DAILY PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES FOR THE FIFTH SESSION OF THE TENTH ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 29th September, 2010

The House met at 1430 hours

[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]

NATIONAL ANTHEM

PRAYER

______

ANNOUNCEMENT BY MR SPEAKER

ACTING LEADER OF GOVERNMENT BUSINESS IN THE HOUSE

Mr Speaker: Hon. Members, I have received communication to the effect that in the absence of His Honour the Vice-President and Learned Minister of Justice, who is attending to other national duties, Hon. Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane, MP, Minister of Finance and National Planning, has been appointed Acting Leader of Government Business in the House from today, Wednesday, 29th September to Friday, 1st October, 2010.

I thank you.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Speaker: The National Anthem should be sung as though a by-election has been won daily.

Laughter

________

QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

ISSUANCE OF PASSPORTS

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

(a) how many new passports were issued from 2008 to date, year by year;

(b) how many people were issued with diplomatic passports during the same period; and

(c) how many passport officers were dismissed from corruption related cases.

The Deputy Minister of Home Affairs (Mr Taima): Mr Speaker, I wish to inform the House that passports were issued from 2008 to date as follows:

Year No. of Passports 
 
2008 19,014

2009 95,127

2010 (January to 31st August) 30,787
 
Mr Speaker, out of the total number of 144,928 passports issued over the period under consideration, 980 were diplomatic passports.

Mr Speaker, I would like to inform the House that no passport officer has been dismissed for corruption-related offences from 2008 to date.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Chanda: Mr Speaker, I would like to find out how many diplomatic passports were withdrawn during this period and why.

Mr Taima: Mr Speaker, I do not have statistics on withdrawn diplomatic passports. I can only say that the requirement is that whoever is granted a diplomatic passport, must surrender it as soon as he ceases to have the status that merits a diplomatic passport. That is what the law requires. However, it has been brought to our attention, through different people who have made presentations to the ministry, that there could be a number of people who are still holding on to diplomatic passports even when they no longer have the status that merits diplomatic passports.

Sir, as a matter of pre-empting some of the questions that might follow, I would like to inform the House that there is a press release which has given 8th October as the deadline when all those who could have been given diplomatic passports, for one reason or the other, but do not have status for which these passports were issued to them anymore, must surrender these passports to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Kambwili (Roan): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out why some chiefs have been given diplomatic passports, and yet Paramount Chief Chitimukulu has no diplomatic passport.

Mr Taima: Mr Speaker, without being very specific on chiefs, I would like to say that, generally, by law, the hon. Minister of Home Affairs is allowed to use his discretion to issue a diplomatic passport to anyone at any given time. That is provided for in the law.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Lubinda (Kabwata): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Deputy Minister whether the Passport Office has a record of all those who are in possession of diplomatic passports that they do not deserve because of change of their status. If so, why can the Government not follow them up individually rather than wasting money by advertising in the press? Given that the total number of diplomatic passports issued over this period is only 980 then, surely, the ones who do not deserve them are much less than that.

Mr Taima: Mr Speaker, like I have already indicated, we are in the process of ensuring that whoever was given a diplomatic passport and has since ceased to merit it surrenders it to the Ministry of Home Affairs. By 8th October, 2010, we shall ensure that the undeserving surrender their passports.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Beene (Itezhi-tezhi): Mr Speaker, currently, there is congestion at the Passport Office because of people waiting to be given passports. As a result, people are swindled of their money. What is the Government doing to ensure that people get passports on time?

Mr Taima: Mr Speaker, I am only now being made aware about that. As far as I know, we have done a lot to ensure that we decongest the offices that are supposed to issue passports to citizens. This activity has been decentralised, therefore, it is not only the Lusaka office that gives passports, but also the Livingstone and Ndola ones. We have also tried to ensure that there is as much transparency as possible so that there is no need for people to continue queuing for passports. As far as I know, this office is as efficient as it ought to be although a lot more can still be done to make it more effecient.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr D. Mwila (Chipili): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Deputy Minister the difference between an ordinary and a diplomatic passport. When senior Government officials travel …

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mr Taima: Mr Speaker, the difference, in simple terms, is that an ordinary passport is ordinary and the diplomatic one is diplomatic. Therefore, even the treatment that is given as one travels via different airports will differ.

Interruptions

Mr Taima: Mr Speaker, I will give you a very simple example. The international expectation is that a person with a diplomatic passport is not subjected to extensive searches at airports. At least, I have travelled world over and that is what I can say. 

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Kamondo (Mufumbwe): Mr Speaker, may I find out from hon. Minister whether the old passports are still being used. I have asked this question because I travelled out and l saw one person using an old Zambian Passport en route from South Africa to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Mr Taima: Mr Speaker, under normal circumstances, the old passports are not supposed to be used because when we announced the changeover, there was a specific period given. A date was given by which all old passports were to be surrendered and replaced with new ones. As far as the ministry is concerned, no one is supposed to use an old passport. It is surprising to learn that the hon. Member found someone with an old Zambian Passport who was still allowed to pass through different airports. The official position is that we have new passports and they are the only ones that are recognised and that should be used by Zambians.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr L. J. Mulenga (Kwacha): Mr Speaker, what has been the cost benefit analysis in the issuance of these passports in relation to the department?

Mr Speaker: Hon. Minister of Home Affairs, I wonder if you will use the formula, ‘Cost Benefit Analysis’. May you assist?

Mr Taima: Mr Speaker, I am not too sure if I got the hon. Member quite clearly. If he wanted to say what benefits would be accrued as a result of having changed the passports to the nation, obviously, one of the reasons I would give as a benefit is that today, there is less forgery and crimes related to using one’s passport and pretending to be that person when one is not. People would commit crimes out there and then reports would come that so many Zambians were caught in such and such a country doing this and that, and yet the crimes were not committed by Zambians. All these are now a thing of the past. This means that the security features on the passports are quite good and, therefore, are not being forged easily. So far, there are no reports of their forgery.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Kapeya (Mpika Central): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out the status that merits a diplomatic passport.

Mr Taima: Mr Speaker, there are categories that are suggested and approved by Cabinet and a list of these categories is given to the Registrar-General. Only those who belong to the categories that appear on that list get diplomatic passports. I am not able to recite the whole list of who qualifies. Suffice to say, there was once a concern that hon. Members were not being issued diplomatic passports. However, today, hon. Members of Parliament have been included in the list and, now, they have diplomatic passports.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mrs Phiri (Munali): Mr Speaker, countries such as South Africa do not distinguish between a diplomatic passport and an ordinary passport, and yet when we receive visitors from South Africa, there is even a desk with a clear sign which says, ‘Diplomatic Passport’ at the airport. What is the Zambian Government doing to make sure that when we go to countries such as South Africa, diplomatic passports are respected and those in possession thereof are treated as diplomats?

Mr Taima: Mr Speaker, as far as I know, all countries are supposed to comply with the international practice that whoever is travelling on a diplomatic passport is accorded such status. I am aware that South Africa also adheres to this expectation. Knowing our rights and privileges even as we travel internationally also matters. It is unfortunate that some hon. Members despite holding diplomatic passports, are not accorded such status.
 
I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mushili (Ndola Central): Mr Speaker, are diplomats supposed to pay Value Added Tax (VAT) at the point of departure from Zambia?

Mr Taima: Mr Speaker, I am not too sure whether the hon. Member talked about Value Added Tax or Departure Tax. I am not aware of what the requirement is. If need be, I can get back to the hon. Member and clarify that matter later.

I thank you, Sir.

GAME AND NATURE RESERVES

51. Mr Mwango (Kanchibiya) asked the Minister of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources whether the ministry had plans of developing game and nature reserves as a way of attracting more tourists and generating income for the country.

The Deputy Minister of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources (Ms Tembo): Mr Speaker, allow me to, firstly, define the terms, ‘Game Reserve’ and ‘Nature Reserve’.

Sir, a game reserve is an area of land set aside for maintenance of wildlife for tourism or hunting purposes. On the other hand, a nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation to provide special opportunities for study or research. Having defined these terms, I wish to inform this House that Zambia has nineteen national parks and thirty-six game management areas (GMAs) and does not have any game or nature reserves.

Mr Speaker, my ministry does not have immediate plans to develop game or nature reserves. However, the ministry is developing a new national park called Lusaka National Park in order to enhance tourism in the country.

Mr Speaker, instead of developing game and nature reserves, the ministry is of the view that proper management of national parks and GMAs should take priority not only to secure the safety of the present stock, but also to allow animal multiplication. In view of this, my ministry, through the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA), is doing the following:

(a) animal protection – ZAWA has deployed officers, throughout the country, to guard against illegal harvesting of wildlife;

(b) restocking – ZAWA is implementing an animal restocking plan to ensure that national parks have abundant animal species that have potential to enhance tourism in the country;

(c) partnership with the private sector and other stakeholders in the management of wildlife; and

(d) partnership with the private sector and other stakeholders to run the tourism business ventures in a professional manner.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwango: Mr Speaker, with bad roads leading to these national parks, how will the ministry develop these areas?

The Minister of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources (Ms Namugala): Mr Speaker, I think credit should be given where it is due. This Government is working very hard to develop infrastructure in the country, particularly infrastructure that leads to national parks. I would like to stress the fact that this Government is focused on developing infrastructure in the country.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Beene: Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister indicated to this House that the Government plans to establish a Lusaka National Park. Can the hon. Minister tell us precisely where this park will be located since we have been told that there is not enough land in Lusaka?

Ms Namugala: Mr Speaker, in our pronouncements, we stressed the fact that land has already been identified and the work is on going. At the moment, we are working on the road network in the Lusaka National Park and have started trans-locating animals into the park. Thus, there is already land that is earmarked for the opening of the national park

I thank you, Sir. 

Mr Chanda: Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister what the Government plans to do about the people who are living illegally in national parks and game reserves.

Ms Namugala: Mr Speaker, the law clearly states that national parks are protected areas. Therefore, there is no way we can allow human habitation in these parks. As the law stands, there should be no people living in national parks.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Ngoma (Sinda): Mr Speaker, can the hon. Minister be specific about the location of this park? Is it the land near Kafue where people are complaining about evictions?

Ms Namugala: Mr Speaker, the national park will be in the Shantumbu area. I wish to state that there are no people living in this area so there is no one being threatened with eviction. We have just finished fencing the area and the park will be opened early next year as His Excellency the President mentioned in his speech.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mrs Mwamba (Lukashya): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister talked about infrastructure development in game parks. What infrastructure development is taking place in relation to nature parks?

Ms Namugala: Mr Speaker, the hon. Deputy Minister stated that there are nineteen national parks and another one is about to be opened. We have no nature parks or nature reserves. We are doing a lot of works in national parks such as Nsumbu National Park where we are working very hard to develop the infrastructure.

I thank you, Sir. {mospagebreak}

Mr Kambwili:  Mr Speaker, in view of the fact that the area identified for the Lusaka National Park is near Chilenje, I would like to know if this park will have wild animals such as lions, leopards and elephants.

Laughter

Mr Kambwili: If so, what has the Government done to ensure that they do not attack human beings?

Ms Namugala: Mr Speaker, the area will be fenced. I would like to stress that we do not intend to stock lions if that is what the hon. Member is worried about.

I thank you, Sir. 
TANZANIA ZAMBIA MAFUTA PIPELINES

52. Mr Mwango asked the Minister of Energy and Water Development:

(a) what the future of the Tanzania-Zambia Mafuta (TAZAMA) Pipeline was;

(b) how much money had been accrued by the company as profit from 2006 to 2009; and

(c) how much money, in dividends, had been paid to the Government in the period above.

The Deputy Minister of Energy and Water Development (Mr Imasiku): Mr Speaker, the TAZAMA Pipeline has a great future as the most viable and economical mode of transportation for fuel in Zambia. A good part of its infrastructure has now been renewed and losses of fuel, through leakages, are kept to a minimum. The Government is currently evaluating the best option for importation of fuel into the country. It is considering whether to import crude oil or finished products. Whichever mode is finally adopted, the Government will require the active participation of the TAZAMA Pipeline Limited. Therefore, its future remains bright.

Mr Speaker, the following is the financial performance of the company during the period referred to:

Year     Profit/Loss (Kbn)

2006   5.38

2007 47.83

2008   8.13

2009 36.02

Mr Speaker, no dividends were paid to the two shareholder governments during the period as there were no dividends declared during the period due to lack of profits.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mwango: Mr Speaker, I would like to know why this company is not making any profits.

The Minister of Energy and Water Development (Mr Konga): Mr Speaker, basically, the company has been making losses in the period stated because of the exchange losses incurred due to the fluctuation between the local currency to the dollar.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Lumba (Solwezi Central): Mr Speaker, following all these losses over the past four years, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister how much money has moved from the Treasury to sustain the operations of TAZAMA.

Mr Konga: Mr Speaker, apart from the money which was released for the construction of a 40 million litre tank situated in Ndola, the Government has not been giving TAZAMA any money for operations.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr D Mwila: Mr Speaker, since the company has not been making profits, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister what business plans have been put in place for the company to start making profits from 2010 onwards.

Mr Konga: Mr Speaker, as indicated in the response, the company has not been making profits. However, plans are underway to restructure and overhaul the company and the Government to stabilise the exchange rate so that the losses incurred can be reduced.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Kambwili: Mr Speaker, finished petroleum products such as petrol and diesel also, equally, depend on the exchange rate. I would like to find out whether Indeni Petroleum has been incurring losses as result of failure to stabilise the exchange rate.

Mr Konga: Mr Speaker, the question relates to TAZAMA, and yet the hon. Member has asked if Indeni Petroleum has been making losses.

Of course, during the stated period, Indeni Petroleum made a loss. As late as last year and the year before, we stated in this House that the Government had been subsidising the cost of fuel because if the cost of fuel was not subsidised, indeed, this company would make losses.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Simuusa (Nchanga): Mr Speaker, the Government acknowledges that the TAZAMA Pipeline is an efficient and cheap way of transporting crude oil to the country. If that is the case, I wish to find out why other importers who use road transport still make money, and yet a cheap method of transportation such as TAZAMA is making losses. Does it mean that we are paying more than we should for this fuel by allowing importers to bring in fuel by road?

Mr Konga: Mr Speaker, indeed, the pipeline is the cheapest mode of transporting of any petroleum products. That notwithstanding, other importers bring in finished products from time to time. The prices of these products are decided by the Energy Regulation Board (ERB). As indicated earlier, the company had operational problems such as leakages in the pipeline for which the company had to find resources to meet the cost of repair. The cost of fuel on the market is not only determined by the cost of transportation, but also the cost of the product on the seas and the exchange rate used during the purchase of the product. All these factors, including losses at the refinery, contribute ultimately to what is obtaining on the market.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Msichili (Kabushi): Mr Speaker, TAZAMA is a transporter of crude oil and, at the same time, has been appointed as sole distributor of finished products. In line with the principle of good governance, is the Government considering separating the two tasks that have been given to TAZAMA?

Mr Konga: Mr Speaker, indeed, as the hon. Deputy Minister has indicated, the Government is studying various options for supplying petroleum products on the Zambian market. Once this is done, a position will be taken by the Government. At that time, the tasks will be separated and TAZAMA will cease to be the manager on behalf of the Government.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr L. J. Mulenga: Mr Speaker, in view of the losses incurred, I would like to find out how many suppliers have been affected with regard to the payment period.

Mr Konga: Mr Speaker, as indicated in my response, most of these losses incurred during this period were due to exchange rate provisions. Sometimes, a company wants to make profits, but because there are provisions for exchange rate losses, losses are incurred.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Dr Machungwa (Luapula): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister has alluded to the fact that some of the losses the company has incurred are due to exchange rate losses. Considering that exchange fluctuations and losses will continue for many years to come because you cannot stop them, is it not feasible for TAZAMA to consider looking at the levies or charges for transporting the crude oil as a way of reducing losses?

Mr Konga: Mr Speaker, indeed, such consideration can be made, but the Government is always cautious because it will result in higher prices for fuel on the market. Since this Government is determined to, as much as possible, stabilise the cost of fuel on the market, this is an option that will be considered with extreme caution.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Nsanda (Chimwemwe): Mr Speaker, since the Government has failed to run the TAZAMA Pipeline, are there any plans to buy a fleet of trucks instead, which will be more profitable and save this country from losing the millions of dollars it is losing daily.

Mr Konga: The hon. Member who has just asked the question will be interested to know that it costs about US$40 per tonne to transport a tonne of crude into Zambia by pipeline and almost US$200 per tonne by road. Therefore, when you take those figures into account, you will realise that it is more efficient and cheaper to transport by pipeline than by road.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker. 

Mr Zulu (Bwana Mkubwa): Mr Speaker, I understand that some of the losses are due to leakages. I would like to find out from the hon. Minister what has happened to the cathodic protection system that was installed during the construction of the pipeline.

Mr Konga: Mr Speaker, I have not heard exactly what device the hon. Member is talking about. Whatever it is, …

Laughter

Mr Konga: … the pipeline was established almost forty years ago. As with any equipment or human being for that matter, there is wear and tear, hence we have these leakages which the company has been addressing from time to time.

LUANSHYA/MASANGANO ROAD

53. Mr Kambwili asked the Minister of Works and Supply:

(a) how much money was required to resurface the Luanshya/Masangano Road;

(b) how much money the Government paid the contractor for the same work in 2007;

(c) whether the Government was satisfied with the quality of work done then and, if not, what measures were taken against the contractor.

The Deputy Minister of Works and Supply (Dr Kalila): Mr Speaker, the estimated cost of  resurfacing the Luanshya/Masangano road is K60 billion.

Mr Kambwili: Is it K60 million?

Dr Kalila: It is K60 billion.

Sir, the contract sum for the rehabilitation of the Masangano/Luanshya Road was K32,454,275,376.00 and was awarded to Messrs China Henan International Corporation on 21st June, 2005. The works were started on 1st November, 2005 and the completion date was 4th April, 2007.

The contractor was paid a total amount of K32,454,275,376.00, Value Added Tax inclusive, for carrying out the rehabilitation of the project road between November, 2005 and April, 2007.

The Ministry of Works and Supply, through the Road Development Agency (RDA), was satisfied with the works that were carried out on a 12 km stretch that was reconstructed. However, some sections of the project road that required to be reconstructed ended up receiving maintenance only, thus affecting the quality of the works. The scope of the works on these sections was changed and reduced to maintenance due to lack of funds and, therefore, they were not adequately worked on.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Kambwili: Mr Speaker, I would to know when this road will be resurfaced because we have had two accidents involving acid tankers falling into the Kafubu River as a result of potholes, thereby endangering the lives of the people who drink water from this river. When will the Government resurface this road which is now an eyesore?

The Minister of Works and Supply (Mr Mulongoti): Mr Speaker, we are in the process of passing the Budget. If there will be sufficient money, the RDA will look into the works on that road.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mwenya (Nkana): Mr Speaker, at the moment, there is a contractor working on this road. I would like to find out how much has been spent on the current contractor who is carrying out some remedial works on the same road.

Mr Mulongoti: Mr Speaker, the interventions are being done by our own people from the RDA.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Msichili: Mr Speaker, barely two years ago, the Government spent K32 billion to carry out works on the Masangano/Luanshya Road. The Government is now looking for another K60 billion to repair the road two years after it was worked on. What sort of contractors are you engaging to undertake works on our roads that make you end up spending a lot of money while our roads are not lasting for a long time?

Mr Mulongoti: Mr Speaker, 2005 to date cannot be two years. I think his arithmetic is a bit defective.

Interruptions

Mr Msichili: Just answer the question!

Mr Mulongoti: However, if you listened to the answer, we indicated that only 12 km of the road was rebuilt while the rest of the interventions were intended to keep the road going because the financier, Oil and Petroleum Energy Corporation (OPEC) did not provide more money than the K32 billion.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Lubinda (Kabwata): Mr Speaker, could the hon. Minister clarify whether K32 billion was spent on the 12 km stretch. Could he also, please, confirm whether those are the accurate figures. If not, can he explain to this House the length of the stretch of the road that was worked on using K32 billion?

Mr Mulongoti: Mr Speaker, this is the problem when you do not listen to answers.

Mr Lubinda: Aah! Iwe, just answer!

Mr Mulongoti: 12 km of the road was rebuilt while works were done on the rest of the road to keep it going. I did not say that the K32 billion was used on the 12 km stretch alone. Even though not all sections of the road were rebuilt, they still required other interventions. 

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Simuusa: Mr Speaker, it seems that we spent more money on this road than was originally budgeted for because someone changed the specifications.

Mr Speaker: Order!

What is your question?

Mr Simuusa: Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister whether the Government is taking the responsibility for changing the specifications of that road which has now ended up making the its expenditure more than was originally budgeted for in the first place.

Mr Mulongoti: Mr Speaker, the money that was available was K32 billion. This money was not enough to rebuild the whole road. This is why a decision was made to rebuild only the 12 km stretch which had deteriorated badly and do patchwork on the rest of the road. This was with the hope that when we find the money, we shall carry out works on the whole road. You have heard that it would cost K60 billion to complete the works on the whole road, but only K32 billion was available. From proper calculations, I should think it is common sense that it was not possible to carry out works on the whole road with the money that was available.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Lubinda: Aah! Malukula, iwe!

Mr Mushili: Mr Speaker, could the hon. Minister confirm whether they did a job worth K32 billion instead of K60 billion? Now that they are going to redo the job, will they do it for K30 billion or K60 billion? Which way is most cost effective?

Mr Mulongoti: Mr Speaker, I have difficulties answering such a question. We have said that the estimated cost to redo the whole road is K60 billion. You are not being fair if you are saying that what we are telling you is not correct. The assessment that we carried out says that K60 billion is required for works on the whole road. The road has deteriorated in some parts, but not all parts of the road are in a bad state. We need about K60 billion to complete the works on the road.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

SOLWEZI TOWN REDESIGNING

54. Mr Lumba asked the Minister of Local Government and Housing:

(a) when the Government would implement the proposed redesign of Solwezi Town;

(b) what the estimated cost of the redesign was; and

(c) what the major features of the new town would be.

Laughter

The Minister of Local Government and Housing (Dr Chituwo): Mr Speaker, being on this side of the House, in itself, is a challenge.

Laughter

Dr Chituwo: Sir, the hon. Member of Parliament for Solwezi Central asked …

Mr Lubinda: Just read the answer.

Mr Speaker: Order!

Dr Chituwo: Mr Speaker, I wish to inform this august House that the preparation of the Solwezi Integrated Development Plan (SIDP) has almost been completed except for the layout plan showing new parcels of the layout of land which is yet to be concluded. This was occasioned by the technicalities in obtaining satellite images showing the existing structures to be incorporated into the new design. The work is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

 Mr Speaker, the total cost of the new design will only be known when the layout plan, showing the new road network, water reticulation and sewerage systems as well as the electricity network is completed. It is expected that before the end of the year, the Capital Investment Programme (CIP) which indicates the total cost of carrying out all the proposed projects will be completed.

The major feature of the new design of Solwezi Town is that the main town centre will be moved to the eastern direction where there is plenty of land. The current town centre is heavily congested with traffic as there is only one major road (T5) which serves the town and is at the same time a trunk road that connects the town to the other towns in the province. This road is used by many big trucks carrying mineral ores to the Copperbelt for processing. The current town centre also has limited space for expansion.

Mr Speaker, the land in Solwezi is partly taken up by illegal settlements. The new design promotes the upgrading of these settlements and the provision of basic services in these compounds. New residential areas will also be opened up in the eastern direction where prime land exists for both commercial and residential developments.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Lumba: Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister if there are plans to engage the mining companies, as this process is going on, on provision of assistance as and when it is needed.

Dr Chituwo: Mr Speaker, as stated already, the design work is almost complete. There will be a time when the Government will ask the mining companies for assistance in some ways because of the existing good working relationship between the two parties.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Katuka (Mwinilunga East): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister when the Integrated Development Plan for the Lumwana area will be implemented.

Mr Speaker: Order!

The hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing will explain whether there is a connection between Solwezi Town and Lumwana.

Dr Chituwo: Mr Speaker, since there is no connection between the two places, I would advise the hon. Member to give us a question that we shall adequately answer.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Zulu: Mr Speaker, I would like to know the consultants for this particular design.

Dr Chituwo: Mr Speaker, I do not have an answer to that question.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Beene: Mr Speaker, Solwezi is one of the towns that has not had a land audit on the layout of properties. I would like to find out how his ministry is working in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands to make the SIDP meaningful.

Dr Chituwo: Mr Speaker, in our reply, we indicated that the design works would be completed by the end of the year. We have also stated that one of the difficulties in Solwezi Central is the presence of illegal settlements. In arriving at a plan such as the SIDP, we will work with the Surveyor-General and the Ministry of Lands.

I thank you, Sir.

____________

MOTIONS

MOTION OF THANKS

(Debate resumed)

The Deputy Minister for Copperbelt Province (Mr Mbulakulima): Mr Speaker, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the speech by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Rupiah Banda.

Mr Speaker, just like many hon. Members have indicated, this is one of the excellent speeches ever given in this House. As you are all aware, we are winding up on some of what we promised to deliver because this is our fourth year. The only difference between us on the right and those on the left is that where we see hope, they see burglar bars. No matter what we do, they do not appreciate our work.

Mr Speaker, the speech is inspiring and gives the direction that this country is taking. However, some hon. Members are leaving out the real issues as they debate the speech. For instance, one hon. Member agreed with what is on page 11 of the speech that certain measures taken were vital to protect the mining sector as copper remains the foundation of our economy, but went on to criticise the speech. He forgot to start from the top where it reads:

       “All the mines that were ‘under care and maintenance’ during the crisis are now   
        working, as I instructed.”

Mr Munkombwe: On a point of order, Sir.

Mr Speaker: Order!

The hon. Deputy Minister in the Office of the Vice-President will wait until the other hon. Deputy Minister has finished speaking.

Mr Mbulakulima: Mr Speaker, further on the same page, the President clearly indicated that:

          “Since the resumption of operations at Luanshya Mine, production has increased    
            by 3.6 per cent and more than 1,000 new jobs have been created.”

I would like to confirm that life on the Copperbelt is back to normal.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mbulakulima: Mr Speaker, we need to appreciate that not long ago, during the global meltdown, nearly all the jobs on the mines were threatened, but as things stand today, there are no threats to the jobs because of the prudent manner in which this Government is handling issues.

Mr Speaker, I would like to state that Luanshya was a dead town but, today, there are a lot of activities taking place there. At the time the mine went under care and maintenance, it only had 1,700 employees but, today, there are slightly above 3,000 employees. If people cannot see this kind of development, then I wonder what they want to see.

Mr Speaker, the speech, as I have indicated already, was inspiring. Some of my colleagues have complained about the state of the road infrastructure on the Copperbelt. However, it is a known fact that today, great works are taking place on the roads on the Copperbelt. The entire Chingola is being transformed. All the roads in Chingola are being worked on.

Hon. Member: Hear, hear!

Mr Mbulakulima: Mr Speaker, at the moment, Kitwe is busy because there are more than twelve roads being worked on and in Ndola, more than seven roads are being worked on. We are aware that as work is being carried out, there will always be challenges. Fortunately, we are remaining with works on only three roads and these are the Sabina/Mufulira, Lufwanyama/Kalengwa and Mindolo. These roads have been a source of concern and the Government is determined to improve them. I would like to assure my colleagues that this Government means well.

Most hon. Members who have walked around the Copperbelt will agree with me that for the first time, we have seen tremendous progress in terms of infrastructure development. We did not have high schools in Masaiti but, today, we have two.

Ms Lundwe: Hear, hear!

Mr Mbulakulima: Mr Speaker, other than Ibenga Girls, there was no other boarding school and most of the local people in Mpongwe complained about it almost being a national school. The Government has, therefore, responded by giving the people in that area another school.

Mr Speaker, all the districts have district hospitals and massive construction is taking place on the Copperbelt. If one went to Kitwe Central Hospital, one would find hostels for nurses and doctors’ accommodation. This is what the Government is doing.

Mr Speaker, agriculture is another area in which the Copperbelt has excelled. Today, it ranks number five out of the nine provinces. Therefore, the province is not only depending on copper, but also diversifying into agriculture and tourism.

Mr Speaker, the Chambeshi Multi-Facility Economic Zone is another area that will bring unprecedented growth on the Copperbelt. A new town between Kitwe and Chingola is now being built. When did we last see this? It has been a long time. A lot of shafts are being sunk on the Copperbelt. Thus, I would like to assure the people that this Government means well.

Mr Speaker, not only that, as an hon. Member of Parliament for Chembe, which is in Milenge District, I would like to thank the Government for doing extremely well. For the first time in Milenge, we have seen the construction of another beautiful high school. This Government will not only end at high school level, but also construct a trades school in that area.

Mr Speaker, you will be interested to know that the distance between Milenge and Mansa, which is the provincial capital, is 250 km, while between Milenge and Ndola, it is 100 km. The people have requested that the road that passes through Sakanya be repaired and a pontoon be provided. The two requests are already being attended to because the Government cares.

Mr Speaker, I would like to agree with Hon. Munkombwe’s statement that when you keep criticising something, you might end up being irrelevant to the system. There is a bigger picture outside this House because people are watching and listening to what we say here. Therefore, while we criticise, we should be constructive and give credit where it is due.

Mr Speaker, some of my colleagues on the other side were bidding farewell to this Government and I do not believe in that. Dear colleagues, you have gone on record as having given this Government free advice and we also want to do the same. If you recall, on that side, at the time of the Ninth National Assembly some of you were more than forty but, today, in this Tenth National Assembly, you are about twenty-one.

Laughter

Mr Mbulakulima: With all these things that are happening now, do you not run the risk of remaining six in the Eleventh National Assembly?

Laughter

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mbulakulima: Let me advise you that the truth of the matter is that you should not make friendship with an angry man because you can learn his ways and lose direction. Ladies and gentlemen, on the other side, you are too wise. However, the problem is that you are following people who are bitter.

Hon. Opposition Members: Who?

Mr Mbulakulima: When you are bitter, where your colleagues see white, you see red, and grey where your colleagues see black. It is important that you work with the Government of the day.

Mr Speaker, because of bitterness, we see some outgoing hon. Members of Parliament holding press conferences at 0800 hours as my colleagues said yesterday. At these conferences, they criticise the Government and President by saying, “RB has killed the legacy of the late President.” Later the same day, at 1600 hours, the same mouth …

Laughter

Mr Mbulakulima: … says “RB, your Government must not take credit for the Namwala/Choma Road, Chavuma/Zambezi Road and all these projects.” On the contrary, this only confirms that the legacy lives on.
 
Mr V. Mwale: George Mpombo.

Mr Mbulakulima: So, dear colleagues, this Government means well. We need to work as a team.

Mr Sichilima: Hammer!

Mr Mbulakulima: Mr Speaker, this Government does not want to fight battles because it declared Zambia a Christian nation. According to 2 Chronicles, the Lord will fight for us.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mbulakulima: Mr Speaker, today, we are seeing the pact disintegrating. Therefore, there is a need for those who are up-to-date with current affairs on that side to re-examine their position and join this hardworking Government.

Mr Speaker, I just wanted to submit that this speech was inspiring and it gave us the direction to where we are going.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mbulakulima: Mr Speaker, with those few remarks, I thank you.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sikazwe (Chimbamilonga): Mr Speaker, this marks the fifth time I am thanking you for according me an opportunity to contribute to a debate on a Motion of Thanks to the speech by the Republican President. I will bear in mind your guidance on the need not to listen to hecklers.

Laughter

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, in my debates, I have been informing the Government about some of the problems in Chimbamilonga so that it understands. However, some of my colleagues would heckle and try to mislead the debates to an extent that the Executive would not get a point from my debates.

Mr Speaker, I have been following and listening to a lot of debates. For instance, when we came here in 2007 and 2008, there were a lot of good debaters on other side of the House talked about the protection of whistleblowers in the fight against corruption. When the Bill was brought to this House and passed, I did not see any of them going to radio stations and thanking the Government for doing a good job despite their advocating for such a Bill. At that time, we were new and, therefore, we did not know what the Whistleblowers Bill’s coming to the House meant.

Hon. Government Members: Tell them.

Mr Sikazwe: Therefore, Mr Speaker, why are we, as a Government, being accused of not being serious in the fight against corruption when we are bringing and passing such pieces of legislation without any difficulty?

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, there is an organisation called the African Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption (APNAC), which is a forum for the fight against corruption. Some of the good debaters, who pretend to be supporters of the Anti-Corruption Policy of the Government, are a part of it while some of the members are from the MMD. Hence, who is not fighting corruption?

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Hon. Government Member: Say it, again, clearly.

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, I am asking this question because Hon. Lundwe, Hon. Lubinda, Hon. Beene and I are executive members of APNAC and when we sit at the APNAC table and bench, we speak the same language. Therefore, if we, in the MMD are not fighting corruption, neither are they.

Hon. Government Members: Hammer!

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, there is what is called the Medical Transparency Alliance (META).

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

Mr Sikazwe: That was an initiative of the Ministry of Health. The membership of the hon. Members of Parliament was only made possible after the ministry was considered to be the most corrupt ministry. It has now been monopolised by the selfish hon. Members on that side and no one from the MMD.

Mr Speaker: Order!

 The word ‘selfish’ is unparliamentary. The hon. Member shall withdraw it.

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, thank you. I withdraw it.

These people do not want to share with other people and they even go to an extent of holding onto positions in the executive of META. However, this was an initiative of this Government which they accuse of being corrupt.

Ms Lundwe: Hear, hear!

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, I wish they were here to challenge me on whose initiative META was. I was trying to bring this forward to your attention so that they know that we are not seated, but like them, fighting corruption.

We recently passed the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime Bill which was talked about in the past. Therefore, how can anyone claim that the MMD is not fighting corruption? We are champions in fighting many vices and we always win.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, in 2008, our presidential candidate was given a name by the Opposition in order to corrupt people’s minds. I think hon. Members on your left all remember this name. However, because the man was so free, he knew that he was going to win the polls. He never retaliated to the name-calling and won the by-election because he was not corrupt.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sing’ombe: What name is that?

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, our candidate contested the presidential race for the first time and challenged candidates who claimed to be more experienced, but had lost many times.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, I would like to thank the Government for what it has done in Chimbamilonga.  I would also like to point out that I am a proud hon. Member of Parliament for having added a new word to the vocabulary of hon. Members of this House, past and present. When I was elected to this House, I introduced the word ‘geothermal’, which was a new word to hon. Members.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Laughter

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, at the time, many hon. Members thought I was not a serious representative because they did not know that this type of energy could be generated from hot springs. However, when you allowed a few hon. Ministers and some hon. Members of the Opposition to go on a study visit to Kenya, they proved that what I was talking about was based on facts. When I came to this House from Chimbamilonga, with the background of the manifesto of the MMD, I gave the Government ideas of what was supposed to be done.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr V. Mwale: Yes, we went to Naivasha.

Mr Sikazwe: When the Government listened to my debate, it decided to reconnect my area from geothermal to hydro-electric power.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Laughter

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, just as the President said that he would be moving with his head up in the streets of Zambia, I am also moving with my head up in Chimbamilonga.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sikazwe: As much as some people are claiming to have done their homework by forming a pact or otherwise, we have also done something as hon. Members of Parliament in the areas where the MMD has won elections and people have not forgotten what we have done.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sikazwe: It is a pity that most of our friends come here to mislead the nation and forget what they came here for. We are here as representatives of the Zambian people, as the preamble of the Constitution states. However, some hon. Members have started representing themselves and this is why the Government is not listening to them.

Dr Musonda: Mwila.

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, I thank the Government for bringing electrical power to Chimbamilonga and part of Kaputa District. I was in my constituency recently and can confirm that at the moment, poles are being erected and cables laid so as to connect the area to the line going to Tanzania. Therefore, unless the people of Chimbamilonga are not aware of what the Government is doing in their area, they must thank it. I am repeating that the people of Chimbamilonga are supporting this Government. Hon. Namugala was in my constituency recently and can attest to this.

Ms Namugala indicated assent.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, we need to be honest and not pretend by playing to the public gallery just because we are seeking positions in the executive committees of our political parties. We should not forget to represent the people. Some of our friends are, today, complaining and saying the President’s Speech was hollow because they do not understand what has been done in their constituencies.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, when the project of taking electricity to Kaputa District started in 2008 and 2009, one hon. Member of Parliament got the file on this project with the aim to look for an investor but, unfortunately, to date, no investor has come forward to invest in Kasaba Bay and the surrounding areas.

Mr Sichilima: Nifwe tuleyako.

Mr Sikazwe: Who is a liar between …

Mr Speaker: Order! Order!

The word ‘liar’ is unparliamentary.

Mr Sikazwe: Sorry, Sir.

Who is misleading the people?

Mr Speaker, some hon. Members are not just misleading the nation, but also their party leaders who think of them as being informed. I remember, some time back, there were hon. Members who claimed that the Government was connecting power for one investor from Zimbabwe. These sentiments were echoed by some political party presidents who even condemned the Republican President for allegedly supporting the connection of electricity to only one investor from a foreign country.

Mr Speaker, let it be known that to date, no investor has been given any land on the shores of Lake Tanganyika from Chipwa to Chibanga. It is very unfortunate that these claims were made by an hon. Member, who is a good debater, in an effort to mislead people and gain political mileage. Nonetheless, I was also in Chimbamilonga to tell the people that better things were to come to their homes.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sichilima: Ema MP, aba.

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, we need to be sincere because if you know the truth, it shall set you free.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sikazwe: Even the people who are seen lifting members of the Opposition at public gatherings are simply misleading the hon. Members on your left. They will run away from them and join parties in which they can see light at the end of the tunnel.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, sometime last year or early this year, you congratulated me in this House on trying to represent my people and said that other hon. Members must emulate me because I was telling the Government what I wanted done in my constituency.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, I thank the Government of Zambia, through the hard workmanship of His Excellency the President, for building a district hospital in Kaputa. This is the first hospital in the district. When the people who have district hospitals in their areas were saying that the Government was wasting money taking development to Kaputa, I lamented because they did not have empathy for people in other parts of the country.

Mr Speaker, , I am sure you have heard that some people were called Maibuye during the Cha Cha Cha days. People thought that the bazungu would take electricity with them and there would be darkness everywhere. This is what is happening today.

Mr Munaile: Bebe, boyi.

Mr Sikazwe: When the President said Kaputa District was going to be given a district hospital, some people started murmuring and said he was just wasting money.

Mr Mbewe: Especially Kambwili.

Mr Munaile: He is not here.

Mr Sikazwe: Today, they are saying that nothing has been done in their constituencies. This is because they were not telling the Government the truth. However, the Hon. Deputy Speaker and I told the Government that we wanted a hospital.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, I, therefore, would like to continue thanking the Government for this. I have heard some hon. Members say that the President’s Speech was hollow. It can only be hollow if somebody does not understand or, maybe, he or she is hollow somewhere.

Laughter

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, each one of us has his or her own constituency. The people of Chimbamilonga and Kaputa have had no power for a long time, but now have it, thanks to the Government of the day. The people of Chimbamilonga had no hospital, but now have one. After pressurising the hon. Minister of Health, Hon. Simbao, the people in Kashikishi, Kakoma and Chishela have all received health posts from the Government.

Mr Speaker, while these things are happening, our friends are trying to campaign on a blank programme …

Laughter

Mr Sikazwe: Each person in Zambia has what he or she wants done for him or her. Our colleagues have a blank programme because they think all the people in this country want change. Change does not come like that. There must a reason for change. You cannot wake up one morning and tell your wife that you are divorcing her. You might be surprised to learn that she is the one who wants to divorce you.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Laughter

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, allow me to say some of the things for which the people of Chimbamilonga have sent me to thank this Government on their behalf. I was in the constituency for fifteen days and only came to Lusaka on Thursday, the day before Parliament was officially opened. I would like to inform this House that through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), we have constructed a very good modern market at a cost of K300 million. It was designed by some investors and I.

Laughter

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, I have also built three maternity annexes approved by the Ministry of Health from the CDF and not from my own pocket. These are of the Ministry of Health’s standard. The cost was controlled because it was labour based and we took all the money to the rural people to do the projects. Unfortunately, some of our friends are the contractors when it comes to handling the CDF money.

Mr Munkombwe: On a point of order, Sir.

Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Munkombwe: Mr Speaker, I rise to seek your serious ruling and guidance. We must be seen to protect the integrity of this House. Political parties world over are not governments. Although political parties produce governments, they do not come to this House to legislate. At political rallies, you can shout at and denounce each other, but you cannot do that here.

Mr Speaker, I would like to refer to an article in The Post Newspaper entitled:

 “KAZABU ACCUSES THE SPEAKER OF BEING PARTISAN.”

Mr Kazabu is a former mayor who has been trying to come to Parliament, but has been failing.

Laughter

Mr Munkombwe: He accused the Speaker of being partisan. I would like to refer to an incidence when Hon. Liato came with a badge in the House and somebody raised a point of order on him saying that the badge was a campaign material. Sir, you directed that the Sergeant-At-Arms confiscates it. Should we have said that you are partisan because of that ruling?

Hon. Opposition Members: Ask your point of order!

Mr Munkombwe: I am making a point.

Hon. Opposition Members: No!

Mr Speaker: Order!

The point of order is being raised and I am listening.

Mr Munkombwe: Mr Speaker, political parties are not legislators. Outside this House, this can be done because there are party forums where Presidents are denounced. However, we must protect this institution. If everybody will be allowed to discredit the Speaker, particularly to accuse him of being partisan, then the democracy which we want to develop in this country is going in a wrong direction. Is Mr Kazabu, therefore, as quoted in The Post of 24th September, 2010, in order to say that Mr Speaker is partisan, more so when he is not?

There was Mr Wesley Nyirenda, then Mr Robinson Nabulyato and today, it is you, Mr Speaker, presiding over this House. I have been in this House under all except one of these three Mr Speakers.

Mr Speaker, Mr Lackson Kazabu has accused the Speaker of the National Assembly of intimidating hon. Members of the Opposition based on the ruling he made on Hon. Mpombo. Was he in order to do so, Sir?

I will lay this paper on the Table.

Mr Munkombwe laid the paper on the Table.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Speaker: The hon. Deputy Minister in the Office of the Vice-President has raised a point of order regarding an outsider who said that the Speaker is partisan based, I believe, on a ruling the Speaker made in this House. I shall study that point of order and rule upon it at a later date.

The hon. Member for Chimbamilonga may continue.

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, I was talking about how we used the CDF to build a very good market at a cost of K300 million and some maternity annexes. Those are the things that we should be telling our electorates whether they are PF or UPND supporters. We should tell them what the Government is doing for the people. Let us not misrepresent things.

Mr Kambwili: Kwati kalabomba nokubomba.

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, the President has been accused of having done literally nothing to save people’s jobs because of the removal of windfall tax.

Mr Speaker, Hon. D. Mwila, Hon. Kambwili and I worked at the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) in Chingola before going to Konkola Copper Mines (KCM). When the Anglo-American Corporation pulled out, there was anxiety which Hon. D. Mwila can attest to as he was a senior union official. He had sleepless nights to reduce the pressure which was coming from us, the members.

Hon. Government Members: He was fired.

Mr Sikazwe: Therefore, people must not politicise the closure of the mines. If you are not given a contract, do not politicise it. Let the people working there work because I felt what my friends felt a year ago; and for that, I thank the Government for saving the mines.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, I would like my friends from the Opposition who worked in the mines to challenge me that they were happy when they heard that the mines were going to be closed. If there is anyone who felt that way, then he is not a leader. If you did not work in the mines, do not talk about it. I, personally, was a miner for fifteen years and, therefore, I understand and know a lot about mining and can debate comprehensively thereon.

Mr V. Mwale: What was D. Mwila doing in the mines?

Mr Sikazwe: He knows, I cannot say anything about him. He knows me and I know him very well.

Laughter

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, what the President did …

Mr Speaker: Order!

You will address hon. Members of Parliament as such.

Mr Sikazwe: As such.

Laughter

Mr Sikazwe: Hon. D. Mwila.

I was saying that the people who are saying that the President did literally nothing to change the tax regime are misleading the nation. They must be sincere. They have been losing elections because they do not understand the real issues that the people are facing. They have talked much about the poverty levels in the mining areas, but nearly all miners have cars. I do not think there is any bank that can give a loan to someone who cannot service it.

Mr Speaker, it is only the people with good salaries who can get a loan to buy a car or house. People are getting loans on the Copperbelt and here. Who is suffering between you and the miners who are able to buy cars?

Laughter

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, manifestoes of political parties are misleading, thereby making the members of those parties irresponsible.

The housing programme which was set up by the Second Republican President has created the Chalala Housing Project and because of that, most people have moved out of the council houses. They want to live in their own homes.

Hon. Government Member: Kokolapo apo.

Mr Sikazwe: Let us not pretend when we are talking about real issues.

Mr Speaker, there is also scramble for land in Chingola, Nsumbu, Kasama and other parts of the country because people want to own land. Is there any other policy on land ownership and housing today apart from this one?

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, you cannot even build a house in ninety days.

Laughter

Mr Sikazwe: In spite of the removal of windfall tax, roads can still be constructed from other resources. However, we should not allow a situation where people start to sleep along the roads.

Laughter

Mr Sikazwe:  Mr Speaker, let us give credit where it is due.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sikazwe: As much as the Opposition wants to come and take over from this Government, they must convince the people that they will build houses for them. If that will not happen, there will be a monopoly in Zambia.

Hon. Government Member: Tabomfwa.

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Speaker, on the Fertiliser Input Support Programme (FISP), I would like to thank the Government for bringing it up. We, in Chimbamilonga Constituency and Kaputa District have been a fishing people, but Chimbamilonga, for the first time, has produced sixteen thousand 50 kg bags of maize.

Laughter

Mr Sikazwe: We have been fishermen.

Mr V. Male: What about cassava?

Mr Sikazwe: We do not count that because we have produced it in excess of twenty thousand bags and more than five thousand bags of rice. Because of the FISP, the people in Chimbamilonga were given two bags each, enabling them to produce more than they had estimated. There is a bumper harvest this year. Therefore, do not miscalculate things when you have not understood them fully.

Laughter

Mr Sikazwe: Finally, on tourism, I would like to thank Hon. Mulongoti for what he has done in my constituency. He is a very good man.

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!

Mr Sikazwe: However, I would like to request the ministry to tar the Kasama/Kaputa Road. Once this is done, tourism will be boosted.

With these few remarks, I thank you, Sir.

The Deputy Minister of Lands (Mr Mabenga): Mr Speaker, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to contribute on this Motion.

Mr Speaker, I read through the speech delivered by His Excellency the President and found it very valuable. It was a speech delivered by a seasoned politician, planner, civil servant, diplomat and the people’s choice in 2008, hence making him President of this country.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mabenga: Mr Speaker, in 2008, when the MMD put forward President Rupiah Bwezani Banda as candidate after the death of our President, the theme that he made to see himself sail through the election was “Building on the Promise”. In 2006, the late President Mwanawasa was chosen to stand as a candidate and we used the MMD manifesto to win the elections. However, we lost our President, but with the goodwill of the people of Zambia, we chose President Banda who was Vice-President at the time. He went round the country to sell himself and the people chose him. Therefore, all the projects that are being done have been tailored by this party.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mabenga: From the time this MMD Government came into power, many projects have been undertaken and the people of Zambia have benefited. Thus, it is surprising to hear some quarters of our society in this country say that President Banda is enjoying the success of the late President Mwanawasa. However, that cannot be understood because what had put the late President Mwanawasa into Government was the MMD.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mabenga: The MMD manifesto is what made the late President Mwanawasa win the elections in 2001 and 2006. Therefore, if President Rupiah Banda is able to finish a project which was started by the late President Mwanawasa, is that not achieving the goals that we set out?

Hon. Government Members: He has achieved them.

Mr Mabenga: He is building on the promise or legacy left by the late President.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mabenga: So, he is doing what is good and right for the people of Zambia.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mabenga: Mr Speaker, on education, there are many schools that have been built. Most of the schools, for example, in my constituency, have been electrified and others have a solar system. I am a teacher by profession.

Hon. Opposition Member: Aah!

Mr Mabenga: Yes, I am. I taught most of you.

Laughter

Mr Mabenga: Mr Speaker, every teacher wants to live well, especially those who are in the rural areas. Most of the schools have either been rehabilitated or upgraded to 1 X 2 classrooms and 1 X 3 classrooms. The Government is also supporting the community schools.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mabenga: For example, we have just received, from the Ministry of Education, funds to help two community schools in my constituency.

Mr Speaker, the point I would like to make is that President Banda is building on the promise the late President Mwanawasa left. That notion in people’s minds that he should start his own projects should be removed because he is part of the MMD. We give thanks to God who guided the late President Mwanawasa to appoint Mr Rupiah Bwezani Banda to be Vice-President at the time. God knew that at one point, the late President Mwanawasa would pass on from this earth and someone would take over from him.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mabenga: Mr Speaker, we know of some people who came to State House to talk about history and I differed with one of them. He pointed at me and said, “This man wanted to beat me,” and I said, “Yes, I was going to do so if you continued to misbehave.” However, that is history.

Ms Changwe: Tell them.

Mr Mabenga: If people wanted to …

Mr Speaker: Order!

Laughter

Mr Speaker: The hon. Deputy Minister will withdraw that threat about beating people.

Laughter

Mr Mabenga: Mr Speaker, I withdraw that statement and replace it with ‘being unhappy with their behaviour’.

Mr Speaker, we are talking about the efforts this Government has made under President Rupiah Banda. What he talked about in his speech is neither flat nor hollow. It is a pointer to the many achievements that the Government has made to ensure that the people of Zambia benefit for voting for the MMD and President Banda in 2008.

Therefore, when the President talks about physical fitness, he means physical fitness to work and ensure that the people know that the country is moving forward.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mabenga: This is the physical fitness that the President talked about. We are physically fit. When people talk about roads, we will say we are working on them.

Mr Speaker, with regard to the constitution-making process, it is surprising that we find people who want to have a law to govern them, but want to stay away from the process of formulating that law and when others have made the law, they want to talk about it. What kind of hypocrisy is that? Why should you engage in something that you do not want to be a part of? If you do not want to be a part of something, you stay away forever. Why should you engage in something you do not want?

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mabenga: People must be careful with the decisions they make, lest they find themselves moving back and forth. By so doing, you will be found wanting in your reasoning.

Mr Speaker, the President talked about the end of the Fifth National Development Plan (FNDP). If you read the FNDP, you would see the projects that were set out for implementation for the people of Zambia to see the work their Government is doing.

The President said that the FNDP is coming to an end. It is coming to an end with a number of successes that are visible. It is not a question of talking about bellies. How many people have bellies on the other side? If someone does not want to eat much, that is their problem. If you have food, you must eat it so that you are seen to be fit. If you want to starve yourself, go ahead and see if you will continue to keep a he-goat that side.

Laughter

Mr Mabenga: Mr Speaker, the Sixth National Development Plan (SNDP) will be a people-driven plan. A people-driven plan involves everybody from the ward, constituency, district, province and national level, including this House.

 It is important that people understand that the MMD, under the late President, Levy Mwanawasa, introduced the development plans and President Banda will continue with the development plans because he is building on the promise.

Mr Shawa: Hear, hear!

Mr Mabenga: There is nothing different. He has not said that he will bring anything different, but add on to what his late brother left.

Mr Speaker: Order!

Business was suspended from 1615 hours until 1630 hours.

[MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair]

Mr Mabenga: Madam Speaker, before business was suspended, I was emphasising the fact that President Banda, through this Government and the people of Zambia, continued with the efforts of his late brother by ensuring that the constitution-making process continued. I also talked about the projects in the FNDP that are about to be concluded and, subsequently, the preparation of a people-driven SNDP. All that President Banda said in that speech to Parliament was a pointer to what his Government will do for the people of Zambia.

Madam Speaker, I would like to talk about Mulobezi Constituency. This Constituency is MMD and shall remain so.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Milupi: ADD!

Mr Mabenga: We have seen a lot of movements of smaller people trying to walk around …

Laughter

Mr Mabenga: … along paths and failing to walk on the main roads because of the presence of the MMD that has roots in that constituency.

Mr Mabenga: Madam Speaker, the people of Mulobezi have been asking to have Sichili Mission Hospital and the Zambezi Sawmills connected to the national electricity grid for a long time, even before independence, but to no avail. The people of Mulobezi are very glad because, for the first time since independence, an amount of K25 billion has been released by the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) to connect these places to the national grid.

Mr V. Mwale: Hear, hear!

Mr Mabenga: Works have begun from Simungoma in Mwandi Constituency …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mabenga: … to Sichili. The land has been cleared and poles will soon be erected, …

Interruptions

Mr Mabenga: … building on the promise to take electricity to light the rural areas. This was the promise by the MMD.

Hon. Government Member: Yes.

Mr Mabenga: President Banda is building on it. Madam Speaker, as regards the issue of communication; I mean the new authority, I am still used to the Communications Authority …

Professor Lungwangwa: ZICTA!

Mr Mabenga: The Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA), has come to our aid. The tower being constructed at Sichili Mission will soon be completed and people in the surrounding areas such as Nawinda, Lwamuloba, my home ward, Kamanga and Kayiwala will be able to communicate with their loved ones. These projects are meant to better the living standards of the people.

Therefore, President Banda is building on the promise to ensure that people do not doubt our promises because we are not a kind of political party that talks about things that are not achievable. We are a political party that works. Things are happening today that are being seen by people who have eyes if they so wish to see. These are very important issues and I implore my colleagues in the Opposition, who always want to oppose for the sake of it, to reverse this trend. It does not help this country at all. They should acknowledge the Government’s effort in doing good for the people. They should not always say the Government has failed to do this or that. The Government will continue to work hard because we have seen the need to deliver goods and services to the people.

Madam Speaker, as regards the Ministry of Lands, I would like to state that we have brought sanity to that ministry.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mabenga: The late President Mwanawasa, SC., was very unhappy with what was happening there. At one point, he used a word that I would not want to repeat because things were not well but, now, we are building on the promise to cleanse that ministry of all sorts of unwanted malpractices.

Mr Imenda: Corruption!

Mr Mabenga: Yes, corruption!

That has gone away and, as far as we are concerned, there is sanity at that ministry.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mabenga: The Government will ensure that we do not see any sidetracks being used to acquire land from anywhere in this country. We do not want to see anyone going there to ‘handshake’ officers, as people say. People must be seen publicly shaking hands and not shaking hands while their fists are closed.

Laughter

Mr Mabenga: People are leading those young men and women into temptation. Go there and acquire land the correct way. That is very important. Therefore, Hon. Syakalima, take note and understand what I am talking about here.

Laughter

Mr Mabenga: Madam, I would like to thank you very sincerely and say, once again, that President Banda is, sincerely, leading this country to prosperity by building on the promise.

I thank you, Madam.

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

Mr Simama (Kalulushi): Madam Speaker, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to debate the President’s Speech.

Madam, let me point out, from the outset, that the President, Mr Rupiah Bwezani Banda, and his Government, is doing a commendable job in my constituency.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Simama: Madam Speaker, let me state, from the beginning, that, at the moment, the Government is constructing 438 houses through the National Pensions Scheme Authority (NAPSA). During this construction period, many people have been employed by the contractor who is working on that project.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Simama: Madam Speaker, besides that, about 450 houses are being constructed by the Mukuba Pension Scheme. This is a commendable job on the part of the MMD Government.

Mr Shakafuswa: PF yalifwa!

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Simama: Madam Speaker, for a long time, people in my constituency bemoaned the lack of water. The Government has procured a US$68 million loan from the African Development Bank (ADB) to construct the Chambeshi Water Project. This project has started and a lot of people have been employed by the Chinese who are working on the project.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Simama: Madam, let me also talk about the multi-facility economic zone (MFEZ). This zone is in my constituency and about 6,000 jobs are expected to be created. Furthermore, about three companies are almost completing their projects and about 1,000 jobs have already been created.

Mr Shakafuswa: Where are the PF Members of Parliament?

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Simama: Madam Speaker, people have been saying that projects on the MFEZs are earmarked for the Chinese companies only. I would like to state that they are open to any Zambian who wants to get land from these MFEZs. For example, I, Hon. Simama, acquired land where I will construct a plant called AQUASMA that will be producing about 2,000 water bottles every hour.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Simama: Madam Speaker, let me talk about Chibuluma Clinic. Since independence, there has not been a clinic in Chibuluma. At the moment, a clinic with a maternity ward and two staff houses has been constructed. I think the MMD Government deserves a pat on the back.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Simama: Madam Speaker, about four other clinics are being constructed in my constituency.

Mr Mbewe: Ema MPs, aya!

Mr Simama: Madam Speaker, I also thank the MMD Government for giving me a brand new ambulance for Chambishi Clinic.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Simama: Madam Speaker, since I came to this House, the Southdowns Airport has not been operational but, currently, this airport is operational and the Zambezi Airline lands there.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Simama: Madam Speaker, this is a very good job on the part of the MMD Government.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Simama: Madam Speaker, let me talk about the Chinese companies. In my constituency, there is the Non-ferrous Metals Corporation (NFMC) which has employed about 2,560 workers; the Non-ferrous Metals Mining Corporation Africa has employed 400 workers; the Chambeshi Copper Smelter has employed 2,100 workers and the Waste Ore-body has also employed about 1,000.

Mr Sikazwe: Hear, hear!

Mr Simama: All in all, the Chinese in my constituency have employed about 6,000 people.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Simama: Madam Speaker, the MMD Government has attracted Chinese companies that are really supportive.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Simama: Madam Speaker, I would like to say that the Government has done a very big job by working on the road from Kitwe to Kalulushi.

Interruptions

Mr Simama: The Kitwe/Kalulushi Road has not been worked on since independence, but this able Government has worked on it.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Simama: Madam Speaker, I would also like to talk about the President’s visits. A number of people have been criticising the President’s visits. Let me remind them that, in our culture, as Zambians, if you do not visit other people’s homes, the time you have a bereavement, people will not come to your aid. They will say that you are a loner and let you bury your dead alone.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Simama: Madam Speaker, the President should visit other countries because in case of a disaster, we will need other presidents to come to our aid.

Mr Shakafuswa: Hear, hear!

Mr Simama: Madam Speaker, with regard to the issue of agriculture in my constituency, in November 2009, the MMD Government started constructing a silo that will hold about 35,000 metric tonnes of maize. Previously, this silo could only hold 11,500 metric tonnes but, after rehabilitation, it will now hold about 45,000 metric tonnes of maize.

Mr Sikazwe: Tell them.

Mr Simama: This is in Chambeshi.

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Let us listen to the debate.

Mr Mbewe: Ema MPs!

Mr Kapeya: You are a Minister, behave.

Mr Simama: Madam Speaker, when I was in college, I was taught that the message is in the receiver. I have noticed that people have misinterpreted the statement that the President made that he will hire a physical trainer. I have taken it as good advice because the President wants all of us, in this House, to be re-elected. Those who will lag behind will remain. I have also added to this list an accountant who is going to take care of the foot soldiers and command spots.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Simama: Madam Speaker, I commend the Government for that good advice.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Simama: Madam Speaker, with these few words, I thank you.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr D. Mwila (Chipili): Madam Speaker, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the speech that was delivered to this House by the President of this country, Mr Rupiah Bwezani Banda.

Madam Speaker, before I go further, I would like to say that, as hon. Members of Parliament, we are here to advise the Government when they go wrong. We are not here to praise the Government everyday even when it has done something wrong. It is on record that we praise the Government on the Floor of this House when it has done something good. Today, I would like to advise my colleagues on your right. Firstly, I would like to state that as Parliamentarians from Luapula Province, we have a problem with the MMD Government. The performance of the provincial administration is below par. 

Interruptions

Mr D. Mwila: Madam Speaker, we all know that last year, the Government released K1.8 billion for feeder roads in all the constituencies, but nothing was done in our province. We brought this matter to the Floor of this House and my colleagues will bear me witness on this matter. This year, we expect to receive K5 billion from the Ministry of Finance and National Planning to work on all the feeder roads in the province. The Government started releasing this money from January right up to this month, but no works have been carried out. I would like to find out from the Government where the roads are being worked on. This Government has failed to repair the roads in all the constituencies. The people of Luapula Province are complaining because they do not know what the provincial administration is doing in Luapula.

Mr Kasongo: Bwekeshapo.

Mr D. Mwila: Madam Speaker, you have heard Hon. Kasongo asking me to repeat what I have already talked about. Nothing is happening in the province and no one has explained to us where the money has gone. If the MMD Government wants to come back into power next year, it should perform. If the administration in Luapula is not delivering services to the people, I do not expect this Government to get votes from Luapula Province.

Mr Shakafuswa: Tell them.

Mr D. Mwila: Madam Speaker, as Parliamentarians, we will continue talking about the problems that we are facing in our constituencies. If, in Chipili Constituency, the people have continued sleeping on the floor in the clinics due to lack of mattresses and beds, then we have a problem. The Ministry of Health has failed to employ nurses and cleaners have continued prescribing medicine for the patients. This is a problem and Hon. Kapembwa Simbao must listen to me very carefully.

Mr Simbao: Aah!

Mr D. Mwila: Madam Speaker, in schools, children are sitting on the floor due to lack of desks. I will not keep quiet because the people of Chipili sent me here to represent them and no one will intimidate me. I have the right to speak the way I am speaking.

Madam Speaker, the other issue which we expected the President to talk about was that of the constitution-making process.

Interruptions

Mr D. Mwila: Madam Speaker, a lot of money has been spent on this exercise and the people of Zambia want to know the way forward. When will the Constitutional Bill come to Parliament? That is the question which must be answered by this Government. Someone was boasting in this House that she will be re-elected in Matero Constituency next year. I would like to thank the President who said that next year, all of us will go for elections and are going to face the people. It is the people of Zambia who will decide on who is supposed to come back to this House and not an individual.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr D. Mwila: Madam Speaker, the other point is on the presidential trips. We are not saying that the President should not travel, but that it is just too much. We have to critically analyse these trips. If the President goes to witness the Inauguration Ceremony of the Rwandan President, what benefit does it bring to the country?

Interruptions

Mr D. Mwila: Those are the questions we have to ask ourselves. The money that the President is using is not coming from his own pocket. That money is coming from the people of Zambia and the people of Zambia have the right to question his trips.

Interruptions

Mr D. Mwila: If the President wants to make allowances because he is going next year, then we have a problem as a country.

Madam Speaker, the position of Republican President is very important and all Zambians respect it. When the President comes to this House, he must know which language to use. There is no way the President can come to this House to say that only a fool would vote on 1st April. He should lead by example.

Hon. Government Members: It is Fools’ Day!

Mr D. Mwila: I know it is a Fools’ Day, but he mentioned the word, ‘fools’ which means that he was talking about the people of Zambia.

Interruptions

Mr D. Mwila: He should not bring jokes to this House.

Interruptions

Mr D. Mwila: Madam Speaker, of late, we have witnessed teachers getting their salaries on the 15th day of the following month. This is despite senior Government officials getting their salaries on time.

   Madam Speaker, the teachers and nurses in rural areas do not get their salaries on time. This has been happening and is on record. This Government must change in that area.

Madam Speaker, when the Government decided to sell the Zambia Telecommunications Company (ZAMTEL), our understanding was that 49 per cent shares would be given to either the Government or the Zambian people. 75 per cent shares have been sold to Lap Green, but we expected the Zambian people to benefit from the sale of ZAMTEL. The ZAMTEL employees were about 2,700 before the company was sold, but now it only has 900. You can see that quite a good number of people have gone onto the streets.

Hon. Opposition Members: Shame!

Mr D. Mwila: Madam Speaker, most of the employees have been retrenched and given peanuts. How will they settle with their families? We expect the Government to explain how the company arrived at the establishment of 900 employees. Those are the questions which require answers.

Madam Speaker, my other point is on the rehabilitation of roads. This Government, through the President, indicated that the Mansa/Luwingu Road will not be worked on this year. This road has not been tarred since independence. When will this road be tarred? We will soon enter next year and nothing will still be done. We will tell the people of Chipili who to vote for because the MMD Government has failed to deliver. I, therefore, ask you, should you come to Chipili, to explain to the people why you have failed to tar the Mansa/Luwingu Road.

Madam Speaker, in other areas, we have seen situations where the Government rushes to borrow billions of Kwacha to work on projects. Why can they not borrow money to work on some of these roads? There is the Kashikishi/Chienge Road that has not been tarred for a long time. Not a single road is being tarred in the whole of Luapula Province. This is the segregation we are talking about. There must be a change in the way this Government is doing things.

Hon. MMD Member: Finally.

Mr D. Mwila: Takuli finally.

Laughter

Mr D. Mwila: Madam Speaker, I would now like to talk about the mines. Most hon. Members of Parliament in this House have lamented that the Government should re-introduce windfall tax. They are crying for windfall tax because they want the people of Zambia to benefit from these mines.

The mining companies that are there now do not work on roads or build hospitals for their employees. In most mining areas, employees are using Government clinics, which was not the case during the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) days. I wish to repeat what I said last year. At some point, copper will finish and when it does, we will have no roads, clinics or schools. This Government must put in place a law that will compel the mining companies to repair roads and clinics through their corporate social responsibility so that the people can benefit from their mining activities. 

Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister of Labour and Social Security said outsourcing is a good arrangement. To the contrary, my view is that the Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) came up with outsourcing to avoid paying benefits to their employees and run away from other responsibilities. They have brought in companies such as Concentrator TLP to get away from certain responsibilities. If those running KCM left and another company came in which only wanted a labour force of 500 people, then Concentrator TLP, which has 3,000 employees working at the mine would have to retrench 2,500 employees. I wish to thank the Mineworkers’ Union of Zambia and the National Union of Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) for stopping KCM from going ahead with labour outsourcing.

Madam Speaker, as you are aware, there will be mandatory migration from analogue to digital transmission. This Government, however, is not doing a good job of sensitising the people of Zambia regarding the migration. Your Committee on Information and Broadcasting Services went to the Eastern Province and discovered that the people there were not aware of this transition. The Government must tell us how ready it is to migrate because we expect it to sensitise the people on this migration. 

Finally, I would like to echo what Hon. Nkombo and Hon. Dr Scott said yesterday about all those who think that the alliance between PF and UPND will not work. You are wasting your time.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr D. Mwila: Come next year, the MMD Government must leave power. The pact will come into power without hesitation. You have to be ready to leave those offices.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Minister of Gender and Women in Development (Ms Changwe): Madam Speaker, I thank you for according me an opportunity to add my voice and that of the people of Mkushi North Constituency to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Speech that was presented to this House by His Excellency the President, Mr Rupiah Banda, who will be there even beyond 2011.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Changwe: Madam Speaker, as someone who directly works with the women of Zambia, I would like to put it on record that the women of Zambia are behind this Government, …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Changwe: …and will give the MMD, as a party, the mandate to continue running the development agenda of this country in 2011.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Changwe: Madam Speaker, I would like to state that this Government has done unprecedented things in this nation. Borrowing our National Chairman’s words, …

Mr Mabenga: Hammer my words!

Ms Changwe: …indeed, President Banda is building on the promise.

Madam Speaker, I would like to state that every programme and policy that the Ministry of Gender and Women in Development is currently undertaking is actually a build up from the United National Independence Party (UNIP) policies on women in development. The Fourth National Development Plan (FNDP) had a component of women in development. You cannot build a future without a past. Anybody who thinks like that is thinking in reverse and has a pedestrian approach to issues of development.

Laughter

Ms Changwe: Madam Speaker, in 2000, the MMD Government, under the leadership of Dr Fredrick Chiluba, adopted the National Gender Policy which is our framework for achieving all our goals and objectives on equal participation of men and women in development. This is the tool that we have operationalised through the FNDP and SNDP in order for this Government to deal with issues of gender imbalances in the country.

Issues of gender equality and equity in the nation are a priority for this Government. This is the more reason why, speaking with an informed vision, I can attest, in this House, today, that the women of Zambia are very happy because they have seen the efforts and progress of the Government.

Madam Speaker, issues of gender are paramount to development. We cannot leave out one sector of society in the development process. This Government, under the leadership of His Excellency President Rupiah Bwezani Banda, has mainstreamed gender in the Public Service through the Public Service Reform Programme. The objective of this programme is to ensure that men and women are given an equal opportunity to access the factors of production such as land, which is key in empowering women.

The President, in his address to this House, mentioned that 30 per cent of land will be given to women.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Changwe: Madam Speaker, the women of Mkushi are very happy. As you may be aware, Mkushi is the bread basket of Central Province and the country at large. The pronouncement that 30 per cent of land has been reserved for women has given renewed hope and commitment to our people.

Madam Speaker, I would like to state that statistical evidence clearly shows that there is progress made in the line of achieving gender equality and equity. Whether you look at it from the vertical, horizontal view or intergenerational equity aspect, this Government has achieved that.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Changwe: Madam Speaker, allow me to state that there are several instruments that can be used to gauge performance. Indeed, this Government has conducted these assessment instruments.

Madam Speaker, if you look at the Living Conditions Monitoring Survey of 2006, it is evident that the poverty level amongst women has dropped to 64 per cent.

 Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Changwe: What is this attributed to?  It is attributed to development …

Dr Musonda: Correct.

 Ms Changwe: …because poverty reduction is synonymous, for those who do not know, with development. We, as women, are happy about the reduction of poverty because of the feminisation of poverty, poverty wearing a woman’s face. For those who do not know, that is the more reason this Government will actually retain power next year.

 Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Changwe: We will retain power by a bigger margin than what was seen in 2008, I can assure you that.

 Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear! 

Ms Changwe: If you came to Mkushi, you would see the evident and tangible efforts that the President and this team of able men and women have put in place to address the issues of imbalances.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Changwe: Madam Speaker, issues, practices and anything that is an impediment to the development of the participation of women and girls in development are being addressed by this Government.

Madam Speaker, in Mkushi, the majority of the small-scale farmers or peasant farmers are women. Actually, they have contributed to the production of the bumper harvest.

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

Ms Changwe: Just last weekend, I was in Mkushi. I went to Nshinso and learnt that 45,000 bags of maize had been produced by small-scale farmers who are women. It has to be made known that the women’s population is higher than that of men in this nation. Therefore, we have educated them on the need to have the loudest say when it comes to making decisions on who should lead them. With the bumper harvest in Nshinso, Mankanda, Kangili, Nukulumashiba and Lunsemfwa, …

Laughter

Ms Changwe: …we cannot doubt the efforts that Mr Banda and his team have put in addressing women in agriculture. We all know that gender is a cross-cutting issue. Therefore, we have not left out any sector.

Madam Speaker, as we all know that one instrument for measuring the Government’s progress towards equal participation of men and women in development is the ratio of girls to boys entering Grade 1, participating in primary education, secondary education and at completion.

 Madam Speaker, school census reports and education bulletins of 2008/09 clearly show that there is parity in terms of enrollment at Grade 1 level through to secondary level and, indeed, at completion level. You can see that the Government is on course in addressing the issue of access to education by women, girls, men and boys. It is for this reason that the Zambian women are appreciating the efforts of this Government in as far as emancipating women through education is concerned.

 Ms Lundwe: Hear, hear!

Ms Changwe: That is the more reason that we shall retain power.

 Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Changwe: Madam Speaker, speaking about the health sector, the Zambia Demographic Health Survey of 2008 clearly shows that there is a drop in maternal mortality and morbidity. All these factors, strategies, mechanisms and interventions that have been put in place, through the Ministry of Health, have raised hope that there will be safe motherhood, low infant mortality and maternal mortality rates.

Madam Speaker, in Mkushi, there are more than eight new health posts plus clinics. Just last week, we received a contractor who is going to build the district hospital.

 Dr Musonda: Hear, hear!

Ms Changwe: Who is going to benefit from that hospital? Yes, men and women, but more so, the women. Therefore, this Government is committed to addressing the health of women and girls.

Madam Speaker, we, as a Government, have done extremely well and this cannot only be said about Mkushi because I know that there are several hospitals under construction dotted around the country. This is all in an effort to raise access to good and quality health care by this Government. I am not politicking here because these are facts on the ground.

 Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Changwe: That is the reason that His Excellency the President said that we are going to be judged by what we have done and what the people can see and touch …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Changwe: … and not by what people can envision and building castles in the air. It is about things that are on the ground.

Madam Speaker, the Millennium Development Goals Progress Report clearly shows that Zambia is on track as regards the status of the MDG Number Three which relates to gender and empowerment of women. It is very likely that this goal will be achieved by 2015. We do not operate from a vacuum. We operate according to laid-down programmes. How do we know that this Government is making an effort in this regard?  We know this because the conducive environment for attaining equality and equity is set.

Madam Speaker, the appointment of this Cabinet Minister, …

Hon. Opposition Members: Who?

Ms Changwe pointed at Ms Sayifwanda.

Laughter

Ms Changwe: … Hon. Sarah Sayifwanda, clearly shows that this Government is interested in mainstreaming gender issues at policy, budget and any other level.

Ms Lundwe: Tell them.

Ms Changwe: It clearly shows that the resolve of the MMD Government is to empower women.

Madam Speaker, at the moment, I am very happy that I am speaking for millions of women. We are very happy.

Interruptions

Ms Changwe laughed.

Ms Changwe: Madam Speaker, when we assess our achievements, goals and objectives, one of the indicators relates to gender. In the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, one of the indicators for achievement and growth in terms of development relates to gender. Why? It is because we have a Cabinet Minister who sits in Cabinet to ensure that all decisions, programmes and policies that are set there are mainstream gender. Therefore, we are very happy.

Madam Speaker, allow me to say that the Gender Parity Index in this country shows that we are on track in achieving equality and equity between men and women.

Madam Speaker, one of the issues that I have always talked about when I stand on the Floor of this House is the issue of what perpetuates the subordination of women. One of the factors that continues to perpetuate the inferior position of women to men in this country is gender-based violence.

 Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Changwe: Madam Speaker, this Government, through His Excellency the President, has realised the need to address the legal framework and that is the more reason the Gender Based Violence Bill will see its way to this House very soon.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Changwe: Madam Speaker, violence in whichever way you look at it, lowers the esteem of women and their self-assertiveness. For the first time, this country will have a law that will inhibit those who think they can show their muscle or, indeed, show that they are men by engaging in violence.

Interruptions

Ms Cifire: GBM!

Ms Changwe: Madam, you will note that the number of cases of gender-based violence in some places is decreasing. Yes, others may say it is increasing because more women, girls, men and boys are able to report these cases. If one went to the Victim Support Unit (VSU), one would find a good number of reported cases.

Madam Speaker, violence will not help us to develop. Violence, be it in political parties, during elections or at any place in time, will not help us, but only cause us to fall. The women of Zambia have said no to gender-based violence. Enough is enough.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Musonda: Twakana!

Ms Changwe: Violence is not a sign of love, but weakness …

Laughter

Ms Changwe: … because it shows that somebody has reached a point where they can no longer think straight and the only thing they can resort to is violence. This Government will soon address that issue.

Hon. Member: Bring the law.

Ms Changwe: Madam Speaker, allow me to also talk about next year’s elections. Indeed, the President mentioned that we must all stand up and rise to the challenge because it is not for the faint-hearted.

The non-attainment of 30 per cent of women representation in decision-making positions or Parliament cannot be blamed on the Government. It can only be blamed on the people who are charged with the responsibility of bringing women to Parliament by way of adopting them to contest elections.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Changwe: What this House must do, Madam, is put mechanisms in place to ensure that political parties adopt more women.

Mr Ntundu: How many of you are in Government?

Ms Changwe: Can you shut up.

Laughter

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order! Order!

Laughter

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Could the hon. Deputy Minister withdraw that phrase.

Hon. Opposition Members: Gender-based violence.

Laughter

Ms Changwe: Madam Speaker, I withdraw it wholeheartedly.

Laughter

Ms Changwe: However, I just would like to say that this is not an issue …

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Continue with your debate.

Ms Changwe: Madam Speaker, it is the responsibility of the people charged with the responsibility of seeing to it that more women are adopted who need to do their job. I can assure you that the performance of women in politics, at least, in this life of Parliament, is unprecedented in this country. These women have shown that they can do it, but they do not want to be put down by those who make the adoptions, the people who pick the candidates. We want to show that we are not faint-hearted. We do not resign when issues are tough, but forge ahead even if we are women.

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Laughter

Ms Changwe: I am speaking on behalf of other women who would like to come to this House. Give them a chance. The men whose number is greater in these party structures must consider the women.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Changwe: Madam Speaker, I am very optimistic that if we change the mindset and cultural perception that women cannot do it, we will definitely see an increase in the number of women in this House.

Ms Cifire: Hear, hear!

Ms Changwe: It is pathetic that there are very few women in this House, but very able women, especially on the right side of the House.

Interruptions

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Changwe: Saying that the Government has not done this or that is neither here nor there because what needs to be achieved can only be done through concerted effort.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sing’ombe (Dundumwezi): Madam Speaker, thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Speech.

Madam, I will be very brief since most of the points I wanted to raise have been debated.

Madam, I wish to straightaway talk about the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives. When the people in this ministry stand to debate, I would like them to tell me why the satellite depots that were opened last year, when it was claimed that we did not do well, have been closed this year, when the country has recorded a bumper harvest. Owing to this, the people of Dundumwezi are very furious with the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives.

Madam Speaker, I also would like them to explain why, to date, less than fifty people have been paid by the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) and yet the first grain was received on the 29th of July.

Mr Kapeya: Shame.

Mr Sing’ombe: For instance, at the Kalemu Satellite Depot, 150,000 by 50 kg bags of maize have been purchased, but only fifteen farmers have been paid. Similarly, at Katambo, almost the same number of bags has been purchased by the FRA, but not a single farmer has been paid.

Madam Speaker, had it not been for the President’s reshuffles, I would have suggested that the name of the ministry be changed to Ministry of Inputs and Maize Buying.

Mr Kapeya: Yes!

Mr Sing’ombe: This is because this is the only thing that this ministry is capable of doing. Despite having encouraged farmers to grow more maize, the Government’s marketing system cannot be understood by a common Zambian in my constituency.

Secondly, I would also like to ask them to tell us who introduced the dial spring scale being used to weigh bags of maize in this country this year. Normally, I see these scales being used in hospitals or in under-five clinics. However, these are the types of scales that farmers are expected to use to weigh their maize. Where are we heading to?

Mr Kapeya: Eee agriculture?

Mr Sing’ombe: Madam Speaker, there are very qualified personnel in this ministry but, sometimes, I wonder what they do apart from shifting figures and knowing how many bags of fertiliser are to be sent and the number of bags of maize to be bought in a particular area. I think they can go beyond that. Even a simple farmer in my constituency can know how many bags of fertiliser to send to Sichimbwali or Nkandanzovu.

Mr Ndalamei: Where?

Mr Munaile: Dundumwezi, tamuleumfwa ati baku Dundumwezi, imwe?

Mr Sing’ombe: Madam Speaker, for once, I wish to thank the Ministry of Works and Supply …

Mr Munaile: For what?

Mr Sing’ombe: … for one simple reason. For the first time, the people in this ministry had time to visit my constituency. If there is a ministry that I can praise, it is the Ministry of Works and Supply.

Hon. Members: Iyee, my brother.

Mr Sing’ombe: Even when I stand to talk about the works that have not been done, they will agree with me because they have seen the status of the roads in my constituency.

For example, the Kalomo/Chikanta Road was supposed to have been worked on in 2009. The hon. Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Works and Supply was very kind to agree to accompany me to see the state of roads in my area. The Kalomo/Chikanta Road was last worked on in 1996. The hon. Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Works and Supply was kind enough to come with me, upon my request, to see the state of roads in my constituency. I would like to report to you, hon. Minister, that from that time to date, nothing has been done about the road.

Madam Speaker, I would like someone on the Government Bench to tell me what is meant by the Rural Roads Unit (RRU). Someone says this is a Rural Roads Unit, but I see these graders even in the urban areas. Why is it that each time there is something to offer to the people of Zambia in the rural areas, those in the urban are considered first? I thought the graders were supposed to start from Mubombo, then move to the urban areas. For the last two years, the people of Dundumwenzi have not benefited from the RRU.

Mr Speaker, permit me now to deliberate on the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development. I would like to suggest that we are doing things the wrong way in fighting animal diseases. I would like to give one way of fighting animal diseases. Before you start telling us to construct dip tanks and vaccinate our animals, you should reduce the price of fencing wire. I would like to inform you that most of our farmers do dip and vaccinate their cattle, but the problem is the communal grazing. It does not help me to vaccinate and dip my animals when, later, they will mix with those that have not been treated. I suggest that the Government reduces the price of fencing wire so that farmers can construct paddocks and animal diseases can be reduced.

Madam Speaker, it was only yesterday when Hon. Muntanga told the House that even animals kiss. How do you reduce animal diseases when you have free grazing areas? I have not heard commercial farmers complaining about animal diseases because they have the capacity to fence their farms. But peasant farmers need some form of incentive from this Government to help them to increase the animal population.

Madam Speaker, let me now comment on the Ministry of Gender and Women in Development. I only have one sentence to say on this ministry. I do not know why they call themselves a ministry when they only have twenty members of staff. I urge the hon. Minister to encourage the Government to give her more manpower so that she can reach all corners of this country.

Hon. Member: Hear, hear!

Mr Sing’ombe: Madam Speaker, apart from the hon. Minister of Works and Supply and the hon. Minister of Education, none of the other hon. Ministers has visited my constituency. What surprised me, one time, is that I met a group of hon. Ministers at Kazungula, but when I went to greet one of them, he simply asked me where he had seen me.

Laughter

Mr Sing’ombe: I was very shocked. It was Hon. Namugala and Hon. Mbewe who told him that I was the hon. Member for Dundumwenzi. This happened because they do not visit. I would like to advise the hon. Ministers to go round the country and see for themselves how the people are suffering. I would like to tell the hon. Minister for Gender that she will not tick if she allows the Government to only give her twenty people to work with her. I urge her to re-align herself so that we see the programmes in the ministry although I would like to thank her for the hammer mill which I will take to my constituency.

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank Hon. Sinyinda for driving with me to my constituency to see the high school that the World Vision has built for us. It is untraditional for me to start praising my wife for looking good even when I have not bought her a piece of Chitenge or body lotion. World Vision has given us two high schools and I expect the Government to add value to them. We have not had a high school since Independence and when World Vision came in, I expected the Government to add value to it even by just giving those schools electricity.

Further, on the Ministry of Education, I would like to echo what my brother, Hon. Malama, said yesterday. Why is the Ministry of Education deducting money for rentals from the salaries of those living in houses built by communities? Where is that money going? The teachers in Dundumwenzi would like to be refunded their money. The money that you pay them as salaries is not enough and the houses they live in are sub-standard, and yet you deduct money for rentals from their salaries. This is not fair, and if you do not refund this money, you will be surprised next year. I know you have talked about the things you have done, but if you do not do that, God will judge you.

Madam Speaker, some hon. Members in Government have been saying that we insult them. We do not do that. If you look at the way the disciples behaved when they were sailing with Christ, they thought they were almost sinking, you will see that they were just trying to convey a message to Jesus that they were about to die and wanted Him to save them.

Interruptions

Mr Sing’ombe: Madam Speaker, when these issues are being discussed, it does not mean that we are insulting the Government, but they are simply meant to tell you that we are wallowing in abject poverty and that the people … 

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order! The hon. Member will speak through the Chair.

Mr Sing’ombe: Madam Speaker, I am saying that when we, on this side of the House speak, it should not be taken that we are insulting them, but that we are simply showing them the degree of problems that we have in our constituencies.

Finally, Madam Speaker, the people of Dundumwenzi want the Chikanta/Kalomo Road constructed without fail.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr Ngoma (Sinda): Madam Speaker, I thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Motion of Thanks.

Madam Speaker, it is, indeed, important that the thanks of this Assembly for the speech given by the President be recorded for the exposition of public policy. I, therefore, join my colleagues in contributing to the debate so that our thanks be recorded.

Madam Speaker, allow me to join His Excellency the President in expressing my condolences to the families, relatives and friends of our colleagues who departed in the last Session. Let me say, May the souls of the departed rest in peace.

Madam Speaker, may I also congratulate new entrants into this House on emerging victorious during the subsequent by-elections. I welcome Hon. Susan Kawandami, Member of Parliament for Chifubu Constituency in Ndola and Hon. Charles Milupi, Member of Parliament for Luena Constituency in the Western Province, commonly known as Chuu.

Laughter

Mr Ngoma: Madam Speaker, as far as the victory for Hon. Milupi is concerned, allow me to say that this is how it ought to be. Indeed, it was unprecedented and, therefore, a record has been set. He unlike the other hon. Members of Parliament from both sides of the House, who, in one vein, go out to attack, malign, scandalise and discredit the parties that brought them to this Chamber …

Hon. Opposition Members: Tell them.

Mr Ngoma: … while still wanting to cling to them, Hon. Milupi did the opposite by resigning and allowing the law to take its course. That is how it ought to be. It reminds me of a scandalous husband who goes on a mountain top to malign, attack and discredit his wife, but when the wife decides to file for divorce, he says he still wants to continue in holy matrimony with his wife. That is hypocrisy. We need to be realistic. We need to handle these issues maturely and follow the law. As I have said, what I am talking about relates to both sides of the House.

Mr Speaker, in my language, …

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

Madam Deputy Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Shawa: Madam Speaker, I rarely rise to raise points of order in the House. Are the PF Members in this House in order to all leave this House when the Government is explaining issues so that they do not ask many questions? Are they in order to leave the House, Madam Speaker?

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

There are not many Chairs here, hence only one can rule. The concern raised regarding the absence of hon. Members from the House is important. I would, therefore, only advise the hon. Members that it is important that they be in the House.

However, for the Chair, the most important factor to continue with the proceedings is that a quorum is formed. If people are absent, indeed, they may ask questions that are irrelevant and that may not be helpful. Besides, your constituencies listen all the time we are live on radio and can hear whether you are asking the question that was answered the previous day. Anyhow, we have the quorum and business continues.

The hon. Member for Sinda may continue.

Mr Ngoma: Madam Speaker, the final advice is that those hon. Members of Parliament who have this bad habit should desist from doing so.

Madam Speaker, there is a very important saying from the East where I come from that says, “Wakustina khuthu nimunansi”. In English, this simply says, “He who whispers to you or says something to you in your ear is a friend.” There is another saying which says that “Samva za anzake anamva nkhwangwa ili mutu.”

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Ngoma: Madam Speaker, that is to say, “He who does not listen to a friends’s advice ended up listening or understanding whilst an axe had already been put into his head.”

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Ngoma: Madam Speaker, in that vein, allow me to call a spade, a spade and …

Interruptions

Mr Ngoma: … not a spade, a big spoon. When the President came to address this august House on 17th September, 2010, he said a number of things. To me, I would not say that everything he said was bad or that everything was good because I would like to be realistic. The President came to this august House and talked about the uniform fuel pricing.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Ngoma: Two days later, I decided to pick up a phone and call my constituency to find out whether this had been implemented. I was told clearly, over the phone, that the price of fuel in Lusaka and Sinda was the same. I felt very good.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Ngoma: That is how it ought to be. That move should have come, probably, twenty years ago. The countries around us such as Zimbabwe, Botswana and others, implemented this a long time ago. In this vein, it was long over due, but it has to be commended.

Madam Speaker, this will go a long way in the stabilisation of the cost of production as regards transportation and agriculture. It is one thing to make a good pronouncement and leave it at that.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Ngoma: The issue is that …

Interruptions

Mr Ngoma: Madam Speaker, the private sector was in the habit of pegging highly the cost of goods and services in the rural areas. It was very high on account of transportation costs, but now that it has been made uniform across the country, the transportation cost has been reduced. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the Government to call upon the private sector to reduce the prices of commodities, goods and services because the cost of transportation has gone down.

I would like to say that, much as this is a good move, what the Government needs to do is go further by reducing the cost of fuel because the cost of fuel across the Zambezi in Botswana and other countries around us even in Zimbabwe, where there are problems, is far much lower. However, uniformity is a good move and that is what you call a spade, a spade. You cannot say uniformity is bad. Uniformity is good except it is true that the cost of fuel itself is very high.

Madam Speaker, the President on page 34 of his speech on Communications and Transport said,

“Zambians stands to benefit from the sale of ZAMTEL through improved telecommunications, industry competitiveness and upgraded infrastructure. Already, we have seen ZAIN and MTN reduce their call rates.”

Madam Speaker, to me, it is a fact that today, we are talking about the ngwee because it has come back.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Ngoma: That is how it ought to be. Some would want to demonise the privatisation of ZAMTEL, but the President went on to say:

“ZAMTEL will become a net contributor to the economy, rather than being a drain on public finances”.

As regards the issue of workers being declared redundant, we need to be aware of the fact that any new owner of the company would not like to continue with the same workforce after acquiring a business that was run inefficiently. It should not be business as usual. There was a lot of inefficiency at ZAMTEL.

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order! Order!

There is loud consultation. One has to strain her ears to hear over the voices of hon. Members. Can you lower your voices if you must consult.

The hon. Member May continue.

Mr Ngoma: Madam Speaker, I am calling a spade, a spade. ZAMTEL was a sinking ship. Probably, the manner in which it was privatised was not good, but privatising it was the right thing to do.

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

Mr Ngoma: Madam Speaker, the Government is talking about the bumper harvest of maize. It is true there is a bumper harvest, but my message to the MMD Government is that it should not de-motivate the farmer. The Government’s behaviour is very bad. I am a very sad hon. Member of Parliament because during the last sitting, we were here when a Motion on maize marketing presented by Hon. Sejani was shot down crudely by the MMD Government that argued that everything was well. Today, as I am speaking, the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) owes the farmers in Sinda K24 billion and Sinda is a small town.  There is a need to do something about this.

Madam Speaker, the rains are around the corner. This is the end of September. In some provinces, the rains begin in October. This bumper harvest that the Government is talking about will be a slap in the face because it is a fact that there is not enough storage capacity.

Madam Speaker, I would like to help this Government. It claims that it pays farmers good money. Farmers are paid K65,000 per 50 kg bag of maize, but the cost of production is too high compared to the prices in the region. Even if the President says that the private sector will be engaged in exporting this maize, where are we going to sell it and at what price? We are obviously going to sell it at a loss, which is very bad. Therefore, we have to lower the cost of production.

Madam Speaker, allow me to talk about constitutional reforms. On 31st August, 2010, when the Chairman of the National Constitutional Conference (NCC), Hon. Chifumu Banda, SC. was presenting the final Draft Constitution of the NCC, His Honour the Vice-President, Hon. George Kunda, was very happy and said that this Constitution was going to have a lot of things changed as far as governance in this country was concerned. However, one disheartening thing is that the Republican President came to this august House, but did not mention anything to do with constitutional reforms. The whole essence of this august House is to make laws and what better laws can we make other than the grand norm, which is the Constitution?

Madam Speaker, I would like to say that the constitutional reforms were not just about the Degree Clause. Is it that somebody is not happy that the Degree Clause was thrown out? I am made to think that if the Degree Clause had been incorporated, the Government would have hastened to implement the constitutional reforms.

Interruptions

Mr Ngoma: This is wrong. Colossal sums of money have been spent on these reforms from 2003. There was the Constitution Review Commission (CRC) and we moved on to the NCC. I have the Green Paper on Appendix 2 of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) which was laid on the Table of the House today. According to this paper, K50 billion was spent on the NCC last year. This Government has gone on to project that in 2011, there will be no expenditure on constitutional reforms and likewise, in 2012 and 2013. Therefore, when will the Constitution come?

Madam Speaker, the Constitution is not about a presidential running mate only. It is not just about the fifty plus one per cent winning vote for one to become President. The Constitution is about good governance. In the Draft Constitution, we have talked about delimitation of constituencies. A lot of constituencies are too huge.

Mr Kasongo: Like Bangweulu.

Mr Ngoma: Yes, like Bangweulu. A lot of constituencies like Kasempa, which starts all the way from Kapiri-Mposhi to Kasempa in the North-Western Province, are too big. It needs to be delimitated. However, we are now at a loss. We do not know what is going to happen. In the Draft Constitution, there is also talk of an election date so that no one ambushes others. Everyone was going to know that on such a date, there will be general elections and people were going to prepare adequately.

Madam Speaker, the Draft Constitution also talked about the size of Cabinet and a number of other good things, but why did the President not talk about these reforms? Is it just because the Degree Clause was negated and, therefore, he decided that it should not be discussed? This is very wrong and the people of Zambia will not forget this. We should not think that they will forget. They will come after you, the MMD, viciously because a lot of money has gone into this process.

Mr Nkombo: Say it in ChiNyanja.

Mr Ngoma: The hon. Members on your right cannot pretend that all is well. Constitutional reforms need to be implemented. They are for the benefit of every Zambian son and daughter. The Government needs to find ways of bringing this issue about constitutional reforms before this august House and not to pretend that all is well.

Madam Speaker, in conclusion, allow me to say something about the RRU. The Bembas say “Pakwakana ubunga tapaba nsoni.”

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Ngoma: This means that when sharing mealie-meal, there should not be any shyness …

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Ngoma: … because if you are shy, you will end up sleeping on an empty stomach and die.

Madam Speaker, the hon. Members of Parliament from the Eastern Province, at one time, met and resolved that the K5 billion that was going towards the RRU should be shared across all the constituencies. However, today, the entire K5 billion has been released, but we are unable to see anything meaningful that has been done with this money. When we go for elections, what are we going tell our people? What does the Government expect us to tell our people?

Mr Nkombo: You should tell them that UNIP is back.

Mr Ngoma: Madam Speaker, this is not good. We want the equipment under this unit to work. I am calling upon the hon. Minister Finance and National Planning to ensure that when these monies are being disbursed to the various provinces, they are …

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Order in the House …

Mr Ngoma:  Madam Speaker, these monies …

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order, hon. Member!

When there is such loud consultation, we do not portray that we are doing any serious business in the House. Surely, people can talk, but this can be only to the person next to you. If there is anything so serious that you should talk about, please, go out and then come back when you are done with that conversation. Otherwise, we cannot have a debate that one has to strain their ears to follow. That is not the right way to do things.

Hon. Members, we have serious business on the Floor and, therefore, let us listen to one another so that we can avoid tedious debate as we continue with our work.

The hon. Member may continue.

Mr Ngoma: Madam Speaker, I would to give some advice to the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning.

As I have said, samva za anzake anamva nkhwangwa ili mutu. Take it or leave it. It should be made abundantly clear to the controlling officers in the provinces that these monies that you send to provinces should be shared across all constituencies and not to have just one or two constituencies in a province benefiting. That is what you have to do.

Mr Nkombo: On a point of order, Madam!

Madam Deputy Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Nkombo: Madam Speaker, I am very thankful and want to apologise for disturbing Hon. Ngoma’s debate. I am raising a point of order on the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning. The hon. Member for Sinda is trying to get his attention while he is continually on his laptop typing something.

Is he in order to continue typing for the last thirty minutes and yet the hon. Member wants to catch his attention? I need your serious ruling, Madam.

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

The point of order is a serious one. It is not allowed in the House to bring in laptops. At least, up to this moment, we are not allowed to bring not even cell phones into the House. Therefore, the hon. Minister will see to it that that laptop leaves the Chamber.

Dr Musokotwane handed over the laptop.

Madam Deputy Speaker: The hon. Member may continue.

Mr Ngoma: Madam Speaker, I thank Hon. Nkombo for that good point of order.

Hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning, Hon. Dr Musokotwane, there is a need for these monies to be shared across the constituencies so that all constituencies across the country benefit.

With those few words, I thank you, Madam.

Mr Syakalima (Siavonga): Madam Speaker, I would like to thank you for giving me this opportunity to debate the President’s Speech.

Madam Speaker, I would like to start with the education sector. I noticed that the President said that the Government has done enough in the education sector simply because, in the previous year and this year, they have built 2,000 classrooms.

Madam Speaker, what baffles me most is the failure to consider the totality of the education system. Are the 2,000 classrooms good enough when you look at the factors that make a good education system? These 2,000 classrooms are against the backdrop of teachers’ houses. If you have thatched classrooms and teachers living in thatched houses, especially in rural areas, do you think these teachers will perform in the same way as those who are well accommodated? The answer is no. Against which backdrop are you measuring the 2,000 classrooms because the 2,000 classrooms only create less than 9,000 spaces for pupils against a background of 1,000,000 children unable to access school?

Whilst the Government is doing this, it must consider the factors that contribute to quality education in the land. If anything, this is a drop on a very hot pan that dries up very quickly. Also, this is the only country that allocates 19.9 per cent to the education sector as a percentage of the entire Budget. I am hoping to see that, next week, when the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning presents the Budget, we shall have reached the 30 per cent many of our neighbouring countries have reached because our 19.9 per cent is only about 3.1 per cent as a share of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). We are the only country that has not reached the 5 per cent of the GDP. Many countries have reached 6 per cent allocation of the GDP to the education sector.

Therefore, I would like to tell the Government that you are not doing enough and nobody can praise you for that. If we start praising you, when are we going to praise God?

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Syakalima: We can only pray for you and not praise you because you are human beings. You must work hard in order to be praised. In fact, here on earth, you can never be praised. Why are you saying we should be thanking you?

Madam Speaker, why do they think they should be praised and thanked? Is it just because they have built 2,000 classrooms? You want to be thanked as if it is your money.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Syakalima: When you buy mealie-meal for your children, do you tell them to thank you? If that is what you do, you should be a very irresponsible parent. You tell your children that they owe you because you have bought them mealie-meal when it is your responsibility to do so?. The same applies to you. You are in Government as custodians of the Zambians’ money. Therefore, when we told you to do more, you were refusing; you withdrew the windfall tax which could have given you more money to build more schools. The 2,000 classrooms are also against the backdrop of a population growth of 3 per cent per annum. Do you know what that means? You want to come here to ask us to praise and thank you, but you will never get praises from me. I owe praise to God and not you.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Syakalima: Madam Speaker, there is a habit of saying, “Thank us.” Even those who thank you do not even know why they do it.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Syakalima: That is your social responsibility as a Government. The money that you are using is just in trust from the taxpayers. There is too much corruption in this country because people think that it is their money and when they build 2,000 classrooms, they want to be thanked for the money which is not theirs. I am telling you to stop this from today onwards.

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

The danger, hon. Member, of saying, “You”, and pointing at them, is that they heckle back and then you start having a conversation with them. Address them through the Chair.

Mr Syakalima: All of us are going to talk to them now so that it sinks in their minds. When you think that the money that you are using is your money, it breeds corruption because you have no fear that, that money is not yours. This is what has brought problems in this country. People are no longer afraid to get State resources.

A long time ago, during Dr Kaunda’s time, it was difficult to even get a bolt which was not yours. Today, people can get billions and billions of Kwacha and are not afraid to do so because the people who are in Government think that it is their money. Those under them also think that it is ours, kaili we work for these people. This is where the problem is.

Therefore, colleagues, we would like to tell you that there is no need to praise or thank you. There is only a need to pray for you because you were made in the likeness of God like us.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Syakalima: Madam Speaker, as I talk about the other issue where the President talked about water resources, I would like to express my shock. He stated that since 2008, this particular Government has constructed or refurbished three dams …

Mr Kakoma: And they want to be praised.

Mr Syakalima: In this country of a land mass of 750,000 sq. km, you have constructed three dams since 2008.

Madam Speaker, we all know that rain-fed agriculture comes under very serious stress whenever there is a drought in this country. Surprisingly, we only built three dams at a time we have had good rains. This means that one dam was constructed on a landmass of 250,000 sq. km. Does the Government want to be thanked for having done such a job?  I think we will have problems the time we will have a drought in this country. The Government should thank God for the bumper harvest it claims we have, this year, because we had good rains. We shall be in trouble the time we will have a drought. The Government should have constructed many dams at the time we had good rains, but it just let most of the water flow into the Indian Ocean. As the record stands, over 90 billion cubic litres of water go to waste every year in this country and over 60 billion cubic litres of underground water remains unused.

In 2001, the Government stated that it was going to open up many areas for irrigation and pump in about US$13 million into this programme, but to date, nothing has been done in this regard. Therefore, what was the Government talking about? Three dams since 2008, what a record and you want the Zambians to thank you. In Tonga, we say hwonye.

Laughter

Madam Deputy Speaker: The hon. Member for Siavonga must explain what that word means.

You may continue, please.

Mr Syakalima: Madam, welu.

Laughter

Mr Syakalima: The word means it is not us to praise you or shame.

Madam Speaker, on page 37, the President said:

         “In 2008, I asked the voters to look at what the candidates had actually done for  
          Zambia and not at what they said they had done. I stand by those words. I will 
          urge voters to look at what we have achieved since 2008; at the schools, the  
          teachers, the hospitals, the doctors, the roads and the bridges …”

This was said eleven days ago. Currently, the doctors are on strike when the ink which was used to write those words has not even dried. Not even a year has elapsed.

Interruptions

Hon. Opposition Members: Welu.

Mr Syakalima: You have a mammoth task on your hands. If you had taken good care of the doctors, they could not have gone on strike. Their conditions of service are pathetic. This is why they have gone on strike. The last time that ...

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

I will appeal, again, that hon. Members should, please, lower their voices. You are not listening to the debate and some of you continue to make running commentaries. Can you be honourable for once and listen to what others are saying. It is important for you.

The hon. Member for Siavonga may continue.

Mr Syakalima: If the strike happened two years after the President’s Address, we could have forgotten about what was contained in his speech. Only eleven days have passed since the President talked about doing very well as regards taking care of the doctors of this country. Surprisingly, the President has flown to Abuja in Nigeria when there are problems here. We all know very well that our health system has collapsed. The situation is already bad enough at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) with the patients sleeping on the floor. How worse could the situation get for the patients now that they are without doctors? We reminded you at the time the nurses had gone on strike to sort out the problems in the health system. We helped you urge the nurses to go back to work. A year ago when the medical personnel went on strike, we thought you would do something good about the sector. What type of people are you?

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

The hon. Member must address the House through the Chair.

You may continue.

Mr Syakalima: We want you now to start working towards ameliorating the problems in our health system. We do not want our people to die uneccesarily. Who is going to vote for you when people are dying in hospitals?

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Syakalima: Are there any people who are going to remain alive? When the doctors are not working, somebody’s relative dies. All those who will be there during elections will remember what you are doing today. You are culpable.

Madam Speaker, finally, I would like to comment on what the President said on page 38. He said that 2011 will not be for the faint-hearted. Indeed, it will not be for the faint-hearted in a land where corruption has become endemic. If you become faint-hearted in an election year, then it will not be your year. 

Madam Speaker, all of us in the Opposition must understand that we are not supposed to be faint-hearted. Becoming faint-hearted in a country where there is corruption is dangerous for us as the Opposition. I realise that there will be a lot of sponsored confusion amongst ourselves.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Syakalima: Therefore, the Opposition does not require faint-hearted people. The hon. Members of the UPND and the PF must know what it means to be part of the Opposition. In a land where there is corruption, you are in trouble as the Opposition because there is going to be a lot of sponsored confusion amongst us. Therefore, being part of the Opposition is not for the faint-hearted. A lot of money exchanges hands in an election year.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Syakalima: I would like to tell you that this is what is actually being said by the people here. They do not need to be faint-hearted themselves …

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Business was suspended from 1815 hours until 1830 hours.

[MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair]

Mr Syakalima: Madam Speaker, before business was suspended, I was saying that the clarion call on us who are this side of the House is not to be faint-hearted next year.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Syakalima: Madam Speaker, the onus is on all of us not to be so. I know that the truth undergoes three stages. The first one is that it is ridiculed. In the second stage, it is resisted. In the third stage, it is accepted as being self-evident. Therefore, we, in the Opposition, need not be faint-hearted. I know that with moral energy, we shall resist any temptation that will come our way, through corruption, to destroy the institutions or parties that brought us here.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Syakalima: There is a need for more moral energy. I know that the MMD Government has lost its moral energy to rule this country next year.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Syakalima: Madam Speaker, with those few words, I thank you.

Mr Simuusa (Nchanga): Madam Speaker, I thank you for allowing me to add my voice to the debate on the President’s Speech.

To start my debate, I wish to state that one of the most significant things I noticed about the President’s Speech, which my friends have referred to, is that it was a very serious campaign for another presidential bid.

Madam Speaker, being relatively new to the House, I have been guided, time and again by Mr Speaker that the Floor of this House is not meant for campaigning. Therefore, I was taken aback to hear the Head of State directly and effectively campaigning on the Floor of this House. I wondered what would be Mr Speaker’s guidance on that score.

Laughter

Mr Simuusa: I am made to understand that the Floor of this House is used to give policy and direction of this nation. Alas, what I noticed in the President’s Speech was direct campaigning. I wondered whether the President had the power and leverage to use the Floor in the manner he did. I wish to seek guidance and education on that part.

Madam Speaker, I also observed that the President directly declared himself the MMD presidential candidate for the forthcoming elections in 2011. I wonder why colleagues in the MMD have not reacted to this declaration because I know that their rules stipulate that members have to wait for a convention for them to declare their intention to represent the party.

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Laughter

Madam Deputy Speaker: Just continue with your debate. There have been so many declarations with regard to who will win and who will come into power. Just go on with your debate and do not question that political party.

Mr Simuusa: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I just thought that as he declared …

Madam Speaker: Order!

Mr Simuusa: … that next year will be a campaign year, he was supposed to mention the date of commencement of the campaigns. He said that only a fool would vote on 1st April. Despite saying all this, I have noticed that the President has already started his campaign for presidency in 2011. If you watch the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), you will notice serious campaign clips. That being the case, let him allow others to also start their campaigns.

Interruptions

Mr Simuusa: It is not fair for the President to use State media and this House as a platform for his campaigns when others are not allowed to do so.

Interruptions

Mr Simuusa: I believe that in his address, he should have just come out openly and declare the date of the elections so that everybody can commence their campaigns as opposed to him stopping them from doing so.

Mr V. Mwale: Tell us your candidate!

Mr Simuusa: Madam Speaker, in my debate, I will concentrate on the mining sector because as the President said, it is the backbone of this nation.

However, before I do that, let me just briefly touch on the education sector. The issue of teachers’ houses is very serious. The Minister of Education, Hon. Dora Siliya, came to the Copperbelt and promised that the Government would build between 10,000 to 15,000 houses for teachers countrywide. Up to now, I have not seen any houses. That is a big issue in my constituency. Teachers live in deplorable conditions and are waiting to see these houses that the hon. Minister of Education promised.

Madam Speaker, I had hoped to hear a reference to that promise in the President’s Speech, but to no avail. I concur with my colleagues who also complained about this problem.

Madam Speaker, as regards the mining sector, on three occasions, the President, on page 11, spoke about increased production. He praised the Government on the increased production and claimed the glory.

Madam Speaker, in the recent past, I have seen this phenomena of boasting about how Zambia’s copper production is increasing and that by the year 2011, our production levels will have gone back to the levels of the 1990s. Why are we boasting about this increased production?

My colleague, the hon. Minister of Mines and Minerals Development has been boasting about how we are improving our production in the media. Whenever I hear that, I touch my head in embarrassment.

Laughter

Mr Simuusa: This is because I wonder why we boast about production which is not ours. That money is not ours.

Hon. Opposition Member: Yes!

Mr Simuusa: The Chinese and Indians can boast, but not us. We have allowed 100 per cent externalisation of all the mineral proceeds. When it comes to tax, we have said, over and over again, that we are not gaining any benefits from the mines.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) told us point blank that we are not getting adequate revenue from the mines. They gave a figure of all the mining revenue that we are getting. Only 3 per cent is coming to the Zambians through Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE). This is ridiculous, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker, I wonder where that boasting about increased production is coming from. I find that embarrassing because I liken it to the claims by some of our colleagues who have gone out of the country to the United States of America or United Kingdom. These colleagues, after acquiring a car or a microwave, start boasting that they are in Heaven as compared to the hell we are in back home. I ask them which hell?

Laughter{mospagebreak}

Mr Simuusa: Just because you go to the UK, use microwaves and eat pizzas, you think you are in Heaven and start to boast? That is as annoying as it is embarrassing. Those people who belong to that country have developed their countries and the development belongs to them. People who boast about things in other countries should come back home and manufacture a microwave, and then properly say that they are living well because they have worked hard to achieve their status.

Therefore, Madam Speaker, if we want to boast about the increased production, as I have said before, the reckless policies of this Government must be reversed.

Madam Speaker, I was one of the people who were against the complete privatisation of the mines. I advocated that we retain one unit, the Nchanga Mine. That way, it would have competed with the Kansanshi Mine, First Quantum Minerals and Fox Dodge. By working on a par with these mines, we would have assessed whether we can truly boast about increased production because, at least, that would have been our production.

Madam Speaker, one of the countries we use as a benchmark is Chile. It has declared about US$30 billion as revenue from mining. Of that US$30 billion, US$15 billion, which is 50 per cent, came from the National Copper Corporation of Chile (CODELCO). For those who can remember, CODELCO was one of the mines that wanted to buy Nchanga Mine during the privatisation period, but it is State-owned. It is a parastatal owned by the Government, but it contributed US$15 billion to its country’s tax revenue. Therefore, Chile can boast about increased production and that is what we are talking about.

Mr D. Mwila: Hear, hear!

Mr Simuusa: These are the policies that this Government should implement if it wants to boast about increased production. I challenge it, although it is too late because it is on its way out, ...

Laughter

Mr Simuusa: Anyway, let me challenge it. Maybe, in the few remaining months …

Laughter

Mr Simuusa: … it can start an operation whose production it will compare with mines such as the Konkola Copper Mine (KCM) because only then can it boast about increased production.

Madam Speaker, as it is, I join my colleagues in bemoaning the gross failure by this nation to acquire benefits from these mines because of its bad policies.

Madam Speaker, I will give you another example. If the Government wants to get benefits from the dividends, the vehicle that should be used is the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mine-Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH). This is the vehicle that we have created to get dividends from all these mines in terms of share holdings. However, I have noticed that the ZCCM-IH has not produced annual reports for 2005 and 2006.

Madam, are we serious as a nation? This is gross incompetence. How can we let a company that is supposed to be our watchdog and one that is supposed to be deriving benefit on our behalf not produce an annual report? This way, we do not even know our losses or profits. I would like the hon. Minister of Mines and Minerals Development to explain why that has been allowed. Why should we allow such a situation to prevail after it was said on the Floor of this House that if we are to benefit, the shareholding in the ZCCM-IH has to be increased?

Madam Speaker, Zambians only own 1.2 per cent shares in Lumwana Mine. Thus, there is no need to boast about that. The Lumwana Mine, in the North-Western Province, will be the biggest mine in Africa, but we do not own it. Are we serious as a nation? I would like the hon. Minister of Mines and Minerals Development to state why we have not increased shareholding in the ZCCM-IH so that we get what is due to the nation.

Madam Speaker, the Government is good at boasting and claiming glory. As a result, there was so much talk about the US$18 million that Kansanshi Mine paid to the ZCCM-IH as dividends.

Madam Speaker, the accrued profits made by Kansanshi Mine, after taking care of all its accounts and expenses, was in excess of US$1.7 billion. Since, as a country, we only own 20 per cent shares in Kansanshi Mine, this works out in excess of US$350 million. The only amount of that US$350 million that came to the Government was US$18 million.

Mr Lubinda: Where is the rest?

Mr Simuusa: What happened to the rest?

Mr Lubinda: Bamalukula!

Mr Simuusa: That is what the hon. Minister of Mines and Minerals Development should be explaining to the nation. The Government should not boast about meaningless production.

Laughter

Mr Simuusa: Let the hon. Minister of Mines and Minerals Development tell the nation what happened to the rest of the money. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also said that we are not collecting even the little tax that we are supposed to because we do not have the capacity. Those are the things that should be talked about.

When I was reading this Speech, I noticed that the President had talked about mining being the mainstay of the economy, but he did not talk about all these issues.

Madam Speaker, as regards tax collection, we have under collected. The 3 per cent of Government revenue from the mines is only from PAYE and mineral royalties. Wait and see what will happen when this is increased to 6 per cent. At the moment, we are losing about K8.3 billion from under taxation of mineral royalties. Are we, therefore, going to collect this K8.3 billion by the end of the year? The answer is no and the reason is that we do not have the capacity. Our people are not competent enough to handle the sophisticated mine owners. Where are we heading as a country?

Madam Speaker, not only have we declared taxes that are too low, but also failed to collect them from the mines. Yet, we stand here boasting about production which is not even ours. This is why I am embarrassed to be a Zambian because, as a nation, we are not serious.

Madam Speaker, there has been talk about windfall tax versus variable profit. Having talked about the ZCCM-IH, how many companies declared profit? They must have been about eight with Kansanshi Mine being the only significant one as the rest either declared losses or very minimal profits from the time they took over.

Madam Speaker, since we insist on variable profit tax, but cannot handle simple mineral royalty, the challenge remains for the hon. Minister of Mines and Minerals Development or the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning to tell us who has the capacity to collect this tax. Do they have the power to go through the books of these companies and question why there are losses? No, they do not. They do not have the capacity to deal with these sophisticated people who will continue reporting losses. Why then is there an insistence on variable profit tax when there is no profit being declared?

Madam Speaker, as a nation, how serious are we? I would like to challenge the hon. Minister of Mines and Minerals Development and the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning to help me understand this. When I looked at the President’s Speech, I did not find where the President noted all these very important issues. When someone says that this speech is hollow, my colleagues on your right defend it. They say, “No, it was brilliant.” I am saying this speech is hollow because there are so many questions that beg answers. I am a genuine Zambian who is embarrassed by what is happening in this country.

Madam Speaker, even the people who are coming to take over these mines are laughing at us. They even say, “You people have a raw deal. You are sleepy.”  As a Zambian, I am so embarrassed and would like the Government to really come out forcefully and give direction on this matter.

Madam Speaker, in the President’s Speech, what was said about mining only covered less than a page, and yet it is the mainstay of the economy of this country which is supposed to build the entire infrastructure. I call for more seriousness when handling such topics. 

Madam Speaker, in concluding my debate, I would like to say that there are so many challenges that the people on the Copperbelt are facing. Having looked through the speech, the President did not mention anything about ex-miners’ benefits. There are miners who have not been paid for thirteen years, but he did not mention anything concerning that issue. At the moment, we have the former President, Dr Chiluba, whom I think is the ambassador now. He is the one dealing with ex-miners’ benefits now.

Interruptions

Mr Simuusa: Madam Speaker, assigning the former President to take up this task means that it is very important, but why did he not talk about it? What is his policy on this issue?

Laughter

Mr Simuusa: Madam Speaker, as regards housing, to date, people in my constituency are still hacking themselves over a problem that this Government caused. The issue of housing has been in existence for thirteen years and people are still fighting over it, and yet all it would take to be resolved is the will of the President.
 
Madam Speaker, this problem of housing was politically brought about by the former President, Dr Chiluba, through an announcement. Now that there is a problem, the Government is not willing to solve it. Instead, it is advising people to take the matter to court. Is it the courts that started the problem? No, it was a political announcement by a President. Therefore, we need the President to come in and make a statement on this issue.

Madam Speaker, President Mwanawasa, may his soul rest in peace, tried. He started a tribunal to probe the issue of houses on the Copperbelt and, I believe, it made quite a lot of progress. However, where are the results of that tribunal because they can help to resolve this problem? Considering how this problem was created, I would like to urge the President to come and make a statement and solve this problem once and for all. We are sick and tired of our people fighting over an issue that was created by the Government which is not willing to lift a finger to try and solve it.

Madam Speaker, it is now thirteen years since those houses were sold and the people still do not have titles. What kind of incompetence is this? People are willing to use their title to get loans from the Citizen’s Economic Empowerment Fund (CEEF), but they cannot because they do not have them yet. This is totally unacceptable.

Madam Speaker, this Government claims that there are a lot of jobs on the Copperbelt. One does not have to be a statistician to know that there is a big problem of unemployment on the Copperbelt. Every time I sit in my office, I get not less than ten people looking for employment. They actually think that as an hon. Member of Parliament, I can find jobs for them. I tell them that the Government says that there are plenty of jobs out there and they all refute this claim asking me where those jobs are. There is a serious employment crisis on the Copperbelt and the statistics that are supposed to show this are not even available. This is why I said proper statistics which can be followed should be put up.

When the President talked about economic indicators to show whether we were doing well after the global economic crunch, I expected to see unemployment ratios. Employment ratios are the most important indicator in any economy. However, they were not even referred to. In countries like the United States of America, Barrack Obama is being judged on employment creation. Almost every month, employment statistics are made available. His presidency hangs on the line because of the employment figures. Here, in Zambia, the story is different. We are so casual over our employment statistics.

Madam Speaker, a Labour Survey has not been published in five years. How do we know how we are doing? We hear someone in the Government parroting, “We are doing fine,” when there is a crisis. Where are the figures? I am on the ground and I am telling you that there are no jobs on the Copperbelt.

Madam Speaker, we are not serious. I would like to urge this Government to consider these issues that are being brought up. I would like to see a situation where we are able to see where we are going and where we are coming from so that when it comes to voting, people know what we should be doing as a nation. We should not just drift along.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chanda (Kankoyo): Madam Speaker, I thank you for according me the opportunity to debate the President’s Speech. The hon. Member for Chimbamilonga talked about representing his people. My issues concern what is obtaining in Mufulira.

Madam Speaker, one time during recess, the hon. Minister for the Copperbelt Province visited Mufulira. Deliberately, we met him at Sabina because we wanted him to experience a ride on the damaged road from Sabina to Mufulira. I have been talking about the bad condition of Sabina/Mufulira Road on the Floor of this House for a long time. My colleagues in your Committee on Energy, Environment and Tourism did not appreciate what I was talking about. The time we were going to Mufulira to visit the mines, they agreed that the road was completely gone.

Madam Speaker, whatever has been said in this House has not made mention of this road. The people of Mufulira are wondering where their interests have been placed. It is so disheartening to travel on that road.

From time to time, I have asked for permission from you, Madam Speaker, and it is a coincidence that, each time, I am debating you are the one in the Chair.

Laughter

Mr Chanda: I would like to ask for permission to cry on behalf of the people of Mufulira.

 Hon. Government: Cry, mudala!

Mr Chanda: I hope that, today, you will allow me to cry.

Laughter

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member, you will never be allowed to cry, but debate on behalf of the people whom you represent.

Mr Chanda:  I have shed a few tears.

Laughter

Mr Chanda: Madam Speaker, I would like us to be told when that road will be repaired.

Madam Speaker, there are two roads one can use to enter Mufulira. One of them is through the Mufulira/Sabina Road and the other one is through the Ndola/Mufulira Road. The Ndola/Mufulira Road was worked on half way from where the frontier mine was located up to Ndola. Since that mine has closed down, the state of the road for the entire distance between Mufulira and Ndola will now be like the stretch from the frontier mine to Mufulira which was not worked on initially.

Madam Speaker, I wish the hon. Members on your right could experience what we go through on this road. Most of the towns have been given a fair share of the cake in terms of road rehabilitation. Therefore, the people of Mufulira are wondering why their town has not been a beneficiary. In fact, when I went there, last week, they told me not go back with Hon. Mukanga Yamfwa until the road had been repaired. Therefore, I would like this Government to tell me where I will be staying until that road is repaired because that is what my people have said. 

Laughter

Mr Chanda: Madam Speaker, I hope that the Government has listened and these roads will be given preference.

Madam Speaker, the other issue of concern in Mufulira that I have always debated on is that of the Ronald Ross Hospital. Yet again, I am going to talk about this hospital because it hurts me to see it falling apart. I have invited the hon. Minister of Health to visit this hospital but, to date, he has not been there. I am sure that people will only rush there when someone dies after being hit by a falling object. The situation is pathetic. Time and again, I have said that if Mr Ronald Ross were still alive and he visited that hospital, he would ask that his name be withdrawn and, instead have the hospital called  Kafwafwa Hospital.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lubinda: What does that mean, ‘Kafwafwa?’

Mr Chanda:  Die, die.

Laughter

Mr Chanda: Madam Speaker, this hospital was handed over to the Government in a perfect condition, but if you looked at what is happening there now, you would feel bad. The laundry machine which was there was a group laundry for the ZCCM. What that means is that all the divisions under the ZCCM were supposed to be taking their laundry to Mufulira at Ronald Ross Hospital. When you go there, only cockroaches will greet you. I cannot believe it. What I am saying on the Floor of this House is the truth because I share a wall fence with this hospital and I know what I am talking about.

Mr Lubinda: No wonder you want to cry!

Mr Chanda: At the moment, a block of hostels for the trainee nurses is being constructed. Well, thank you for this, but honestly, can you train somebody in dilapidated infrastructure? What knowledge are you imparting in this person? Let us be serious. This hospital is gone. It is no longer there. Maybe, we need another hospital to be constructed in Mufulira instead of depending on this hospital. I do not know what has gone wrong. I have seen people entering the premises to do what is known as work, but what I see, at the end of the day, is decay of everything. Madam, where are the supervisors in the Ministry of Health? I leave it to the hon. Minister of Health to look into this issue seriously.

Mr Chisala: Yes! Hear, hear!

Mr Chanda: Madam Speaker, last year, the President, in his speech, hinted on the tree planting exercise. Coming from an area which is highly polluted and where there is no vegetation, …

Mr Chota: Sulphur dioxide!

Mr Chanda: … I was extremely happy that we were now going to see trees planted in Kankoyo. Little did I know that my people would keep on living with lunsonga there.

Laughter

Mr Kambwili: What is lunsonga?

Mr Chanda: It is called lunsonga just like that.

Madam Speaker, this exercise was meant to uplift the living standards of the people of Kankoyo Township who, for a long time, have been subjected to humiliating conditions. When it is dusty, I do not know if one would be able to eat their meal there because wherever you go, there is dust. The people of Kankoyo Constituency are posing this question, “When are they going to plant trees?” I told them that I do not know because now we are reaching the end of the year. Maybe, by the goodwill of God, before the year ends, we can see some trees planted in that area and people will appreciate it.

Dr Machungwa: They need to plant them.

Mr Chanda: Madam, the other issue that I wish to talk about is the issue that raised some controversy in this country, and that is, uranium mining. There has been a lot of controversy on the issue of uranium mining in this country. What I get from the other side of this House is aggressive defence on the issue of uranium mining. It will not do this country good if we defend this activity now and see the consequences in fifteen or twenty years to come.

May I appeal to my brother, the hon. Minister of Mines and Minerals Development not to answer me in his usual manner …

Laughter

Mr M. B. Mwale: Question.

Hon. Opposition Member: Hear, hear!

Mr Chanda: … but call for a meeting of stakeholders so that they can present their cases and then chart the way forward, instead of this one saying this in the paper and another one answering to that the next day. Let us discuss uranium mining because it involves the citizens of this country. We do not want what is being experienced in Japan today to start happening here twenty years later. I think people will follow us where they will bury us and claim for our bones.

Laughter

Mr Chanda: Madam Speaker, I am going to be very brief.

Laughter

Mr Chanda: Madam Speaker, my last point is on the energy sector. Sometimes, I wonder what we want to do about this sector. The people, out there, are subjected to load shedding everyday which is an inconvenience. Maybe, we look at production at company level, but people need to produce even at household level.

Madam Speaker, I will give an example of a person who is rearing chickens. Anyone, like Hon. Dr Machungwa, who rears layers, would attest to the fact that once the lighting system disturbs the layers, the production will be poor. We hear that they are starting a project in the Kafue Lower but, having gone round this infrastructure, I wonder what is wrong. When we visited the Itezhi-tezhi Dam, we found everything in place apart from the equipment. Why do we not start something when 60 per cent of the requisites are there instead of breaking rocks if we are to bring the dam to the level of Itezhi-tezhi Dam? Do we have that kind of money? I do not think we have it.

Madam Speaker, we were told that the project would take off by June but, to date, it has not and I do not see it happening until the end of the year.

Hon. Member: Alilufyanya sana ukuba rebel uyu munthu because he is a good debater.

Laughter

Mr Chanda: Madam Speaker, are we just going to be concerned about satisfying certain people in the economic sector and neglecting the poor man and woman who is making an initiative to survive by doing the little he or she is doing in order to survive?

Madam Speaker, when we make statements, we should be wary of the fact that people are listening and recording the promises. In Bemba, there is a saying that goes, “Takalabwa mwebwa, kalabwa uwakasosele,” meaning that it is easier to forget what you have said than it is for the person you have told that thing.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chanda: Madam Speaker, that is why I have decided to talk about the Kafue Lower and Itezhi-tezhi because it was given as a statement on the Floor of this august House.

I would like to wind up with these extremely few words.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Those were, indeed, few words.

Laughter

Mr C. Mulenga (Chinsali): Madam Speaker, I thank you for allowing me to contribute to the debate on the Motion of Thanks.

Madam Speaker, as an hon. Member from a rural constituency, I would like to comment on three issues which concern my constituency and the country at large. I would like to talk about agriculture, road infrastructure and corruption. These are the matters that the President talked about in his Speech.

Madam Speaker, I am disappointed with the agriculture policy of our colleagues in Government. Why do I say so? The agriculture system in the country has a very big problem, starting from distribution of farming inputs right up to the marketing stage of crops. There is total confusion. Our farmers are subjected to the poor distribution of inputs, poor storage facilities, poor crop marketing and a poor payment system.

Madam Speaker, the distribution of fertiliser is a problem in this country. I do not understand why fertiliser should be a seasonal and rare commodity. Many times, with my colleagues, we have stated, on the Floor of this House, that to involve traders in importing fertiliser from outside the country is a drain on the Government’s resources.

Laughter

Mr C. Mulenga: Madam Speaker, I am surprised that we have continued to use these traders to bring fertiliser from outside the country. Despite all these problems, I have to admit that the FISP is a very good programme. I only have a problem with the way the fertiliser is distributed.

Hon. Government Members: Aah! The number of packs.

Mr C. Mulenga: Yes, the number of packs that we are boasting about is not good enough because we have reduced the package in order to increase the number of beneficiaries.

Interruptions

Mr C. Mulenga: I do not see any difference in the total number of bags of fertiliser that we give to the farmers even under this new programme. The total combined yield will still be the same when we give eight or four bags of fertiliser to one farmer.

Hon. Government Members: Aah!

Interruptions

Mr C. Mulenga: Madam Speaker, the yield is just the same. I know some people may argue against that.

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Let us listen to the hon. Member.

Mr C. Mulenga: At the moment, the Government is busy boasting that this year, we have a bumper harvest. I agree that we have one, but this good harvest is not as a result of the policies which the Government is talking about or having increased the beneficiaries of the FISP. This is because of the help of the Almighty God, up there, …

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr C. Mulenga: … who has given us good weather.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr C. Mulenga: Let me give you an example. Let us suppose we had …

Interruptions

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

Mr C. Mulenga: … bad weather, what would have happened to the 500,000 farmers whom the Government claims received this fertiliser?

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

Mr C. Mulenga: Madam Speaker, what I am trying to say is that because of the good weather, yes, we have a good harvest which is being called the bumper harvest …

Madam Deputy Speaker: Order!

(Debate Adjourned)

ADJOURNMENT

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

Questions put and agreed to.
____________

The House adjourned at 1916 hours until 1430 hours on Thursday, 30th September, 2010