DAILY PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES FOR THE FOURTH SESSION OF THE TENTH ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 17th March, 2010

The House met at 1430 hours

[MR SPEAKER in the Chair] 

NATIONAL ANTHEM

PRAYER

__________

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT

15TH CONFERENCE OF PARTIES ON ENDANGERED SPECIES IN WILD FAUNA AND FLORA (CITES)

The Minister of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources (Ms Namugala): Mr Speaker, I wish to thank you for according me this opportunity to inform the House of Zambia’s participation at the 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) which started on the 13th March and will run up to the 25th March 2010 in Doha, Qatar, United Arab Emirates. This meeting is of particular significance to Zambia because the country submitted a proposal to down list its elephant population from Appendix I to Appendix II. This proposal will be decided upon by the international community at this meeting.

Mr Speaker, Zambia is a State party to CITES whose main objective is to promote effective conservation of the world’s endangered species of wild plants, animals and other species by regulating international trade in these species. As a State party to the convention, Zambia has an obligation to comply with requirements of CITES both by the implementation of the convention and by further enacting legislation to domesticate the convention. The country, as a State party to CITES, is also obliged to participate in the convention’s conference of the parties, which is its supreme decision making body. The last conference of the parties to CITES was held in Hague, Netherlands in 2007.

Mr Speaker, according to the convention’s criteria for listing, Appendix I listing means the species is threatened with extinction and, therefore, no commercial activities or exploitation are allowed for it. For the information of this House, other threatened or endangered species on Appendix I of the CITES include black rhino, cheetah and African wild dog. We all know that these are, indeed, rare animals even in our game sanctuaries. The Zambian population of the African Elephant has for the last three decades been said to meet the biological criteria of listing on Appendix I, which, therefore, entails that it is an endangered species.

Mr Speaker, during the early 1980s, the Zambian Elephant population was below 20,000 and in constant decline to as low as 12,000. In 1989, the elephant population qualified for Appendix I listing as the species was threatened with extinction. From the early 1990’s, Zambia strengthened its law enforcement efforts and the population started to increase to the current levels of 27,000 in 2008. This represents a significant increase which unfortunately has also triggered escalating human-elephant conflict. Hon. Members of this House, in particular those representing rural constituencies, will attest to the fact that crop damage and other forms of conflict have escalated over the years and this can be attributed mainly to the increase in the elephant population.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Namugala: Mr Speaker, a large population of elephants is also a threat to the environment due to habitat destruction.

Mr Speaker, the House may wish to know that the elephant population of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe are already on Appendix II and available for commercial utilisation. Although Zambia’s Elephant population is in Appendix I where no commercial activities are allowed by CITES, most of the elephant population in Zambia is shared with other countries in the sub-region whose populations are already in Appendix II.

Mr Speaker, the House may wish to know that during the 14th Conference of the parties to CITES held in Hague, Netherlands in 2007, an annotation was adopted to rest elephant ivory trade for nine years. It must be stated that this annotation does not apply to any other elephant range other than that of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Mr Speaker, Zambia being outside the range states of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, is allowed to submit a proposal to down list, if the criteria to do so is met. Given that Zambia’s Elephant population is increasing and its broader sustainable conservation objectives have been met, the country qualifies to propose for the down listing of its Elephant population. I wish to state that Zambia’s proposal to down list the elephant is based on findings of a comprehensive assessment that showed that commercial trade would not be in any way detrimental to the survival of the elephant.

Mr Speaker, the proposal is aimed at facilitating the following:

(i)    a quota of the 120 elephants to trade in hunting trophies for non-commercial purposes and/or trade in live animals to appropriate and acceptable destinations;

(ii)    trade in raw skins from the problem of animal control; and 

(iii)    trade in the 21.6 tonnes of registered stockpile of raw ivory currently in our custody. The value of this stockpile is in the rage of US$4 million to US$8 million as the international price is dependent on the quality of each piece of ivory.

Mr Speaker, the revenue realised from these proposed activities will be used strictly for conservation activities. Zambia recognises that its elephant population is a valuable and prestigious resource in tourism development. Therefore, the country would not have proposed the down listing of the elephant if doing so endangered the survival and existence of a species it considers critical in nature based tourism.

I wish to reiterate that the down listing of elephant is important in order to clear stocks of Government owned ivory while at the same time allow for the sustainable use of the species through trophy hunting for non-commercial purposes and trade in live animals to acceptable destinations. It is important for the House and the public to understand that the country presently incurs huge costs in terms of securing its ivory stockpiles from theft.

Mr Speaker, Zambia has accumulated over 30 tonnes of ivory in the last 17 years of which 67 percent of the ivory stock was obtained from natural mortalities and the problem of animal control. Currently, the primary risk to the long-term survival of the Elephant in Zambia is not illegal international trade, but loss of habitat and increasing conflict with legitimate human interest such as agriculture as well as poaching.

Mr Speaker, the House may wish to know that this is not the first time that Zambia is submitting a proposal to downlist. In 2002, during the 12th conference of parties, the Zambian Government submitted a proposal to downlist its elephant population from Appendix I to Appendix II in order to clear its stocks of ivory. The proposal was rejected because its elephant population were low and, therefore, threatened with extinction. There were other findings by the panel of experts that assessed Zambian’s proposal then, and they did not further the proposal. 

Following Zambia’s second submission of its request to downlist the elephant this time, a CITES panel of experts that visited the country have favourably rated the country’s proposal. Their findings indicate that Zambia’s elephant population is viable and sustainable; that we have improved in our ability to monitor the elephant population; that the current anti-poaching and law enforcement measures are effective; that the control of ivory stocks is adequate to prevent the mixing of legal and illegal ivory; that our controls are adequate to stop ivory taken or traded illegally from other countries to be traded in Zambia and that the acceptance of the proposal is likely to have a positive impact on the conservation status of the elephant population and its environment. The findings on most of these aspects in 2002 were found to be negative and hence the failure of the Zambian proposal to go through.

Mr Speaker, allow me to table the results of the findings for 2002 and 2010.

Mr Speaker, down listing is important for the following reasons:

(i)    It is in the best interest of sustained elephant conservation and management;
(ii)    it will contribute towards poverty reduction of impoverished rural communities which is compounded by the destruction of crops by elephants leaving these communities, perpetually, dependent on hand outs in form of food relief;
(iii)    it will in the long-term support bio-diversity conservation and wildlife management; and 
(iv)    it will support enforcement measures. In this regard, the revenue from downlisting of Zambia’s elephant will go a long way in narrowing Zambia Wildlife Authority’s (ZAWA) financial gap which is currently estimated to be in the range of K36 to K54 billion or 8 to 12 million United States of America dollars.

Mr Speaker, in conclusion, I wish to assure the nation that despite the resistance by some states to support downlisting of the Zambian elephant to allow for restricted trade, Zambia’s proposal is in the best interest of the country and should be supported by all. As Government as well as hon. Members of this House, we should lobby for the adoption of this proposal which will no doubt bring about benefits to the Zambian people especially those who core-exist with the elephants.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Speaker: Hon. Members, may now ask questions on some points of clarification on the statement which has been given by the hon. Minister of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources.

Mr Matongo (Pemba): Mr Speaker, whereas the downgrading is acceptable, I would like the hon. Minister to clarify whether the ivory that has been held by CITES in Kenya, I believe Nairobi, once downgraded will be of commercial value.

Ms Namugala: Mr Speaker, no, because there are still a lot of issues surrounding the 6.5 tonnes of ivory currently in Kenya. The ivory that we intend to sell is the 21.6 tonnes currently at Chilanga.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr C. K. B. Banda, SC. (Chasefu): Mr Speaker, regarding the fact that ZAWA is day in day out singing the song of lack of funding, can the hon. Minister give us comfort that with the downlisting, ZAWA will be in a position to carry out effective anti-poaching activities?

Ms Namugala: Mr Speaker, as I indicated, the downlisting will not just allow ZAWA to sell the ivory that it currently holds. It will also be allowed to trade in 120 live elephants. So, they will earn income on a continuous basis. However, let me say that even with the downlisting, there will still be need for ZAWA to come up with innovative ideas of raising revenue. The downlisting will certainly not end all the problems of ZAWA.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Kambwili (Roan): Mr Speaker, may I know which method was used to count the elephants and what is the distribution of elephants as per national park in Zambia?

Ms Namugala: Mr Speaker, a scientific method was used to count the elephants. The range areas that we know are the Lower Zambezi, South Luangwa and of course, Kafue National Park amongst others. So, I want to assure the hon. Member of Parliament that we are sure and comfortable with the 27,000 that we are reporting and if he can allow us, we will be able to give him information for each and every area that holds elephants.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Lumba (Solwezi Central): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister what measures will be put in place to ensure that the money which will be realised will be used for intended purposes because we have seen situations were money is locked up somewhere or that it  takes time for it to be released and the audit report is there to confirm that.

Ms Namugala: Mr Speaker, one of the conditions is that the money that is realised should be used for conservation purposes. We have in this regard opened a special account for proceeds that will arise from the trade in elephants.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mwenya (Nkana): Mr Speaker, elephants in countries like India and Pakistan are used to support transport and, of course, agriculture. With the downlisting, is there any consideration that these animals could be also natured in such a manner that they can be utilised in the same manner as they are being utilised in these other foreign countries?

Ms Namugala: Mr Speaker, the current population of elephants in Zambia is wild. I do not know whether the hon. Member has ever come face to face with a wild elephant.

Laughter

Ms Namugala: In order for elephants to be used for the purposes that he is mentioning, you need to domesticate them. I must inform the House that currently in Livingstone, we do have this activity taking place, but only domesticated and trained elephants are used.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Beene (Itezhi-tezhi): Mr Speaker, in Zambia, elephants are currently hunted under classified safari with one elephant costing K52 million, which an ordinary Zambian cannot afford. What mechanisms is the Government going to put in place to make sure that Zambians can also afford to hunt elephants at such a high cost?

Mr Namugala: Mr Speaker, obviously, elephants are valuable animals and, therefore, the country must maximise benefits from them. We are asking for 120 elephants to be traded and we will be able to decide the price once we group this number.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Simuusa (Nchanga): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister mentioned that there are some member states of CITES that are resisting the downlisting of our elephants from Appendix I to II. They probably have very good reasons for this. However, I wish to find out from the hon. Minister what happens in the event that the refusal by these states to allow Zambia to downlist these elephants is sustained. How are we going to address the concerns that the hon. Minister raised i.e. human/animal conflicts and so on? Furthermore, could she give an example of a country that was in similar situation as ours but has since downlisted its elephants to Appendix II.

Mr Namugala: Mr Speaker, I did not understand the last part of the question but I think the first part was on countries that are objecting to the proposal by Zambia to downlist its elephants. It is now public knowledge that Zambia and Tanzania are the two countries that have made proposals to the CITES Secretariat to downlist their elephant population. There are other countries led by Kenya that are opposing the two proposals saying that they do not want the trade in ivory to resume because at the 14th Conference of Parties to CITES, it was agreed that there would be a nine-year resting period. Nonetheless, in my statement I explained that the nine-year moratorium only applied to the four elephant range countries and Zambia was not one of them.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Dr Machungwa (Luapula): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister has indicated that our current population of elephants is about 27,000 and we now asking for downlisting to Appendix II. Would the hon. Minister tell us what is considered the ideal population of elephants which will meet the carrying capacity of this country so that we do not need to downlist?

Mr Namugala: Mr Speaker, during the 1980s, Zambia had more than 54,000 elephants but towards the end of the 1980s, the elephants were almost decimated because of poaching, primarily for their ivory. Now, this country has the capacity to carry more than 50,000 elephants.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.{mospagebreak}

Colonel Chanda (Kanyama): Mr Speaker …

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

Colonel Chanda: In the event that the proposed downlisting is accepted, can the hon. Minister throw some light on how many elephants are being targeted and how long the exercise is likely to take?

Mr Speaker: Hon. Members must listen. That matter has already been tabled.

Mr Muyanda (Sinazongwe): Mr Speaker, going by the explanation given by the hon. Minister, the reasons for downlisting the elephants are very well understood. However, what is the Government doing about the crocodiles that have finished our people and were last cropped in 1962?

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Muyanda: Is the Government not interested in cropping them so that the lives of our people in the country are fairly secured, especially along the rivers of Zambezi, Luapula, Kafue and others?

Mr Speaker: I said hon. Members were free and are still free to raise questions on points of clarification on the statement made by the hon. Minister. In her ministerial statement, there was no reference, whatsoever, to crocodiles.

Laughter

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Kapeya (Mpika Central): Mr Speaker, could the hon. Minister accept that in October, last year, she misled the House when a question was posed by Hon. Chitonge on the lifting of the ban on the hunting of elephants and she informed us that the population was still not at a level that could allow hunting.

Mr Namugala: Mr Speaker, the hunting of elephants is allowed under CITES and I mentioned in my statement that Zambia is a party to this convention. The question he is talking about referred to a ban in the country. At the moment, we are struggling to convince the international community that we have sufficient elephants to be allowed to trade.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mrs Musokotwane (Katombola): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister has said that ZAWA can use the money raised from selling elephants and ivory. Why is the money not going to the Treasury like that collected by other Government departments? Why should ZAWA be allowed to use this money on its own?

Mr Namugala: Mr Speaker, ZAWA is a grant-aided institution and, as I said, it is allowed to come up with innovative measures or ways to raise resources. The money that is going to be raised from the trade in elephants will be used for conservation purposes and ZAWA is allowed to retain this revenue for this use.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Malama (Mfuwe): Mr Speaker, can the hon. Minister state whether the monies that will be realised from the sale of ivory will also benefit the people affected by human/animal conflicts, especially those who live near game parks?

Mr Namugala: Mr Speaker, indeed, that is the intention. As the House might be aware, through community-based natural resource management, we have community resource boards, which share in the revenue that ZAWA collects from trophy hunting. So, yes, the people that co-exist with elephants will benefit from the revenue that will be raised.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Nsanda (Chimwemwe): Mr Speaker, in the beginning of her statement, the hon. Minister talked also about leopards and wild dogs being protected. What is ZAWA and her ministry doing to protect leopards from diminishing when our friends, during the Ncw’ala Ceremony, wear leopard skins without having licences?

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Laughter 

Mr Speaker: I would have allowed that question if it referred to wild dogs and cheetahs. But since there was no mention of leopards in the hon. Minister’s speech, I say no.

Mr Mushili (Ndola Central): Mr Speaker, in answer to the hon. Member of Parliament for Luapula’s question, regarding the number of elephants that will be required, the hon. Minister stated that Zambia has got the capacity to hold 50,000 and above and that, at the same time, we are currently at 27,000. Because we are a party to the convention that requires us to downlist the number of elephants, what plans does this Government or ministry have, which will be satisfactory and economical to the Zambian people rather than saying and accepting that we are required because we are a party to the convention? Where do we find means, as Zambians, that will be economical for us and in terms of the numbers?

Ms Namugala: Mr Speaker, hon. Members of Parliament representing communities that co-exist with elephants will be able to attest to the destruction that a large population of elephants causes. For the hon. Member who lives in Ndola Central, I can understand that he will not be able to comprehend. I have said that we have the carrying capacity for more than 50,000 elephants. I also want to take this opportunity to encourage the members of the public to take some interest in private game ranching because it is one way of having wildlife.

Regarding the point that he has raised of having economic value from elephants, the elephant trade will continue beyond CITES 15 and we expect that the country will generate revenue from elephant trade.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Chanda (Kankoyo): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister the source of ivory that is at Chilanga. Is it from poaching or illegal hunting?

Ms Namugala: Mr Speaker, in my statement, I indicated that, currently, Zambia has 30 tonnes of ivory and that 21.6 tonnes of the ivory is from natural mortalities, leaving the rest to be from other sources, including poaching. The ivory that we are allowed to trade in, as Zambia, under the convention, is that from natural mortalities.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Muntanga (Kalomo Central): Mr Speaker, the gestation period of elephant is three years. I would like to know for how long they will hold on to this downlisting before the elephant population falls down to the levels of below 12,000 again?

Mr Speaker: Order! 

What did you say about the elephant’s gestation period?

Mr Muntanga: Three years!

Mr Speaker: That is an error of fact. It is twenty-two months.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear! The Speaker knows.

Ms Namugala: Mr Speaker, if we trade in a 120 elephants and they continue to breed and we have enhanced law enforcement, there is no way that we can fall below the comfortable population of elephants in a country. Therefore, I want to assure the public and the House that we continuously assess the population of elephants as a country.

I thank you, Sir.

______________

QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

PLANS TO CONSTRUCT A HIGH SCHOOL IN CHIEF CHIBWIKA’S AREA

388. Mr Katuka (Mwinilunga East) asked the Minister of Education whether there were any plans to construct a high school in Chief Chibwika’s area in Mwinilunga District to cater for children from basic schools and, if so, when the construction would begin.

The Deputy Minister of Education (Mr Sinyinda): Mr Speaker, there are no immediate plans to construct a high school in Chief Chibwika’s area in Mwinilunga District. Currently, Mwinilunga District has an on-going project to construct Kanyama Boarding High School at a cost of K44.2 billion.

Construction of additional projects in the district will be made after a comprehensive needs assessment in the near future by the Provincial Education Office and the ministry headquarters.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Katuka: Mr Speaker, I would like to know from the hon. Minister why they found it prudent to build a basic school where one already exist as opposed to a high school that the people of Chibwika have been yearning for, for so long.

Mr Sinyinda: Mr Speaker, first of all, I would like to urge my brother to appreciate that we are doing something. The school that we are constructing at the moment is in his constituency. However, I wish to add that we have so many schools that we are constructing in North-Western Province. We are building schools in Chavuma, Solwezi, Mufumbwe and Kabompo.

Mr Speaker, as you may know, we do not have enough resources at the moment to cater for each and every place that needs a school, but we are there.

I thank you, Sir.

Mrs Phiri (Munali): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the Government the criterion used to select places and how many schools are supposed to be given in a certain area. For instance, we saw a situation where eight schools were given to Nalikwanda Constituency …

Mr Speaker: Order!

The hon. Member is debating. What is your question?

Mrs Phiri: What criterion is used so that other areas can benefit like Nalikwanda Constituency?

Ms Sinyinda: Mr Speaker, I would like to inform the hon. Member that we allocate schools according to needs assessments in the areas. 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sinyinda: We have our officers on the ground who make sure that we give schools in respective areas as required.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Kakoma (Zambezi West): Mr Speaker, in response to the question raised by Hon. Katuka, the hon. Minister went on to cite cases of high schools being built in other districts in the province. I would like to find out how children from Chief Chibwika’s area will be able to access high school education in other districts in the absence of boarding facilities.

The Minister of Education (Ms Siliya): Thank you, Mr Speaker, and I thank the hon. Member for that very important question. As I have stated many times on the Floor of this House, we realise that there is a great need of a basic school in this particular area, especially after the needs assessment. However, this does not take away from the need of high schools and this is why the Government is constructing high schools in various districts because these are boarding schools. We know they will provide some relief though not immediate. However, that is not the long term solution as we have to provide a high school in Chief Chibwika’s area.

Mr Speaker, in the whole North-Western Province, in Kabompo in the, we are building Kayombo Boarding School at a cost of K33 billion. In Chavuma, we are constructing Chavuma Boarding School at a cost of K27 billion and we are building Mushindano Technical Boarding School at a cost of K23.8 billion in Solwezi. In terms of the needs assessment, once the Government releases funds for activities in the 2010/2011 Budget, we intend to construct more high schools in Mufumbwe, Kasempa and Zambezi districts so that we address the issues of high school places in totality as a province.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chisala (Chilubi): Mr Speaker, the construction of high schools is dependant on the upgrading of middle basic schools to upper basic schools. Would the hon. Minister state when the Government will finish the programme of upgrading middle basic schools to upper basic schools?

Mr Sinyinda: Mr Speaker, the hon. Member who is a teacher like me knows very well that in as far as basic schools are concerned, the majority of our schools now are basic schools. However, we realise that some of them are still middle basic schools and, therefore, we find that there is a need for us to build more high schools because we have more Grade 9 pupils that need to go to Grade 10. I hope my fellow teacher will appreciate this fact.

I thank you, Sir.

Mrs Musokotwane (Katombola):  Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister in one of his answers said that schools are built according to the needs assessment ...

Hon. Government Member: Yes.

Mrs Musokotwane: ... and the people in Chief Chibwika’s area already have ten basic schools and they are saying they need a high school. Why should that be the case when the ministry is building according to the needs assessment? Chief Chibwika’s area needs a high school because it already has ten basic schools. Where are these Grade 9 pupils going to go after passing their examinations?

Mr Sinyinda: Mr Speaker, like we have already stated, I would like our colleagues to appreciate what we are doing because it is not only Chief Chibwika’s area that needs a high school in the whole country. 

The House may also wish to know that we are building a school in Mwinilunga East at a cost of K44.2 billion, but that is not only the place which needs schools. There are many other rural places in Zambia where the Government needs to build high schools. The cake is small and, therefore, we should distribute it evenly.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Muntanga (Kalomo Central): Mr Speaker, what we need from the ministry is an assurance or a plan of when the ministry plans to build a high school in Chief Chibwika’s area specifically and not in Solwezi or Kabompo because they need it?

Ms Siliya: Mr Speaker, in our answer, we have provided that in the district itself, we are constructing a boarding high school. Now, in Chief Chibwika’s area, without taking away the important fact that they need a high school, the needs assessment also showed that they still need basic schools and we responded and constructed more basic schools. It does not mean that we do not appreciate that they do not need a high school, they do, but we are constructing high schools, at the moment, in districts, including Mwinilunga and other districts that we mentioned in the whole province before we pin point particular areas like Chief Chibwika’s area. That is what we are doing.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Muyanda (Sinazongwe): Mr Speaker, the question is very specific and is exclusive to Chief Chibwika’s area. Why are the two hon. Ministers’ answers destitute of the fact?

Ms Sinyinda: Mr Speaker, I would like to reiterate that we have no plans whatsoever, at the moment, to build a high school there.

I thank you, Sir.

Laughter

Ms Kapata (Mandevu): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister has talked about Chief Chibwika’s area not needing a high school. With the policy of doing away with the cut off point, how does the ministry expect the school going children in Chief Chibwika’s area to get into high school?

Ms Siliya: Mr Speaker, first of all, let me just correct the impression that we did not say Chief Chibwika’s area does not need a high school. In terms of our assessment, they need both basic and high schools. In terms of basic schools, we have responded directly in Chief Chibwika’s area. In terms of high schools, at this point, what we are able to manage is to address the problem from the district level. In almost all the districts in the North-Western Province, we are building boarding high schools at a high cost to ensure that children can have access, maybe, not within their immediate locality, but they can have access to a high school. That is what we are able to do at this point. In the future, we will consider that we take a high school, maybe, a day high school resource closer to the locality of Chief Chibwika’s area.

I thank you, Sir.

RAMCOZ DEBT TO MPELEMBE DRILLING COMPANY

389. Mr D. Mwila (Chipili) asked the Minister of Finance and National Planning:

(a)    when the Government would pay Mpelembe Drilling Company on behalf of the Roan Antelope Mining Company of Zambia RAMCOZ in Luanshya;

(b)    how much money was owed to Mpelembe Drilling Company by RAMCOZ; and

(c)    what the cause of the delay by the Government in clearing the debt had been.

The Deputy Minister of Finance and National Planning (Ms C. M. Kapwepwe): Mr Speaker, I wish to inform the House that RAMCOZ, in receivership, exists as a separate entity under the management of the Administrator-General and official receiver. In this vein, the responsibility of paying for debts that RAMCOZ, in receivership, owes other creditors, including Mpelembe Drilling Company, falls under the official receiver of RAMCOZ and not the Government. Therefore, it is envisaged that Mpelembe Drilling Company will be paid their dues from the proceeds of sale of assets by RAMCOZ, in receivership, in accordance with the receivership laws as provided by the Companies Act.

Mr Speaker, K8,204,005.28 is owed to Mpelembe Drilling Company by RAMCOZ in receivership broken down as follows:

(i)    K8,054,962.40 is owed to Mpelembe Drilling Company of Ndola; and

(ii)    K149,042.88 is owed to Mpelembe Drilling Company of Luanshya.

Mr Speaker, the payments to RAMCOZ in receivership’s creditors, including Mpelembe Drilling Company have been held up by the incompletion of the sale of the RAMCOZ, in receivership, assets such as residential properties, tailing dams and social assets. Once these assets are disposed of, the proceeds will be applied in accordance with the Companies Act.

I thank you, Sir.
 
Mr D. Mwila: Mr Speaker, now that the receiver is going to sell some of the assets to raise money to pay Mpelembe Drilling, could the hon. Minister indicate to this House the timeframe when the money will be realised so that Mpelembe Drilling is paid?

Ms C. M. Kapwepwe: Mr Speaker, as indicated in my answer, the process is ongoing and there is a receiver in place who is the Administrator-General and whose role is to sell the assets and pay off the creditors. Now, you may appreciate that some of these assets are of a specialised nature and some were used by the mining company and need to be disposed of. There are legal issues to be attended to as well. This is in progress and as soon as this is finalised all creditors will be attended to.

I thank you, Sir.{mospagebreak}

TEACHERS ARREARS IN LUAPULA

390. Mr Chitonge (Mwansabombwe) asked the Minister of Education:

(a)    how much, in arrears, was owed to teachers in Luapula Province in terms of:

(i)    housing allowance;
(ii)    fixed band allowance;
(iii)    double class allowance; and
(iv)    responsibility allowance; 

(b)    when the outstanding allowances would be paid; and 

(c)    how many of the teachers yet to be paid were from Mwansabombwe Parliamentary Constituency.

Mr Sinyinda: Mr Speaker, the ministry does not owe any fixed band and housing allowance to any teacher in the Luapula Province. Funds for this exercise were released by the Ministry of Finance and National Planning. The last release was K21.5 billion, which has since cleared the outstanding fixed allowance for the whole country. However, for other allowances, I would like to state as follows:

 Double Class Allowance

Location            Allowance
                (K)
Mansa        50,787,093.20
Milenge         96,879,410.80
Nchelenge         66,222,140.00
Samfya         46,238,120.00
Kawambwa         73,526,000.00
Mwense        170,367,794.80
Chienge         42,925,255.00
Total        546,942,813.80

Responsibility Allowance

Location        Allowance
        (K)    
Mansa        215,795.00
Milenge         66,123,589.20
Mwense        126,999,794.20
Nchelenge         6,489,428.00
Samfya        36,223.118.20
Kawambwa        194,492,337.00
Chienge         39,023,261.00
Total        680,147,219.00    

 Mr Speaker, the outstanding allowances will be cleared as soon as the Ministry of Finance and National Planning releases the funds.

Sir, there are eighty-seven teachers in Mwansabombwe Constituency yet to be paid their allowances as follows:

Allowances        Number of teachers

Salary arrears         53
Responsibility allowances          17
Double Class allowances          17
Total             87        

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Chitonge: Mr Speaker, are there any plans to review the housing allowance which is currently at K100,000.00 to, maybe, K500,000.00?

Mr Sinyinda: Mr Speaker, the hon. Member may be aware that salaries are negotiated by our unions and the Government. Once an agreement has been reached, yes, that can be done.

I thank you, Sir.

 Mr Mwiimbu (Monze Central): Mr Speaker, the payment of allowances to teachers in this country since the coming into office of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) Government has been a matter of concern. When is the Government going to ensure that all the allowances that are payable to teachers are paid together with the salary at the end of every month?

Mr Sinyinda: Mr Speaker, we realise that some allowances are a menace to-date. However, we are currently paying housing allowance with salaries.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Kambwili (Roan): Mr Speaker, the hon. Deputy Minister said that the ministry would pay the teachers the outstanding double class and responsibility allowances as soon as the Ministry of Finance and National Planning releases funds. May I know whether these funds are in the 2009 Budget or in the 2010 Budget?

Ms Siliya: Mr Speaker, before I get to the specific question, it is important to take stock of the kind of challenges that we have been facing in terms teachers allowances. You will recall that we owed teachers for over seven or eight years about K42 billion which we managed to dismantle at the beginning of January, 2010. 

Sir, currently, we owe teachers about K22 billion in terms of settling-in allowances. This is coupled with other allowances such as double class, responsibility and retention allowances that have not been able to be liquidated on time and have added to the arrears in the ministry.

Mr Speaker, faced with that challenge, we have to prioritise. In 2009, we prioritised the dismantling of the fixed band allowance. This year, we made a decision to make efforts towards dismantling the settling-in allowance so that we do not continue to bleed from that allowance or continue to increase the debt. We decided to be paying settling-in allowance together with the salaries for new recruits at the same time so that we halt in a static manner the accumulated debt of settling-in allowance. This year, our priority will be to ensure that we liquidate the settling-in allowance.

However, for other allowances such as double class and responsibility allowances, we will continue to engage the Ministry of Finance and National Planning so that as and when money is available, it should be released so that we can deal with the issues of allowances. What is important is that as Ministry of Education, we have not forgotten about this debt and, I think, everybody appreciates that once the Government owes you money, it does not forget. It will have to pay. Therefore, we are committed that we keep planning within the Budget and beyond, through the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, so that we can clear these allowances.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Chibombamilimo: Well spoken!

Mr Beene (Itezhi-tezhi): Mr Speaker, one of the allowances which the hon. Minister has been silent on is the rural hardship allowance which Chililabombwe teachers are entitled to. May the hon. Minister shed light on this important allowance?

Hon. Members: It is Mwansabombwe!

Mr Beene: Sorry, Mwansabombwe.

Ms Siliya: Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for that very important question on rural hardship allowance which is usually associated with remote rural hardship allowances. At some point, I stated on the floor of this House that the rural hardship allowance seems to have raised a lot of problems. Some people said they were not captured. 

Sir, I recall very clearly the hon. Member of Parliament from Mfuwe saying that some teachers were being captured while others were not. This seems to have been the practice the whole country. You will learn that in one area, you have on the left side of the road, like I found when I went to Chama, an area termed as rural remote and on the other side of the road, in the same area, an area not referred to as such and thus teachers from there are not captured.  Taking into account these ambiguities, at one time, the definition was also that if there is a radio signal in an area, then it is not remote. Today, even in my own constituency, which is rural, I can still use my mobile phone. It does not make the place any less remote. 

Mr Speaker, two years ago, we realised that there was a need for us to make an assessment of what should be the definition of rural areas so that we can correctly capture teachers in rural areas. In the last two years, the unions representing teachers and our negotiating teams in the Government have been going around the country to consult and give a new definition of what should be termed as rural. 

   I do know that the first report, which was submitted early 2009, was not conclusive and was not very well received. As such, the union representatives and the negotiating team went back into the field to consult further. Since then, the report has been almost concluded. Please, recall that the remote/rural hardship is a negotiable allowance. I believe that in the current negotiations, the unions and the negotiating team are discussing it. What is important is that we addressed the lacunas that were in the provision of the remote/rural hardship allowance. Now that the consultations have been done and, once the negotiations are concluded, many teachers will be happy because we will be using the right definition in terms of provision of the remote/rural hardship allowance.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Chisala (Chilubi): Mr Speaker, could the hon. Minister state the percentage rate of the double class allowance.

Mr Sinyinda: Mr Speaker, I promise the hon. Member that we will provide him with that information. 

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mwenya: Mr Speaker, K100,000 given as housing allowance to our teachers can be termed as a mockery, especially for the teachers along the …

Mr Speaker: Order! You are debating. What is your question?

Mr Mwenya: Mr Speaker, what measures is the Ministry of Education putting in place to mitigate the accommodation problem that the teachers along the line of rail are encountering since accommodation is so expensive that one cannot find any decent accommodation for K100,000?

Mr Sinyinda: Mr Speaker, I would like to inform the hon. Member that housing allowance is paid according to one’s salary scale. However, I want to add that this is negotiable. Our unions are negotiating with the Government and, once we agree, the allowances will be actually increased.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mukanga (Kantanshi): Mr Speaker, when is this Government going to execute a massive project which will enable them to build a lot of houses countrywide in order to resolve this accommodation problem for teachers? 

Ms Siliya: Mr Speaker, first of all, it is very important to understand some facts on the ground. The Ministry of Education has 100,000 workers. Out of those, 80,000 are teachers. Currently, over the years, the institutional houses are 36,000, leaving a shortfall of over 50,000 houses. Last year, we constructed 300 houses. Yes, it might be called a drop in the ocean, but believe me, that ocean would be less full without that drop. With those hard facts, what is important to understand is that unless the economy in the country, generally, grows, there will be more money for us to invest in education. Last week, I made a point that the Government did not manufacture money. In the hon. Minister’s office at the Ministry of Education, there is no money-making machine. As a Government, what we do is create a conducive atmosphere for the economy to grow and expand. This Government has been very consistent in terms of a private sector driven economy.

Mr Kambwili: Question!

Ms Siliya: Sir, when the economy grows, that is when we find that K3.4 trillion is given to the Ministry of Education. It is in our interest to want the private sector to grow so that we can have money to build more teachers’ houses. It not just teachers’ house but also, people in the police and everywhere else. Unless the economy continues to grow, some of us, on this side, will find it extremely shocking when people make comments that would scare potential investors, both Zambian and foreign. 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Siliya: For anybody to invest in the economy …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Siliya: Sir, for anybody to put their money in the economy, even as a local person, they must have confidence in the economy. They must have confidence in the stability of the nation. For a Zambian to borrow K3 billion and set up a factory in Kabwe to manufacture roofing sheets, they must have confidence. If they do not, they will not invest in the economy. They will create jobs and the wealth which we should tax, as a Government, to build teachers’ houses and schools that are much needed by the Zambian people. On this side of the House, we understand this issue very clearly and we have a vision.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

FOREIGN NATIONALS SERVING PRISON SENTENCES

391. Mr Kambwili asked the Minister of Home Affairs:

(a)     how many foreign nationals were serving prison sentences in Zambia in 2008 and 2009; and

(b)     what the nationalities of those referred to in (a) above were.

The Deputy Minister of Home Affairs (Mr D. Phiri): Mr Speaker, I wish to inform the House that 761 foreign nationals were serving prison sentences in Zambia between the year 2008 and the year 2009. The nationalities of those referred to in (a) above are a total of thirty-one namely:

Country        Nationality        Total Number

Congo DR        Congolese        231
Burundi        Burundian        09
Kenya        Kenyan        04
Somalia        Somalian        161
Zimbabwe        Zimbabwean        55
Nigeria        Nigerian        14
Pakistan        Pakistani        02
Russia        Russian        01
Bangladesh        Bangladeshi        01
Uganda        Ugandan        01
Tanzania        Tanzanian        131
Malawi        Malawian        27
Britain        British            01
Australia        Australian        01
Liberia        Liberian        03
Senegal        Senegalese        08
Guinea        Guinean        07
Gabon        Gabonese        01
Cameroon        Cameroonian        01
South Africa        South African        04
Angola        Angolan        66
Ghana        Ghanaian         01
Namibia        Namibian        06
Jamaica        Jamaican        02
Mozambique    Mozambican        04
Ethiopia        Ethiopian        06
Rwanda        Rwandese         08
Botswana        Tswana        01
India            Indian            02
Netherlands        Dutch            01
USA            American        01
Total                        761

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Kambwili: Mr Speaker, it is common knowledge that even Zambian nationals are serving prison sentences in the countries mentioned by the hon. Minister. Is there anyway that there can be a negotiation such that the Zambians can be brought back to serve in Zambia and these foreigners sent back to serve in prisons in their own countries.

Mr D. Phiri: Mr Speaker, it is true, as a Government, we would like to go into such agreements and protocols where the convicted persons can be transferred. At the moment, we are discussing at the regional level in Southern African Development Community (SADC) where we can develop some protocols where the convicted persons can be transferred. For example, last month, a Dutch, who was serving a sentence at Mukobeko Prison, was actually transferred back to Holland. I do agree with you on this matter. That is something that this Government needs to develop so that if this takes effect, it can help us decongest our prisons. We shall overstretch.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Sing’ombe (Dundumwezi): Mr Speaker, how many of those prisoners are serving on Class A of the second schedule.

The Minister of Home Affairs (Mr Mangani): Mr Speaker, these people are serving sentences of different types, but we may not be able to categorise all of them as in this answer. Some of them are serving death sentence because of several activities that they did.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Ms Kapata: Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister what crimes are mainly committed by these foreign nationals. 

Mr D. Phiri: Mr Speaker, the most common crimes are illegal entry and illegal stay. You may be aware that stay of foreigners in the country is not open-ended but regulated. Some of the foreign nationals, however, tend to over stay when, in actual fact, they are not supposed to go beyond a certain period. We also have a few cases of murder, but I will not mention the nationals.

Mr Speaker: Order! Can the hon. Minister, please, speak up.  

Mr D. Phiri: Mr Speaker, I thank you. 

Mr Speaker: When an opportunity occurs, may the hon. Minister, please, speak up.

Mr Msichili (Kabushi): Mr Speaker, some prohibited immigrants have been in prison for a long time. The Government has not repatriated them to their countries of origin. I would like to find out what the Government is doing to speed up the process of repatriation of the convicts.  

Mr Mangani: Mr Speaker, we have repatriated a number of people who have come into the country illegally. They, however, have had to serve their sentences before being sent back to their countries of origin. Convictions may be as a result of over staying repeatedly. If, for instance, someone has been here once, twice or three times, we normally repatriate them and this has not been a problem.

I thank you, Sir. 

Mr Simuusa (Nchanga): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister whether the Zambian Government is engaging foreign countries with high numbers of convicts on issues of their nationals perpetrating crimes here.   
Laughter

Mr D. Phiri: Mr Speaker, indeed, we do engage countries that have high numbers of convicted persons. We have various fora like the Joint Permanent Commission, which is an important forum, where we engage these countries to ensure that they educate their nationals so that they are mindful not to perpetrate these crimes in this country. 

Mr Speaker, I thank you.  

Mrs Musokotwane (Katombola): Mr Speaker, in one of the responses, the hon. Minister stated that prison swap would be good because it would decongest our prisons. Now that they have the Joint Permanent Commission, where such issues may be raised, is it possible to suggest, in their meetings, that countries swap prisoners to serve sentences in countries of origin so that our prisons are decongested? 

Mr Mangani: Mr Speaker, we do have some protocol, particularly with Commonwealth countries, where we exchange prisoners. We have also developed some protocol within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region where we exchange prisoners. There are, however, challenges associated with this. For instance, if somebody is in prison for murder and has been sentenced to murder, …

Hon. MMD Members: Death.

Mr Mangani: …I beg your pardon, sentenced to death, we may have a problem. I will give an example of Angola which does not have the Death Sentence. Therefore, it is only when we change the sentence of a prisoner to life imprisonment that we can exchange the prisoners. These are some of the challenges that we have when implementing this swap. However, we do have an arrangement in the Commonwealth countries and SADC.

Mrs Phiri: Mr Speaker, we have heard of copper thefts in this country, mostly by the Chinese. 
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Phiri: I would like to find out how many have been convicted, and if none, is copper theft a crime or not?

Mr Mangani: We have indicated the nationalities of the people who have been convicted. In our answer, there is no Chinese national. This means that none of them have been convicted of the crime.

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!

Mr Mangani: Therefore, it is only speculation … 

Mr Kambwili: Question!

Mr Mangani: …because, as far as we are concerned, none of them have been convicted.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Dr Machungwa (Luapula): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister which foreign country has the highest number of the 761 convicts?

Mr Mangani: Mr Speaker, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has the highest number with 231 convicts.  

I thank you, Sir. 

Col. Chanda (Kanyama): Mr Speaker, illegal stay is one of the offences that the hon. Minister mentioned. I would like to find out whether this Government has any plans to re-introduce Operation Clean-up, which served us very well in our respective residential areas. 

Mr Mangani: Mr Speaker, we are able to round up prohibited immigrants because of some clean-ups that we do. I am surprised that the hon. Member is not aware of these clean-ups. If these operations were not being done, we would not have imprisoned some of these people. It is, therefore, very strange that he is not aware of these clean-ups. 

Mr Speaker, I thank you. {mospagebreak}

MATERNAL DEATHS FROM 2007 TO 2009

392. Mr Chisala asked the Minister of Health what the total number of maternal deaths from January, 2007 to December, 2009 was in the following provinces:

(i)    Northern;

(ii)    Eastern;

(iii)    Lusaka;

(iv)    Copperbelt; and

(v)    North-Western.

The Deputy Minister of Health (Dr Musonda): Mr Speaker, the total number of maternal deaths from January, 2007 to December, 2009 for the above provinces is as follows:

Province                     Jan 2007-June 2009

Northern                    221

Eastern                    162

Lusaka                    355

Copperbelt                    338

North-Western                 99

Total                        1,175    

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Chisala: Mr Speaker, some of the contributing factors to the high rate of maternal death is lack of medical personnel and medical facilities. This being the case, what does the hon. Minister intend to do to reduce the number of maternal deaths? 

Dr Musonda: Mr Speaker, I agree with the hon. Member that some contributing factors of maternal death are shortage of health workers and facilities. I want to add, however, that the reasons that he has given are not actually the major contributing factors to these deaths. 

  For the hon. Member to appreciate what I am saying, I would want to define what maternal death is so …

 Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear! Teach him!

Dr Musonda:…so that we try to reason together.

Sir, maternal death is a death of woman whilst pregnant or forty-two days after delivery. Therefore, to say that maternal death only happens whilst a woman is pregnant is not true. There also many other causes that I want bring to the attention of the hon. Member. 

Sir, we have what are known as three delays. The delay at home, which mostly occurs because of mothers not receiving good antinental care. Such mothers usually do not know the danger signs of pregnancy and instead of going to the clinic, they stay at home. The demography health survey results allude to this by saying that about 60 per cent of our women were delivering at home, which means that only 30 per cent were coming to our institutions. Therefore, the reason that our women die because there are no institutions falls off.  The absence of health workers, which the hon. Member mentioned also falls off because as at now, almost all health centers have radio communication facilities.

Furthermore, the hon. Member will agree with me that last year we distributed land cruisers which were to be used as ambulances for easy referral. When we did an analysis, we actually found out that the number of women who actually die or who we can classify as maternal deaths from health institutions are very minimal. The greatest number of women who contribute to the maternal deaths are those that are as a result of delays at home and inadequate preparation for the pregnancies. Most of these deaths are also due to abortions. Our law is quite restrictive in terms of abortion, thus most of women resort to illegal abortions and, there after end up getting infected and dying.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

 Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Kapeya: Mr Speaker, surprisingly enough, a number of maternal deaths are being witnessed in areas like Lusaka where there so many medical facilities compared to Northern Western where the facilities are limited. Could the hon. Minister comment on that situation.

Dr Musonda: Mr Speaker, this confirms the earlier answer which I gave that the greatest reason we are having these maternal deaths is because of people not coming to the health institutions. At the same time, the hon. Member will agree with me that Lusaka has a very high population. Therefore, you cannot actually compare it with other provinces with small populations.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

 Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Musokotwane: Mr Speaker, what is the ministry doing to increase the outreach activities so that women in the compounds are sensitised on the goodness of going to the hospital when they are about to give birth?
 
Dr Musonda: Mr Speaker, indeed, going by the earlier answer which I gave, the most important thing we can do is to try and sensitise the community to make sure that women deliver in our health institutions which are safer. To this effect, our ministry is implementing three major activities relating to community sensitisation. One of them is the maternal death review. We are working with influential people in the community such as chiefs and other opinion leaders. I would, therefore, want to appeal to all hon. Members to be part of this maternal death review. We are tracking down what could have been the causes of these maternal deaths. Is it that this woman was delayed at home or is it that they did not have transport or is it that this patient was not attended to well at the clinic or was not referred in time to the next level of care? We have formed committees   in almost all the districts to carry out these reviews. We are strengthening what are known as safe motherhood action groups (SMAGs) with traditional birth attendants (TBAs) and other community based organisations. These groups are trying to round up women in their respective communities and teach them about the danger signs of pregnancy and also prepare them for delivery. 

Sir, one of the biggest issues is unplanned pregnancies. When pregnancies are unplanned, they are usually quite difficult to handle during delivery. You would find that the family would not even have a K10,000 to move a mother from home to the health centre. Therefore, we are trying to make sure that these groups educate our mothers that they need to prepare themselves. Those are some of the activities.

Sir, we are also trying to strengthen the family planning programme. Family planning is one of the measures issues which will reduce the number of pregnancies. It will mean that we are going to have reduced maternal deaths. Therefore, we are strengthening family planning programmes especially the long-term one called Jadel which we have since provided in all the districts so that women can have, at least, a three year break after pregnancy and be able to space their children.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mrs Phiri (Munali): Mr Speaker, I know that in Western Province, Liuwa, in particular, there is a programme where women are moving from villages to go and stay in a home which is near a clinic so that when there is a complication, they can easily be attended to. I would like to find out from this Government when the programme will be extended to other areas so that maternal deaths can be reduced.

Dr Musonda: Mr Speaker, in the last two years, the Government has been implementing a strategy called emergency obstetric and neonatal care with some support from co-operating partners. To this effect, we have assessed forty districts as at now and, Monze is one of the beneficiaries where we are trying to build shelters where women who are staying quite far can actually stay and move closer to the health institutions when they are nearing delivery. This is an ongoing programme. Our plan is that by 2012, we will have all the districts covered so that all the major hospitals and institutions will have some mothers’ shelters.

Mr Speaker, I want tell all hon. Members that their Constituency Development Fund (CDF) could also be of aid in actually making these shelters so that they can help us in trying to alleviate what our mothers are going through.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

 Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Kambwili (Roan): Mr Speaker, in villages, there is a belief that inchila is one of the contributing factors to…

 Hon. Members: What is Inchila?

Mr Kambwili: Inchila is either the man or woman in the relationship committing adultery when a woman is pregnant. It is believed that this could be one of the causes of maternal deaths. Could the hon. Minister confirm if there is any scientific proof to that effect?

 Laughter

Dr Musonda: Mr Speaker, that question is quite sensitive especially that so many people are listening. My response can lead to either men indulging extramarital sex whilst their women are pregnant or some other effects. However, the fact which is there is that his contribution is true. One of the delays that I mentioned is the one caused when people do not move the woman from home to the health institution in good time. We have found out that these cultural beliefs make people think the man is the cause of the woman not delivering and not their failure to send the women to the hospital. I would prefer to provide that answer to him alone…

Laughter

Dr Musonda:…and outside. We need to encourage all our mothers to deliver from the hospital whatever situation is prevailing.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Dr Machungwa (Luapula): Mr Speaker, in answering one of the supplementary questions, the hon. Deputy Minister stated that Zambia’s…

Mr Muntanga: On a point of order, Sir.

Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Muntanga: Mr Speaker, I rise on a very serious point of order. Is Hon. Mabenga in order to turn this Chamber into a bedroom and continue sleeping? I need your serious ruling.

 Laughter

Mr Speaker: The hon. Member for Kalomo may appreciate the fact that in this House, hon. Members sometimes go into deep thought …

Laughter

Mr Speaker: … such that an observer might think they are sleeping when they are not. The hon. Member may continue.

Laughter

Dr Machungwa: Mr Speaker, before the point of order, I was raising a question that in his answer to a supplementary question, the hon. Deputy Minister stated that Zambia’s laws on abortion are restrictive and as a result they make pregnant women to engage in illegal or even dangerous abortions.

Mr Speaker, given that scenario, is his ministry thinking of amending the laws that he is talking about to encourage women to do these things in a manner that is safe and not illegal?

Dr Musonda: Mr Speaker, in the current Act which is the Termination of Pregnancy Act which was put together in 1972, there is assumption that the termination of pregnancy could only be done under general anaesthesia as in the theatre. It has a clause which states that three doctors have to confirm the need for the abortion and one of them should be a specialist in the indication. For example, if you are dealing with a mentally pregnant woman and there is need that we terminate the pregnancy, we require a psychiatrist to confirm that the woman needs to have an abortion. 

Mr Speaker, in the country, at the moment, we have very few specialists and when a situation requires, it is difficult for people to freely have abortions. It is something we are working on at the ministry and at an appropriate time, it will be tabled, but research is taking place on the ways abortion can be made accessible and safer.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mrs Mwamba (Lukashya): Mr Speaker, …

Hon. Member: Is that hair?

Hon. Members: Hear, hear! 

Mr Speaker: Order!

Laughter

Mrs Mwamba: Mr Speaker, is the hon. Minister aware that in most of the rural areas, there are no communication devices and ambulances? Is he also aware that most maternal deaths are caused by the lack of these facilities because most women are left at the mercy of traditional birth attendants?

Dr Musonda: Mr Speaker, I wish to disagree with the hon. Member on the many causes of deaths she has mentioned because I have already given in my previous answers the causes of death. The direct cause of death for pregnant women is bleeding. Bleeding allows a mother to live for only two hours. If the bleeding is happening whilst a mother is at home and not in hospital, even if there is an ambulance or a trained health worker, it is difficult for that mother to survive.

Mr Speaker, we have indirect causes like HIV and malaria which are widespread which cause pregnant women to die, but we are trying very hard to address these. The issue of communication is out of the picture. I can tell the hon. Member that most of the health centres in the country have radio communication and we are yet to install, I think, five hundred plus radio communication facilities in the few health centres which do not have them.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Simuusa: Mr Speaker, the maternal death rate is one of problems that needs to be controlled under the millennium development goals (MDGs). Given the numbers the hon. Deputy Minister has given, I would like him to give me an indication regarding compliance per province as regards this MDG.

Dr Musonda: Mr Speaker, the MDGs are meant for nations and it is difficult for us to start tracking them province by province. However, I will give the hon. Member an indication of how we are progressing as a nation in terms of achieving the MDGs. As at 2002, our maternal mortality rate was somewhere around 729.This is according to information that we obtained from a demographic health survey and by 2007, our rate reduced to 591. Our baseline is 162 and we are remaining with three years. We are on track because very soon, you will see the President of the Republic launching to the nation a campaign on the accelerated reduction of maternal mortality in Africa which other countries have already launched. This launch is aimed at trying to mobilise resources for use to accelerate the attainment of this MDG.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

CONSTRUCTION OF INCOMPLETE PUBLIC BUILDINGS COUNTRYWIDE

393. Mr Mukanga asked the Minister of Works and Supply whether there are any plans to undertake construction of all incomplete public buildings that have either been abandoned or have not shown any progress in the past year countrywide.

The Deputy Minister of Works and Supply (Dr Kalila): Mr Speaker, the Government policy is to complete all construction projects. However, there are a number of reasons why public buildings have not been completed on time such as finances and litigation.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, two years ago when I asked a similar question, I was told that the Government was going to form a committee to look into that issue. I would now like to know how far the Government has gone in forming that committee to look at completing all the Government buildings which are incomplete, including the Government complex building which has taken more than two decades to complete.

The Minister of Works and Supply (Mr Mulongoti): Mr Speaker, work on the Government complex has started, but hon. Members will appreciate the cost of completing such a mammoth structure although we have managed to secure some funding and the contractors are on site. The Government has thousands of buildings around the country and in the budgeting process, the provincial administration is, normally, encouraged to budget for those buildings that they need to complete or rehabilitate.

  I am not aware of the committee you are talking about, but I would like to assure you that as for the provincial administration, it is just for lack of funds that they cannot complete some of the structures. However, since you have not mentioned any structure and you are talking about buildings in general, I am sure a lot of effort is being made by the provincial administration, sometimes through the provincial headquarters or ministry headquarters, to complete their structures.

I thank you, Sir.

Mrs Phiri: Mr Speaker, two years ago, I asked a similar question that Hon. Mukanga was referring to, about the houses which are next to the Courtyard Hotel which were being used by the Chinese. However, as area Member of Parliament, I have just seen some developments coming up there. I would like to find out from the hon. Minister why they cannot consider giving those houses which are not occupied to police officers who are understaffed.

Hon. Members: Aah!

Mr Mulongoti: Mr Speaker, the structures that are there are being used for storage of spares and heavy equipment that we have around the country, but I am sure the hon. Member has just been economical on the truth. She knows that some police officers are living there.

Mrs Phiri: Aah!

Mr Kapeya (Mpika Central): Mr Speaker, surely, the whole Government is failing to complete projects. Could this be related to poor planning for those in the Government?

Mr Mulongoti: Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Member, but I would have been very grateful if he had been specific on which particular project. Like I said, the Government has thousands of projects and buildings around the country and in the absence of specific information it will be difficult for us to address his concerns. However, I can assure him that we have every intention to ensure that every building that can be put to use is completed and the beneficiaries have use of the structures.

I thank you, Sir.{mospagebreak}

CONSTRUCTION OF FLYOVER BETWEEN MISISI AND JOHN LAING COMPOUNDS

394. Mr Hamusonde asked the Minister of Works and Supply:

(a)    when the construction of the planned fly-over bridge on the Kafue Road between Misisi and John Laing compounds would begin; and 

(b)    who the contractor for the project above was.

Dr Kalila: Mr Speaker, the Road Development Agency (RDA) assisted the Lusaka City Council to come up with detailed designs for the construction of the footbridge on Kafue Road between Misisi and John Laing townships. The contractor for the footbridge was awarded to LUSED Consulting Services and Zuthona Engineering Technologies Limited at a contract sum of K6,784,725,192 with the duration of twelve months. The construction began on 23rd March, 2009 and was expected to be completed in March, 2010. However, due to the limited funding in 2009, the completion date has been revised and extended to June, 2010.

Mr Speaker, the contract type is Design and Build in which Messrs LUSED Consulting Services are responsible for the design and supervision of the project, and Messrs Zuthona Engineering Technologies Limited are responsible for carrying out the construction works.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Speaker: Order!

Business was suspended from 1615 hours until 1630 hours.

[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]

Mr Hamusonde: Mr Speaker, may I know from the hon. Minister why this footbridge is so costly?

Mr Mulongoti: Mr Speaker, the structure that is being constructed, if the hon. Member had to pass there, he would see that it is a structure of steel and cement, expected to last long, intended to protect the users and I do not think that when you construct a bridge like that, which is supposed to last for a long time, you must be economical with materials. So, the design is intended to make it last and be safe for the users.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mooya (Moomba): Mr Speaker, I am not happy with that figure. It is too high. Can the hon. Minister justify why a footbridge with a distance of about twenty metres can cost K6 billion. Why can it not cost K1 billion or K2 billion?

Mr Mulongoti: Mr Speaker, the hon. Member, who is an engineer, will appreciate that the design will dictate the outcome. The difficulties we have are that we cannot go to a designer and ask him to design or construct a bridge when we only have K1 billion. You know that is what is causing all these defective structures. What you do is request a professional engineer, architect and structural engineer to design a structure for the purpose that you want. If you use money as a limitation, you will have all these defective structures. So, as far as we are concerned, the RDA, in consultation with the council who are the clients, agreed that was what they wanted and that the experts must design it. I think if money was a consideration we would be risking the lives of the users of the bridges.

I thank you, Sir.

Ms Kapata (Mandevu): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out whether they are only constructing only one bridge considering that where Misisi and John Laing are, the length of Kafue Road is still too long and one bridge is not enough.

Mr Mulongoti: Mr Speaker, I should be asking that question to that councillor …

Laughter 

Mr Mulongoti: … because the design and planning for those footbridges are in Lusaka so it is the responsibility of the council. The RDA moved in to help in the contracting and designing, but the project is purely a Lusaka City Council project. So, it will be interesting to know whether they have any interest in more footbridges from that councillor.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sichamba (Isoka West): Mr Speaker, since a contract was signed with the said company, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister whether extending this contract will not attract penalties and, if so, who is going to pay for them.

Mr Mulongoti: Mr Speaker, since contractors are also human, they, sometimes, understand our difficulties. If there is a shortage of funding or weather conditions cannot permit them to continue working on a project, they understand. So, it is a give and take situation. So far, there is no indication that the contractor will ask for more funding because of the extension.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, I would just like to find out what special features this footbridge will have for it to warrant that cost.

Mr Mulongoti: Mr Speaker, I talked about, first of all, durability and, secondly, the materials that are going to be used. I do not know whether he is talking about the beauty of the bridge when it is finished or something else. If the hon. Member wants to see an artist’s impression of the project in question, he can go to the council.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

MBERESHI HOSPITAL BUILDINGS

395. Mr Chitonge asked the Minister of Health whether the Government had any plans to rehabilitate the infrastructure at Mbereshi Hospital which was built in the 1940s.

Dr Musonda: Mr Speaker, this working Government is concerned with the state of infrastructure at Mbereshi Hospital and has prioritised it for rehabilitation within the 2010-2012 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF). I think the hon. Member would agree with me that so much work is going on at Mbereshi. A borehole was sunk at the hospital sometime last year and water reticulation is still going on. There is also rehabilitation of the male surgical and labour wards being done with support from the Churches Health Association of Zambia (CHAZ). The Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) centre is also being extended and rehabilitated to make sure that our people are able to access the ART services. Painting has also started in the orthopaedic and female wards, laboratory and pharmacy. So, I can assure the hon. Member that the Government has prioritised to do the remaining work within the 2010-2012 MTEF.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Chitonge: Mr Speaker, Mbereshi Hospital caters for Mwense, Nchelenge and Kawambwa districts as well as part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Could the hon. Minister be specific as to when his ministry is going to provide Mbereshi Hospital with modern medical equipment unlike the equipment currently being used there which was procured in 1940?

Dr Musonda: Mr Speaker, I think the hon. Member can agree with me that Mbereshi is a mission hospital and in as much as the Government is trying to support mission hospitals, our priority is to try and build hospitals in all the districts. I think, this year, we have added nine more hospitals, bringing the total number of hospitals that we are constructing across all districts to nineteen. There are very few districts actually remaining. 

By 2011, every district will have a hospital. In fact, in certain instances, we have more than two hospitals in one district. So, really, bringing new equipment to Mbereshi is not something that we can do easily but I will assure the hon. Member that despite the shortage of hospitals in the districts he mentioned, we are actually going to building one within the constituency, which will help everyone around.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

CATTLE REARING

396. Mr Malama (Mfuwe) asked the Minister of Livestock and Fisheries Development what measures the Government had taken to encourage the Zambian people rear cattle, especially in provinces where the cattle population was low. 

The Deputy Minister Livestock and Fisheries Development (Mr Mulonga): Mr Speaker, the Government, through the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development has taken a big stance of encouraging livestock farmers to rear cattle by establishing livestock breeding centres in all provinces. This will entail supplying breeding stock of all species of livestock at an affordable price, thereby encouraging the Zambian people to take up livestock farming as a business. The Government will also put in place livestock service centres throughout the country which will be serving livestock farmers with basic services such as extension, training and demonstration as well as other specialised services such as artificial insemination.

The proposed areas for the establishment of livestock breeding units and livestock breeding centres in 2010 are as listed below:

Province    Centre    Amount (ZMK)

Southern    Kanchindu Breeding Centre    300,000,000

Eastern    Lundazi Breeding Centre    200,000,000

North-Western    Jihundu Breeding Centre    200,000,000

Luapula    Chishinga Breeding Centre    200,000,000

Northern    Mbesuma Breeding Centre    687,371,911

Western    Ngonga Breeding Centre    100,000,000

Eastern    Katopola Livestock Breeding Unit    416,000,000

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Malama: Mr Speaker, can the hon. Minister state which provinces are the least in terms of cattle rearing and what the Government is doing to help such provinces?

Mr Mulonga: Mr Speaker, some of the least cattle rearing provinces are Northern and Luapula. In helping them improve, for instance, the allocation to Northern Province, where there is Mbesuma Ranch, is the highest with K687,371,911 as compared to other provinces. So these are some of the measures that the Government is putting in place to help provinces with low cattle rearing to improve.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Muntanga (Kalomo Central): Mr Speaker, may I know how animals are going to be moved from Mbesuma Ranch, which is on the eastern side of the Chambeshi District? Chambeshi District has traditionally been known to be infected with East Coast Fever and animals will not move westwards. Is the ministry now going to ignore regulations to control diseases?

Mr Mulonga: Mr Speaker, to the contrary, where Mbesuma is situated, there is not so much East Coast Fever. East coast fever is in the eastern part of Isoka and some parts of Nakonde Districts. So, in controlling East Coast Fever in those areas, we are doing surveillance. It is not that there is no East Coast Fever in the area where Mbesuma Ranch is but that the ministry is still studying the situation. These places are still under surveillance so that should there be an outbreak, the ministry will definitely look into that and prevail over the situation.

I thank you, Mr Speaker. 

Mr Sikota, SC. (Livingstone): Mr Speaker, arising from the hon. Minister’s answer with regard to encouraging people in certain provinces to rear cattle and the amounts that he mentioned to be allocated to each province, I want to find out whether there was any synchronisation of this programme with the disease-free zones that are being put up and what the correlation is, if any.

Mr Mulonga: Mr Speaker, there was realisation and consideration when we were setting up the livestock service and the breeding centres as compared to the disease-free centres. We have considered the Luapula, Copperbelt, Central and Lusaka provinces as disease-free zone provinces, which we have already started working on. The amount of over K23 billion has already been spent and not only that, last week, we received another K19 billion for disease-free zones.

Mr Speaker, when we finish with these disease-free zones, we will go to the Southern Province, which is not yet considered as a disease-free zone as at now. In this zone, we are going to set up six livestock service centres at a cost of K1.6 billion as well as a breeding centre at Kanchindu, Sinazongwe, at a cost of K300,000 million. Therefore, from the information given above, it shows that each and every province has been considered and that the programme was synchronised. The aim of the ministry is that after these three provinces become successful, we have to expand. For us to expand effectively, we have to make sure that provinces like the Eastern, Luapula and Northern provinces, just like other provinces in the country, are also taken care of. In that way, we should be able to say, this year, since facilities are already there, we are going to expand all the provinces.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Imbwae (Lukulu West): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister whether there is a particular justification for the low allocations to the provinces which fall in between. The hon. Minister in his answer has covered provinces with low cattle population and these have been classified as disease-free zones, but the Southern and Western provinces have been given very low allocations. May I know if this is to discourage those that are already practicing pastoral farming?

Mr Mulonga: Mr Speaker, in answering this question, two routes were taken into consideration. The ministry has established the livestock breeding and livestock service centres.

The low allocation the hon. Member is talking about is the livestock breeding centre where we have allocated, K100 million, for example, to the Western Province and about K300 million to the Southern Province. However, the reason we are making these allocations is to try and merge these two activities − livestock breeding and livestock service centers − together. When we merge these two activities, the highest allocation has gone to the Southern Province with the amount of K1,635,000 million and the Western Province being second with K1,655,000 million. 

When it comes to the breeding centres, it is correct that the allocation will be more in these disease-free zones, but when we combine the two, the service centres are more in the Southern and Western provinces. The reason is that farmers in both the provinces, nowadays, want to try the artificial insemination. Therefore, for artificial insemination to be successful, we must have so many service centres as opposed to so many breeding centres. That is why we have done that.

I thank you, Sir.

CONSTRUCTION OF KASANJIKU BRIDGE

397. Mr Katuka asked the Vice-President when the Kasanjiku Bridge which was washed away by torrential rains in the 2008/2009 rainy season would be reconstructed under the Disaster Management Programme.

The Deputy Minister in the Office of the Vice-President (Mr Sichilima): Mr Speaker …

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sichilima: Ninshi, mwatemwa?

Mr Speaker, the House may wish to recall that during the 2008/2009 rainy season, a number of districts in our country were adversely affected by the floods impacting on a number of critical sectors, including infrastructure.

Mr Speaker, following these developments, the Road Development Agency (RDA) undertook a detailed technical assessment of the entire damage infrastructure in the country and submitted it to the District Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) which in turn included it in the 2009 Vulnerability Assessment Report.

This report has since been translated into a recovery-action-plan and forwarded to the Ministry of Finance and National Planning for funding. Meanwhile, the provincial administration in Solwezi has prioritised this project under the Rural Road Infrastructure Unit (RRIU) programme funding.

I thank you, Sir.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTEGRATED FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION SYSTEM

398. Mr D. Mwila asked the Minister of Finance and National Planning:

(a)    when the Government would implement the Integrated Financial Management and Information System (IFMIS);

(b)    what had caused the delay in the implementation of the project;

(c)    how much money would be spent to implement IFMIS; and

(d)    what the source of funding would be.

Ms C. M. Kapwepwe: Mr Speaker, the Government will fully implement IFMIS in all the forty-eight ministries and Spending Agencies (MPSAs) by 31st December, 2011.

The Government has already commenced the implementation through the piloting of IFMIS in the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, which started on 4th January, 2010. Once the piloting is completed by March, 2010, the roll-out to the other forty-eight MPSAs will commence in May, 2010. This will be done in six phases and by the end of December, 2010, a total of twenty-four sites will be covered in the roll-out and the remaining twenty-four MPSAs will be covered by the end of December, 2011.

Mr Speaker, the delay in implementation of IFMIS was caused primarily by two factors:

(i)    The long procurement process required to engage the firm to implement IFMIS. 

Mr Speaker, the procurement process required that at each stage of the process, the Government needed to request for approval of the co-operating partners who were providing funding for the implementation of the project. The approval process by the co-operating partners, sometimes, tended to take longer than expected resulting in the delay to commence the implementation of the project.
        

(ii)    The change of legal status of the firm engaged by the Government to implement IFMIS

After more than a year of implementation, the contracted solution provider, Soluziona S. A. of Spain was bought out by another Spanish firm called Indra Sistemas S. A. and this change was not communicated to the Government, being the other party to the contract, in good time. When the Government became aware of this fact, a decision was made to put the IFMIS project implementation on hold and sought for legal opinion on the matter from the Ministry of Justice. While on recess, the new firm withdrew its staff from the project pending resolution of this matter. The legal opinion from the Ministry of Justice stated that Soluziona S. A. breached the contract and that the Government was at liberty to either terminate the contract if it was not satisfied with the firm’s performance or regularise a contract if satisfied with the performance.

Mr Speaker, in order to make a decision on the matter, the Government constituted a technical committee to study the legal opinion, consider the two options and advise on the matter. 

The committee considered the two options and related likely impact on the project. The committee concluded that terminating the project would result in another long procurement process, the delay negatively impacting the morale of staff involved in IFMIS implementation and the likelihood of the firm to mount a legal challenge against termination thereby causing further delays and consequent project cost escalation.

Mr Speaker, the committee, therefore, recommended that the Government should only regularise the IFMIS contract subject to a satisfactory outcome of a due diligence exercise being undertaken on Indiras Sistemas S.A to determine its technical, financial and legal capacity to implement IFMIS.

The due diligence was undertaken and the committee recommended that the Government regularises the contract with the new firm Indiras Sistemas S.A after the satisfactory outcome of the due diligence. The recommendation by the technical committee was accepted and the contract was regularised and implementation plan revised. It must be noted, however, that the Government has made significant progress in the implementation of IFMIS after the regularisation of the contract and the implementation is expected to be completed by the end of December, 2011.

Mr Speaker, the Government expects to spend about K192 billion equivalent to US$42.7 million to implement IFMIS.  The source of funding for IFMIS is through pooled funding from various co-operating partners who are supporting the Public Expenditure Management and Financial Accountability (PEMFA) Programme. The co-operating partners have committed  90 per cent equivalent to K172 billion of the total IFMIS budget while the Government has committed 10 per cent equivalent to K20 billion.

I thank you, Sir.{mospagebreak}

Mr D. Mwila: Mr Speaker, this programme is very important. I have noticed that donors are putting in a lot of money than our Government which is only putting in 10 per cent. When will the Government consider increasing the amount of money to put into this project?

Ms C. M. Kapwepwe: Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for that follow-up question. I did not say in any part of my statement that the funding was inadequate and so I find it difficult to follow the line of question. Suffice to say that the project and funding are on course and the ministry intends to finish the project as planned by 2011. 

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

IMPORTATION OF TELEVISION SETS

399. Mr Kambwili asked the Minister of Commerce, Trade and industry:

(a)    how many television sets were imported into the country in 2008 and 2009;

(b)    how much was spent on the importation at (a); and

(c)    how much tax was raised by the Government from these importations.

The Deputy Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry (Dr Puma): Mr Speaker, a total of 121,892 television sets were imported into the country in 2008 and 2009. There were 90,401television sets imported in 2008 and 31,491 in 2009.

Mr Speaker, a total amount of K50,199,332,886 was spent in 2008 and 2009 on importing television sets. An amount of K30,370,699,822 was spent in 2008 and K19,828,633,044.

Mr Speaker, of the question, a total amount of K19,757,194,024 was raised in taxes for the two years. An amount of K11,955,828,622 was raised in 2008 and K7,801,365,402 in 2009.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Kambwili: Mr Speaker, is there any mechanism, through the Government, by which the quality of television sets imported into the country is monitored because most of them are sub-standard?

Dr Puma: Mr Speaker, the issue of quality is a concern to us. As a result, we have gone ahead to empower the Zambia Bureau of Standards, which has been equipped with the quality control equipment which was funded through the European Union (EU) at a cost of 5 million euros. Therefore, the quality control is assured with this development.

I thank you, Sir.

INFANT MORTALITY

400. Mr Chisala asked the Minister of Health what the rate of infant mortality was in the following districts:

(i)    Chilubi;

(ii)    Chienge;

(iii)    Kitwe;

(iv)    Lusaka;

(v)    Chipata; and

(vi)    Zambezi.

Dr Musonda: Mr Speaker, the infant mortality rate is calculated from population based surveys. This is done through the Zambia Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) and is held every four to five years while the national census is held every ten years. This survey disaggregates this indicator by province and not by district. Therefore, the indicator is presented by province and not by district are as requested. The table below presents data on infant mortality rate by province and for the nation:

    Province        Infant Mortality Rate
 per 1,000 Live Births

    Central                    64

    Copperbelt                79

    Eastern                 82

    Luapula                97

    Lusaka                    85

    Northern                94

    North-Western                65

    Southern                64

    Western                97

    Country average            70

However, Mr Speaker, sometimes, using our routine health information system, we also try to capture what is called the case fatality rate for children under five years. Once this is done, we are able to have estimates from some districts as follows:

District        Infant Mortality Rate per 1,000 Admissions

    Chilubi                    71.7

    Chienge                    22.5

    Kitwe                             118.8

    Lusaka                        41.3

    Chipata                    50.2

    Zambezi                    39.5

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Chisala: Mr Speaker, the margin of infant mortality between urban and rural areas is very big. How does the Government intend to reduce this?

Dr Musonda: Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for raising this question. The hon. Member should agree that the population rates between the urban and rural areas are very different. This is the same reason these figures are also different. However, the hon. Member should learn that the Government will try to reduce this rate by holding many activities. One of the major activities which is even covering the rural areas is the implementation of the Integrated Management of Child Illnesses (IMCI) where all frontline workers are being taught how to manage child illnesses. However, our recommended immunisation coverage as a country is just under 8 per cent. This important activity of immunising children has actually helped so much in trying to reduce the infant mortality rate for the whole nation.  

Mr Speaker, another common cause of deaths in infants is the human immuno-deficiency (HIV). We have strengthened the paediatric HIV. This was mentioned last week. 

   Actually, we have procured four PCRDMA machines so that we can now diagnose HIV/AIDS in children when they are less than one year six months old because this has been a very big challenge for us. I think the hon. Member for Kanchibiya raised the question in this House when he wanted to know when we were going to stop sending samples for HIV/AIDS tests to Ndola. I assured everyone that we have now procured four of these machines. That is also one way in which we are trying to improve the diagnosis so that children are diagnosed for HIV/AIDS early before one year. In doing that, we are also reducing the infant mortality rate. 

Mr Speaker, there are so many other interventions. It is a whole list and I would like the hon. Member to pass through our office, maybe for a one hour tutorial, so that he can understand.

I thank you, Sir.

Laughter

Mr Mushili (Ndola): Mr Speaker, reduction of infant mortality just like maternal mortality fall under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Will the hon. Deputy Minister shed some light on how the situation has progressed from 2002 and how he anticipates achieving these MDGs by the year 2015?

Dr Musonda: Mr Speaker, if you compare the progress that this nation has made between the two Millennium Development Goals under the Ministry of Health, I think the reduction of the infant mortality rate has improved greatly. We have made more progress than we have done in the maternal mortality rate.

In 2002, the Demographic Health Survey showed that we were at 95 per cent on average. I have just mentioned that we are now at 70 per cent, based on the 2008 Demographic Health Survey. This means that from now to 2015 the target and benchmark will be high. In the next five years, and looking at the rate at which this Government, which is hard working and going beyond 2011 is moving, …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Musonda: … by 2015, we are likely to meet the target.

I thank you, Sir.

Laughter

Mr Chitonge: Mr Speaker, could the hon. Minister be categorical and state why the Luapula Province has recorded 97 per cent infant mortality rate as compared to other provinces?

Mr V. Mwale: Mubala mukali bana!

Dr Musonda: Mr Speaker, for the sake of the hon. Member for Mwansabombwe, I would like to repeat that the Luapula Province had 97 per cent infant mortality rate. There are other three provinces whose infant mortality rates were also high. The Northern Province had 94 per cent which is comparatively almost the same while the Western Province had 97 per cent and this is also high.

The reason for this in rural areas is lack of access to hospitals and, sometimes, management of children, especially in terms of mothers who deliver at home and take these babies to health centres later. I would like you to encourage these mothers to deliver at the health centres and management of the new born baby will also be improved and this will reduce the infant mortality rate.

I thank you, Sir.

GATEWAY TELEVISION ZAMBIA SUBSCRIBERS

401. Mr Mukanga (Kantanshi) asked the Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services:

(a)    what the fate of the subscribers who were abandoned by the Gateway Television (GTV) Zambia was; and

(b)     what measures the Government had taken to ensure that subscribers were protected from such treatment in future by the service providers.

The Deputy Minister of Information and Broadcasting Service (Ms Cifire): Mr Speaker, I would like to inform the House that GTV Zambia was a private company that stopped managing subscriber accounts due to unfavourable business reasons after the partner companies in the United Kingdom (UK) and Mauritius were not able to sustain their business operations.

GTV Zambia Limited has a shareholding of 75 per cent of Zambian owners and these shareholders have undertaken to address the concerns of the subscribers once the company is restructured.

Sir, the Government is undertaking a review of legislation that will ensure that such occurrences do not recur in future. This is a matter that will be addressed once the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) is in place.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, I would like to find out when the company will be restructured and when the subscribers who paid for the service are going to be refunded.

Ms Cifire: Mr Speaker, GTV Zambia has assured the Government that, once they have completed the restructuring process, they will do that. It is not a question of us making a follow up, but of GTV Zambia having a responsibility which they have to fulfill.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Kapeya (Mpika Central): Mr Speaker, is the hon. Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services aware that most rural districts, apart from the provincial headquarters, have not received radio and television signals since 1st February, 2010?

Ms Cifire: Mr Speaker, we are aware and are doing everything possible to restore transmission in all the affected areas. Our men are already in the field and they are checking on the transmitters and transmission boxes to ensure that listeners and viewers are back on transmission.
 
I thank you, Sir. 

_______

BILLS

HOUSE IN COMMITTEE

[THE DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES in the 
Chair]

THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT (Amendment) Bill, 2010

Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

CLAUSE 6 – (Repeal and replacement of Part X)

The Minister of Local Government and Housing (Dr Kazonga): Mr Speaker, I beg to move an amendment in Clause 6, 

(a)    on page 5;

in line 33, by the deletion of the words “the staff” and the substitution therefor of the words “principal officers and officers”;

(b)    on page 6 

(i)    in line 15 by the deletion of the word “Minister” and the substitution therefor of the word “President”;

(ii)    in line 23, by the deletion of word “Minister” and the substitution therefor of the word “President”; and

(c)    On page 8, 

(i)    in lines 1 to 5 by the deletion of sub-clause (7); 

(ii)    in lines 6 to 14 by the re-numbering of sub-clauses (8), (9) and (10) as sub-clauses (7), (8) and (9), respectively; and

(iii)    in lines 40 to 41 by the deletion of the words “prohibition of publication or disclosure of information to unauthorised persons”

Amendment agreed to. Clause 6 amended accordingly.

Clause 6, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 7 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Title agreed to.

___________

HOUSE RESUMED

[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]

The following Bill was reported to the House as having passed through Committee with amendments. 

The Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2010

Report Stage on Thursday, 18th March, 2010.

THIRD READING

The following Bill was read the third time and passed:

The Disaster Management Bill, 2010

__________

MOTION

ADJOURNMENT

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

Question put and agreed to.

_________

The House adjourned at 1719 hours until 1430 hours on Thursday, 18th March, 2010.