds in the country. Local authorities who discharge this function on behalf of the Government have always been advised to provide adequate budget lines for this function. It should be noted here that, because of budgetary constraints, communities are encouraged to subscribe to private companies under the public-private partnerships (PPs) that collect garbage in their respective communities.

Mr Speaker, the Make Zambia Clean and Healthy Campaign has also been used to educate the public on the need to maintain hygiene in communities countrywide through proper waste management.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Lubinda (Kabwata): Mr Speaker, is the hon. Minister aware that the Lusaka City Council-Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) supported waste management programme requires solid waste managers to pay for solid waste that is disposed off at the Chunga Dump Site and that, as a result of this, the collection is not efficient? If he is aware, would he like to join us, councillors of Lusaka City Council, to change the programme so that solid waste managers are paid and not charged for dumping?

Dr Musokotwane: Mr Speaker, this Government is always open to suggestions, particularly those that are progressive. I, therefore, urge the hon. Member and the councillors to present this matter to the Government if it is beyond the capacity of the council.

Laughter

Dr Musokotwane: We can look at it and see if we can make progress.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

LUMINU AND MUKABI FARMING BLOCKS

58. Mr D. Mwila (Chipili): asked the Minister of Community Development and Social Services:

(a) what the future of the Luminu and Mukabi farming blocks under the Zambia Agency for Persons with Disabilities in Chipili Parliamentary Constituency was;

(b) how much money the Government spent to support food production in the above areas;

(c) why the Government failed to support the farming blocks; and

(d) what the unemployment levels in the above farming blocks was from 2007 to 2010, year by year.

The Minister of Community and Social Services (Mr Kaingu): Mr Speaker, I wish to inform the House that Luminu and Mukabi (Mwense Cottage) farming blocks are properties of the Zambia Agency for Persons with Disabilities (ZAPD). The centres exist primarily for income generation and as a source of employment for persons with disabilities and also as a form of rehabilitation.

Therefore, the agency is seriously committed to the revamping of the two farms in order to make them productive. There are plans to procure capital equipment and rehabilitate infrastructure in order for meaningful development to take place. Efforts are being made to source for funding from interested parties through public-private partnerships (PPP).

Mr Speaker, the Government using its agent, ZAPD, has spent a total of K162,595,632.64 from January 2010 to August 2010 this year on these two farming block.

This is broken down as follows:

 (i) K25,234,500.60 on Mukabi farm block (Mwense cottage); and
 
 (ii) K137,359,127.04 on Luminu Farm Block.

Sir, the Government, through ZAPD, has not failed to support the two farming blocks as evidenced by what I earlier on stated in my response.

Mr Speaker, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) will later this year carry out the Population and Housing Census which was last conducted in 2000. Once the CSO finishes this exercise, we will avail the unemployment levels in the above farming blocks year by year from 2007 to 2010 and this information will be released to the public. Therefore, I hope that the House appreciates that employment and labour matters are not part of our core business as a ministry.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr D. Mwila: Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister has informed this House that about K162 million was released to the two farming blocks in 2010. I would like to find out from him whether this money was meant for salaries or food production.

Mr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, the money which was released to the two farming blocks was for the purpose of hiring a consultant who was supposed to try and change the focus of the two farming blocks to prepare them to participate in PPPs.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister has said that a consultant was hired for Mukabi and Luminu farming blocks. Could the hon. Minister tell this House whether the two farming blocks are viable and will continue operating profitably next year?

Mr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, as an hon. Minister in charge of social welfare, I am very happy that my Government has brought down the inflation rate to 7.7 per cent. This is wonderful.

 Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, every farm is a viable venture.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

POLICE OFFICERS

59. Mr Chanda (Kankoyo) asked the Minister of Home Affairs:

(a) how many police officers were shot dead by criminals while on duty in 2009 and 2010 countrywide;

(b) of the number above, how many were female officers; and

(c) whether the families of the deceased officers were compensated.

The Deputy Minister of Home Affairs (Mr Taima): Mr Speaker, I regret to inform this House that five police officers were shot dead by criminals while on duty from 2009 to 2010 countrywide.

Sir, of the five police officers who were shot dead while on duty for the period under review, only one was a female police officer.

Mr Speaker, the families of the deceased officers have not yet been compensated as the boards of inquiry which were set up to carry out investigations regarding the deaths have not yet concluded their findings.

Mr Speaker, I thank you,

Mr Chanda: Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister what has happened to the plan to procure bullet proof vests.

Mr Taima: Mr Speaker, the procurement of bullet proof vests is still in the process. At the moment, the provisional update is that the first consignment is on its way from China.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Sikota, SC. (Livingstone): Mr Speaker, seeing that the level of the statutory compensation is very low, is the Government considering taking up group life insurance which would adequately compensate police officers who die in the line of duty and, if so, how soon will that be done?

The Minister of Home Affairs (Mr Lungu): Mr Speaker, the Government will consult on what move to take next.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Ms Phiri (Munali): Mr Speaker, it is a well-known fact that in this nation it takes long for family members to get the benefits of a deceased relative. I would like to find out what the Ministry of Home Affairs is doing for the widowed and orphaned children before they can get the benefits. What measures are put in place for the beneficiaries to continue with their education and get food?

Mr Lungu: Mr Speaker, as stated in our answer, we regret that human lives are lost in the course of duty. We further indicated that investigations have to be concluded before any further action can be taken. I hope that the investigations will be completed soon so that we can come up with a way forward.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Kapeya (Mpika Central): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister what kind of security is provided to police officers manning roadblocks, especially at night.

Mr Lungu: Mr Speaker, the kind of security provided to police officers is something that cannot be discussed in this House. Those are operational matters which have been taken care of by those concerned.

  I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chimbaka (Bahati): Mr Speaker, how does the hon. Minister intend to distribute the bullet proof jackets to police officers …

Dr Scott: On a point of order.

Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Dr Scott: Mr Speaker, I am sorry to interrupt my colleague who was asking his supplementary question, I am sure he will continue in a moment.

Sir, is the hon. Minister of Home Affairs in order to allow foreigners into this country who are purporting to be businessmen of some sort but, in actual fact, have come here to campaign openly and publicly in favour of one political party or another in a period when we are running up to the general election?

Mr Speaker, I specifically refer to the headline in this morning’s Times of Zambia which I will lay on the Table and it says:

 “Zambia will Lose Investment if Sata Wins, Warns ABSA Chief.”

Laughter

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Scott: If the ABSA Chief had said that Zambia will lose investment if Banda continues, I am sure there would have been an uproar and some action would have been taken by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Scott: We are in a democracy where I do not think it would make a difference whether you are a governing party or not in as far as the rules of the electoral game and the involvement of foreigners in local politics is concerned. Is the hon. Minister in order not to inform us what the policy of his ministry is in respect to foreigners coming into this country and engaging in vocal politics in what sounds like a cohesive manner?

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Scott laid the paper on the Table.

Mr Speaker: I shall make a ruling as soon as the hon. Member for Bahati has completed his follow-up question.

Mr Chimbaka: Mr Speaker, may I find out how the Ministry of Home Affairs intends to distribute the bullet proof jackets to provinces.

Mr Speaker: The hon. Minister of Home Affairs may answer that question and also take care of that point of order. May he answer, please?

Laughter

Mr Lungu: Mr Speaker, I am being asked to give details on issues inside the purview of the Inspector-General of Police. I am sure the distribution will be carried out in a proper manner. I cannot give details of how it will be done since the distribution will be handled by the Inspector-General of Police.

With regards to the point of order raised by the hon. Member of Parliament for Lusaka Central concerning foreigners who are purporting to be businessmen, but are instead engaging in local politics, I tried to follow his point of order carefully, but failed to connect how it relates to the work of my ministry. In my opinion, the person he quoted was expressing his opinion. I do not think I should get into somebody’s opinion.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr C. K. B. Banda, SC. (Chasefu): Mr Speaker, there has been an increase in the number of police officers who have been assaulted while executing their duties. Does the ministry intend to stiffen punishment for such erring offenders?

Mr Lungu: Mr Speaker, indeed, we are concerned, as a ministry, about the issue that has been raised by the hon. Member. We will try and put in place the necessary security measures to ensure that police officers are not murdered in cold blood.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Muntanga (Kalomo Central): Mr Speaker, what is the Government doing about the families of the officers who were killed while on duty during the period in question since the pension fund takes a long time to disburse funds. What is the Government doing for the families in the interim?

Mrs Phiri: Hear, hear!

Mr Lungu: Mr Speaker, as I have already stated, there is nothing much we can do until investigations have been completed. The question relates to compensation and not any other measures. We cannot compensate the family of a deceased officer until the findings are concluded. As a ministry, we are urging the officers who are carrying out the investigations to do that expeditiously so that the families can be compensated.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Simuusa (Nchanga): Mr Speaker, being shot on duty is very demoralising.

Laughter

Mr Simuusa: May I find out what the Government is doing to raise the morale of the police officers who are demoralised because of this phenomenon of being shot while on duty. To avoid any excuses being given for this question not to be answered, let me state that I am speaking against the background of such incidents having occurred before in Nchanga.

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mr Lungu: Mr Speaker, the Government is doing all it can to ensure that police officers work in a secure environment. I cannot give details on what we are doing to ensure that the safety of the officers is guaranteed.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

________{mospagebreak}

MOTION

MOTION OF THANKS

(Debate resumed)

Mr C. Mulenga (Chinsali): Mr Speaker, before the House adjourned yesterday, I was actually putting up an argument that the agriculture policies of our colleagues in the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) Government are characterised with a number of problems. I was talking about the so-called bumper harvest that we have experienced this year.

Sir, I disputed the fact that the good harvest was due to the MMD Government’s good policies in which the number of beneficiaries of the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) was increased from 250,000 to 500,000.

Mr Speaker, in the 2008/2009 Farming Season, 250,000 farmers benefited from the then Fertiliser Support Programme (FSP). In simple arithmetic, about 2 million bags of fertiliser or 100,000 metric tonnes were given to the farmers.

It is the same quantity of fertiliser that was given in the 2009/2010 farming season. I do not see why people should say it is the good policies of the MMD Government that we owe this year’s bumper harvest to. I would say the bumper harvest is a result of us being favoured by good rains, this year, and not the increase in the number of fertiliser beneficiaries.

Mr Speaker, allow me to give a practical example. If you gave hundred pockets of cement to fifty people to produce, for argument’s sake, 2,000 x 8 inch blocks, would you expect hundred people with the same quantity of cement to produce more blocks?

Hon. Opposition Members: No!

Mr C. Mulenga: Mr Speaker, the answer is, no. Therefore, this illustration just goes to show that the harvest that we have is not necessarily because of the good agricultural policies of the MMD.

Interruptions

Mr C. Mulenga: The other argument …

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

I would like to listen to the debate of the hon. Member.

Mr C. Mulenga: … is that we have 500,000 farmers in this country, and yet that is not so. We have more than 500,000 small-scale farmers countrywide. The 500,000 farmers referred to are only those who benefited from the FISP. However, besides these farmers, there were other farmers who purchased fertiliser at the commercial price of K200,000 per 50kg bag for their produce. So, it is not true that this harvest we are talking about is because of the good policies of the MMD Government.

Mr Speaker, I have stated before that the MMD policies are characterised by poor distribution of farming inputs and storage facilities. The onset of the rains is soon approaching and even though we are talking about the bumper harvest, we do not know what will happen to the crop.

Mr Speaker, as regards satellite depots, Chinsali District has a radius of about 200 km, and yet it has only been allocated thirteen depots. This means that the depots will be spaced about fifty to sixty kilometres apart and farmers already struggle to transport their produce to these depots. Furthermore, there is no infrastructure at these depots whatsoever and so the maize just lies in the open because of lack of good storage facilities.

Mr Speaker, crop marketing is very poor. When I say crop marketing, I am not just referring to maize, but all the crops, including rice and beans amongst others. When farmers produce like they have done this year, it becomes a burden on them to dispose of the produce, and yet they work so hard. Furthermore, we know very well that farmers only get paid once a year and they use the money received to procure farming inputs such as fertilisers.

Mr Speaker, I remember very well that the President made a pronouncement to the effect that crop marketing would start in May. However, when May came, the issue of moisture content arose. After that, there came talk about the unavailability of empty grain bags which later saw the issue of scales and other things arising until now when we are talking about farmers not being paid because there is no money.

Mr Speaker, Chinsali District requires about K11 billion to pay the farmers for their crop but, to date, only K1.8 billion has been paid. Farmers are stuck because they do not have money to buy inputs. The crop marketing is very poor and what I am trying to put across is that our colleagues in the MMD have failed to run agricultural affairs. So, there are no good policies to be talked about, but only very bad ones.

Madam Speaker, I stated yesterday that if we did not have good rains, what would have happened to the 500,000 fertiliser beneficiaries would have been disastrous. If this Government had good policies and was serious, it would have embarked on an irrigation programme so that in the event of a drought, there would have been nothing to worry about because water for irrigation would have been harvested. I am just bringing out the weaknesses so that our colleagues can look into them seriously.

Mr Speaker, let me say something about the road infrastructure countrywide, but allow me to start with my constituency. The feeder roads in Chinsali are in a deplorable state. I agree that we have opened up the Chinsali/Kasama Road, but there is also a need for good roads within Chinsali itself. For a long time now, I have not seen a grader working on a road in Chinsali.

Mr Speaker, last year, the Rural Roads Unit (RRU) got money, through the Road Development Agency (RDA) to work on the roads and graders came. However, what happened is very similar to what my colleague, the hon. Member for Bangweulu, talked about in his debate. The problems being faced in Luapula are the same ones we are facing in the Northern Province.

Mr Speaker, perhaps, my colleague was afraid to mention that the problems are actually not to do with the permanent secretaries and the rest, but the appointing authority that fails to see that these people are non performers. I urge His Excellency the President to look into this matter seriously because these officers are bringing him down.

Mr Speaker, when we go to our constituencies, we tell the people that the President is not concerned, and yet he may be, but is being failed by the people who are not performing. I thought I should bring this to the attention of the House so that something is done about it.

Mr Speaker, I now turn to the Isoka/Kasama Road and the Mbesuma Bridge. We have been talking about this issue for a very long time, but nothing is happening. This road has economic benefits. The T2 Road from Kapiri to Nakonde is warning out because …

Mr Daka: Landa muchibemba.  ‘is warning out’ ndiye chiyani icho?

Laughter

Mr C. Mulenga: It is becoming bad.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hammer!

Mr C. Mulenga: It is becoming bad because the trucks using it carry heavy loads.

Mr Speaker, to decongest that road, we need to create a highway from Isoka to Kasama, Kasama to Luwingu, Luwingu to Mansa up to Congo via Kasumbalesa. We have talked about the importance of that road, but no one is listening. Please, can you listen because we want to ensure that we rehabilitate that road from Nakonde to Kapiri Mposhi. The road from Mpika to Isoka has further deteriorated to an extent that one cannot drive on it.

Mr Speaker, I have talked to the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning about the repatriation of the Lenshina people before and I also talked to His Honour the Vice-President about it the other day, but my humble appeal, once again, is that this issue should be looked into.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr C. Mulenga: These people should have been repatriated in 2008 but, to date, the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning has failed to release only K800 million to ensure that the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) carries out this exercise. So, it is my humble appeal that the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning looks into this matter seriously.

The day before yesterday when I spoke to His Honour the Vice-President, he responded very well by stating that the problem hindering this repatriation was not with the DMMU, but with the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, as it is the one to release the money for the exercise. It is important that these people are repatriated to Chinsali where they belong.

Mr Speaker, with these few words, I thank you.

The Deputy Minister for Luapula Province (Dr Kawimbe): Mr Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the well-thought out and eloquently delivered speech by His Excellency the President, Mr Rupiah Bwezani Banda.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Kawimbe: Since President Rupiah Bwezani Banda’s Government is a listening Government, I would like to assure the hon. Members of Parliament for Chipili and Bangweulu constituencies that the shortcomings that they have passionately highlighted in their debates have not fallen on deaf ears.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Kawimbe: Mr Speaker, this afternoon, I want to invite all the hon. Members of this august House to join me in walking back the economic journey that our country Zambia has travelled since independence in 1964.

Mr Speaker, in 1964, Zambia was a paradise. It had more foreign exchange reserves than any country, south of the Sahara, with the exception of the Republic of South Africa. Copper production averaged 800,000 tonnes per year, making Zambia the third largest producer of copper in the world. From our own resources, we built a high school and district hospital in every existing district of Zambia. We also built the University of Zambia, Lusaka International Airport, University Teaching Hospital, Tanzania/Zambia Mafuta Pipeline and Indeni Refinery, Itezhi-tezhi Dam and Kafue Gorge Hydro-Electric Power Station.

Mr Speaker, we could afford to provide free health care to all our citizens and education from Grade 1 to university, including postgraduate training abroad. There was no unemployment because there were more jobs than could be filled by the Zambians and people came from Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to fill up the manpower shortage.

Mr Speaker, twenty-seven years later, by 1991, Zambia was among the forty poorest countries in the world. Zambians were queuing up for cooking oil, mealie-meal, sugar, soap, even coca cola. Some of the infrastructural decline that we see, today, date back to this era. Our foreign exchange reserves were not only reduced to zero, but below that because we had a national debt of US$7.1 billion. All the money that we made as a country just went to pay the interest rates on the national debt, without even making a dent in the principal. Our generation or that of our children and our grandchildren would have never been able to repay this debt.

Mr Speaker, the people of Zambia decided to remove the Government of the day from power not because it had been in power for twenty-seven years, but because it was not bringing development to its people. For example, Chama Chamapinduzi in Tanzania has been in power for forty-seven years since 1963 and has not been removed because it has been taking development to the people of Tanzania.

Mr Speaker, what went wrong? What transformed the beautiful Zambian dream that I have described above into a Zambian nightmare?

The first thing that went wrong was that the price of copper on the world market collapsed and remained depressed for several years.

Secondly, copper production fell from 800,000 metric tonnes to 350,000 tonnes per year.

Thirdly, the price of petroleum products rose astronomically rocking the world economy and especially the economy of non-oil producing countries like Zambia.

Fourthly, as a key frontline State of the liberation wars, Zambia made great economic sacrifices. The younger generation of Zambians may not be aware of the fact that while Zambia got her independence in 1964, without a protracted armed struggle, our brothers and sisters in Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and the Republic of South Africa had to wage all-out armed struggle to gain their independence.

Mr Speaker, Zambia’s participation in the liberation wars of Southern Africa involved the imposition of economic sanctions, sponsored by the United Nations, on Southern Rhodesia, present day Zimbabwe, and the Republic of South Africa. These two countries were the most important trading partners of Zambia which supplied most of the essential supplies for the mining industry. Nearly all of Zambia’s imports and exports came through these two countries. Rerouting our imports and exports away from the Southern routes through Zimbabwe and South Africa to east Africa through the port of Dar-es-Salaam exerted a huge economic price on our economy.

Mr Speaker, because Zambia hosted the liberation movements, retaliatory hot pursuit attacks resulted in the loss of property and lives on Zambian soil. The vast majority of Zambians supported the decision of the Government of the day to invest in the liberation and freedom of our brothers and sisters in Southern Africa.

Mr Speaker, there is nothing the Government of the day could do about the price of copper because, even today, Zambia does not control the price at which its copper is sold on the world market. Similarly, there was nothing the Government of the day could do about the price of petroleum products. Maybe, the Government of the day could be held accountable for allowing copper production to fall from 800,000 to 350,000 metric tonnes per year because it had nationalised the copper mines and ran them under a State company called the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM).

Mr Speaker, it is interesting to observe how history is trying to repeat itself in our lifetime. In the run up to the nationalisation of the copper mines in the late 1960s, the principal argument was that the people of newly independent Zambia were not getting a fair return from the country’s mineral wealth. The Government of the day was not satisfied with the taxes being received from the copper mines. For them, even the windfall tax would have not been enough because they did not only want to have a share of the taxes, but the profits as well and so, they nationalised the copper mines.

Forty years later, on the Floor of this House, the same argument is being made that Zambia is not getting a fair return on its mineral wealth from the mining companies and that the Government should introduce a windfall tax. In a sense, one can look at nationalisation of the copper mines in the late 1960s, as a 100 per cent windfall tax that the Government of the day put in place. The nationalisation of the copper mines led to the collapse of the mining industry and the build up of the US$7.1 billion debt.

Mr Speaker, if we ignore the lessons of yesterday, we will find that history will repeat itself. Our ability, as a country, to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) to develop new mines will be adversely affected by the re-introduction of the windfall tax because, unfortunately, there are no minerals that are only unique to Zambia. Foreign investment will not hesitate to find a new home even in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or Angola.

Mr Speaker, my humble view is that the first cardinal failure of the Government was not to adapt to a changing economic environment in the 1980s. The Government of the day continued to provide free education, health care and mealie-meal just like it did when copper production was high, our foreign exchange reserves were healthy and Zambia only had a small population of 3 million people. Unfortunately, this time around, we were not providing these services from our earned income as a country, but borrowed money. Obviously, the hope was that the copper prices would recover and we would then be able to pay back our loans. Unfortunately, the copper prices remained depressed for many years.

By 1991, our accumulated indebtedness, as a country, had reached US$7.1 billion. One of the reasons we failed to adapt to a changing economic environment was that we killed all Opposition when the Government of the day introduced the One-Party State which abolished all political parties except the Ruling Party, the United National Independence Party (UNIP). Anybody who disagreed with the Government was detained or imprisoned without trial. By 1991, over 1,000 individuals had been detained without trial.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Kawimbe: The second cardinal failure of the Government of the day was not to disclose to the people of Zambia the changed economic fortunes of the country. The Government behaved like my tribal cousin, Mr Cellphone Daka, who loses his job, but fails to inform his wife, children and members of his extended family that he does not have a job any more. To make things worse, every month end, Mr Cellphone Daka goes out to borrow money. The first month, Mr Daka borrows from Mr Mulenga, the following month from Mr Silumesi. In the meantime, to Mrs Daka and the rest of the Daka family, everything is business as usual. Until one day, the bailiffs come to collect the household goods and Mr Daka’s car. The Government should have been courageous enough to tell the people of Zambia that it was no longer able to continue providing free health care, education and mealie-meal because, as a country, we were now like Mr Daka who was out of work.

Mr Speaker, in 1991, I was privileged to be in the first MMD Government as Minister of Health. How did the new MMD Government of Dr Chiluba confront the economic challenges that we inherited? We approached those we owed the US$7.1 billion and talked to them. The owners of the money made various demands, including that we sell all the mines, privatise the United Bus Company of Zambia (UBZ), Mansa Batteries, Kawambwa Tea and other companies.

Mr Speaker, it is interesting to hear, today, people condemn the Government for selling parastatal companies as if we had any choice in the matter. The truth of the matter is that the decision to privatise the mines was made at gunpoint. The great sacrifices that our retrenched workers and their families made to enable our country reach the point of debt cancellation should not be forgotten.

The older generation who lived through this era of our country will recall how there was a wage freeze and trade union leaders were literary sent on forced leave because there was nothing to negotiate. Tribute should be paid to all public workers whose great sacrifices made it possible for the country to reach the point of debt cancellation. The size of the Public Service had to be reduced and, therefore, many workers were retrenched as a result of the restructuring. These are sacrifices that should not be forgotten.

The Kwacha had to be floated against the United States Dollar, which meant devaluation of the local currency. Again, the sacrifices made by the business community should not be forgotten.

Mr Speaker, it should be pointed out that all the demands that the donors made were not punitive. For instance, they demanded that we invest in fighting against human immuno-deficiency virus/acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), agriculture, health and education. These conditionalities constituted what became popularly known as the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP).

Mr Speaker, it took us fourteen years from 1991 to 2005 to reach the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative Completion Point. That is when the US$7.1 billion national debt was written off. My humble view is that one of the great contributions of Dr Chiluba’s rule was to lay the foundation that made it possible for Zambia to have her national debt written off.

Mr Speaker, between 1991 and 2005, the Government of the Republic of Zambia had very limited capacity to undertake any major capital project. In fact, during this period, any capital project that was undertaken was financed by either the donors or international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).

Our late President, Dr Levy Patrick Mwanawasa, was the first one to rule a post-UNIP Zambia that had some money in its coffers. That is how Dr Mwanawasa was able to build the Mwanawasa Bridge at Chembe across the Luapula River at the cost of K59 billion without a single kwacha of donor money. It is only after reaching the HIPC Completion Point that our Government has been able to embark on the construction of brand new high schools, hospitals, classroom blocks, technical colleges as well as begin the rehabilitation of the road network and old buildings right across the length and breadth of the country.

Mr Speaker, 2011 will be an election year and the people of Milenge, Samfya, Chienge and Mwense, for the first time in the history of Zambia, will vote for President Banda and the MMD because of the new district hospitals being built there.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Kawimbe: Mr Speaker, the people of Mwansabombwe, Chienge, Milenge, Lukwesa and Musonda Falls will also vote for President Banda and the MMD because of the high schools being built in their localities. The people of Luapula Province, who use the Tuta Road, will vote for President Banda and the MMD because of the resurfacing of this important road.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Kawimbe: Mr Speaker, the people of Chipete in Mansa Constituency will vote for President Banda and the MMD because the Chembe-Chipete Road that has never been worked on for the last thirty-one years is being reconstructed at the moment. Similarly, the people of Lambwe Chomba in Chienge District will vote for President Banda and the MMD because their road that has never been worked on for more than ten years is being reconstructed.

Mr Speaker, come 2011, the people of Zambia will renew the mandate of President Banda and the MMD when they remember how they used to line up for bread, cooking oil, soap and mealie-meal and how the MMD has successfully managed to have the US$7.1 billion of our national debt written off. They will also remember that today, there is between US$2 billion to US$3 billion in foreign exchange reserves. More importantly, they are aware that the MMD is rebuilding roads, schools and hospitals and attracting investments in the mining, agriculture, housing and tourism sectors across our beautiful country.

Mr Speaker, with these very few words, I thank you.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Kawandami (Chifubu): Mr Speaker, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to address this House. I rise, first of all, to give thanks and glory to the Almighty God for allowing me to be a Member of Parliament of the powerful Patriotic Front and United Party for National Development (PF/UPND) Pact and in particular, …

Hon. UPND/PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mrs Kawandami: … the Patriotic Front of Chifubu Constituency located in Ndola on the Copperbelt Province of this country.

Secondly, I thank the Central Committee and the President of the PF for adopting me as their candidate.

I thank my family and friends, especially the local leadership of the PF and the UPND for the hard work they put in making me their Member of Parliament.

Hon. UPND/PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Kawandami: I stand proud to represent the people of Chifubu and I am deeply grateful to my constituents for giving me this opportunity.

Mr Speaker, it is the abject poverty in Chifubu Constituency in particular from which I drew the inspiration and motivation to run as Member of Parliament in the recent by-election.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Kawandami: As I have lived in the constituency a good part of my life, I felt the urge and need to make a contribution to the welfare and wellbeing of my fellow constituents.

Mrs Phiri: Hear, hear!

Mrs Kawandami: We, in Chifubu Constituency, know that it is where someone lives rather than what they are that defines whether they have the opportunity to realise their full potential. I am so proud to represent Chifubu Constituency and, therefore, determined that the situation must change.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Kawandami: I know that it will be worth our while if we can unlock the talent of Chifubu residents for not only Chifubu, but also Ndola Town and ultimately our great country Zambia.

Mr D. Mwila: Hear, hear!

Mrs Kawandami: Mr Speaker, I would like to prick the Government’s conscience to find the money for programmes that can work for our families. The programmes that I am referring to relate to infrastructure development in the areas of water reticulation, road rehabilitation, employment creation and provision of social amenities in Chifubu Constituency.

Mr D. Mwila: Hear, hear! Ba Mulongoti!

Mrs Kawandami: With regard to the issue of water, I will very soon start knocking on the doors of the relevant ministries for funds and related issues to address the water problems in our constituency. The people of Chifubu deserve access to safe water and proper sanitation. In Chifubu, water is scarce as if it is in the desert.

Sanitation is deplorably horrible in some sections of the community. Although there was seemingly acceptable control over the outbreak of cholera and other waterborne diseases, this area still needs attention. The sanitation pipes laid in the late 50’s and early 60’s were designed for the small population of that time. It is now time to move together and improve our infrastructure.

On the desolate state of roads in the constituency, I will bring to the attention of the Government, through the House, the following roads:

(i) Misundu;

(ii) Pamodzi;

(iii) Nyerere;

(iv) Lumumba; and

(v) Fulwe.

Road rehabilitation in the constituency is a challenge that needs to be addressed. It would be a positive change to have in place a road rehabilitation strategy and periodic maintenance of roads. There would, therefore, be no need to send a grader one week before an election.

Mr D. Mwila: Hear, hear!

Mrs Kawandami: I would like to implore the powers that be to provide sufficient funding for such projects continuously.

Mrs Phiri: Tabatontonkanya!

Mrs Kawandami: Mr Speaker, Chifubu does not have a modern market to allow the entrepreneurial spirit among the constituents. A modern market will open up employment opportunities in the area and provide a safe and healthy place for women and children to buy vegetables from.

On the health sector, it is not acceptable for residents in places such as Kaniki to walk several kilometres to access health facilities because there is only one health centre. Generally, the clinics available in the constituency have no capacity to handle patients because equipment is not adequate and medication is in short supply. Is it not better to improve the existing health centres than bring in mobile clinics which will become white elephants …

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Kawandami: … when their tyres are finished, when they break down and run out of fuel? People of Chifubu would vote for improved fixed clinics rather than clinics on wheels. There is only one ambulance serving the whole district which is clearly inadequate.

The population of Chifubu has been increasing, and yet there is still only one secondary school called Temweni.

Hon. PF Members: Shame!

Mrs Kawandami: It is clearly inadequate and cannot accommodate the education needs of the outgoing Grade 9 pupils. The Ministry of Education needs to hasten its much publicised programme of building more secondary schools in areas such as Chifubu to avoid throwing our children onto the street.

Hon PF. Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Kawandami: The constituency strongly demands for two more high schools. It will be comforting to, at least, upgrade to secondary school status either of the two primary schools, Fibolelo or Kamba Basic schools which are centrally situated and would absorb most of our pupils from Pamodzi, Kawama and Chifubu townships. Chifubu High School is the baby of Ndola Central Constituency. This programme should be hastened to create confidence in families that cannot access school places outside the constituency due to lack of finances. Schools in peri-urban areas are overcrowded to about sixty to seventy pupils in one class due to inadequate classroom space, resulting in pupils completing their Grade 7, but having learnt nothing.

The young people in Chifubu do not lack ability nor are they short of ambition to contribute to the future prosperity of this country. There are no recreation facilities and no activities for young people. The library is under stocked and the books are inferior and outdated. As a result, youths have taken to beer drinking.

Mr Speaker, small-scale farmers in Chifubu migrate to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) every rainy season where they rent farming land at a fee of K100,000 per hectare to grow maize.

Hon. PF Members: Shame!

Mrs Kawandami: They suffer thefts or confiscation of their bicycles and inputs as they trek to and fro. It will be in order for the ministry to de-gazette some land in the forest reserve, as most land in Chifubu Constituency is a forest reserve, and allow citizens to farm locally.

Deforestation is on the increase because of charcoal burning, but it is the only income-generating activity for most people whose condition has been worsened by the closure of Frontier Mine to sustain their livelihoods. The Government should come up with alternative measures to lessen the dependence on charcoal and encourage tree planting by giving incentives.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Kawandami: I will not be fair to my civic leaders of the City of Ndola if I do not acknowledge and appreciate their sacrifices in clearing salary and wage arrears of nine months. They stopped the monthly lavish entertainment after monthly council meetings.

 At the time I was one of the Ndola District leaders of our party, PF, we came up with a motto, “PF Must Make a Difference” in the council. Through the councillors’ hard work, money was found and all arrears were cleared. Since then, employees of Ndola City Council are paid monthly. The civic leaders also undertook to renovate the interior and exterior of the Civic Centre. It is now a pleasure to walk in a clean and neat council building. The workforce has a team spirit and general workers can easily be identified because they have uniforms. Office workers have casual t-shirts. The council has acquired utility vehicles, trucks, graders and tractors for operations just to mention a few achievements. I am sure the hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing is aware of Ndola City Council’s achievements for which they should be commended.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Kawandami: As a Member of Parliament for Chifubu, I pledge to contribute to the further development of Ndola City Council and the beautiful Ndola City as a whole for the betterment of the lives of the noble citizens.

In conclusion, Mr Speaker, I promise to abide by the rules and regulations of this august House notwithstanding my total allegiance to my strong popular party, PF, and dauntless President, Mr Michael Chilufya Sata.

Mr Speaker, thank you.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Minister of Defence (Mr Mulyata): Mr Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Motion on the Floor of the House.

Mr Speaker, I have six points to make and these are the way the President’s Speech was written, the economic management of this country, bumper harvest, thanking the Government, Presidential trips and 2011 Elections. We have been in this House for four years now, but we seem not to know the type of issues to discuss. Hon. Members must know that the President’s Address always touches on all areas that concern the people such as roads, education, health and the economy.

From the time I came to this Parliament, all the speeches talked about the same issues. The President, hon. Ministers, permanent secretaries, teachers and so on and so forth will always talk about the same issues because these are what form the backbone of the country. The difference is the level at which these things are talked about. Therefore, we have to appreciate that the President will always talk about these issues so we cannot start belittling his Speech which is so powerful.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mulyata: Mr Speaker, on the issue of the management of the economy of this country, the impression given by the Opposition is that the country has a lot of money, but the problem is the hon. Ministers here who do not want ...

Hon. Opposition Members: Yes.

Mr Mulyata: Do not say, “Yes” because you do not know.

Laughter

Mr Mulyata: … to use this money, but this is not true.  Hon. Members from the Opposition are always provided with budget speeches.

Hon. Opposition Members: Yes.

Mr Mulyata: Someone has said, “Yes” which means that person does not know that there is a budget and that it has a figure …

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!

Mr Mulyata: … which is approved by us. If, for example, the Government budgets for K17 trillion to be spent on all projects, it will be used.  In fact, some money is donated by some co-operating partners. So, our debate should be within limits. We cannot have everyone asking for a road and this and that as if they do not know that there is a budget. That is not fair to the country.

Mr Speaker, some hon. Members at one point mentioned that this country is in trouble. What trouble? I will leave this issue at that.

Laughter

Mr Mulyata: Mr Speaker, the hon. Members who spoke before me gave an example of cement which does not grow at all and maize seed which grows. When you plant a maize seed, one can get three or four cobs of maize from one stalk.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mulyata: You want to use that as an example in Parliament.

Interruptions

Mr Muntanga: On a point of order, Sir.

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

I would like to listen to the hon. Deputy Minister’s debate and I believe you want to listen to him as well. Therefore, listen! The hon. Deputy Minister may continue.

Ms Cifire: Tell them!

Mr Mulyata: Mr Speaker, how can we have such hon. Members of Parliament in the House of this nation, …

Laughter

Mr Mulyata: … Zambia? Like I said the other day, people from Shang’ombo to Kaputa are all represented in this House.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mulyata: We are supposed to talk about issues that can build the nation. If there is anything that you can advise the Government on, you are welcome to do so but, please, do not exaggerate issues. Do not give wrong information.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mulyata: Where on earth can you give an example of maize and cement …

Laughter

Mr Mulyata: … and you are claiming to be saying the right things?

Laughter

Mr Mulyata: Sir, is that right?

Laughter

Mr Mulyata: I will not go into much detail because there is not enough time.

Mr Speaker, one of my colleagues questioned why the Government was demanding to be appreciated. I would like to inform him that we are not asking for their appreciation …

Laughter

Mr Mulyata: … because we do not need it.

Laughter

Mr Mulyata: All we are trying to tell you is that when the Government puts up a school in your constituency, talk about it …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mulyata: … because it is there. When the Government constructs a clinic or a hospital in your constituency, whether you are a Member of the Government or Opposition, talk about it. Do not keep quiet about it. Is that asking for too much?

Laughter

Mr Mulyata: Why do you want to keep quiet about things that you are seeing? Is that being fair?

Hon. Government Members: No!

Mr Mulyata: You are part of the Government, but you want to pretend as though nothing is happening in your constituencies.

Interruptions

Hon. Government Members: Under five!

Mr Mulyata: You were the ones who passed this budget in this House which shows that in your constituencies a school, clinic or road is being constructed.

Hon. Government Members: Under five!

Mr Mulyata: When we say talk about the Choma/Namwala Road, you say that we are asking for appreciation from you.

Hon. Government Members: Under five!

Mr Mulyata: Is that being fair?

Mr Speaker, therefore, we are not asking for appreciation from them, but are just urging them, as hon. Members of Parliament, to acknowledge the development that is taking place in their constituencies. Let them not keep quiet about it because it is the Government’s money that is being used for the projects.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mulyata: That is not their money, it is from the Government.

Mr Speaker, the Government has been mandated to apportion the meagre resources that are available. It is the responsibility of the Government to ensure that there is a school, clinic or road in every constituency and we expect them to talk about what the Government is doing in their constituencies.

Mr Shawa: Hear, hear!

Mr Mulyata: That is not asking for appreciation.

Mr Speaker, my fourth point is about Presidential trips. One hon. Member said the President is travelling a lot.

Interruptions

Mr Mulyata: There are many things that help build a country. We have many resources in this country, but you have failed us because you have failed to utilise …

Mr Speaker: Order!

The hon. Deputy Minister will address the Chair.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mulyata: You …

Mr Speaker: They

Mr Mulyata: They …

Laughter
 
Mr Mulyata: … have failed us because they have failed to utilise the resources of this country after the Government created an enabling environment for them to help develop this country.

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!

Mr Mulyata: They have failed. What do we do since they have failed? The President has to look for other people who have the capacity to build industries in this country so that their wives, children and everybody else can get employment.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear

Mr Mulyata: How does the President create employment if he does not travel? He has to talk to people outside this country.

Hon. Government Members: Not under five!

Mr Muntanga: Chinese!

Mr Mulyata: It does not matter whether they are Chinese or not, as long as there is investment in this country, that is better for our people because that is how you build a country and create employment.

Hon. Government Members:  Not under five!

Mr Mulyata: Why? You want him to stay here and do what, look at you?

Laughter

Hon. Government Members: Under five!

Mr Speaker: Order!

Laughter

Mr Speaker: Address the Chair. You must say, “Why do they want the President to stay here and look at them?”

Laughter

Hon. Government Members: Hammer!

Mr Mulyata: Mr Speaker, we need to be pragmatic in whatever we say.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mulyata: Do not just say things because you are in the Opposition.

Hon. Government Members: Warn them!

Mr Mulyata: That is not right. Mr Speaker, you tell them.

Laughter

Mr Mulyata: In his Speech, the President acknowledged that a lot of investment has come to this country because of Presidential trips.  He has to travel so that he negotiates with other people and give reasons they should come and invest in Zambia. Let me remind you that this is not the only country where people with money can invest in.

Mr Shawa: That is right!

Mr Mulyata: There are many other countries and that is why he has to talk to them and convince them to come and invest for you to sit there and get paid.

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

Laughter

Mr Mulyata: For them …

Mr Speaker: For them!

Laughter

Mr Mulyata: Mr Speaker, for them to sit where they are …

Laughter

Mr Mulyata: … and get salaries. We need investment in this country. How do you condemn such trips? That is not fair.

Mr Speaker, let me move on to another issue which was raised by an Opposition Member of Parliament. I always get attracted when he stands up to debate. Last time, when he stood up to debate, he said, he understood that the Government had financial problems, but wanted to help so that there is enough money in the resource envelope for us to develop this country. He said this during the Fourth Session of the Tenth National Assembly.

Mr Speaker, this time around, he stood up and talked about something that is very important again. Normally, when he stands up, he has very good points, but somehow he diverts.

Laughter

Mr Mulyata: He talked about delivery of goods and services through existing institutions which is very good. It is not delivery of goods and services that is a problem in this country but the lack of adequate resources. If we had adequate funds like other countries, which I can mention, we can put things in place. We can do it because, as a Government, we are capable. We need to find what to do, as a country, so that our resource base, money, jobs or industries increase to develop this country.

Finally, I will also talk about elections.

Hon. Government Members: Under five, now!

Mr Mulyata: Mr Speaker, the issue of elections has also been mentioned in the Presidential Speech. We all know that we are going for elections next year.

Interruptions

Mr Mulyata: Mr Speaker, I want to assure the House that President Banda is winning the 2011 Presidential Elections.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mulyata: Mr Speaker, why is he winning? I recall when a certain hon. Member of Parliament was advising the UPND and PF in this House not to form a pact, they called him all sorts of names. It is written in one of today’s newspapers that one party has completely rejected its alliance with the other party in the pact.

Mr Speaker: Order!

The hon. Deputy Minister will speak about the elections and not about the pact.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mulyata: Mr Speaker, the same hon. Member of Parliament I am talking about advised the two parties against forming a pact.

Interruptions

Mr Mulyata: Mr Speaker, I am talking about the pact because it cannot be there without elections taking place. Now that it has crumbled …

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

I have already ruled in this House that there is no such political party called the pact. Talking about the pact will confuse the people who know which political parties are in this House. You are free to refer to the political parties involved in it by name, but not the pact.

Mr Mulyata: Mr Speaker, all I wanted to tell this august House is that come 2011, President Rupiah Bwezani Banda …

Mr Kambwili: Will go back to the farm!

Mr Mulyata: … will win the elections. We are not seated here for nothing. We are planners and we already know that we are winning the next elections.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Laughter

Mr Lumba (Solwezi Central): Mr Speaker, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to debate the Motion on the Floor of this House. Firstly, I want to pay tribute to the late President of the Republic of Zambia, Dr Levy Patrick Mwanawasa, SC., for initiating the process of buying the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine which was mentioned in the President’s Speech. This machine is important to me because I shall be a candidate of this machine. I am not a potential candidate, but a candidate because I know that very soon, I will need it.

Mr Speaker, this machine was bought at the expense of the Zambian people. They are the ones who suffered the HIPC Initiative conditions which have freed the resources for development which the Government is now boasting about today.

Mr Speaker, we all know the HIPC Initiative conditions which included the wage freeze and the sale of the Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZANACO). These are the conditions we were given by the people who we borrowed money from. If we did not reach the HIPC Completion Point, the resources we are talking about now could have been going to pay off our debt. That is a fact. The Government wants us to talk about what it is doing instead of us thanking the Zambian people because they are the ones who suffered the conditions which made us reach the HIPC Initiative Completion Point. I am concerned …

Mr Speaker: Order!

Business was suspended from 1615 hours until 1630 hours.{mospagebreak}

[MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair]

Mr Lumba: Madam Speaker, before business was suspended, I was saying that as we talk about the positive things this Government has done, we need to know that the Zambian people have suffered for these things. It is the people I represent in Solwezi and those who are represented by other hon. Members from Mapatizya and Kaputa we should be thanking for foregoing some benefits so that the Government could have resources in its possession to pay off the debt. Those are the people we should all be thinking about and see how they can benefit from the HIPC resources.

Madam Speaker, I get concerned when people say that we should just be talking about the Government and the development it is bringing. That is their job. That is why Government officials drive vehicles with flags so that they can easily be identified. 

Mr Lubinda: Exactly!

Mr Lumba: They are on your right hand side in order to work. It would be strange for me to start announcing that I am from paying my daughter’s school fees. Can my wife thank me or can my mother start telling people about it when it is my duty to do so? I cannot do such a thing. The same principle applies to those in the Government. They should provide the roads and they should work. 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lumba: Madam Speaker, regarding economic management, the President talked about a projected growth of 6.6 per cent. The figure looks good at face value but, as we bring out such figures, we should try and relate them to the reality on the ground.

Madam Speaker, not too long ago, I was privileged to attend a business conference for the profession I belong to. I remember asking the Bank of Zambia Governor if he had faith in the inflation figures that were coming out. I remember the Governor getting very upset and not answering my question. If he had faith in the figures, he would have started talking about the interest rates coming down in relation to the inflation rates. These figures being thrown at us are not a true reflection of the realities on the ground.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lumba: We are not seeing prices coming down in shops. If the inflation rate is at a single digit, the simplest thing we can compare it to is the interest rate. If our growth is going to be at 6.6 per cent, let it not be a digit which is just being thrown at the Zambian people, but something which will benefit the people in real terms. I must see the people in Solwezi enjoying some benefits from these figures. We should be able to see the benefits in Kivuku where one hon. Member recently came from and said that the people were complaining. We should see these things in reality and not in figures.

 Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lumba: Madam Speaker, there has been talk of the exchange rate remaining stable. I wonder whether whoever wrote that statement for the President visits banks. The exchange rate has not been stable. Recently, we have seen it fluctuate between K4,500 and K5,000 plus against the US dollar. Even if it were stable, I would not be excited about an exchange rate which is K5,000 plus against the US dollar.

Madam Speaker, Zambia is a trading country. Most of our goods are imported. Why, therefore, should we be excited about an exchange rate which is far above what is normal? We would be excited if it were unstable, but fluctuating in the regions lower than K4,000. I wished the President had said the exchange rate had come down from where it is currently.

Hon. Opposition Member: Bauze!

Mr Lumba: Madam Speaker, the President, on page 5, brought out two things affecting revenue in-flow. He talked about the declining tax revenue and reduced donor support. He went further to ask the Ministry of Finance and National Planning to review the tax policy and administration. I am very worried. Is this a foretaste of the increase in taxes?

Madam Speaker, the majority of us know the tax theory. We bring in more money through tax revenue by reducing taxes. This is what the tax theory tells us. When you bring down the levels of tax, and I can cite examples, …

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Hon. Members, you just came back from break. You even spent an extra two minutes outside. You could have had your discussions loudly outside. Now is the time for you to lower your voices to allow the hon. Member on the Floor to speak so that the Chair and the entire House can listen. Can you, please, lower your voices as you consult?

The hon. Member may continue.

Mr Lumba: Madam Speaker, tax should be lowered if we want more revenue. A good example is that of Mauritius. In Mauritius, value added tax, income tax and pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) are at 15 per cent. They do not need a tax consultant in Mauritius to calculate taxes. They are doing fine. Banks are rushing to that country and the information communication technology (ICT) industry is doing very well because their tax is predictable and at low levels. This is how we can make ourselves attractive to investors. The blanket statement, which was made in the speech, makes me worry that when the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning brings the Budget to this House, we will be seeing some increase in tax. I would like to urge this Government to consider bringing it down to make tax administration simple so that people do not require a person like me to help them do their tax returns.

Madam Speaker, on page 6 of the President’s Speech, measures of national development plans were stated. It is worrying that the President did not say much about the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) Project. We have been talking about the IFMIS Project for some time now and a lot of money has gone into it. This is a good project, but is has not been rolled out to provinces. It is still stuck somewhere. We have not yet seen the benefits of IFMIS.

The President also talked about the Procurement Act. My concern is that some clauses are being overemphasised at the expense of others. For instance, we have seen single sourcing being more pronounced than tendering. It may be in the Act alright, but are we saying that this is the most important clause which would help us in the management of our resources? Using flimsy reasons to justify its actions, I have seen the Government handle things that need to go through the tendering process using the single sourcing method.

Madam Speaker, I would like to talk about agriculture. What the President said regarding the agriculture sector was so interesting that most hon. Members have talked about it. I do not dispute the fact that we have a bumper harvest this year. The President mentioned in passing that we have challenges in the marketing of our crops. I expected to hear from somebody who is a former chief executive of the National Agriculture Marketing Board (NAMBOARD) how we are going to overcome these challenges.

The hon. Member for Mapatizya brought a Motion in this regard to this House not too long ago in. We did not talk about the bumper harvest in that Motion but marketing. The President said that we are going to work with the private sector to export our maize. The hon. Minister of Agriculture and Co-operatives confessed that we would be exporting at a loss. Which private company is going to buy Zambian maize and export it at a loss?

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lumba: It will not work. As expressed by many hon. Members, I am also worried that some of this maize will go to waste not because the harvest was bad, but because we have not put our act together regarding the marketing of maize.

Madam Speaker, the President talked about uplifting the Northern Circuit by putting up an airport at Kasaba Bay. It is interesting to note what is attractive in that area. There are three water bodies, namely Lakes Tanganyika, Mweru and Bangweulu. Who will be flying to these areas?

Madam Speaker, most tourists – and I can confirm this because over the weekend I spoke to some tourists who go to Lake Tanganyika by road. They told me that they needed a good road because every March, about 200 of them go for a boating competition on Lake Tanganyika. I expected this Government to put more money in the road network leading to the three water bodies and not the airport. Who is going to fly a boat to Lake Tanganyika?

Madam Speaker, Kasaba Bay is being worked on for politicians and not tourists.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lumba: Madam Speaker, we are a mining country. Mining shall remain the mainstay of our economy. We need to get maximum benefit from the mines so that we can diversify the economy. How are we going to diversify if we do not get what is due to us from the mines?

Madam Speaker, most of the people have talked about the windfall tax and I would also like to say something on this. In my view, windfall tax is far better than variable tax.

Mr D. Mwila: Kokolapo apo.

Mr Lumba: Variable tax is problematic in that it looks at the profit, which is an accounting profit.

Madam Speaker, I am an accountant and, therefore, can turn a profit into a loss by bringing in transfer pricing. Therefore, we are not going to get anything from variable tax. Mining companies will be reporting losses or very minimal profits.

Madam, the premise on which the windfall tax lies is that of ascertaining trigger points. At this level, everyone would be aware of the profits being made and, thus share the spoils. However, that has been done away with and has been replaced by something that can be manipulated and would have to be subjected to a lot of audit for the profit to be confirmed. By the time the auditors confirm that, indeed, this is the profit and the variable tax is this, much time and money would have been lost.

 Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lumba: Madam Speaker, I am running out of time. Therefore, let me rush to something which is very close to my heart and which seems to be a good thing at face value. However, it is said that the devil is in the detail.

Madam, it was good that uniform pricing was announced, but what does that mean? On average, we are consuming about 54 million litres of fuel at pump price per month.

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

 I think some of you hon. Members are …

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Surely, you cannot be shouting in the Chamber in the manner you are doing. Is it not possible to speak in lower tone? I think there are situations such as this one that call for everybody to speak in a certain manner. If the person next to you also starts shouting, talking loudly and laughing like you are, which can only be condoned in some other place which is definitely not as honourable as this House, how is the House going to be? What kind of work are we going to do? I think we are a little too energetic this afternoon.

Basically, you do understand that hearing voices while someone is debating makes it difficult for anybody to concentrate on the hon. Members debating. Hon. Members, I would like to appeal to all of you who have been talking loudly and comfortably to treat this House in an acceptable manner and you are all very capable of doing that.

The hon. Member may continue.

Mr Lumba: Madam Speaker, I was saying that, on average, we are consuming about 54 million litres of gas per month. Most of it is consumed between Lusaka and Chililabombwe.

 With the increase in the price of fuel, which has been pronounced in these areas, the Government is likely to get an extra K4.7 billion or there about. I have made these calculations looking at the past consumption.

If the refund will be done in rural areas, it will just be about K1.3 billion. The question which begs an answer is where the excess which is going to be collected will be taken. We have a problem there because those transporters will not be given their money there and then. The Energy Regulation Board (ERB) will be collecting this money and transporters will be asked to apply and confirm their deliveries and this may frustrate them. Therefore, we need to be told, on the Floor of this House, how the management of the uniform pricing is going to be done.

Madam Speaker, we already know that those who were transporting maize are frustrated because they have not been paid for over a year now. Are we going to see a similar situation where transporters of fuel to Kaputa and Chavuma will be told to wait for over a year to be reimbursed the money that they would have spent in transporting this fuel? If it will be so, in the end, the process will be defeated.

Madam Speaker, we hear that a uniform petroleum pricing (UPP) manager has been appointed. We need to be informed about who this manager is. It has come to our attention that this manager has been writing to oil marketing companies (OMCs) advising them on when their payments will made. Therefore, it has to be made clear whether OMCs will have to write to the manager in order to get paid. This House deserves to know more than this.

Madam, since the devil is in the detail, let the uniform pricing be made clear. Who is going to be transporting the fuel and how long will it take for the transporters to be paid their money?

Madam Speaker, I realise that I am running out of time and so I will leave the issue of uniform fuel pricing. I only hope that, as the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning gives his Budget Speech, he will tell us how the extra money which is being obtained from transporting fuel is going to be utilised.

Madam Speaker, I have been told that Chingola/Solwezi Road will be worked on under a private-public partnership (PPP). Yes, there are trucks which will be using this road because, very soon, we are going to have another big mine which is going to be mining nickel, gold and copper in Kalumbila, but what consideration is being made for the poor in Solwezi who will want to transport their few bags of sweet potatoes to Chingola? This is because, first of all, they will pay high prices for fuel and then they will have to pay at the toll-gates. Is this Government considering making an alternative well-maintained road for the poor who have been affected by the poor road infrastructure because this is important?

 Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lumba: Madam Speaker, lastly, the indigenous people of Solwezi have not benefited from the mines. The mines have simply made their lives difficult. The prices of commodities have gone up and the road infrastructure is bad. The people of Solwezi are just admiring the fields which, once upon a time, belonged to them, but have now been taken over by the mines. At the end of fifty years, we will just be saying, “Once upon a time, there used to be a mine in Solwezi” which would have left not even a single infrastructure such as a school, road nor house for a miner.

Madam Speaker, these are things which are really hurting us in Solwezi. We, therefore, hope that, one of these days, a new Government will re-negotiate and look at this mining agreement.

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

 Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Chishya (Pambashe): Madam Speaker, I would like to thank you for according me this chance to comment on the speech by the President to this House.

Madam Speaker, I know that the speech has been analysed from different angles. Others have analysed it from the bottom to the top, others from top to bottom and others, sideways.

Madam Speaker, I intend to be very brief. In this regard, I will comment on two or three issues contained in the speech.

Madam Speaker, before I do that, allow me to give a piece of advice to those sitting on your right. My advice to them is that they should continue pursuing their policies which are leading us towards prosperity.

 Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Chishya: Madam Speaker, in the same vein, I would also like to advise those sitting on your left to work together with those sitting on your right. If they continue finding imaginary faults in them, …

Laughter

Dr Chishya: … it will be unfortunate.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Chishya: While they will be wasting time looking for faults, those people on your right will be opening hospitals.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Chishya: While they will be wasting time finding faults, the people on your right will be constructing roads.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Chishya: You will be wasting time finding faults while the people in the Government will be opening hospitals.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Chishya: You will be wasting time finding faults while they will be constructing roads, opening new mines and …

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Chishya: … more areas for tourism in the country.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: He has already been adopted.

Dr Chishya: Madam Speaker, these people are moving at a quantum velocity.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Chishya: Madam, the President’s Speech was not only inspirational, but also directional, focused, targeted and well-articulated.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Chishya: In his speech, Madam Speaker, the President showed where Zambia is coming from, where it is at present and where it is heading to.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Chishya: If one made a cursory inspection of the speech, they would come up with nothing. However, if they made a deep examination of the speech, three things would come out.

Mr Lubinda: Like what?

Dr Chishya: The first one is that the President talked about prosperity based on the 2030 Vision.

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Hon. Members, there is some conversation going on that is disturbing. Please, calm down and allow the debate of the House to go on.

You may continue, hon. Member.

Dr Chishya: The second point the President touched was on stability. You cannot talk about prosperity if there is no stability.

Lastly, the third point he mentioned was peace and security. These are the three things the President paid attention to and a lot of debaters have talked about prosperity and other things, including the uniform fuel prices.

Madam Speaker, initially, the issue of uniform fuel prices originated from the left side of the House. We pushed the people on your right to effect uniform fuel prices in the country and I am glad that this has been taken into consideration.

Hon. Member: Hear, hear!

Dr Chishya: Madam, allow me to say a few words about the media. It is common knowledge that when applying for a licence, the media always says that it would like to help the nation make informed decisions. Unfortunately, what we see is different. Some sections of the media black out whatever progressive ideas or policies that the Government makes to benefit the people.

Mr D. Mwila: How?

Ms Cifire: Tell them.

Dr Chishya: The people in the media choose to publish only those things that annoy people and make them not to look beyond their noses, and yet claim to be informing the nation while they black out the information that is intended to reach the people. Sometimes, some of these media houses twist facts to something like a satanic truth and conceal the reality from the people.

Laughter

Mr Muntanga: Satanic truth. Satan.

Dr Chishya: If one twists reality and gives what is contrary to what is obtaining, that is nothing, but total satanic truth.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Interruptions

Dr Chishya: Madam Speaker, I come from a rural constituency where people walk about 50 to 70 km to reach the nearest hospital. If the Government decides to bring ideas that will assist those that are suffering in the rural areas, then that idea must be welcomed.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Chishya: My constituency is around Kawambwa, Luwingu and Mporokoso and so people are happy about the news of a mobile hospital reaching that place.

Interruptions

Mr Kambwili: Mwilabepa ubufi shikulu!

Interruptions

Dr Chishya: If a hospital was built in Luwingu or Kawambwa, it would make it difficult for the unwell to access it, hence denying them access to health services. However, the idea of introducing mobile hospitals is to take health services to the door step of the people and this idea is very welcome.

Hon. Opposition Members: Iyee!

Dr Chishya: That idea is very much welcome.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Chishya: Madam Speaker, a lot of people in this House have talked about the bumper harvest. Some referred to the increase in the number of beneficiaries to the FISP as simple arithmetic of just playing with figures while others said that the bumper harvest was mere doubling of what was produced in the previous farming season. I should probably ask the hon. Minister of Education to reserve scholarships for some to go to Munali Secondary School and learn a bit of arithmetic there.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Chishya: Madam, I recently visited the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives and got the following information.

Madam Speaker, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, in the 2007/08 farming season, the quantity of fertiliser that was distributed was 50,000 metric tonnes. In the 2008/09 farming season, it was 80,000 metric tonnes. Now, if you get the number of farmers who benefited, you will find that in the 2007/08 farming season, it was 122,000 …

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!

Mr Lubinda: Munali scholar.

Laughter

Dr Chishya: … and in the 2008/09 farming season, it was 213,000.

Laughter

Dr Chishya: Madam Speaker, I am not responsible for the ignorance of some people here.

Laughter

Dr Chishya: Madam Speaker, if you look at that increase, you will find that there is no relationship whatsoever. You will discover that you cannot even use a line regulation or parabola.

Laughter

Dr Chishya: Now, once you get the statistics for the 2009/2010 farming season, you will find that the metric tonnes of fertiliser distributed were 106.

Interruptions

Dr Chishya: The beneficiaries were thrice the number for the previous farming season. The area planted was more or less the same and you will not find any coefficient to show you the correlation.

Laughter

Dr Chishya: Those who are laughing, I am telling you, their heads must be empty.

Laughter

Dr Chishya: Madam Speaker, whether you use the equation of probability or the Shrödinger Equation you will not get the correlation because one of the inputs which is important is human being. The human input is exponentially proportionate to the output.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Chishya: Madam Speaker, if you do not understand that, you had better keep quiet. The people who worked this out must be well educated and good planners.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Chishya: Madam Speaker, whether you like it or not, what they have used is a method of continuous variation.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Chishya: They have kept one parameter constant, changed the other parameter and the output doubled. That is what they did.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Chishya: This, Madam Speaker, is showing. I am not just talking from without, but it is showing. I am sure if they follow this, they may change another parameter which will further increase the output. This means that in the coming years, you will even predict the output from the figures early and that is how projections and computations are made. By just saying it is because of God, rains or arithmetic is neither here nor there.

Laughter

Dr Chishya: This has been technically approached to get these results. I would like to urge the people on your right to continue with this so that the agriculture industry can develop for the benefit of our country.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Minister of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources (Mr Mwangala): Madam Speaker, I thank you for according me this opportunity to contribute to the debate in support of the Motion of Thanks.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwangala: Madam Speaker, let me begin by thanking His Excellency the President, Mr Rupiah Bwezani Banda, for this well-thought out, inspiring, focused and action-oriented speech.

Madam Speaker, indeed, the President’s Speech has brought out salient and important national issues. In particular, it has addressed the developmental issues that this Government has implemented and will continue to implement in order to grow the economy and improve the living standards of the Zambian people through the development of key sectors such as tourism.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwangala: Madam Speaker, I am particularly happy with the President’s strategic focus on tourism as an important sector with potential to create jobs and wealth. This is because tourism is a labour-intensive industry in addition to its multi-faceted nature. Its development stimulates the development of other sectors. For example, the construction of a tourist road will not only provide access to a tourism centre, but also among others, play a critical role in the supply chain through the provision of market access for products in agriculture and manufacturing to mention but a few sectors.

Further, as tourism is about people, their ways of life and their interaction with nature and its creation, it provides opportunities to the local communities, as custodians of this heritage, to participate in tourism businesses.

Madam Speaker, tourism is a sector in which our people can get involved with very minimal capital outlay due to its varied string of opportunities. This is why we state that opportunities in tourism are immense, but only limited by one’s imagination. Therefore, let me take this opportunity to give timely advice and urge all hon. Members to ensure that they and their electorates engage in tourism businesses as a viable option.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwangala: Madam Speaker, they should take advantage of the enabling environment which the Government continues to provide.

Madam Speaker, a strategic focus on infrastructure development on opening up the Kasaba Bay Tourism area and the Lusaka National Park, enhancing the position of Livingstone, through development and re-branding as well as the review of critical legislation in the sector, will not only increase tourism opportunities, but also the sector’s contribution to the national economic cake.

In this regard, I call upon all of us leaders to correctly explain this wind of opportunities provided by the Government to our electorate so that they too can participate meaningfully in tourism growth. The goal of the Government, through developmental sectors such as tourism, is to empower every Zambian to catch fish instead of handouts.

Finally, Madam Speaker, …

Laughter

Mr Mwangala: … I thank all hon. Members of this Parliament who have spoken in support of the President’s Speech.

Madam Speaker, I will repeat, finally, allow me to thank all the hon. Members of Parliament who have spoken in support of the President’s Speech.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Zulu (Bwana Mkubwa): Madam Speaker, thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to debate the President’s Speech. To start with, I would like to join the President in sending massages of condolences to the families of the late hon. Members of Parliament. I associated so well with all the four Members of Parliament who have departed. I had an opportunity, through you, to attend three of those funerals through your delegation.

Madam Speaker, I am going to be very brief in my debate. I will start with agriculture on page 6 of the President’s Speech. The President said,

“Last year, I announced the restructuring of the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) by reducing the size of the pack. The purpose was to make farmers more productive and increase the number of beneficiaries from 250,000 to 500,000.”

Madam Speaker, when I sat here, I was laughing when people were arguing against the President’s statement. What this means is that the same amount of fertiliser and seed was given to more farmers. What does it mean? It means that the management of the hectarage was improved.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Zulu: When you improve the management of the hectarage, you also increase production.
 
Hon. Government Members: That is what happened.

Mr Zulu: So, where is the argument? I was very surprised …

Laughter 

Mr Zulu: … when one of the Members of Parliament, I think it is my friend from Chinsali, said there are very few satellite depots. The satellite depots are positioned not according to the size of an area, but the amount of production in that particular area.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Zulu: Why should you erect a lot of satellite depots where production is low, for what and to collect what, Madam Speaker?

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Zulu: We do not do things that way. It was very interesting to listen to these people debate. I will give you an example of Masangano where I am a commercial farmer and where I produce 7,890 bags of maize. It was very easy because the area is surrounded by four satellite depots. In fact, to transport the maize to Ndola, it was going to cost me K35 million, but because these depots were very near, it only cost me K7 million. What a saving for a farmer! These are all because of this working Government.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Zulu: Madam Speaker, in 2008, 1,000 x 50 kg bags of maize were collected at Masangano Depot. In 2009, 2,000 x 50 kg bags of maize were collected. This year, up to Sunday when I made my last visit to the same satellite depot, 16,790 x 50 kg bags of maize had been collected at Masangano and details are there.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Zulu: It shows that the Government is working.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Zulu: Madam Speaker, I heard somebody say that because of the bumper harvest, maize prices should go down. That is life made simple. It does not work that way because we, the farmers, even at K65,000 per 50 kg bag of maize, are only making K18 million per bag. That is what we are making.

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah! Is it K18 million?

Mr Zulu: I beg your pardon, Madam Speaker, it is K18,000 per bag. Therefore, if the Government has to subsidise the price of mealie-meal, the price of maize has to go down. Then, it will be like what has happened in the Southern Province.

Madam Speaker, the Southern Province used to produce a lot of maize, but when the price of maize became unattractive, most of the farmers stopped growing it. That is why there was hunger in the Southern Province.

Major Chizhyuka: Hear, hear!

Mr Zulu: We do not want that to be the situation in this country. We are now producing enough food, so let us maintain our prices.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Zulu: Madam Speaker, in Masaiti and Ndola districts, …

Ms Lundwe: Hear, hear!

Mr Zulu: … we have already received the D-compound and urea fertiliser. What we are waiting for now is the seed which, I understand, is being tested because it cannot be distributed for use until it is tested. The Government has already delivered the fertiliser. It is not like what used to happen before. The previous governments used to deliver urea before D-compound fertiliser but, this year, the arrangement is completely different. The Government has made it possible for us to get both urea and D-compound fertiliser at the same time and on time.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Zulu: So, that is an achievement and a plus to the Zambian Government.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Zulu: Madam Speaker, let me talk about agriculture and climate change. This country has been badly affected by climate change. There are constant droughts and floods. What we are supposed to do now, as a country, is construct as many dams as we can so that we can dam the water. Then we can use the water when there is a drought to grow crops by irrigation and get better prices for them because it will be in a time of a drought.

Madam Speaker, rural electrification is a very important project that the Government has initiated. It is very important that where we provide electricity, we also construct dams so that the water from these dams can also be used to irrigate crops.

Major Chizhyuka: Hear, hear! Wise man.

Laughter

Mr Zulu: Madam Speaker, it would be interesting for most hon. Members in this House to know that I am a Ngoni from Chipata and I follow what Hon. Shawa talked about the other day. I am from a very big family and when I was young, we used to queue up after eating breakfast, lunch or supper to thank my father for the meal.

Laughter

Mr Zulu: Madam Speaker, in the same vein, because of my upbringing, I want to thank the Government for constructing a modern market in Ndeke.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Zulu: I want to thank the Government for brining water to Ndeke, which has never had piped water before.

Hon. Government Member: Hear, hear!

Mr Zulu: Madam Speaker, this Government has done a lot in my constituency. It has built 2X3 classroom blocks and teachers’ houses at basic schools.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Zulu: The Lukasu and Chambeshi roads in Ndola’s industrial area are now being rehabilitated. I was surprised to hear some hon. Members say that the President did not mention these roads. The President cannot mention all the roads because there are many that are being worked on.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Zulu: I, therefore, thank the Government for rehabilitating the roads in Ndola.

Mr Kambwili: Mwamufumishe kwisa uyu?

Interruptions

Mr Zulu: Madam Speaker, through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) which I got from the Government, we have constructed a new clinic in Itawa and I am very happy to announce it will be commissioned within the next few days.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Zulu: Madam Speaker, as regards the persisting problem of water in Ndola, this working Government, with the assistance of the Swedish International Development Aid (SIDA) and Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA), is going to provide water for the people of Ndola twenty-four hours a day by December, next year.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Zulu: Madam Speaker, I want to appeal to the Government to, at least, build one high school in Mushili. The area is in desperate need of a high school. I also want to ask this good Government to construct a health centre in Mushili.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Interruptions

Mr Zulu: Madam Speaker, before I end my debate, allow me to talk about the National Constitutional Conference (NCC). The NCC was a product of this particular Assembly of Parliament. All the people in here now were there when we enacted the NCC Act. As a former general manger, I know that when you sit in a boardroom and make a decision, you do not go outside and say the decision that was made collectively was wrong.

Interruptions

Mr Zulu: Madam Speaker, I want to tell you what really happened. The reason we were not allowed to go to the NCC is that our party developed cold feet after the Catholic Church pulled out. As you are aware, the Patriotic Front (PF) cannot do without the Catholic Church.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Zulu: Madam Speaker, those opposed to the NCC should not even claim that we went there for money because when we came back from the conference, it was in this House where Hon. Kambwili, the hon. Member of Parliament for Roan, drafted a petition to Parliament and the Government to increase our salaries and allowances.

Mr Kambwili: On a point of order, Madam.

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order! Order!

Hon. Member, we have to be a little careful with some of the information you may have about …

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

You must have self control. It is very necessary that you control yourselves when it is required. Self control is only demanded when you are under pressure and if you cannot control yourselves, then it is very bad for hon. Members to behave that way.

 The hon. Member may continue his debate, but should not pull other hon. Members into his debate because then they have a right to defend themselves and we may end up with a conservation that is not acceptable.

You may continue with general debate.

Mr Zulu: Madam Speaker, I thank you very much for the guidance. What I was just trying to say is that there was nothing wrong with us going to the NCC because the law for this conference was made by us. There are several reasons some people did not go there. You have said I should not mention names, but one of the reasons, especially for the Lusaka-based hon. Members of Parliament …

Hon. Government Members: Tell us.

Mr Zulu: … was the upkeep allowance which they were not entitled to. I just want to make things clear. When they saw that they were not getting enough money, because they were only getting the allowances …

Mr Lubinda: On point of order, Madam.

Madam Deputy Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Lubinda: Madam Speaker …

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order! Order, in the House!

Mr Lubinda: … presiding officers in this House have guided hon. Members to be very careful with their debate, particularly when they start mentioning people within this House. Is the hon. Member of Parliament who is debating, in order to start making insinuations on reasons hon. Members of Parliament from Lusaka constituencies did not go to the NCC when it is very clear to him that some of the hon. Members of Parliament in Lusaka constituencies did actually participate in the NCC? Is he in order to be making such insinuations in this House and to the nation when he did not consult with any of the hon. Members of Lusaka constituencies who did not go to the NCC? I seek your very serious ruling on that matter.

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order! Order!

The general guidance of the Chair is that we do not debate people outside who may not defend themselves. That is one important principle in this House. We may be very careful in drawing each other into debate but, basically hon. Members, just like what has happened, have a right to defend themselves if any hon. Member speaks about them without truth.

Therefore, hon. Members who are here basically keep on talking about each other. That is done, except that every hon. Member has a right to defend himself/herself for as long as he/she is an hon. Member of the House.

Mr Lubinda interjected.

Madam Deputy Speaker: You do not debate your fellow hon. Members. You debate what you know and the truth is always the truth. The hon. Member must be able to debate in general and not talk about individual hon. Members.

Mr Lubinda interjected again.

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

 I did guide that you have to be careful when you mention an hon. Member by name in your debate. Nonetheless, if there is a misleading statement, an hon. Member who may be referred to, even without name, may also defend him/herself. I think that is what you keep doing all the time. So, if there is a misleading statement, you stand like you do on a point of order and you query and if you have an opportunity, you can actually refute or rebut a statement that another hon. Member has made. This is what you keep doing here in your debates.

The hon. Member may continue.

Interruptions

Mr Zulu: Madam Speaker …

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

This does not mean personal debate and this is why, in the first place, I stopped the hon. Member when he referred to another hon. Member by name. There should be no personal attacks in this House like the hon. Member who referred to the hon. Member of Parliament for Roan, but a general debate is a different matter. You may continue, but do no debate individuals here.

Mr Zulu: Mr Speaker, on page 9 of the President’s Speech, the President said that the Government is working towards granting women greater access to land for both residential and commercial purposes.

Madam Speaker, he went on to say that the Government would rather empower women than beat them up. This has been a very big issue and I hope the Bill on battering of women will be brought to this House.

I thank you, Madam.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!{mospagebreak}

Mr Munaile (Malole): Madam Speaker, I am grateful to you for according me this opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the Presidential Speech delivered to this Assembly on 17th September, 2010 by His Excellency the President.

Madam Speaker, since this is the last session before the 2011 Elections, allow me to start my contribution by paying tribute to the Hon. Mr Speaker, you, Madam Speaker, and the Deputy Chairperson of Committees of the Whole House, both the present and his predecessor, for the able manner in which you guided this House.

Madam Speaker, in the same vein, allow me to extend my accolades to the Clerk of the National Assembly and her staff at Parliament for the efficiency and professionalism they exhibit in discharging their functions. May I also thank them for the invaluable advice they render to us, hon. Members of Parliament, whenever they are called upon. I wish all of you God’s blessings and guidance as you continue to perform your various functions.

Madam Speaker, I will not judge the Presidential Speech as to whether it gives hope to the Zambian people or not, but I will try and bring out pertinent issues which I consider critical to the people of Malole Constituency and, by and large, the Zambian people.

Madam Speaker, on agriculture, so much has been talked about. In his speech, the President said that he would like to see Zambia become the breadbasket for Southern Africa. I agree with him, but only to some extent. The agriculture sector has the capacity to grow beyond the bumper harvest. Unfortunately, the main challenges the sector continues to face inhibit its growth. Unless the challenges the sector faces are addressed, agriculture will be reduced to mere bumper harvests. However, I am convinced that agriculture can contribute to national development if properly managed.

Madam Speaker, how can the sector grow without proper marketing strategies, storage facilities in most parts of the country to avoid wastage and how can it grow without proper road infrastructure in rural areas when farmers are made to travel long distances to sell their maize? In most cases, they have to travel more than 50 km just to sell twenty bags of maize or less.

Madam Speaker, how can the sector grow when transporters are not paid on time? Transporters who participated in the 2009/2010 farming season in Mungwi District have not yet been paid. Therefore, how then can they contribute to the economic growth of our country? Perhaps, what is even more adverse is failure to pay the farmers on time. Through you, Madam, I would like the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning, when he begins to respond, to educate me on the reserves that lie at the Bank of Zambia. We have been told that this country has more than US$2 billion in reserves. What is the use of that money if it cannot be used at a time like this one when farmers need money? We are only asking for about US$140 million to be given to the farmers, but you are failing to give them, and yet we have money in the Bank of Zambia.

Mr Sing’ombe: Mupeleka kuti?

Mr Munaile: Then the Government goes ahead to borrow K700 billion, attracting interest when they can avoid this by getting the money which they already have.

Mr Sing’ombe: Masholi!

Mr Munaile: Madam Speaker, I want the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning to critically look at ways that will not disadvantage farmers when it comes to payment of money that they work so hard for.

Madam Speaker, allow me to commend the Government for introducing uniform prices of fuel throughout the country. It is indisputable that the Government has increased fuel prices in towns although some people may be against it. It is also indisputable that the Government reduced the price of fuel in some parts of the country. I come from the Northern Province, in Kasama, where a litre of diesel costs K8,300 or so. We have a reduction of over K1,300. Is that not a plus to the people of Northern Province?

The challenge this Government has is to ensure that people are no longer exploited in places like Malole because the reason they gave of high prices of fuel no longer holds water.

Madam Speaker, I also want to talk about rural electrification. Firstly, I want the hon. Minister of Energy and Water Development to help me understand how on earth the people who deal with electricity at the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) can go to Malole Constituency to tap power and then take it to Senga Hill without connecting my schools and clinics to the electricity grid? What does all this mean? It means that you will spend more to electrify the same place than you would have spent on it when you were taking power to Senga Hill. The way projects are implemented is not only slow but also selective. The Government will only be seen to be doing what is expected of it when it starts working on projects in a particular constituency without necessarily looking at which hon. Member of Parliament represents the constituency.

On health, Madam Speaker, while the Government has done so much in building hospitals and clinics, it has not done much when it comes to the provision of things that are needed by patients such as mattresses, blankets and beds. How can a patient recover when he/she sleeps on the floor? Unless hospitals and clinics are well equipped, we will still fail to provide good medical services.

Madam Speaker, allow me to talk about what is happening in Mungwi District. We have a rural health centre in the district. In 1997, if my memory serves me right, Mungwi was declared a district. We do not have a district hospital in Mungwi yet. The unfortunate part is that dead bodies have to be transported to Kasama which is about thirty kilometres away for mortuary services. The relatives of the deceased have to go to Kasama to pick bodies when it is time for burial. I think something ought to be done about this situation. The Ministry of Health should ensure that, at least, it builds a small mortuary in Mungwi to save people from the suffering that they undergo when their relatives die.

On infrastructure development, Madam, I will begin by talking about the Great North Road. We were told by the former hon. Minister of Works and Supply that when they are working on roads, they look at economic roads. Is the Great North Road not a road that contributes to the economy of this country? If it does, why is the Government not paying attention to it to ensure that this very important road is worked on? Yes, you can work on all the roads you want to, but I want to believe that the roads that you must prioritise are those that bring money to this country and the Great North Road is one such road.

Madam Speaker, I have, in the past, said that the Mwanawasa Bridge will never bring the benefits it was intended to bring if the road from Mufulira to Mansa, Luwingu, Kasama and Isoka is not paved.

Hon. Opposition Member: Hear, hear!

Mr Munaile:  We can only have the benefits if this is done. The Mbesuma Bridge is also critical to the development of the Northern Circuit. Unless the Government pumps money into the Mbesuma Bridge, there will be absolutely no development in the area surrounding the bridge. It saddens me every time I look at the budget, there is money appropriated to the Mbesuma Bridge, but nothing happens at the end of the day. Unless Mbesuma Bridge is given the priority it deserves, the people of Malole Constituency will have more questions than answers for the MMD Government. Malole Constituency has no road network worth talking about. Those of you who have had an opportunity to go to Ukesefya pa Ng’wena know the trouble you had to go through in order to get to Chief Chitimukulu’s palace, and yet the MMD expects the people of Malole Constituency to give it a vote at the end of the day.  The road from Nseluka to Kayambi has never seen any repairs in the last ten to twenty years, and yet there are Zambians living in these areas. These people are also supposed to participate in national development. I do not know why the people given the responsibility to ensure that this country moves forward are not paying attention to some parts of the country. I urge the Government to see to it that something is done regarding the roads in these areas.

On the issue of the Rural Roads Unit (RRU), I reported on this Floor of the House two or three months ago that there are machines which are parked in Mungwi that are defective. When I reported this matter to the relevant authorities, I was asked why I had to wait until the machines had stopped moving to report that they were defective.  To date, the machines have not been worked on, and yet we are expected, as a province with twenty-one constituencies, to have our roads worked on.

Mr C. Mulenga: Landa.

Mr Munaile: The Northern Province has been allocated K5 billion for roads, which is not enough, because it is the biggest province in Zambia. The K5 billion has to be shared among twenty-one constituencies. Where is the fairness in the distribution of national resources? Unless we begin to look at the size of the provinces and distribute money that will bring meaningful development to those areas, our desire to develop this nation will remain an elusion.

Madam Speaker, as regards buildings in Mungwi, since the place was given district status, only the Ministries of Health and Education have built offices there. To date, all the other ministries have to squat in offices that do not belong to them. Even the District Administrator’s Office was not given money in the last budget. Most Government officers who work in Mungwi live in Kasama. This is a great cost on the part of this Government because these officers have to travel to Mungwi daily. How much money will be spent on the transportation of these officers when they can be provided with accommodation in Mungwi they work from?

Madam Speaker, allow me to talk about elections. The voters’ registration exercise has been extended, but the Government will not be able to capture its targeted number in Malole because most people there do not have national registration cards. Thus, even the extension of the period, if it is not backed by the issuance of national registration cards will not make it possible for the targeted figure to be reached. Therefore, I appeal to the hon. Minister of Home Affairs to ensure that his officers get on the ground in places like Kawanga, Chanundu and Nkomena where you can find a forty-year old man or woman without a national registration card. Officers in the ministry do not reach these places. Please, ensure that this is done.

Madam Speaker, in conclusion, those who have studied economics know that the envelope will never be big enough to fund all the projects. The challenge is not to have enough money, but how the scarce resources that come your way are distributed. You should not expect this country to have trillions and trillions of dollars for development. Therefore, I appeal to the Government to make sure that it begins to make use of the resources that come its way efficiently and effectively. The equity aspect should not be left out.

Madam Speaker, we must begin to ask ourselves if we have done enough for the people. If we have done enough, the people of Zambia will judge us. I will be the first one to admit that the MMD Government has scored in certain areas, but also failed in others. As I have stated, how do you expect development to come to Malole where there are no roads?  How do you expect us to contribute to national development when farmers are not paid on time, and yet we have money lying around somewhere? I, personally, speak nothing but the truth and those who have doubted what I have said this evening are free to go to Malole and see that what I have talked about is real. The situation in Malole Constituency is as I have described it. So, as we move towards 2011, I wish all colleagues here a big and good fight as the President said. I wish you well.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.
 
Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga (Kantanshi): Madam Speaker, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to the many voices that have described the Presidential Speech in the manner they understood it.

Madam, this afternoon, I took some time to see what would be the best description of the speech. In trying to come up with a word to describe it, I looked up a few words in the Oxford Dictionary and came up with a word that is very difficult to pronounce. However, I was able to tell that His Excellency the President, Mr Rupiah Bwezani Banda, came here to give a non-committal campaign speech. He only came here to blow his bandora so that people could see that he was kicking off his campaign. This MMD Government should be worried about this because somebody has already imposed himself as a presidential candidate for 2011 even before going to the convention.

Hon. Opposition Members:  Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: These are issues that need to be analysed even before debating this speech.

Hon. Opposition Members:  Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: Madam Speaker, the President’s Speech was not consistent with what he has always said in the past. In the past, the President has been reported by the media as having said he did not need the donors. In his Speech he acknowledges that he had looked at some of the things that the donors were doing for this nation, but noticed that they had reduced their support for the health sector. I wonder why he should be the one to say that when he publicly lambasted the donors. He said he did not need them and they were free to go.

Hon. Opposition Members:  Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: That is how inconsistent this man as well as his speech are.

Hon. Opposition Members:  Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: We expected the President to come to this House and deal with issues of poverty that affect the Zambians. In Zambia, today, 64 per cent of the people live below the poverty datum line.

Hon. Opposition Members:  Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: These are issues that I expected him to address. That percentage includes people who are failing to look after their own children and take them to school. Such people only manage to have a meal per day. No wonder when you walk on the streets of Lusaka, you see a lot of beggars. People do not want to be beggars, but they are on the streets because the Government has failed to create a conducive environment for them to earn a living.

Hon. Opposition Members:  Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: Madam Speaker, during the course of this week, I asked a question regarding the number of high schools on the Copperbelt and the answer was sixty-three. I also asked how many of those high schools had been constructed by this Government in the last five years, the answer was one. That is 1.5 per cent of sixty-three. Which professor or lecturer can give you a 50 per cent success rate when you work at that rate?

Hon. Opposition Members:  Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: It is only 1.5 per cent. This performance is poor in all aspects.

Hon. Opposition Members:  Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: This Government has failed to operate in this area. No wonder …

Interruptions

Dr Puma: On a point of order, Madam.

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

Dr Puma: Madam Speaker, I stand on a very serious point of order. Is the hon. Member speaking in order to mislead this House, and the nation, by saying that the Government is constructing only one high school on the Copperbelt? In fact, the Government is constructing more than three high schools on the Copperbelt in Lufwanyama, Mpongwe, Masaiti and Kamfinsa. Madam Speaker, I need a very serious ruling.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

The hon. Member for Kantanshi may continue and put that of point of order into consideration.

Mr Mukanga: Madam Speaker, I thank you.

I would like to thank the hon. Member for that reminder because the MMD Government is constructing those three schools in Lufwanyama, Masaiti, Mpongwe and Kamfinsa which are its strongholds. We are demanding for equity in the distribution of national resources. Where is the equity in the distribution of resources?

Mr D. Mwila: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: We need to look at issues from a more serious angle. In my constituency, there are pupils who walk a distance of about 20 km to access the nearest high school in Murundu or Mokambo. How do you expect these pupils to do well in school? We need equity in the distribution of resources.

Hon. Opposition Members:  Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: We need equity so that these children may, in future, contribute to the sustainable development of this nation. As a nation, we can only succeed if we improve the education sector by giving our children quality education and not just looking at the quantity aspect. I am talking about issues that are cardinal.

Madam Speaker, teachers need better conditions of service. At the moment, their conditions of service and the conditions they live in are not acceptable. How do you expect teachers to offer good services to children when they live in inhuman conditions? For those that are given housing allowance, it is still inadequate such that they cannot afford decent accommodation. I have taken a serious look at the inconsistencies in the Ministry of Education. I think that it is important that we look at these issues seriously.

Madam, the only high school I was talking about is the Ndola Girls’ Technical High School. There is only one technical high school that has been constructed in Ndola on the Copperbelt.

Mr D. Mwila: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: I have been to this school and I have spoken about the poor workmanship by those that have been contracted to carry out the works there. I have said before that we needed to improve the workmanship of the contractor at the Ndola Girls’ Technical High School. I know what I am talking about.

Madam Speaker, let me come to the issue of policies regarding married teachers in the Ministry of Education. You will notice that someone recruited today is sent to another area far away from their spouse. I think these types of policies need to be reviewed because they are not right. How can a spouse stay away from his/her partner for four years? Are we not contributing to the breaking up of marriages and also exposing them to HIV/AIDS? In one breath, we are saying that stick to one sexual partner and in another, we are doing the contrary. This is the reason I am also saying that there is no consistency in the Presidential Speech and I mean just that. 

Madam Speaker, let me talk about mining, a subject that is close to my heart.

Mr D. Mwila: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: Zambia is a rich nation because it is endowed with a lot of natural mineral resources. Yesterday, the price of copper was US$7,865 per tonne at the London Metal Exchange. Last year, we produced about 667,000 tonnes of cooper. What did we get from that copper when those who produced it raised US$5.5 billion?

Mr D. Mwila: Nothing!

Mr Mukanga: What did we get as a nation, nothing? Do you know the cost of nickel? Nickel costs about US$22,805 per tonne. What are we getting out of it as a nation, nothing? The cost of manganese is US$2,650 per tonne, but we are getting absolutely nothing from this mineral as a country. There is a lot of manganese in Luapula Province and other parts of the country. At Dimbwe in Siavonga, there is also about 13.7 million tonnes of uranium, but we are not getting anything out of it. Why should we suffer when we have all these natural resources in this country? Why should we allow that to happen? This is why I am saying that the administration of this country is poor. We need proper administrators to administer the resources of this nation properly.

Mr D. Mwila: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: Madam Speaker, I heard one hon. Member from the Government ask whether this nation had adequate funds. I would like to say, yes, there is money in this country because every year, we appropriate money in this House but, at the end of the day, the Auditor-General’s Office reports that money was not spent or was misapplied. This means that there is money in the country. It is only that it is being misapplied or mismanaged by this Government. This is why I am saying that we need to look at the issues that I am talking about seriously.

Madam, while the miner who works so hard is heavily taxed, the company that he works for pays very little tax.

We cannot allow such a situation. Everytime we have asked a question in this House on why the project has not been finished, the answer is that there is no money. When we find out when it will be done, we are told that when monies are available. The monies are already available. You should bring back the windfall tax.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: Madam Speaker, there is money in this country. It is only that you are not looking at this issue seriously. You are not taking care of this nation the way you are supposed to. It is, therefore, important that you look at this issue seriously. If you do not do that, I will be crying for development everyday.

Madam Speaker, the people of Mufulira are asking for the Mufulira/Sabina Road to be worked on. They told us that if the Mufulira/Sabina Road is not worked on, we should not go back there. Hon. Mulongoti, it is important that you understand that people want roads  to be worked on in Mufulira. About three years ago, we were told that contracts for about five roads would be outsourced and they were advertised in the papers. To date, nothing has happened. Why are we being segregated against as a town? Why should the Copperbelt be left in the cold? It is important that you look at issues seriously.

Madam Speaker, our neighbouring countries and those that have experienced war are performing better than us. Even the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo is doing far better than us. It is, therefore, important that you look at issues seriously and change things in for us to improve.

Madam Speaker, this country requires good managers and administrators. It requires people who are able to look at the resources of this country and apply a good formula so that there is equitable distribution of resources. If we are not going to do that, we will continue complaining. People will come with briefcases and continue to get money from this country, leaving us to continue singing songs.

Madam, when we ask about corporate social responsibilities, these things do not happen. We ask, everyday, but the answer is that there is no legislation to support that. Why can you not put legislation to support issues that we need? If we do not do that, this unemployment problem will persist. Currently, unemployment is rampant. Our children have gone to school and have acquired degrees, but they have no jobs, and yet you are there, as an Executive, doing nothing about it.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: Madam Speaker, things ought to change. We cannot allow the Zambian people to continue being unemployed and seeing foreigners, through the route of outsourcing of contracts, getting employed.

Madam Speaker, further, the people who are working for these investors that this Government has brought, are getting as low as K300,000 per month. How do you expect them to survive? It is important that you look at issues seriously. You should do everything you can to compel these investors to plough back into the communities of this country or the environment they are operating from.

Madam Speaker, coming to commerce, industry and energy, uniform pricing of fuel is not the best that can be done. It is good if you look at it from the surface and not from the economic perspective. What this Government did when it was coming up with uniform fuel pricing was that it increased the prices on the line of rail and reduced the prices in rural Zambia. By so doing, the cost of doing business in Zambia was pushed up because, once we increase the fuel prices along the line of rail where there are a lot of businesses …

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

Madam Deputy Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Mbewe: Madam Speaker, is the hon. Member of Parliament who is speaking very well and shouting on top of his voice in order to ignore the microphone which was given to him by the National Assembly?

I need your serious ruling.

Madam Deputy Speaker: The hon. Member may continue.

Laughter

Mr Mukanga: Madam Speaker, the cost of doing business in Zambia has gone up. What I mean is that as long as the price of fuel is increased along the line of rail, the price of commodities will also shoot up. The businessmen in rural Zambia buy their commodities from town and thereafter put a markup. So, at the end of the day, generally, everybody in Zambia will feel it. When we talk about fuel increments, it is important that we look at it realistically. We should not just impress people who have been fighting for it because they will also want to travel to the rural parts of Zambia.

Madam, I now want to talk about fuel reserves. When the President came to this House, he said that the number of days for fuel reserves had tripled. This means that we now have fuel reserves of forty-five days. That was the intention of the Energy Regulation Board (ERB). The ERB told every Zambian that when the fuel reserves were enough for forty-five days, then it would stop charging the K152.00 per litre.

Madam, I am, therefore, asking this Government to ensure that the ERB stops charging K152.00 per litre because it has enough fuel reserves. If it continues to do that, then it will be getting money from us by false pretence. If you calculate, we spend about 1.5 billion litres per month in this country and this is US$45 million. We do not want this Government to be getting US$45 million through the ERB and use it for campaigns.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: Madam Speaker, the President did not talk about the Rural Electrification Master Plan, which this Government has been singing about. When I asked about it once, I was told that it would be coming soon and some people even claimed to have seen it. Where is it? We want to see our contributions so that we can tell our people what will be done as result of the requests we made to the Executive. It should not be hidden so that they may be able to get the praises. 

Madam Speaker, the President also talked about the Mchinji/Chipata Railway Line. Yes, that railway line has been completed, but it has taken twenty-seven years. Its construction started in 1982 and then it was suspended in 1992. The Malawians, who were our partners, finished their part a long time ago. In 1984, they had done 50 km while ourselves, with 27 km, it took us twenty-seven years. The efficiency this Government is talking about is working on 1 km per year. Is that the efficiency we need as Zambians? We do not need that type of efficiency. We need better than that.

Madam Speaker, the President also spoke about industrial parks. Industrial parks or estates have been found to be a problem elsewhere because for them to be operated, they need a proper transport system, which is a good road network and railway system. We also need a good location outside the residential areas. If we do not look at environmental issues seriously, we will have a problem.

I am warning this Government that when it introduces industrial parks, it is important that it looks at the environmental requirements. If you do not do that, we will have a lot of pollution in the country and we will have a very big problem. We do not need to compromise issues. When you were talking about mobile hospitals, we said we did not need them because in the prevailing environment with poor roads, it would not work. They cannot work because our road network is bad. It is for this reason that I want this Government to look at issues seriously rather than just dreaming and coming up with ideas without analysing them.

Madam Speaker, the Ndola Stadium is not a gift from China to Zambia. It is a loan, but why are we allowing the Chinese to put their symbols on that stadium? Do you want our children to learn Chinese to read what is written there? Why should we have snakes all over as if we are in Peking or somewhere else? We want to see a difference. We want to see a Zambian logo because that stadium is for Zambia. We do not want to see something else.

Madam Speaker, realising that I have very little time, I want to talk about …

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Business was suspended from 1815 hours until 1830 hours. {mospagebreak}

[MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair]

Mr Mukanga: Madam Speaker, before business was suspended, I was about to talk about the elections, but before this, I would like to state one point on HIV/AIDS. It is important that this Government comes up with a sustainable Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) programme. If we do not put a sustainable programme in place and the donors withdraw their support, what will happen to patients? It is important that we introduce a revolving fund or trust that we can use as backup.

Madam Speaker, elections are around the corner and the pact is doing everything possible to ensure that it moves forward.

Interruptions

Mr Mukanga: We may have cracks in the pact, but they will be mended to ensure that the pact takes over Government …

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: …because our friends in the Government have failed.

Interruptions

Mr Mukanga: I am asking the people of Zambia to do everything possible …

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

I think that now you are drowning the debate. Can you allow the hon. Member to make his point.

Mr Mukanga: I am asking the people of Zambia to ensure that as they vote next year, they look at the issues that we have talked about such as the unavailability of drugs in hospitals, bad road network and carrying of blankets to the hospital as is the case at the Ronald Ross Hospital in Mufulira amongst others.

When the day of voting comes, they must vote for the pact because it is what they need. We want a change of Government. Things must change. This Government must realise that before tress were planted, there was land. It must realise that before it came into being, the people of Zambia were there and not vice-versa.

The people of Zambia will change things because one can plant a tree, today, on a piece of land, uproot it and plant another one the next day. The pact is a new shoot. I would like to urge my colleagues in the pact that we work together to redeem this nation by taking over the reign and help the Zambian people. 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: If we do not do this, the people of Zambia will have no hope. The pact is coming so that the people of Zambia may have hope.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Minister of Finance and National Planning (Ms C. M. Kapwepwe): Madam Speaker, I thank you for according me this opportunity to make my contribution to this very important Motion on the Floor.

Madam Speaker, let me begin by taking this opportunity to welcome new hon. Members to the House, including the new, but old. I would most especially like to welcome the hon. Member for Chifubu, Hon. Kawandami, who has added to the number of female hon. Members of Parliament.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Ms C. M. Kapwepwe: Madam Speaker, allow me to add my voice to the many before me who rose to commend the speech by His Excellency the President, Mr Rupiah Bwezani Banda, which was inspirational and which set the tone for the commitment to service in order to continue with the critical and noble agenda of developing our country, with continued vigour and determination.

The President, in his speech, also urged hon. Members of Parliament to consider one another as allies in the common quest for human development. He also went on to say that there were many advantages in working together and sharing ideas as compatriots, as we owe it to the people to co-operate beyond party lines.

These words, Madam Speaker, are words of an inspirational leader who is determined to improve the welfare of all Zambians. These words are supported by the position articulated by Hon. Machungwa in his contributions to this Motion. I totally agreed with him when he said that a leader should be inspirational.

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

There was a point of order raised when one hon. Member, who used all his vocal power, was debating. However, another hon. Member is speaking very calmly and there is a lot of talking. Hon. Members, you are not concentrating on the debate. Can you allow the hon. Member to debate in her ordinary voice.

Laughter

Ms C. M. Kapwepwe: Madam Speaker, I thank you for your protection.

Madam Speaker, I believe that leaders should be inspirational. They should bring hope and not despair. They should unite and not be divisive. Leaders should build and not destroy. On this side of the House, we are very comfortable because we have such a leader, while our colleagues across the Floor, who wish to advance their cause through alliances, still have to decide on a leader, which possibly explains their current state of confusion, …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms C. M. Kapwepwe: … bewilderment and unclear direction.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms C. M. Kapwepwe: Madam Speaker, I have listened to the debate so far and listening to contributions, especially from across the Floor, one can only conclude that we are trying to perfect the art of unconstructive criticism.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms C. M. Kapwepwe: As it has been said before, we hear, but do not listen, we look but we do not see, even in the face of clear and stark evidence.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms C. M. Kapwepwe: When presented with a glass full of water, such people as my colleagues on the left, will immediately …

Mr Nkombo: On a point of order, Madam.

Madam Deputy Speaker: I am sure you can allow the hon. Minister to finish her debate.  Is it on fact?

Mr Nkombo: Yes, Madam Speaker.

Madam Deputy Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Nkombo: Madam Speaker, I do not raise points of order ordinarily. However, I have been compelled to rise on a very serious point of order.

In this country, there is tuberculosis (TB), which is wrecking havoc among our people. Mazabuka, the constituency which I represent, has run out of TB drugs.  In fact, the whole of the Southern Province has.

Given this, is the hon. Deputy Minister of Finance and National Planning in order to continue giving Zambians statements about how well this Government is performing when, clearly, people’s lives are in danger as they cannot take their much-needed drugs on a daily basis?

Madam Speaker, I need a serious ruling from you. 

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

The point of order, serious as it may be, must be directed to the right ministry that looks after the health of the people, as the hon. Deputy Minister of Finance and National Planning has also a duty to tell the nation what the Government is doing. You could see that the hon. Member wanted to bring in a debate.

Mr Shawa: Hear, hear!

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

If it has to come as an item of an urgent nature, if that is how the hon. Member perceives it, then it should be re-directed to the right ministry. Otherwise, the hon. Minister should continue. The hon. Member can raise that as an issue of an urgent nature, especially as he talks about drugs.

May the hon. Deputy Minister continue.

Ms C. M. Kapwepwe: Madam Speaker, when presented with a glass half full of water, my colleagues on your left will immediately say it is half empty. They will ignore the positive aspects in anything and focus on the negative aspect.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms C. M. Kapwepwe: This is referred to as the half empty glass syndrome. Such people will, therefore, be disappointed even where there is clear evidence of good performance.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms C. M. Kapwepwe: Mr Speaker, the President’s Speech touched on many important priority areas and clearly articulated the Government’s position, but I will limit my contribution to economic management. I will also address some issues raised in the debate so far.

Madam Speaker, the President’s Address pointed out that, this year, projections were that the economy would grow at about 6.6 per cent. This economic growth rate has actually been revised upwards due to the better than expected performance in various economic sectors during the first half of 2010.

Madam Speaker, acknowledgement of our country’s positive economic performance has been made by several highly respected institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as stated by the IMF President during his visit to Zambia early this year. This was also echoed by one of the Executive Directors of the World Bank during his recent visit only last month.

Madam Speaker, in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), Zambia’s economy, in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), is ranked fourth, after South Africa, Angola and Tanzania, out of fourteen countries. This is according to the IMF World Economic Outlook Data Base of October, 2009. Again, our friends from across the Floor can only see a half empty glass.

Madam Speaker, the economy has registered growth in various sectors. Copper production has increased by over 10 per cent in the first half of 2010 with renewed focus on value addition. For the first time in many years, copper production is now projected to reach 740,000 metric tonnes this year.

Madam Speaker, it is baffling when an hon. Member of Parliament can stand on the Floor of this House and say he is embarrassed that we have reached this level of production. This is against a background of years of declining mining activity where mining operations virtually ground to a halt. It had to take this hardworking Government to find investors to come in and turn such companies around.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms. C. M. Kapwepwe: Madam Speaker, once again, we encounter the half empty glass syndrome. The increased mining activity has resulted in not only the creation of new jobs, but also many other spin-off benefits. I am sure the many suppliers to the mines, some of whom are in this House, will certainly agree with me that this investment has brought sound benefits.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms. C. M. Kapwepwe: Madam Speaker, there was mention of copying a tax regime from another country. Tax administration is a complex matter and takes into consideration various factors. You cannot copy another tax regime when you have very different levels of development, population size, size of the country, employment rates and, in general, a very different tax base. Let us not rush to make an over simplistic analysis of complex issues which we may not fully understand. We raise tax revenue to respond to expenditure requirements, and yet we want to rush to copy only one side of fiscal policy. 

 Madam Speaker, it is a known fact that it takes several years of sustained economic growth for it to significantly impact positively on poverty levels. With our short memories, we have forgotten the state of our economy just two decades ago. We have forgotten the queues for bread, cooking oil, sugar and other essential commodities and that such queues are now a thing of the past

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms. C. M. Kapwepwe: Yet, we are quick to condemn and see a half empty glass

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 Ms. C. M. Kapwepwe: Notable progress has been made in the development of multi-facility economic zones (MFEZs) and industrial parks with one economic zone alone attracting more then US$550 million worth of investment. Contrary to the belief that these zones were earmarked only for foreign investors, it is encouraging to note that local investors are actively participating in these zones as we heard from one hon. Member who has invested in production and is creating employment. He saw a half full glass, while our friends, once again, could only see a half empty glass.

Madam Speaker, agriculture has also posted significant growth with a bumper harvest at approximately 2.7 million metric tonnes being the highest level of production in our country’s history. This is another clear testimony of the working policies of this hardworking and committed Government.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms. C. M. Kapwepwe: Despite this splendid performance, our colleagues on your left are still looking for ways to avoid acknowledging our outstanding economic management. Only today, we have learnt that the country’s inflation rate is down to 7.7 per cent which is an all time low in five years.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms. C. M. Kapwepwe: The glass is definitely half full and not half empty.

Madam Speaker, in his Speech, the President stated that if our national development plans are to succeed, prudent use of resources will be important. To support this, the Government has taken several measures to improve management of public resources. These measures include embarking on the automation of our accounting system, appointment of audit committees in all ministries, provinces, and spending agencies, changing the Budget Cycle and the establishment of a Financial Intelligence Unit which will target the combating of financial crime. Other measures include strengthening debt management and monitoring and evaluation. These many measures, including new supporting legislation, surely confirm the Government’s commitment to fighting corruption and other vices and the enhancement of public resource management.

Madam Speaker, our country’s infrastructure requirement is enormous. That is why this working Government has enacted the regulatory framework to support PPP ventures in infrastructure development.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms. C. M. Kapwepwe: This allows us to leverage public funding and tap into the vast resources of private sector funding. This will no doubt accelerate the pace of infrastructure development and release public funding for other social development. The PPP Unit at the Ministry of Finance and National Planning is already very active and we shall start to see PPP projects in the road sector, energy, water and sanitation, transport and border point infrastructure development. On this side of the House, we do not just talk, but design and implement workable solutions.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms. C. M. Kapwepwe: In his speech, the President asked the people to judge deeds and not words. The significant levels of development that is ongoing all over the country surely speak for themselves in terms of our performance.

Madam Speaker, allow me to submit some of the tangible infrastructure development projects as we have heard.

There are several new district hospitals; Kapiri Mposhi, Chadiza, Samfya, and health 
centres in many rural areas;

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms. C. M. Kapwepwe: We have new classroom blocks and desks countrywide. New houses for the police have been constructed in Kasama, Chipata, Ndola and Livingstone. There are also new roads and bridges in various provinces. There are new office blocks in rural areas for health and education administration countrywide. There are new boarding secondary schools for boys and girls in rural areas. There are also new airport terminal buildings in Kasama, Chipata, Mansa and others.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms. C. M. Kapwepwe: We have buildings and rehabilitation of dams and irrigation schemes. We also have farming blocks in Serenje and other areas.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!
Ms. C. M. Kapwepwe: These, Madam Speaker, are our deeds and this list is just a sample of the many projects that we have implemented and those that are still on going.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms C. M. Kapwepwe: Unfortunately, our colleagues on the other side do not have deeds to show and are, therefore, dependent on words. Some are living in the past and want us to make decisions that we would have made thirty years ago. Life is dynamic. One can no longer run a parastatal company in modern day 2010. With the advancement of global emphasis and changes in technology, one cannot still insist on maintaining old structures and huge workforces. That is clearly not sustainable. In Bemba, we say, “Ubulimi bwakale tabutalalika mwana.”

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms C. M. Kapwepwe: This means, you cannot pacify a child crying from hunger by tales of what a wonderful farmer you once were.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms C. M. Kapwepwe: This means you cannot live in past glories. You have to adjust and adapt to the current environment and take action which is in line with the current trends and norms.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms C. M. Kapwepwe: That is why this Government has taken bold decisions in privatisation programmes such as the sale of the Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZANACO) and the Zambia Telecommunications Company (ZAMTEL) and others, which, ultimately, will benefit the Zambian people.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms C. M. Kapwepwe: To conclude, Madam Speaker, the MMD Government’s overall objectives, as defined in the short, medium and, indeed, long-term development plans remain on course. We remain focussed on sustained macroeconomic stability, promotion of economic diversification to underpin and support our efforts in poverty reduction and economic and social development, wealth creation and attainment of the millennium development goals (MDGs).

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms C. M. Kapwepwe: National development plans will continue to focus on key strategic areas such as agriculture, infrastructure development, health, education and skills development, among others. The plans also emphasise public spending on strengthening the relevant economic and social infrastructure, as I have clearly demonstrated in my list.

The President, in his speech, called upon all of us to work together to develop this country even across party lines because no single one of us is more important than the people we serve.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms C. M. Kapwepwe: I quote from the President’s Speech that:

“As we approach the general elections next year, let all politicians be mindful that our politics should be exemplary and not centred on self-interest alone. Remember, Zambia is greater than any one of us. We must strive to build a better Zambia for future generations.”

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms C. M. Kapwepwe: These are, indeed, inspirational words from an inspirational leader who is poised to lead this party to victory come 2011.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Masebo (Chongwe): Madam Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to the debate on this very important Motion that is on the Floor of this House.

Madam, from the outset, I wish to join His Excellency the President in remembering our departed friends and those who have left this House due to other reasons. Hon. Members, as you noticed, I am seated alone at the back bench and this has deeply affected me.

Interruptions

Dr Musonda: It is scary!

Mr Muntanga: Come here!

Mrs Masebo: Madam, I also wish to join the hon. Deputy Minister of Finance and National Planning in congratulating the two new Members who have joined us in this Parliament, especially the female Member of Parliament. It is good to have a lady member of Parliament.

Madam Speaker, the President’s Speech is very important in the sense that it is the basis for the development that we are to expect in the country, particularly in our constituencies. It is also the basis for our Budget.

Madam, I wish to commend the Government for the many good works it did in all sectors in the previous year, 2009, and this year. However, I wish to talk about specific areas and hope that the hon. Ministers responsible for them can hear me out as these issues relate to my constituency.

Madam Speaker, as regards the agriculture sector, it is true that the good Government policy has brought about a bumper harvest. I think nobody can argue about this.

Hon. Member: Hear, hear!

Mrs Masebo: Madam, those from constituencies with a high production of maize will agree with me that there has been a high production this year. This reminds me of the United national Independence Party (UNIP) days when there was a lot of maize all over the country. This is the scenario in my constituency, Chongwe, today.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Masebo: For this reason, I wish to commend the Government for the FISP Programme which gave out less bags of fertiliser to farmers because it seems to have worked and given these results.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Masebo: I was one of those hon. Members of Parliament who criticised the Government for reducing the number of fertiliser bags from eight to four per beneficiary. When I told the Government that the people in my constituency were not happy with that number, it argued that it wanted to increase the output and, for sure, the output has been increased.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Masebo: I suppose the number of bags of fertiliser were less and so, the people could no longer smuggle the remainder of the bags of fertiliser, but apply all of it effectively.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Masebo: As a result, people who did not manage to get any farming inputs prior to that were now able to get some.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Masebo: This has been the result. To that extent, we have managed to achieve that objective.

However, Madam Speaker, we still have a challenge that needs to be addressed by the Government. I urge the hon. Minister of Agriculture and Co-operatives to hear me out. Oh, by the way, congratulations! There is now a new Minister of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Hon. Dr Kazonga, a very …

Interruptions

Mrs Masebo: Good!

I would like to inform the new hon. Minister that there are a lot of bags of maize that are lying at satellite depots in Chongwe. Just one depot has about 22,000 bags of maize and only 2,000 bags have been moved from the satellite depots to the main depot in Chongwe in one month. Now, we are getting into October and the rains are about to start at the end of this month. If the people collecting this maize from the satellite depots continue at this pace, they will only collect another 2,000 or 4,000 bags. This means there will still be 18,000 bags remaining to be collected which will get soaked. What will we have achieved? It means we will have just wasted resources.

I, therefore, urge the new hon. Minister to take note of that point because this is the situation that is prevailing in my constituency.

Much as farmers appreciate the Government’s programme of buying maize, they are worried that the maize will go to waste. Is this the best way to manage a bumper harvest?

Mr Muntanga: Yes!

Mrs Masebo: Madam Speaker, the other challenge that this maize marketing process is facing is the issue of payments.

Last week, I spoke to the outgoing hon. Minister about this challenge and invited him to Chongwe and see for himself. I am happy that he saw exactly what I had explained to him that the people who sold the maize to the Government, through Food Reserve Agency (FRA) were not paid on time. I do not know what the story is, but the former hon. Minister told me that the Government had released enough money for this exercise and the payments, therefore, had started. However, there is corruption involved in this payment process and that is what one farmer told me. I do not fabricate stories, but say what the people of Chongwe tell me. I am merely rephrasing what they have told me on the Floor of this House so that the hon. Ministers concerned can do something about it.

One farmer told me about what is happening in this payment process. To get a receipt that is to be taken to the bank, someone under the FRA, or appointed to buy the maize on behalf of the Government, has to be paid. For a farmer to be paid his or her money on time at the bank, again, he or she has to pay somebody. I asked why they paid someone to get money that is rightfully theirs and they said if they did not do so, they would have to sleep outside the bank for two or more days waiting to be paid. The hon. Minister saw and heard this from the poor farmers. The money to pay these farmers is there, but somebody is keeping it in the bank and getting a 10 per cent or applying a nichekeleko corrupt arrangement.

For this reason, the new hon. Minister of Agriculture and Co-operatives has a big job to do going round and seeing what is happening on the ground to ensure that this money is paid to the farmers. Otherwise, we are creating a bad name for ourselves.

Madam Speaker, the other issue that is hindering the process of collecting maize from the satellite depots on time by the FRA is the bad road network. There is a problem of roads that are impassable, especially in my constituency and so the transporters who have been engaged to collect maize are not happy because they have realised that this business is no longer profitable because of the bad roads. There is a need for the relevant authorities; the council and Road Development Agency (RDA) to assist in solving this problem of bad roads.

Madam Speaker, I know that the Government has graders which have been in some districts longer than in Chongwe District and I have brought this to the attention of the Provincial Minister who has assured me that something will be done about this. The management of this equipment is something that the Government needs to look at critically and get value for it. If we do not use the equipment efficiently, it will not help the situation because we will continue complaining about the bad state of the roads.

Madam Speaker, I have said before that the issue of roads is going to create problems for us. In my constituency, there is a slogan that goes, “No roads, no votes.” When I go for meetings, the people tell me that they love our party and that they are going to vote for it but, before they do that, they want the roads to be worked on.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Masebo: Madam Speaker, I know that some roads are bad and we promised the people in my constituency that they would be worked on, but this has not been done. I have gone back to tell them that I will do my best to talk to the relevant authorities before 2011. I further told them that if the roads are worked on before 2011, they should vote for me, but if they are not, I will not tell them to vote for anybody. I have been honest with the people and that is the position. My appeal to those concerned is to help me to work on the roads, but if they want to fix me by thinking that if the roads are not worked on, I will not win the elections, then that is their fault and only time will tell.

Interruptions{mospagebreak}

Mrs Masebo: Madam Speaker, it is also necessary to look at which roads we are prioritising because, at the moment, roads are being worked on haphazardly because some people are more influential than others. This is not right because when we agree on a programme of work, we should follow it. If we start changing the programme of work, it is difficult to convince the people on what is happening.

Madam Speaker, I seriously need help in the area of roads in my constituency but, as I have said, if people do not want to help because they want to fix me, I have no problem with that.

Madam Speaker, I now move to the issue of education. I would like to agree with His Excellency the President that education is key to development and I would like to acknowledge that there has been a lot of effort by this Government to improve the education sector, especially in infrastructure development. It is clear that, in the past, we may not have invested enough money in this sector but, since the population has grown, the need for more schools is also great. We also need more teachers though it is clear that there is a programme to address the problems.

Madam Speaker, I would like to say that when you go round the schools and talk to the teachers, you hear the same story. I have noticed that the hon. Minister of Education has been going round visiting the schools and talking to the teachers and, in my view, I think there will be solutions to the issues being raised. One of the problems is of an administrative nature. In some schools some teachers have not been confirmed after working for four years or more …

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

Madam Deputy Speaker: Is it on procedure?

Mr Kapeya: Yes, Madam Speaker.

Madam Deputy Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Kapeya: Madam Speaker, as you are aware, this is my first time to raise a point of order since 2006. Is Hon. Masebo in order to inform this House that she is being fixed or she is being told that she will be fixed without informing the House the offence she has committed for her party to fix her? I need your serious ruling.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Will the hon. Member continue, please?

Mrs Masebo: Madam Speaker, I was talking about education and I was agreeing with His Excellency the President’s statement that education is key and I was saying that the hon. Minister of Education is going round the country looking at issues affecting education. I was also saying that I have been visiting all the schools in my constituency and I have been engaging the teachers. I have heard their concerns and I think most of them are administrative.

Madam Speaker, I was saying that there are teachers in some schools who have been working for more than four years without being confirmed in their jobs and, as such, their morale is low. There are also issues of, for example, a couple being separated because one of them was transferred to another school that is miles away. In my view, these are administrative issues which are not understood by the relevant authorities. The teachers have been separated and this is demoralising them.

Madam Speaker, the other problem in schools is that of salaries. Teachers do not get their salaries on time and, as such, sometimes, they do not have mealie-meal or relish at the end of the month, and yet they are supposed to be paid by then. This is equally demoralising the teachers because they are unable to attend to their problems or needs in good time. We know that the Government can have a problem of sending these salaries because of computerising but this should be resolved in the shortest possible time. However, if the same problem persists, people will start to think we are not serious or not just telling the truth. It is good to tell the teachers the truth when there is a problem because then they will also be able to plan their month. What is prevailing at the moment is that people are giving conflicting statements over the issue and, as such, the teachers are left in limbo, hence the complaints. As I went round, I could see that their morale was low.

Madam Speaker, the other challenge in education is the problem of water and sanitation. You cannot believe the kind of toilets teachers use in most of the schools in my constituency. I urge the Government, as new schools are constructed, to take care of the issue of toilets, including those which are in a bad state. We also have teachers whose houses have no toilets and they probably just go into the bush to help themselves or use pit latrines. This is unfair because some of these teachers who use such facilities are diploma holders.

Madam Speaker, it is good to note that the figures that have been highlighted in the speech by the President show an increase in the budget for education and I hope that the money will go towards improving the welfare of teachers so that they are motivated to teach. Even the classroom space which has been increased has created a problem of inadequate desks.

Madam Speaker, in my constituency, we still have a challenge of desks. We have a new school which has no desks.  Sometimes, in the plan of action for a school that has been built or a school that has been extended, there is no provision for desks. That is why you find pupils sitting on the floor in a nice new school. You can clearly see that there are some challenges on the ground which are real and which the ministry should prioritise when funds are available. When you have meagre resources, it is how you apply them within your ministry that matters. If you apply your resources properly, people will be able to see that though they are faced with many problems, you are moving in the right direction. It is not possible to address all the problems at the same time. 

Madam Speaker, there can never be a time when we shall have the resources to be able to do everything we need to do. It is how we apply the meagre resources that matters. After looking at the green paper, I saw that the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning is trying to see how our expenditure can be realigned so as to address some of the issues that I have raised. In fact, they have used the word reprioritise, meaning that even though they have set some priorities, there is  a need to change them so as to target those areas which people want attended to urgently and they can safely say that their Government is doing a good job. Indeed, there maybe a lot of things that are happening, but if they are not focussed on attending to the needs of our people, the people will continue complaining. At the moment, we have a bumper harvest and the Government has released money to the FRA, but somebody will block that money from getting to the farmers or there will be no one to collect the maize and when the rains come, the maize goes to waste. So, I think there is a need to recast and think twice about how we are spending our resources.

I was also happy to note that the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning talked about how vehicles in various ministries are being utilised, meaning that he wants to cut down on unnecessary expenditure in those ministries.

Madam Speaker, let me now talk about the issue of decentralisation. First of all, I would like to commend the Government for adopting the Decentralisation Plan because I know that it was difficult to adopt it. The issue now is the implementation of that plan. Therefore, I would like the new hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing to tell the nation how far we have gone in implementing some components of the plan so that we can show the people that we mean business and are not just there to make the same announcements regarding the plan. The plan was adopted in 2009 and we are now heading towards the end of 2010. The people need to see action and not us just giving them lip service everyday by announcing the same things. The people are tired of listening to the same things. I do not blame them because even when I was at the ministry, we were just telling them stories about the plan without them seeing anything of substance on the ground.

Madam Speaker, the other issue that I am happy about is the plan to establish the Local Government Service Commission. One of the weaknesses we noticed in the councils, which is a hindrance to the implementation of the plan, is the capacity of the workers to implement such plans. Sadly, the year is coming to an end and the hon. Minister has not brought any record to this House to tell us how far he has gone with the formation of the Local Government Service Commission. I was disappointed to hear the hon. Member of Parliament for Kalomo Central say that the formation of the commission is not an answer to the problems in the local government system. I said to myself that the biggest problem we have as Zambians is that we do not use the experience we have properly. We use it to mislead the people.

Mr Muntanga: Which Kalomo?

Mrs Masebo: The Member of Parliament for Mapatizya, Hon. Sejani, is a former hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing. If he was being honest and sincere, he would come to this House and say that even though the creation of the Local Government Service Commission is not a panacea, it is partly a solution to the problems in the local government system. All of us here are councillors who know how ill qualified people in our councils are. We know how we have employed friends and relatives who do not even qualify for the jobs they have. We know how the audit reports have come out telling us that money has been misapplied in the councils. We know how many spanner boys we have in the councils who you are calling engineers when they are not. So, how can you say that …

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Your time is up.

Mr Mushili (Ndola Central): Madam Speaker, before contributing to the debate on the Presidential Speech, I would like to, firstly, welcome my sister, the new hon. Member of Parliament from Ndola District. I thought I was going to be the only one in the entire district after the death of Hon. Bwalya, who has been replaced by another PF hon. Member of Parliament, Mrs Susan Kawandami. To her I say, congratulations.

Madam Speaker, I will try and make my contribution as brief as possible. I will simply dwell on four issues, namely the road infrastructure, health, voters’ registration as well as citizens’ economic empowerment. On page 17 of the Presidential Speech, in the first paragraph, the President stressed the importance of roads. He said that the repair and upgrading of roads throughout the country is progressing well. Some of the key roads being upgraded or constructed include, the Serenje/Mansa, Mutanda/Zambezi/Chavuma and Choma/Namwala,Chipata/Lundazi and Chipata/Mfuwe. Unfortunately, our President did not go further to state the progression of the works on these roads. When were the contracts for these roads awarded to the contractors? How long has it taken for the works on these roads to be completed? He never talked about all that. Some of the contractors were awarded contracts five years ago and the work has been moving at a snail’s pace, and yet he said that the progression of these works was going well. I do not know what he meant by that. What progression was he referring to?

Madam Speaker, in this House, we always ask why certain projects have not been implemented and the answer is always that funds are not available. This is especially so when it comes to the repair and upgrading of roads. Today, I would like to tell this Government how it can reduce the cost of doing roads so that probably the Treasury can become fatter than it is now. We hope that, next year, the Government will be able to allocate more funds for road infrastructure so that more stretches of road can be worked on.

Madam Speaker, in Ndola, especially in my constituency, some roads were awarded to some contractors but, because of the shoddy work done, their contracts were terminated and to date they have not been replaced. When I go to the Ministry of Works and Supply to request for replacements, the usual answer is that unfortunately we need to reapply and the roads have to be assessed again to establish whether they are still viable to be worked on or not. This is a complete mockery of the situation. Why do we need to reapply for a road that was already assessed and was deemed to be viable at that time?

Madam Speaker, the people of Ndola Central Constituency have directed me to request the Government of today to work on the roads. The other way we can have our roads worked on is by the Government giving us equipment. It does not cost much to work on roads and I will explain more on in a moment. The suggestions that I am going to give may not necessarily just apply to Ndola Central Constituency, but even other constituencies. Therefore, I would like the hon. Minister of Works and Supply to pay attention to what I am going to say.

It is my sincere hope that he will take this message to the officers in his ministry for them to analyse and adopt the methodology that I am going to elaborate here, today, and see how they can adopt it to improve the country’s infrastructure.

Madam Speaker, in Ndola alone, we have, plus or minus, 254 km of road and all we need are the following pieces of equipment, which will cost a total of US$6 million:

(i) Crowley excavator;

(ii) front end loader;

(iii) crusher hammer;

(iv) single drum creed roller;

(v) water bowser;

(vi) two tipper trucks;

(vii) low bed truck (for transporting the plant or earth moving equipment);

(viii) concrete mixer;

(ix) bitumen spreader;

(x) tips spreader;

(xi) pavers;

(xii) asphalt plant; and

(xiii) coal cutter.

Madam Speaker, this is the basic road maintenance equipment that one needs. I was told that if you go into this type of business, you need to have, at least, a pair of this equipment in case of a break down. As a matter of fact, the cost of one set is just US$3 million and, therefore, two will cost US$6 million.  The most expensive tools among this equipment are the asphalt plant and crushers for the stones that are mixed with bitumen and other substances when making a road.

Madam Speaker, if Ndola District Council was given US$6 million to buy this equipment, it would significantly cut down on costs of road construction. The district would be able to work on the entire 254 km of road in both the urban and peri-urban areas of Ndola. Quality work would be completed within a period of two to four years.

Madam Speaker, the benefit of buying this equipment is that, at the end of the road works, all the equipment would belong to the council and, therefore, would not be taken away by a contractor. Secondly, the labour would be sourced from the surrounding areas, therefore, giving jobs to people. Thirdly, there would be continuous maintenance of roads. Furthermore, costs would be cut down by 100 per cent unlike the case is at the moment because there will be no assembly, idling or late payment costs. Contractors would not even inflate costs as is the case now. We would be able to control all these costs.

Madam Speaker, I recently heard somebody from the Ministry of Works and Supply say that donors give us conditions when giving us grants for road works. Nonetheless, why should road construction cost K5 billion per kilometre? The other day the hon. Minister said the cost of working on roads was supposed to be about K2 billion per kilometre. Regarding the K5 billion per kilometre, I am talking about cases like the Zimba/Livingstone Road and the roads that are being worked on in Ndola by the Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA). We have been told that JICA is going to work on about 13 km of road and that will cost approximately US$12 million. In other words, this translates into US$1 million per kilometre, contrary to the pronouncement by the hon. Minister that we are locally able to work on roads at K2 billion per kilometre.

Therefore, why are we allowing contractors to inflate these prices? Is it true that they are actually incurring so much costs to work on one kilometre of a road? There must be something wrong. When we are getting a grant from a country like Japan, where JICA comes from, it is the responsibility of the Government to negotiate with these foreign contractors and let them know that our calculations of working on roads in this country are lower than what they come up with and, therefore, it is supposed to be K2 billion per kilometre.  This cost could even be less if we bought our own equipment.

If donors are reluctant to give us money because they think we will misapply it, the Government can ask them to buy the equipment on our behalf and bring it to Zambia. If the US$12 million that JICA is going to spend on working on 13 km of road was given to the Ndola District Council, it would only spend US$6 million to buy the equipment needed to work on all the roads in Ndola and thereby save the other US$6 million. I do not think this is something that requires a genius to understand.

Mr Muntanga: Mulongoti.

Mr Mushili: It is straight forward. These are facts and I am giving the Executive empirical information which does not need a genius to crosscheck. We are losing a lot of money by engaging private contractors. This Government has the power and responsibility to negotiate how it receives grants from donor countries. It is also the Government’s responsibility to construct and maintain roads. Just like Hon. Masebo said, if the Ruling Party does not maintain roads, people will not vote for it.

Mr Kapeya: No road, no vote.

Mr Mushili: This is a fact and by not rehabilitating roads, the Executive is not fixing the Opposition. If roads are not worked on in Ndola, it is not me who is going to suffer, but the people of Ndola. These are roads that are used by the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD), Patriotic Front (PF) or United Party for National Development (UPND) members. So, everybody suffers and not just the area hon. Member of Parliament.

Interruptions

Mr Mushili: Therefore, the Government is fixing the people and for doing this, the MMD will get what it is asking for.

Madam Speaker, I am being realistic and not merely politicking or being partisan. Hon. Members on your right need to wake up to reality. The institutions that are responsible for the planning of road infrastructure such as the Ministries of Finance and National Planning and Works and Supply and other relevant authorities need to seriously address this issue.

Madam Speaker, if districts like Ndola, Livingstone, Lusaka …

Mr Kapeya: Mpika.

Mr Mushili: … Kabwe …

Mr Muntanga: Kalomo.

Laughter

Mr Mushili: … Kitwe, Chingola and other big towns were given the equipment I have mentioned, the headaches that the Executive has been having for the last seventeen years would no longer be there. The burden of road maintenance would have been offloaded to local authorities. This is going to be more cost effective than the methodology and policy that the Government now has in place. The current road policy needs to be revised as it is irrelevant.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mushili: That is a fact and if hon. Government Members want more facts, I am always available to give them.

Mr Mukanga: Free of charge.

Mr Mushili: Free of charge, yes.

Madam Speaker, before I move on, I just want to say that I thought of spending more time on the issue of roads because this is something I am very passionate about. The roads in Ndola are an eyesore and my constituents in Ndola Central directed me to come here and talk about this issue. I have been talking to them and telling them what I would do for them if I was in the Executive and they told me to bring this matter to this House.

I have talked to the Provincial Minister and his Permanent Secretary on the Copperbelt who, at that time, was a former Provincial Minister, regarding what I am talking about and they all agreed with me.

 Madam Speaker, I hope that when the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning presents the Budget to this House, this time, he will talk about how he will disburse the US$6 million. We need this money in Ndola, Kitwe, Chingola and some other towns for developmental projects. If you do that, you will be congratulated on doing a commendable job. That way, you will have a legacy to talk about on the Copperbelt, Hon. Mbulakulima,.

Last but not least, let me talk about the Citizens’ Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC). Admittedly, it has been said that it is a failure. Therefore, please, do not feel shy or embarrassed to come to us for consultation because we can give you ideas on how to go about it. We were all told to talk to our people and encourage them to apply for these funds, especially those people who have no collateral to offer. You may wish to know that I have submitted, through my office, more than one hundred application forms. Unfortunately, none of them has been given a positive response. Why? I hear that some people within Ndola have already been given this money and it was discovered that they are members of one party. Why are you selective? This is what the CEEC is doing. Therefore, this money is not meant for everybody, but for certain categories of people, which is wrong. We know about this malpractice and it must be stopped.

Madam Speaker, as regards voter registration, many people who spoke before me said that the exercise will not be successful without giving national registration cards to everybody.

Secondly, I do not know whether this is only happening in my constituency or district, Ndola, where the voter registration is taking place without any publicity at all. It is done secretly. The district officers are moving from one place to another secretly. Sometimes, you will find them playing insolo.

One day, I hired my own vehicle with a public address system, using people who were not PF or MMD members to go round telling people to get national registration cards. After going round the town announcing that registration was free, the following day, there was a long queue of people all because of the publicity that was given through my initiative. I do not know whether this applies to the whole nation. Why is it being done secretly, especially on the Copperbelt? Where is the fear?

Hon. Government Members: Because they do not vote for us.

Mr Mushili: If they do not vote for you, it is up to you. What I would like to tell you is that the pact is likely to have an advantage over you, if you do not change the mode of registration. The issues that I am talking about are real and if you do not change your approach, it is your fault. This is free advice, but let me tell you that unless you improve on this one, the pact is likely to take the day.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

The Deputy Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry (Dr Puma): Madam Speaker, I thank you for this opportunity. I would like to start by commending those who have supported the speech of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia and those who have offered constructive debate on this issue.

In particular, I would like to commend Hon. Dr Machungwa, Hon. Simama and others who, in 2006, did not understand this Government. They thought that it was not taking them anywhere, but now they have seen that this Government means well.

The truth prevails and this is coming out from their mouths because of what they are seeing this Government do.

Madam Speaker, there is a saying which goes: “Those who hurry, stumble and fall and those who wait, wither and frail.” This Government is in-between. We do not hurry because we can stumble and fall and we do not wait because we can wither and frail. Those who have hurried and formed alliances, thinking that things will happen tomorrow, are already stumbling and falling.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Puma: We need to take note that those who hurry, stumble and fall while those who wait wither and frail.

Madam Speaker, I would like to make reference to the President’s Speech where he said:

 “It is exactly one year since I last addressed this august House. At that time, our country was reeling from the effects of the global financial and economic crisis but today, I am happy to say that we have made a remarkable recovery.”

Madam Speaker, when I looked at this statement, I reflected on what happened between 2001 and 2003 when the late President came into office. A number of investors said copper deposits had been exhausted and I recall the Anglo-American Corporation pulling out. However, the late President said no, copper could not finish when he had just become President. Similarly, when our President His Excellency Mr Rupiah Bwezani Banda became President, a year later, there was the financial crisis and the investors started pulling out. I think we need to read between lines. Is it truly a financial crisis? Since we will still have the same President next year, this may not happen. However, in 2016, when we will have a new President in MMD, and then one year later, the investors say they are pulling out, then we need to know that something is fishy here.

I would like to commend His Excellency the President for taking a bold decision when the owners of the mines were putting them on care and maintenance. He told them that instead of closing the mines, can you bring the keys? Some of them handed over the keys while others realised that they were going to lose out and started operating. To date, Luanshya Mine is up and running.

Madam Speaker, I was privileged that His Excellency the President invited me to go and witness him pressing a button to see the mine running. I also saw the conveyor belts locally known as bande, which I last saw running in the 1980s. Unfortunately, the area Member of Parliament does not seem to appreciate this, which is very strange.

Mr Mukanga: To see the conveyor belt running, you should appreciate?

Dr Puma: As for Konkola Copper Mine (KCM) whose lifespan was said to be very short, we are now told that its lifespan is even much longer.

The Munali Nickel Mine is up and running and this is commendable. I want to caution those who are not seeing these things that if you are not careful, the people whom you represent will see that you do not appreciate development because whereas the people will be seeing schools being constructed next door, you will be saying there is nothing happening. Then the people will start to wonder whether their hon. Member of Parliament is alright. Therefore, as Members of Parliament, we should be very careful.

Madam Speaker, His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Rupiah Bwezani Banda, has done very well. There is a very big difference between His Excellency the President and other presidents because I would describe them as 0100 hours presidents because they wake up in the night at 0100 hours and inform their wives that, “Madam, tomorrow, I will be president.” Then the wife will say, “Sure awishi?” Yes, they respond. Then by 0800 hours, there is a press conference where they say, “I am president.” That is what happened to my brother, Hon. Milupi. In fact, I am told that even Hon. Magande is now a president.

Laughter

Dr Puma: What I am trying to say is that it is simple for one to just declare himself president. Therefore, we need to know that our President is the President of this country. He is the only one who has the mandate given by all Zambians and so, we need to give him time and a break so that he does well for this country.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Puma: On the issue of the economic management of the country, I would like to commend the MMD Government for the economic stability that has prevailed in this country. However, I was very surprised that my colleague over there has not seen the stability in the exchange rate. I do not know how long he has lived in this country for him not to see it. In 2001, the exchange rate was one dollar to almost K6,000. I recall that in 2002, when I came back from my studies in the United States of America, I kept some dollars thinking that the rate was going to be above K6,000, but it kept going down instead. The exchange rate for the past ten years has ranged from K3,500 to K5,500 and this is stability.

Interruptions

Dr Puma: So, as hon. Members, it is important to explain properly to the people what inflation, GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and exchange rate are all about. It is important to use the language that they will understand. For example, explain to the people that a bicycle ,which used to cost K500,000 five or ten years ago, is now K300,000 and it will be at the same price for the next five years. This is what stability means. Tell them that a hammer mill that costs K10,000,000 today will cost the same in ten years time. So, if they work very hard they will be able to buy it because they understand what economic stability is.

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!

Dr Puma: This is free education, gentlemen.

On the agriculture sector, I was glad to hear one hon. Member acknowledge that there was a lot of criticism when the Government reduced the number of bags in a pack. What this means is that the number of packs has reduced, but that of beneficiaries has increased. The officers in the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives have done their homework and they deserve a pat on the back because they have proved wrong all those hon. Members who were criticising the reduction in the size of the pack, but the output has doubled. This is very good.

Madam Speaker, in my recent visit to Lufwanyama, I actually saw a bumper harvest that has not been seen before. Lufwanyama is known for producing a lot of maize, but the harvest that I saw was unbelievable. This is very good for this country and so we need to continue with the good policies of this Government.

The people of Lufwanyama are very happy with the construction of a high school worth K27 bill which is due to open next year. In addition to this, twenty houses have also been constructed. So, people should not say that the Government is doing nothing when there are a lot of developments such as this one taking place in a place that was just bush. So, those who are saying there is nothing happening in terms of development when people are seeing what is going on, are the ones who are going to be fixed at the end of the day

Madam Speaker, let me briefly talk about the CEEC. As a ministry, we are seriously looking into the complaints that are coming from people across the country. However, there is a need to seriously look into some of the issues. Looking at the amount that is given to the CEEC and the beneficiaries, the programme becomes very clear. For example, so far, there are slightly over 320 beneficiaries and K111 billion has already been released. In comparison with the number of people who are benefiting from fertiliser distribution were there were about 250,000 last year and 500,000 this year, it will be difficult for people to appreciate that this programme that is benefiting about 300 people is working well.  So, as long as we keep allocating K90 billion, K100 billion to the CEEC, we may have a problem because the number of beneficiaries will be static at 3000. So, as we look at the amount of money to allocate to the CEEC it is important that we also look at the target beneficiaries so that the whole country seems to benefit.

Madam Speaker, allow me to comment briefly on the issue of energy. I am happy that the President announced a uniform price for fuel across the country. A lot of people will be happy because fuel will now be available and carrying jerry cans and drums will be a thing of the past. In fact, last year or the other year, when we had a fuel shortage, there was a big problem. I remember saying that, sometimes, it is good to experience a problem of this nature because it makes people realise that there are people who are working to ensure that fuel is available. When people go to the fuel station, fill their tanks and pay for the fuel, they forget that this Government is working. 

On the health sector, Madam Speaker, I am glad that over ...

Mr Muntanga: On a point of order, Madam.

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Can that point of order wait unless it is really procedural.

Mr Muntanga: Madam, it is.

Madam Deputy Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Muntanga: Madam Speaker, is the hon. Deputy Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, who is debating now, in order to inform the nation that there is fuel everywhere when there are no filling stations in Kasempa and Chavuma where the hon. Minister of Energy and Water Development comes from and residents buy fuel from Angola? I need your serious ruling, Madam

Madam Deputy Speaker: The hon. Deputy Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry may continue and put that point of order into consideration.

You may continue.

Dr Puma: Madam Speaker, the fuel price is the same throughout the country. In fact, for the information of the hon. Members, a number of filling stations are going to be opened in rural areas. We are asking all those who are interested to apply to the CEEC that will be funding such projects.

Madam Speaker, on health, over 300,000 people are on anti-retrovirals (ARVs). This is a very good development because many people would have died leaving their families suffering.  Therefore, I would like to urge all the people living with HIV/AIDS to support this Government for this programme to continue.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Puma: Madam Speaker, allow me to briefly talk about next year’s elections. I would like to call upon Zambians to examine the quality of their leaders as we move to next year’s elections. When you have leaders claiming to work together one day, and the next day insulting each other, know that if you align yourself with them, they are also likely to insult you in future.

Hon. Members: Zoona!

Dr Puma: Madam Speaker, I want to repeat this point. If you have leaders who, today, claim to be working together but, tomorrow, start insulting each other and you decide to align yourself with them, know that they are also likely to insult you in future.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Puma: We need to be very careful and know what kind of leaders we are dealing with.

Furthermore, I would like to say to the Zambians that the projects that are going on in various constituencies risk stalling if people do not make the right decision next year. There are over thirty high schools around the country at various stages of construction. There also various hospitals being constructed in Samfya, Shang’ombo, Choma and Lufwanyama.

Hon. Opposition Members: Why?

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Muntanga: Those projects were started by Mwanawasa.

Dr Puma: That is a fact.

Interruptions

Dr Puma: Madam Speaker, let me just respond to a comment from a heckler …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Puma: … who says those projects were started by …

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Hon. Minister, if you start responding to hecklers, then you will not finish your debate. Continue on your path.

Hon. Government Members: Hammer!

Dr Puma: Madam Speaker, I thank you for your guidance.

Madam Speaker, I just want to mention that the projects that the Government is implementing are at various levels. For example, hospitals are being constructed in phases. Two years ago, some hospitals were at phase I. Once Phase I is completed, the Government sources money for Phase II. This Government has a development plan that it is following. For as long as this Government continues in power, we are 100 per cent confident that these projects will be completed.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!!

Dr Puma: Madam Speaker, Masaiti is starting at Phase I.

Interruptions

Dr Puma: Shang’ombo is moving to Phase IV with over thirty houses coming up in that area. Lufwanyama is moving to Phase II and that is a project that was started four years ago.

Mr Muntanga: Kaoma is on what phase?

Dr Puma: You cannot say that only the people who started it are the ones who have done everything, no. It is a continuous process. Hon. Members are aware that the Budget is made every year.

In fact, if there is extra money in the Budget, the Ministry of Finance and National Planning takes back that money which it then uses to finance other projects. The only guarantee people have for the current projects to continue is by them continuing to support this Government.

Finally, I would like to mention that I visited the Copperbelt Province recently and the people in the rural areas are very happy with the boreholes that are being sunk. Over 400 boreholes are being constructed for the first time in the history of the rural parts of the Copperbelt.

Ms Lundwe: Hear, hear!

Dr Puma: The boreholes are being sunk in villages.

Madam Speaker, in the interest of time, I would like to thank you.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!!

Mr Kakoma (Zambezi West): Madam Speaker, I thank you for according me the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Motion on the Floor.

Madam Speaker, …

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Mr Muntanga: Very good!

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

(Debate adjourned)

________

The House adjourned at 1955 hours until 0900 hours on Friday, 1st October, 2010.