DAILY PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES FOR THE FOURTH SESSION OF THE ELEVENTH ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 18th March, 2015

The House met at 1430 hours

[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]

NATIONAL ANTHEM

PRAYER

___________

RULING BY MR SPEAKER

POINT OF ORDER RAISED BY HON. CONELLIUS MWEETWA, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR CHOMA CENTRAL, ON HER HONOUR THE VICE-PRESIDENT’S ISSUANCE OF A STATEMENT THAT DID NOT REFLECT THE GOVERNMENT’S TRUE POSITION ON CLAIMS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED PARTY FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, MR HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, THAT HE RECEIVED INTELLIGENCE REPORTS FROM THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, SPECIAL BRANCH

Mr Speaker: Hon. Members, you will recall that, on Wednesday, 4th March, 2015, when the House was considering Question for Oral Answer No. 366 and the hon. Member of Parliament for Kaoma Central, Mr Carlos Antonio, was asking a supplementary question, Hon. Conellius Mweetwa, Member of Parliament for Choma Central, raised a point of order on Her Honour the Vice-President, Mrs Inonge Wina, MP. In his point of order, Hon. Mweetwa submitted that, on Friday, 27th February, 2015, Her Honour the Vice-President had stated that the Government’s position on Mr Hakainde Hichilema’s statement that he received intelligence reports from the Office of the President, Special Branch, was that it was just, “A joke and political gimmick.”  However, a few days later, on orders of His Excellency the President, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, the Zambia Police Force had begun investigating Mr Hakainde Hichilema and conducted a search at two of his residences and at the United Party for National Development (UPND) Secretariat, all linked to the statement he had made. Hon. Mweetwa, hence, sought to know whether Her Honour the Vice-President was in order to issue a statement that was not reflective of the Government’s true position on the matter.

Hon. Members, in my immediate reaction to the point of order, I reserved my ruling. I have since studied the matter and now wish to render the ruling.

Hon. Members, I have, on several occasions, guided this House that the three branches of the Government, namely, the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary, are governed by the doctrine of separation of powers under which they perform distinct functions independently of one another. In that regard, Her Honour the Vice-President’s statement neither represented the position of the Zambia Police Force nor precluded its investigation of the matter if it saw a need to do so. In any case, Her Honour the Vice-President qualified her statement when she said that:

 “I do not believe that this information gets to the leader of the UPND. If it does, this has serious legal implications. For all I know, this is mere political propaganda.”

Hon. Members, the police, being an institution established by the Constitution, under Articles 103, to, inter alia, in terms of Article 104(b) of the Constitution, detect and prevent crime, is under a Constitutional obligation to investigate any matter or activity that might undermine the security of the nation. Furthermore, the President of the Republic of Zambia is, as we are all aware, in accordance with Article 33(1) of the Constitution, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. He is, in that capacity, therefore, charged with the responsibility to safeguard, and duly concerned with, the security of the nation. Additionally, the point of order concerned a matter that was already under police investigation and, clearly, outside the remit of this House.  It was, therefore, inappropriate for Hon. Mweetwa to raise it.

Hon. Members, as presiding officers, we have repeatedly guided that hon. Members should refrain from raising points of order that draw the House into matters that do not fall within its jurisdiction, and I would like to state that, in the future, such points of order will not be entertained. In view of the foregoing, Her Honour the Vice-President was in order to express herself in the manner she did. She did not, in any event, breach any rule of the House.

Thank you.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

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MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS

2015-2016 MOBILE NATIONAL REGISTRATION EXERCISE

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

You may have to follow the proceedings from outside the Chamber or on radio if you continue interrupting the Business of the House.

The Minister of Home Affairs (Mr Mwila): Mr Speaker, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to address the House on the 2015-2016 Mobile National Registration exercise to be undertaken by the Department of National Registration, Passport and Citizenship under my ministry.

Sir, my ministry is mandated to effectively and efficiently maintain an accountable and transparent internal security system in order to create an environment in which peace, stability and justice prevail for the sustainable socio-economic development of Zambia.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwila: To that effect, the Department of National Registration, Passport and Citizenship has a broad mandate over the issuance of national identity and travel documents, and facilitates the acquisition of Zambian citizenship. It also registers both its citizens and foreigners in the country in accordance with the provisions of the law. In this regard, the department plays a key role in promoting national security through its facilitation of the identification and registration of Zambian citizens and non-Zambians, and the movement of nationals internationally. It is through the issuance of travel and identity documents that the department interacts with the public and other stakeholders.

Sir, the department issues national registration cards (NRCs) primarily to confer the appropriate status of eligible individuals and maintain records of people in the country. An NRC is used to access several services, including financial, medical, co-operatives membership and employment, and to exercise the right to vote, which is very important.

Sir, my ministry is in receipt of numerous complaints from members of the public, especially those from far-flung areas …

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwila: … like Mitete that a number of youths who have attained the age of sixteen have not been able to get the NRCs while people who lost or damaged their cards have not been able to replace them for the following reasons:

(a)    geographical factors like floods, which make mobility a challenge; and

(b)    high levels of poverty in the districts, which make people unable to afford transport to the national registration offices.

Therefore, the aim of the periodic mobile registration exercises is to provide increased access to the national identity documentation services, as enshrined in the 2013-2016 Ministry of Home Affairs Strategic Plan.

Mr Speaker, my ministry has allocated K25 million to this very important exercise in this year’s budget. The money will be used to procure registration materials, equipment, procurement motor vehicles and out-boat engines, and on maintenance and insurance. The exercise will cover the whole country in three phases, namely, Phase I, which will cover the Northern Province …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Shakafuswa: We knew.

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mr Mwila: You have to wait. Do not cross the river before your reach it.

Mr Speaker: Hon. Minister, continue.

Interruptions

Mr Mwila: Thank you for your guidance, Mr Speaker.

Sir, Phase I will cover the Northern, Muchinga and Central provinces, ...

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwila: ... Phase II will cover Lusaka, the Eastern, Southern and Western provinces while Phase III will cover the Copperbelt, Luapula and North-Western provinces and each phase is expected to take ninety days. The numbers of people expected to be registered in each province are as follows:

Province    Target

North-Western    90,000

Western    100,000

Southern    80,000

Eastern        120,000

Central        95,000

Northern    80,000

Muchinga    70,000

Copperbelt    230,000

Lusaka    200,000

Luapula    110,000

Grand Total     1,075,000

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mr Mwila: Sir, many people wrongly believe that the mobile issuance of the NRCs is associated with the electoral process only. Despite an NRC being a prerequisite for one to register as a voter, it should be noted that a Zambian citizen should have attained the age of eighteen years and above to do so while a Green NRC is issued to a Zambian national who has attained the age of sixteen. Foreign nationals are issued with applicable kinds of cards for ease of identification after residing in the country for a period exceeding three months.

Mr Speaker, at the end of the Phase III of the exercise, an evaluation of the whole process will be undertaken in order to revisit some areas that may not have been adequately covered and to improve on future exercises. It is, therefore, imperative that all stakeholders in this exercise, including us, Parliamentarians, traditional leaders, civic leaders and all patriotic Zambians present only eligible Zambian nationals to be given these documents or have old ones replaced. Any person who will present an undeserving individual or individuals for the purpose of this exercise or otherwise try to acquire these identity cards for them will be committing a very serious crime and be liable to prosecution before the courts of law.
 
Sir, I assure the nation that the Department of National Registration, Passport and Citizenship is committed to hard work and improved service delivery. I also call upon everyone in this House and outside to fully support the department and the ministry.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Speaker: Hon. Members, you are now free to ask questions on points of clarification on the statement by the hon. Minister of Home Affairs.

Mrs Masebo (Chongwe): Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Minister for his statement.

Sir, my question relates to the issuance of birth certificates. Will the hon. Minister consider the issuance of birth certificates to children in rural areas, whose parents have not been able to get the certificates, during the periodic mobile registration exercise, considering that the Government might not have enough resources to give the department to undertake the former exercise separately?

 Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, in some rural areas, such as Mitete, most people do not have birth certificates. Therefore, what we will do is have, in each district, smaller districts in particular, four groups consisting six officers each, one from the Zambia Police Force, one from the Department of Immigration and four from the Department of National Registration, Passport and Citizenship. Those who will not have birth certificates will be interviewed so that only eligible people get the NRCs. That is how we will do it.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Namulambe (Mpongwe): Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Minister for his good statement.

Sir, the hon. Minister mentioned numbers of people expected to be captured in each province. For instance, I heard that the ministry will capture 70,000 and 80,000 in some provinces. Could he clarify for me the number for the Copperbelt. Did he say that the department will capture 230 or 230,000 from the province? I ask this because the two figures are different. If he mentioned 230, then, I am worried by the small number of people who will be captured.

 Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, it is very important that hon. Members pay attention because this will be a very important exercise.

Interruptions

Mr Mwila: Yes.

Sir, the number I mentioned is 230,000, and that is just a projection. Let me go back to what we did in 2010.

Mr Speaker, in the North-Western Province, we had projected to capture 100,000, but we only managed 83,540; in the Western Province, the projection was 80,000, but we captured 80,293; in the Eastern Province, the projection was 120,000, but we captured 155,183; in the Southern Province, the projection was 100,000, but we only managed 95,200; in Central Province, the projection was 85,000, but we captured 133,344; and, in the Northern Province, our projection was 150,000, but we captured 176,542. So, I reiterate that all the figures I have mentioned are just projections.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Shakafuswa (Katuba): Mr Speaker, what assurance is the hon. Minister giving us that there will be enough materials for the exercise to be undertaken without hiccups?

 Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, we will not face any shortage of materials. In fact, even as we speak, people are getting the NRCs in the districts, and I want to report to the House that we have had an overwhelming response from the Southern Province because the hon. Members of Parliament there have sensitised their people on the exercise. That is the more reason I am appealing to Patriotic Front (PF) hon. Members to go out and tell our people to get the NRCs. As a Government, we will not segregate because this is a Government programme.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

 Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Muchima (Ikeleng’i): Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Minister for his statement.

Sir, we understand mobile registration to imply reaching as many places as possible. Unfortunately, our experience in the past is has been that the exercise is centred at the Boma. Could the hon. Minister assure us that, this time around, the exercise will touch far-flung places in every chiefdom in order to capture as many people as possible and avoid making people cover long distances to get registered.

Mr Speaker: Hon. Minister, please, confirm that the exercise will be mobile.

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, actually, the registration for issuance of NRCs will be done in polling stations.

Mr Muchima: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwila: Our officers will be at each polling station for seven days. As I stated earlier, there will be four groups of registration officers in each district. In districts that have two constituencies, the four groups will divide themselves so that two groups go into each constituency.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

 Mr Ntundu (Gwembe): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister should concentrate on this side of the House. He is always with her Honour, the Vice-President.

 Mr Speaker: No, hon., Member. That is not your remit. It is my function.

Just ask your question.

 Laughter

Mr Ntundu: Mr Speaker, in case a person got his National Registration Card (NRC) from a district other than the one in which they reside, for example, I got mine in Gwembe, suppose I resided in Chipata and wanted to replace my lost NRC there, would the card be replaced immediately after I tell the officers my NRC number? Will the officers have the information from all the districts so all people replace their NRCs even if they got them in other districts?

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, if one lost their NRC, they need to get a police report. Once they produce that report, they will be interviewed and their NRC will be replaced. However, if they try to mislead the officers and there is sufficient evidence that they are not telling the truth, they will be locked up.

 I thank you, Sir.

 Laughter  

 Mr Speaker: Order!

I am sure that the hon. Minister has abbreviated the procedure.

Laughter

Mr Mbewe (Chadiza): Mr Speaker, it is common knowledge that this Government, which Dr Kaingu has joined, promised on the Floor of this House that it would digitise the National Registration Cards (NRCs). Will the NRCs that will be issued in the exercise mentioned by the hon. Minister have digital features? If not, when will the digitisation of the NRCs start?

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, this Government has always fulfilled its promises.

Mr Mbewe interjected.

Mr Mwila: Yes, and that is why Zambians voted for us.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, I assure the hon. Member that we will come to this House with another statement on the subject of his question.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Livune (Katombola): Mr Speaker, a number of people who are above sixteen years in the villages do not have National Registration Cards (NRCs), mostly because they live very far from the Bomas. Will such people be given special consideration during the mobile registration? Further, will there be people at the registration centres to explain to them why they have not been given the NRCs?

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, I have given the reasons some of our people have failed to get NRCs at the right time, one of which is poverty. Once they have been interviewed such people will be given the NRCs.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Brig-Gen. Dr Chituwo (Mumbwa): Mr Speaker, I did not hear the hon. Minister mention the dates on which the exercise will be conducted. I only heard him mention the three phases of the exercise. I ask this question in light of his statement that some areas are inaccessible, which is truer at certain times of the year than at others. So, what is the approximate time frame of the exercise? Further, does the hon. Minister think that the set time frames will be enough to cover each constituency, especially large ones like Mumbwa?

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, we intend to start the exercise on 1st April, 2015. Phase I will be from April to June, 2015; Phase II, from July to September, 2015; and Phase III, from October to December, 2015.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Antonio (Kaoma Central): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister said that the mobile registration will be done solely at polling stations. Taking into account the fact that the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has proposed to establish new polling stations, will the ministry cover the new polling stations before the next general elections?

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, that is a good question. We will take the matter into consideration.

Thank you, Sir.

Ms Namugala (Mafinga): Mr Speaker, I did not hear the hon. Minister mention the measures that he will put in place to prevent those who are ineligible for Zambian citizenship from getting National Registration Cards (NRCs). In my constituency, there are many Malawians who could access the NRCs and ultimately abuse them. Could he, therefore, clarify.

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, first of all, we will sensitise the public using the Zambia News and Information Service (ZANIS), schools …

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order, on the left!

Mr Mwila: … the Zambian National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), churches, civic leaders, village headmen and hon. Members of Parliament. Secondly, I have mentioned that there will be officers from the police, Immigration and Department of National Registration, Passport and Citizenship who will screen those who will apply for the NRCs under the mobile exercise.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Habeenzu (Chikankata): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister mentioned that he will issue another statement on the introduction of digital features on the NRCs. Will that statement be before the mobile registration exercise has commenced or after it?

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, I have issued this statement today because we will adjourn sine die next week. We wanted all hon. Members of Parliament and the nation at large to know about the programme, which will start next month. The issuance of the new NRC or digitisation of the current one, as some are calling the programme, will be done later and this Parliament will be informed accordingly then.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mutelo (Lukulu West): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister’s statement was prompted by Question No. 424 on the Order Paper of 13th March, 2015.

Laughter

Mr Mutelo: Sir, in rural places like Mitete, when we hear about interviews conducted by police officers, we fear and run away.

Laughter

Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, this might sound funny, but it is the reality. It is not every day that we see police officers in uniform. So, what will the hon. Minister do to ensure that the presence of police officers at the registration centres does not scare the village people from accessing the service?

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, police and Immigration officers can even perform their duties in plain clothes. Therefore, we will instruct them to work in plain clothes so that the people in places like Mitete do not run away from them.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Laughter

Dr Musokotwane (Liuwa): Mr Speaker, I heard the hon. Minister say that the registration officers will be in each province or constituency for ninety days, and I think that he considers that to be equity. On the other hand, for a constituency like mine, the officers who will go there may spend the whole day travelling from one polling station to another so that the time that will be available to them for the actual registration will be shorter than the seven days that will be allocated for each polling station. Can the hon. Minister consider the possibility of basing the number of days allocated to each constituency on specific logistical factors.
 
Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, I said that the officers will be at each polling station for seven days, meaning that we will start counting the days from the time the officers arrive at the polling station to start the work.

Thank you, Sir.

Laughter

Mr Hamusonde (Nangoma): Mr Speaker, in areas like Mwembeshi, Mumbwa and Nangoma, there are many Zimbabweans who came into this country before Independence, but …

Hon. Government Members: Ah!

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mr Hamusonde: … do not have National Registration Cards (NRCs). Some of them, their parents are now dead. How can we help such people?

Interruptions

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, our concern in this exercise will be with Zambian citizens. They are the ones to whom we will give the NRCs, not the foreigners.

Mr Mwale: They will be screened.

Mr Mwila: As I earlier said, all the people who will go to the centres will be screened.

Mr Kambwili: Yes.

Mr Mwila: I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Konga (Chavuma): Mr Speaker, we welcome the statement from the hon. Minister. However, the time frame he has mentioned for the implementation of Phase III, under which Chavuma falls because it is in the North-Western Province, will be during the rainy season, which starts in September. So, most of the western part of the constituency, which is a flood plain, will be flooded.

Dr Musokotwane: Libazhi.

Mr Konga: Yes, libazhi. That is also true about many parts of the Western Province. Will the hon. Minister and his officers consider that when allocating dates for such areas?

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, as I said earlier, at the end of Phase III of the exercise, an evaluation of the whole process will be undertaken in order to revisit some of the areas that may not have been adequately covered and improve on future exercises. So, if there will be any problem in any area and you request us to go back, we will do so.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Katuka (Mwinilunga): Mr Speaker, if I got the hon. Minister correctly, there are two categories of people who will be registered, namely, those who would have attained the age of sixteen and those who have lost their National Registration Cards (NRCs) and need to replace them. For the latter category, they will need to obtain police reports, but we know that there is a fee charged for one to get a police report. Will the fee be waived during the exercise so that people can replace their cards without having to pay for the police reports?

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, I think that the standard practice is that people do not have to pay to obtain police reports during mobile registration exercises.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mwiimbu (Monze Central): Mr Speaker, I am made to understand that the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) will be registering voters towards the end of the second quarter of this year. If that information is correct, how will the commission ensure that those who will be given the National Registration Cards (NRCs) in Phase III, that is, from September to December, 2015, particularly those who would have attained the voting age, will be able to register as voters, considering that, by then, registration of voters might have ended?

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, in this programme, we will be concerned solely with giving the NRCs. The registration of voters is the responsibility of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ). So, I do not wish to talk about that. All I can say is that all those who would have attained the age of sixteen and above must be given the NRCs.

Mr Speaker, let me take the opportunity presented by this question, which is the last one, to emphasise to this august House that this programme is very important and meant to benefit all of us. So, we should go and encourage our people to get the NRCs. After the exercise has been completed, we will not allow any cry foul, foul cry, …

Laughter

Mr Mwila: Whoever will cry foul, …

Interruptions

Mr Mwila: No one should cry foul, …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwila: … whether that side (pointing at the Opposition Bench) or this side (pointing at the Government Bench).

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwila: I thank you, Mr Speaker.

CURRENT STATUS OF EBOLA

The Minister of Health (Dr Kasonde): Mr Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity to update the House and the entire nation on the current status of the Ebola outbreak …

Hon. Opposition Members: Hmm!

Hon. Government Members: Yes!

Dr Kasonde: … in the affected countries of West Africa and our state of preparedness, as a country, …

Mr Speaker: Order!

Dr Kasonde: … to prevent and respond to a possible outbreak of the epidemic.

Mr Speaker: Let us have some order, please.

Dr Kasonde: Sir, this will be a much more sober statement. So, I hope that it will cool down the House to appropriate temperatures.

Laughter

Dr Kasonde: Mr Speaker, you may recall that, in September, 2014, I addressed this august House on the outbreak and measures we were putting in place, as a country, in the pre-epidemic phase. As I indicated in that statement, the current Ebola epidemic broke out in Guinea in December, 2013, and spread to Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and Mali. The last three countries have since been declared Ebola-free. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), our closest neighbour, had reported a more localised outbreak, but has also been declared Ebola-free.

Mr Speaker, you may also wish to recall that 4,356 Ebola cases and 2,218 deaths had been recorded in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia by September 7, 2014, indicating a case-fatality rate of 50.8 per cent for the three countries. Twenty-one cases and eight deaths had been reported in Nigeria while Senegal had recorded only one case imported from Guinea.

Mr Speaker, by February, 2015, 23,649 cases and 9,589 deaths had been reported. This means that the fatality rate had dropped to 40.5 per cent. However, although there has been a decrease in the fatality rate and a downward trend in new infections in the three countries, Ebola continues to spread there, making the current outbreak in West Africa the largest in history.

Mr Speaker, the drop in the incidence of Ebola has been the result of the tireless support of the African Union Commission (AUC) to the West African countries and the solidarity of AU member States, which was manifested by generous financial contributions and deployment of health personnel. During its last Ordinary Session, the Executive Council of the AU reaffirmed the need for global and regional commitment to the fight against Ebola and called upon member States to do the following:

(a)    lift all restrictions imposed on Ebola-affected countries, such as closure of borders, and end stigmatisation of nationals of affected countries, in line with a resolution of the Extraordinary Session of the Executive Council of the AU on 8th September, 2014. That was meant to facilitate the free flow of humanitarian, financial and material aid to the fight against Ebola;

(b)    send assistance to Ebola-affected countries, for those countries that had not yet done so;

(c)    call upon international financial institutions in partner countries to cancel the debts of the three affected countries to alleviate the impact of Ebola on their economies;

(d)    continue the efforts towards the control of Ebola and put in place post-outbreak measures to mitigate the impact of the crisis on the economies; and

(e)    review and strengthen national health systems to effectively respond to Ebola and other epidemics of a similar nature.

Mr Speaker, despite having been spared by the epidemic, so far, Zambia remains at risk of importing Ebola from the affected countries due to ease of modern travel. As such, my ministry has continued to strengthen the national capacities to minimise the risk of importation and promptly detect and respond to possible outbreaks. To that effect, the following measures have been put in place:

(a)    a National Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness Plan has been developed. The document outlines the roles of all ministries and key stakeholders in the management of a potential outbreak in Zambia;

(b)    a communication strategy has been developed and the media engaged in the dissemination of preventive messages. Communities have been sensitised through radio, television, brochures, posters and other means;

(c)    members of staff in institutions under the Ministry of Health have been trained in Ebola case management and treatment. My ministry has also continued to work with the University of Zambia (UNZA) School of Veterinary Medicine Laboratory in testing all suspected cases. To date, fifteen suspected cases have been investigated and tested for Ebola, but all were proved negative;

(d)    screening for Ebola is still being conducted at major points of entry. The ministry has continued its supervisory visits of points of entry and districts for Ebola preparedness;

(e)    meetings on Ebola have continued to be held at the provincial, district and hospital levels to raise awareness on Ebola among care-givers;

(f)    the Government has procured additional personal protective equipment (PPE) for all the provinces;

(g)    the National Committee on Preparedness has continued to meet with a number of international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to form partnerships on Ebola preparedness; and

(h)    Zambia has pledged US$40,000 towards the AU’s fight against Ebola.

Mr Speaker, with regard to travel, the ministry’s Travel Advisory issued on 8th August, 2014, was that:

“All people coming from Ebola-affected countries are discouraged from visiting Zambia or they would undergo intensive screening and testing processes. Similarly, Zambians who choose to visit the Ebola-affected countries would be subjected to the same screening and testing processes upon their return to Zambia.”

Mr Speaker, that advisory remains active.

Sir, my ministry will tirelessly continue to make efforts to strengthen our health systems to prevent the importation of Ebola. Whilst we continue to train health workers in the management of Ebola at the provincial and district levels and supply logistics to provincial centres and districts, institutional capacity development for selected health facilities will remain a priority.

Mr Speaker, I have no doubt that the system we have put in place will prevent or detect and respond rapidly to any possible outbreak of Ebola.

 Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Speaker: Hon. Members are now free to ask questions on points of clarification on the statement issued by the hon. Minister.

Ms Imenda (Luena): Mr Speaker, considering that it takes time for an Ebola-infected person to start showing symptoms, has the Government considered putting measures in place to quarantine those who come from Ebola-affected areas for observation before they are allowed into the country, as the first step in the screening process?

Dr Kasonde: Mr Speaker, it is not the intention of the Government to quarantine those arriving from affected countries, but rather to screen them for any symptoms on arrival. This policy is based on the advice of experts that the spread of Ebola is not imminent before a carrier becomes symptomatic. Therefore, we intend to monitor them when they arrive and while they are in the country. If no signs and symptoms appear, there is no case for quarantining them.

I thank you, Sir.

Dr Musokotwane: Mr Speaker, we frequently talk about Ebola and say that it does not exist in Zambia. Has anyone checked to see whether, in fact, Zambians may not be harbouring the disease and showing its symptoms, but it is being wrongly diagnosed as different diseases? For example, what is Ebola called in Lozi?

Dr Kasonde: Mr Speaker, I accept the challenge to have a greater linguistic competence, which I may not have at this very moment.

Sir, the disease was named after the Ebola River, which is in the Congolese region where the disease first broke out. Maybe, ‘Zambezi’ could be the name for it in the Western Province.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Kasonde: Sir, we certainly have no fear of this disease being harboured without being revealed. It is true that, initially, in Sierra Leone, the cases that were reported were in areas that were not normally considered to be the nucleus of anything that they could fear. However, our practice, now, is to assume that the whole country is at risk and that, if we sensitise the public or communities, any peculiar disease occurrence will be brought to our attention. I hope, that will be satisfactory, and I certainly think that it has been, so far.

I thank you, Sir.

Brig-Gen. Dr Chituwo: Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Minister for his statement, and I note, with satisfaction, the plans the ministry has put in place.

Sir, my question, in a way, is linked to that asked by the hon. Member of Parliament for Liuwa, and it is this: Under the communication strategy, has the ministry translated sensitisation materials on the disease into local languages, particularly those spoken in the border areas? I am aware that our borders, especially in the northern part of the country, are very porous.

Dr Kasonde: Mr Speaker, I appreciate the concern of the hon. Member for Mumbwa.

Sir, I think that communication is a serious factor in the fight against the disease. Our approach has been to establish committees at the district level that use both local languages and English. Therefore, in every district, there is the capacity for communication in the local language in addition to English and vice-versa. We have not produced an overall document in local languages, but I will take your advice and consider doing so. However, really, that is not as urgent as getting to the people and speaking in their languages and explaining the disease in ways that they understand.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Pande (Kasempa): Mr Speaker, there have been efforts to develop vaccines for Ebola. How far have those efforts gone? Have they failed like the efforts to develop a vaccine for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and a cure for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)? In other words, has Ebola come to stay like HIV/AIDS?

Dr Kasonde: Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for raising that very important issue.

Sir, efforts to develop a vaccine have continued. So far, only one case has been considered as a potential vaccine against Ebola. Trials of that vaccine started when I addressed this House on the disease last time and are being undertaken in Mali and the United Kingdom (UK). We do not yet have an outcome to celebrate but, at least, there has been some progress and there is the possibility of other remedies being developed.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Namulambe: Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister talked about the screening machines at the major entry points. What measures have been put in place at the porous entry points, especially at Kasumbalesa Border Post, where people enter our country illegally? On our side, we do not have soldiers like they do on the Congolese side. There are also people who illegally cross the Luapula River from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) into Zambia. Are we sensitising the communities around those areas to be alert?

Dr Kasonde: Mr Speaker, we have not claimed that the porosity at some of the entry points into our country can be dealt with or that there will be no illegal movement of people between countries. It is not possible to eliminate that element in our fight against Ebola. That notwithstanding, we believe that it is enough for us to prevent an outbreak in the country if we screen people in areas where we can do so and ensure that there is adequate checking and observation for symptoms at those crossing points and in the districts. In the case of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), we, in fact, had a good mutual agreement with that country for each side to check not only those coming in, but also those going out. This was a good arrangement. Additionally, fortunately, the DRC is currently Ebola-free.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mufalali (Senanga Central): Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Minister for his presentation on Ebola. My question is: How much have prisoners been sensitised about Ebola? I ask this because the majority of prohibited immigrants in prisons use footpaths to come into the country and start mingling with others.

Dr Kasonde: Mr Speaker, fortunately, the prisons are accessible to us. Therefore, any symptoms of Ebola in the prisons will soon be discovered. That is the advantage we have. I agree that, when coming into Zambia from an infected country, a person has a period during which they need to be observed. However, at least, we know, for sure, that prisons are captive audiences, which we can follow up and screen.

Sir, I hope that the hon. Member’s concern is not a result of the hon. Minister of Home Affair’s suggestion that he might end up behind bars.

Laughter

Dr Kasonde: Sir, let me just assure him that we shall certainly detect the disease in those who are accessible to us, such as those in prison, at the very earliest time possible.

I thank you, Sir.

__________
    
QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

POOR WORKMANSHIP ON CENTRAL STREET AND CHIBULUMA ROADS

437. Mr Chishimba (Kamfinsa) asked the Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication:

(a)    whether the Government was aware that Central Street and Chibuluma roads in Kitwe, which were recently worked on, were already wearing out due to poor workmanship;

(b)    which contractor worked on the two roads;

(c)    who financed the project; and

(d)    what immediate measures would be taken to correct the situation.

The Deputy Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication (Mr Siamunene): Mr Speaker, the Government is aware of the state of Central Street and Chibuluma roads in Kitwe.

Sir, the company that worked on the two roads was Swanipo from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Mr Speaker, Swanipo was contracted and paid by Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) Limited, as part of the mining company’s corporate social responsibility.

Mr Speaker, the Road Development Agency (RDA) has engaged MCM Limited to ensure that the road is restored to an acceptable standard in 2015.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Chishimba: Mr Speaker, …

Mr Mwiimbu: On a point of order, Sir.

Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Mwiimbu: Mr Speaker, I thank you for allowing me to rise on this very serious procedural point of order hinging on the integrity of this House and the decisions we have made on its Floor through the Committee on Privileges, Absences and Support Services and as the whole House.

Mr Speaker, I recall that Hon. Lubinda …

Hon. Government Members: Ah!

Mr Mwiimbu: … was punished by this House for a statement that he had made outside, which had nothing to do with the House.  

Mr Speaker, arising from the judicious ruling you made this afternoon and the other counsels you have given previously, was this House in order to punish Hon. Lubinda for the political statements he made outside the House against the Former Republican President, Mr Rupiah Banda? Additionally, will this House compensate Hon. Lubinda, …

Laughter

Mr Mwiimbu: … for the bad decision it made?

I seek your serious ruling, Sir.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Speaker: Before I make a ruling, hon. Member for Monze Central, are you in a position to furnish the House with the particulars of that ruling, in terms of when it was made, because we normally record our business in the Hansard?

Mr Mwiimbu: Should I respond, Mr Speaker?

Mr Speaker: Yes, of course.

Mr Mwiimbu: Mr Speaker, it is very unusual that I have been made to respond.

Sir, I am aware that what I am talking about happened because I was then a member of the Committee on Privileges, Absences and Support Services, …

Mr Nkombo: Even me.

Mr Mwiimbu: … together with Hon. Nkombo, which sat to deliberate on the matter, ...

Mr Nkombo: And we punished him.

Mr Mwiimbu: ... and we punished him severely.

Laughter

Mr Mwiimbu: He stood behind the Bar.

Sir, the complaint was raised by the Former Whip of the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD), Mr Vernon Mwaanga, and the record is there.  

Mr Nkombo: In the Hansard.

Mr Mwiimbu: It is in the Hansard. It is public knowledge because it is in the records.

Mr Speaker: Anyway, my ruling is short. From a procedural point of view, it is difficult for me to make a ruling in the absence of a very clear reference. If it were something that I had personally dealt with, as Speaker, …

Mr Mwiimbu: The records are there.

Mr Speaker: I know that the records are there. However, I think that it would be more useful, for the hon. Member for Monze Central and any other hon. Member wishing to raise similar points of order to be more specific. It makes it easier for us to deal with such matters. So, I am unable to make a ruling. As much as what the hon. Member has referred to might have happened, the inability of the hon. Member to supply the relevant particulars ties my hands.

Hon. Member for Kamfinsa, you may proceed.

Mr Chishimba: Mr Speaker, before I was interrupted by Hon. Mwiimbu, I was about to appreciate the Ministry of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication’s acknowledgement of the deplorable state in which the roads in question are. However, the road got to that state in just one year. Did the contractor actually consult the Road Development Agency (RDA) on the specifications of the roads? I ask this because the roads were in a far better state before they were worked on by Swanipo.

The Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication (Mr Mukanga): Mr Speaker, just after it was completed, the road was in a very good state. However, after evaluation, we discovered that it was an under-design. The rehabilitation that will be undertaken in collaboration with Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) Limited will take that into consideration.

Mr Speaker, whenever any contractor works on our roads, they discusses with the Road Development Agency (RDA) because it is the authority on roads.

I thank you, Sir.  

Mr Mbewe (Chadiza): Mr Speaker, that is the Patriotic Front (PF) for you.

Laughter

Mr Mbewe: It considers …

Mr Speaker: I did not get you, hon. Member.

Mr Kambwili: Tom and Jerry.

Mr Mbewe: Sir, I said, “That is the PF for you” because …

Mr Speaker: Sorry, hon. Member. You said the PF for whom?

Mr Mbewe: For us.

Laughter

Mr Speaker: Proceed.

Mr Mbewe: Mr Speaker, it is common knowledge that the PF always prioritises quantity over quality.

Hon. Opposition Members: That is right!

Mr Mbewe:  Sir, a good example is the stretch of the Great East Road from the Hybrid Turn-off to Arcades Shopping Centre, on which one lane is higher than the other.

Laughter

Mr Mbewe: I do not know whether that is the new system of construction.

Laughter

Mr Mbewe: Mr Speaker, the road in Kitwe, which is the subject of the current question, is evidence of the culture of poor workmanship under this Government. What is the hon. Minister doing to the contractors who are doing shoddy works? Is he blacklisting them or giving them more contracts?

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, first and foremost, the road we are talking about was completed in 2011, shortly after the Patriotic Front (PF) Government came into power, ...

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: ... which means that all the discussions and actual contractual arrangements were made under the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD).

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mr Mukanga: So, when people debate, they should do so from an informed perspective. That will be better for us.

Mr Livune interjected.

Mr Mukanga: I am an engineer. So, I know what I am talking about.

Mr Speaker: Order!

Hon. Minister, please, do not respond directly.

Continue.

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, when we implement projects, as the PF Government, we do the right thing by following the laid-down procedures. With regard to the quality of works, we have achieved the highest standard in road construction. That is why the people of Zambia decided to re-elect us.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: They voted for the PF in 2011 and, upon reflection on how we have performed, decided to vote for President Edgar Chagwa Lungu in 2015.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: So, in as far as work is concerned, …

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mr Mukanga: … we will do our level best to please the people of Zambia, especially those who can see what we are doing so that they may base their decisions in the 2016 Elections on our performance.  

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mutelo (Lukulu West): Mr Speaker, …

Mr Livune: Aleisa sana.

Mr Mutelo: … it is with tears in my eyes …

Laughter

Mr Mutelo: … that I ask this question.

Sir, the Chibuluma Road was worked on recently and is to be worked on again in 2015. Somehow, the money has been sourced and set aside for that project to please the people of Zambia, …

Hon. Opposition Member: Katunda.

Mr Mutelo: ... but there is no money for the Katunda/Lukulu Road.

Laughter

Mr Mutelo: Sir, since the road will be worked on in 2015, how much money has been set aside for it? I was happy with the hon. Minister of Home Affairs because, at least, he gave us the time frames for the mobile registration exercise. When one just says that a project will be implemented in 2015, they will probably not be implemented. So, how much money has been set aside for Chibuluma Road in Kitwe? Additionally, when, in 2015, will the road be worked on? I ask this as I cry for the Katunda/Lukulu Road for which there is no money?

Laughter

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, the residents of Kitwe saw how bad the road was in the area where there are traffic lights on Central Street. However, after sometime, it was worked on by a private contractor engaged and funded by a private company as part of the latter’s corporate social responsibility. However, it has since deteriorated and we have engaged MCM in discussions over the possibility of its sponsoring the rehabilitation of the road because it is part of its corporate social responsibility.

Sir, the Katunda/Lukulu Road is not part of this question, but I can state that we are closely looking at it because working on it will ensure that the people of Lukulu and the North-Western Province are given the best service, which can only be done under the leadership of His Excellency Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Livune: Question!

Mr Miyanda (Mapatizya): Mr Speaker, who actually made the designs for the road? Further, were the designs approved by the Road Development Agency (RDA)?

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, I will answer the question even though it is a new one.

Sir, I know that when the design was made, the RDA was engaged in order for the contractor to execute the works.

I thank you, Sir.  

Mr Nkombo (Mazabuka Central): Mr Speaker, in one of his responses, the hon. Minster indicated that the Chibuluma Road was worked on under the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) and that the Patriotic Front (PF) did not have much to do with it. This is in spite of the area hon. Member of Parliament stating that the road was in a better state before it was worked on by Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) as part of its corporate social responsibility.

Sir, now that he has passed the buck to the MMD and, looking at the complexion of the PF ever since it was taken over by the MMD not so long ago, …

Laughter

Mr Nkombo: … is he not a little worried that there will be a repeat of the shoddy work on the road?

Laughter

Mr Speaker: Do you want to answer that, hon. Minister?

Laughter

Mr Mukanga indicated assent.

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, …

Mr Kambwili interjected.

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, firstly, I would like to state that the people of Zambia made a wise decision in voting for a presidential candidate who will give us the desired results.

Mr Mwila: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: That is why they voted for the right candidate on 20th January, 2015, …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: … a candidate who will give us the desired results.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: He has been giving the desired results, proper guidance and direction from the time he came into office …

Hon. Opposition Members: Ah!

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: … and the people are very happy because of that.

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, when people vote, they expect us to give them results, as we are the ones who are in control.

Mr Mwila: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: If the people have complaints, they should not wait for the time for questions in the House to ask them. If they have ideas, let them bring them forward. We will evaluate them and only implement those that we feel are correct. As for this road, …

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mr Mukanga: … we all agree that its current state is unacceptable, but the MMD was not voted for on 20th January, 2015.

Hon. Opposition Members: Ah!

Mr Mukanga: On that day, the people of Zambia voted for the PF, not any other party.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: Those who have been complaining because they are not in power are in the doldrums.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: Currently, the President of the Republic of Zambia is Mr Chagwa Lungu.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Hon. Opposition Members: Question!

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mr Mukanga: He is making decisions without interference from anybody …

Mr Mwiimbu: Ah!

Interruptions

Mr Mukanga: … and he will rule Zambia …

Mr Mwila: Beyond 2016

Mr Mukanga: … beyond 2016.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: Further, the PF will be in control of this Government even fifty years from now.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, we are doing all we can to provide leadership in this country without interference. All I ask of the Opposition and hon. Members of Parliament is for them to be patient.

Mr Livune: Question!

Mr Mukanga: Give our President a chance and you will see the desired results.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: Do not disturb him because we want to give the people of Zambia the best.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

CATTLE RUSTLING IN KALABO DISTRICT

438.    Mr Miyutu (Kalabo Central) asked the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock:

(a)    how many cases of cattle rustling were reported in Kalabo District from January, 2011, to October, 2014;

(b)    how many farmers lost their cattle through theft;

(c)    what impact the theft of cattle had on the affected farmers; and

(d)    what measures had been taken to alleviate poverty among farmers who had lost their cattle through thefts.

The Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock (Mr Ng’onga): Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock does not collect data on cases of stock thefts. When farmers lose animals through cattle rustling, they report the cases directly to Zambia Police Force, which is the institution responsible for handling all theft cases in the country.

Sir, in view of the response to part (a) of the Question, the ministry is not in a position to know the number of farmers who lost cattle through theft between January, 2011, and October, 2014, as that information is not forwarded to the ministry or its departments in the district.

Mr Speaker, stock theft, like all other cases of theft of property, means that the affected individual loses business and suffers loss of a productive resource and income. The farming activities of the affected farmers are disturbed, thereby negatively impacting on their ability to purchase food, pay bills and school fees and to grow their personal businesses.

Sir, there are no measures that are taken to alleviate poverty among farmers who have lost their cattle through theft because it is the responsibility of each individual farmer to properly secure their animals in order to prevent stock theft.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Miyutu: Mr Speaker, cattle belong to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock while a farmer is a client of the ministry. A farmer and the ministry are like a belt and trousers.  

Interruptions

Mr Miyutu: They are so related that the ministry should be able to know what is happening with the farmers all the time. The ministry, through the district officials in Kalabo, knows that the farmers there have lost animals through diseases like the Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) and anthrax and stock theft, which is rampant. These three factors, among others, have caused the poverty in the district.

Sir, the agricultural sector has a role to play …

Mr Speaker: What is your question?

Mr Miyutu: … in cattle restocking, which it does in other areas. Unfortunately, it has never done so in Kalabo. In order to help the farmers who have lost animals through the ways I have stated, when will this Government restock …

Laughter

Mr Miyutu: … cattle for the farmers in Kalabo District?

Mr Mutelo: Hear, hear!

Mr Ng’onga: Mr Speaker, the ministry is equally concerned about the scourge of cattle rustling. However, as I indicated, when farmers lose their animals, the first thing they do is call the police officers in the area. Those are the ones who investigate and try to recover the animals. However, we would also appreciate it if our officers were informed by the farmers in their areas whenever they lose their animals so that we can have the statistics. If this was done, we would have the data available. Unfortunately, currently, the first point of call when one loses animals, like in all suspicious losses of property, is the police. We sympathise with the farmers who lose their animals and we wish we could arrest the scourge. Unfortunately, like I have already said, such cases are not reported to the ministry.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Pande (Kasempa): Mr Speaker, as a follow up to the …

Mr Nkombo: On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, I raise this point of order in my capacity as your Whip, who is charged with the responsibility of assisting you to make the Business of this Assembly run smoothly.

Sir, it is clear from the answer that the hon. Minister has given that there is an indictment on our internal processes, namely, the Journals and Table Department. I actually stood on a point of procedure and asked whether, sitting in your Chair, you would not be kind enough, for the sake of those of us who value questions like this one, to send some of them back to the department and onwards to the responsible ministry, namely, the Ministry of Home Affairs, to be answered in a more comprehensive manner. Where I come from, we regard cattle as very serious investment. Therefore, all of us, hon. Members of Parliament, really need the information sought in this question and I understand the difficulty that my colleague had in asking his follow-up question. He ended up talking about cattle restocking.

Sir, is there no room for this question to be redirected to the appropriate ministry?

Mr Speaker: The point of order is noted. In fact, as a matter of practice, the ministry to which the question was wrongly directed should have actually passed the question on to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Speaker: That is the established practice and it is done, of course, through the Office of the Clerk.

The hon. Member may continue.

Mr Livune gestured to Hon. Lubinda.

Mr Pande: Mr Speaker, in view of the close relationship between the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and the farmers, is the ministry not considering having a unit to track cases of stock theft reported to the police?

The Minister of Agriculture and Livestock (Mr Lubinda): Mr Speaker, I appeal to Hon. Livune to learn to speak through you instead of heckling me because I have the ability to respond.

Mr Livune laughed.

Mr Lubinda: Mr Speaker, the question asked by the hon. Member is very important in that it gives us an opportunity to inform the House that the ministry, working with the World Bank, is actually working on a programme to enhance livestock identification and traceability, which will involve the placement of electronic tags on animals. The easy tracing of animals will be important in both disease control and tracking stolen animals. We hope to commission the programme before the close of this year. We are currently working with the experts who have the programme in different parts of the world, particularly, in Egypt and Italy. As soon as we are done with the experiments and trials, we shall commission the project.

I thank you, Sir.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE SIMWABA/NALEZA/KALAMA/MABANGA ROAD

439. Mr Mulomba (Magoye) asked the Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication:

(a)    when a new contractor would be engaged to complete the rehabilitation of the Simwaba/Naleza/Kalama/Mabanga Road in Magoye Parliamentary Constituency, which was abandoned by the previous manner;

(b)    what the cost of completing the outstanding work was; and

(c)    what the total cost of the project was.

Mr Siamunene: Mr Speaker, there are no immediate plans to engage a new contractor to complete the rehabilitation of the Simwaba/Naleza/Kalama/Mabanga Road in Magoye Parliamentary Constituency. The project will be considered for inclusion in the 2016 Ministry of Local Government and Housing Budget, subject to the road being prioritised by the local authority and the availability of funds. The project could not be included in the 2015 Road Sector Annual Work Plan (RSAWP) due to limited fiscal space.

Sir, the cost of the outstanding works, in accordance with the initial scope of works, is approximately K220,000.

Sir, the total cost of the initial contract was K437,167.30.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mulomba: Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister indicated that there are no immediate plans to engage another contractor to work on the road before 2016. Is he aware that the previous contractor did more harm than good to the road and that it is in a worse condition than it was in before the works? What does the ministry intend to do to the road before 2016?

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, we will blacklist the contractor for abandoning the job and, then, send our engineers to assess the possibility of the Rural Roads Unit (RRU) finishing the job.

Thank you, Sir.

Mr Habeenzu (Chikankata): Mr Speaker, before the ministry blacklists the contractor, does it intend to investigate the reason that led to the contractor abandonment of the works?

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, we will send our engineers to investigate the reason the contractor abandoned the road works.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister stated that the initial cost for the project was K437,167.30, but it is now at K220,000, and that it would only be worked on in 2016. Is that the normal way of doing things?

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, the initial cost for the project was K437,167.30, but it is now approximately K220,000 because it was abandoned after some works had been done. Since we have been told that the works had been abandoned, we decided to include the project in our plans so that we can move ahead. Meanwhile, we intend to send our engineers to see what can be done to that road so that we can make it passable, in case our people are not able to move from one place to another.

Thank you, Sir.

Mr Nkombo: Sir, when will the ministry send the engineers?

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, we will soon send our engineers within the first half of this year.

Thank you, Sir

___________

MOTIONS

ENHANCING THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORT AT INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING

Mr Mweetwa (Choma Central): Mr Speaker, I beg to move that this House urges the Government to take measures to enhance the development of sport at institutions of learning in order to promote youth participation and improve performance at local and international events.

Mr Speaker: Is the Motion seconded?

Dr Kalila (Lukulu East): Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.

Mr Mweetwa: Mr Speaker, allow me to express my profound appreciation to you for allowing me to move this Private Member’s Motion on the need for the Government to take serious measures to enhance the development of sport at institutions of learning in order to promote youth participation and improve performance of our athletes at local and international sporting events.

Sir, I move this Motion barely a week after we commemorated Youth Day …

Mr Speaker: Order!

Business was suspended from 1615 hours until 1630 hours.

[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]

Mr Mweetwa: Mr Speaker, before business was suspended, I had just begun to state that I am moving this Motion in the House barely a week after we celebrated Youth Day, on which, in recent years, all that is talked about is youth empowerment and the Youth Empowerment Fund (YEF), which only benefits a few youths, …

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order, on the right!

Mr Mweetwa: … at the expense of sport, which can be easily accessed by all the youths across the country. We are also debating this Motion barely a few months after the Zambia National Soccer Team was kicked out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in the first round for the second consecutive year and barely a few weeks after the Zambia Under 20 and Under 17 National Soccer Teams were kicked out of the continental competitions.

Sir, the importance of sport in any country cannot be over-emphasised. In fact, the subject of sport is close to my heart not only because I am a sportsman, but also because I know the benefits that it can bring to a country once its full potential is exploited.

Mr Speaker, let me put it on record, although it is a well-known fact that, if well-developed, sport has countless benefits at both the individual and national levels. At the individual level, participation in sport improves physical health, such as in weight control, strength building, increased flexibility, enhanced co-ordination and motor skills, improved cardio-vascular health and pain reduction. People who are physically active often tend to develop healthier lifestyles and better eating habits. Sport also provides a positive outlet for stress and aggression. Participation in sport can also help alleviate depression or anxiety and enhance self confidence, self image, concentration and mental functioning. Additionally, it helps people to learn how to set and achieve goals through discipline and hard work and nurtures the development of decision-making and leadership abilities while teaching people to manage both success and failure appropriately. People who participate in sport also have the opportunity to improve their communication skills and gain valuable experience in collaboration and team work.

Sir, sport brings together people who may otherwise not have a chance to meet and allows them an opportunity to share experiences and work together towards a common goal. These social skills and experiences are readily transferable to other aspects of life and can improve a person’s ability to succeed as a pupil, student, employee, community member or an advocate for a particular cause, such as a Member of Parliament. It also provides an alternative to risk and anti-social behaviour, creating sufficient structure, discipline and incentives for keeping young people away from drug abuse, violence, criminal activities and other vices. It can also promote patriotism and unity, provide entertainment in a nation and convey the core principles that are important in a democracy, such as tolerance, solidarity, co-operation and respect for rules and regulations.

Sir, participation in sport is commonly believed to develop positive character traits that can assist young people to become better citizens and more successful adults, reduce delinquency rates and risk behaviour, assist in moral development, including promotion of a sense of fair play, and instil a strong achievement-orientation. In short, sport is expected to teach the basic rules of acceptable social behaviour and inculcate fundamental social values, such as hard work, competitiveness and sacrifice. As well as being a tool for engaging young people in education and, in the right circumstances, positively affecting educational environments, sport can be used to deliver actual educational content, as its activities can be adapted to deliver educational messages through experimental learning while its programmes can be scheduled to include time for delivering a range of educational content, including life skills and health education. Educators also identify the value of sport in reinforcing the social development of young people in educational contexts, for example, by encouraging the development of communication skills and engagement in the classroom.

Mr Speaker, sport is internationally recognised as an important component of a holistic education programme. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) International Charter on Physical Education and Sport of 1978 states that:

“Every human being has a fundamental right to have access to physical education and sport.”

The charter declares access to physical education and sport essential for full personality development.

Mr Speaker, at the national level, sport has the potential to do many things, among them, the promotion of national unity and serve as tool for international diplomacy.

Mr Speaker, we saw the value of sport in uniting a country in 1995 when the great former leader of South Africa, Mr Nelson Mandela, graced the Rugby World Cup Finals in a rugby jersey, a sport that was widely considered to be a white man’s. Equally, after the 2011 General Elections in Zambia, a game of football between the Opposition and the Ruling Party hon. Members of Parliament was widely celebrated by the citizens of this country because it demonstrated the unity of the people of Zambia. Additionally, during the commemoration of the last Youth Day, a game of tug of war was organised in Choma between United Party for National Development (UPND) youths and their Patriotic Front (PF) counterparts. The events were graced by the hon. Minister of Information and Broadcasting. In that competition, the UPND female youths allowed their PF counterparts to win …
 
Laughter

Mr Mweetwa: … as a demonstration of their fair play while the UPND male youths terribly battered their PF…

Laughter

Mr Mweetwa: … counterparts. A week earlier the same sporting activity had been organised during the commemoration of Women’s Day, during which UPND women outclassed their PF counterparts. When you amalgamate the three results, it is very clear that these were dress rehearsals for what will happen in the 2016 General Elections.

 Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Laughter

Mr Mweetwa: Mr Speaker, we have also seen sport used as a powerful tool for international diplomacy in the isolation of the Apartheid regime by sidelining South Africa in international sport.

Mr Speaker, sport can contribute to socio-economic development, as enhanced participation in sport and recreation activities contribute to economic, social and cultural development across the country and delivers benefits to the community and the economy. Leading international bodies, such as the United Nations, have formally recognised sport as a contributor, alongside other interventions, to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and meeting of socio-economic and development challenges and promotion of global public health.

Sir, the construction and rehabilitation of sports facilities and development of sport for entertainment can create employment and marketing opportunities and increase the opportunity of a country to host international tournaments that can boost tourism and bring in the much-needed foreign exchange. Sport also provides personal returns to the sportsmen and sportswomen, who will not only become self-employed or self-reliant, but also be able to plough back the money into the economy. This point reminds me of a trip that one of your Committees undertook to Ghana, where its members were shown the Anthony ‘Tony’ Yeboah Hospital, which was named after the former Ghanaian Footballer who built it using money he had earned out of sports. Due to having too many competing demands on the national resource envelope, the Ghanaian Government might not have been able to build such a facility.
 
Sir, sport can also be used to promote reconciliation and peace. Since it is a common language that can bridge cultural, ethnic and geographical divides, many initiatives use sport to promote reconciliation in communities or nations in conflict. For example, programmes may operate at the local level, creating ethnically mixed teams or clinics. Sport also plays a role in international diplomacy, helping to establish communication within civil society which, sometimes, paves the way for political dialogue. Its contributions can also include symbolic gestures that facilitate dialogue and promote connectivity and shared experiences.  

Mr Speaker, sport can also be used to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment, and fight racism. In fact, it can be contended that sport is the first tool of choice that has been used in fighting racism. Sport can also be used as a tool within more specific aspects of policy, such as improving educational and health outcomes for girls and women. In countries where gender inequality is strongly entrenched and women and girls are formally discriminated against in legal, welfare and religious terms, sport-based programmes tailored to challenge attitudinal constraints are used to address these challenges.

Mr Speaker, with the foregoing in mind, one would expect that sport would be given a high priority by the Government, yet this county is at a crossroads in regard to sport development and there appears to be no deliberate policy measures to salvage the situation.

 Mr Kambwili: Question!

Mr Mweetwa: Sir, I have noted, with sadness, that, ever since the sport portfolio was removed from the ministry responsible for education and moved to the ministry responsible for youth affairs, Zambia has witnessed falling standards and poor performances in many sporting disciplines.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mweetwa: Sir, let me state that the failure by successive Governments to place the sports development function in the appropriate ministry, in my view, the ministry responsible for education, and the consequent failure by the nation to fully utilise learning institutions as centres or academies for sports development and excellence is the major reason sports standards are falling in Zambia. If sport in Zambia is to survive and develop to levels at which we will be able to compete favourably at international competitions, the Government needs to fully utilise schools, colleges and universities as an avenue through which talent can be identified and developed. What is happening currently is that sport is being developed from the top using the Ministry of Youth and Sport, through the Nation Sports Development Council (NASDEC) without well-established grassroots sports structures. This will not help the situation. The Government should utilise learning institutions and take advantage of the already-existing sports infrastructure there to tap from the readily-available raw materials, that is, pupils and students.

Mr Speaker, the situation at hand requires a fundamental policy shift towards establishing a clear sports policy in learning institutions and integrating sports in the broader national development agenda. It is my well-considered view that the Government considers re-adopting the sports developmental orientation of the past, in which a bottom-up approach was used in sports development and a well-structured sports development plan existed, with lower-level sports structures that served as nurseries for national teams.

Mr Speaker, the following are some of the many ways in which the Government can enhance the development of sport in our institutions of learning and, ultimately, our country:

Development of a Clear Sports Policy in Institutions of Learning

Sir, the development of a clear sports policy in institutions of learning requires the Government and implementers to be clear on the sports development approaches that will be used and the desired outcomes. The Government should consider introducing a sports policy for learning institutions that will target, among other things, making physical education (PE) and sport a compulsory and examinable subject, especially at the primary and secondary school levels. This is very cardinal and, if done, sports can enjoy a special place on the education calendar. Currently, sport is defined as an extracurricular activity, yet it is a core art, just like other arts, such as crafts, which the current curriculum review process is considering promoting as another pathway of progressing in institutions of learning for people who do not excel in the purely academic aspect of learning. This is very important because the way sport is now sidelined as a by-the-way school programme hinders talent development in athletes when they progress academically. For instance, talented youths who go to colleges and, especially, universities have limited time to participate in sport and, even when they participate, they are, in some instances, viewed by their lecturers as being playful. So, they are not given the correct attention to develop their talent for the benefit of the nation. An example in mind is that, not too long ago, the Zambia National Volleyball Team was travelling to compete for the qualification for the African Championships and the two best players in the team were students at the Copperbelt University (CBU), but they could not travel with the team because they were supposed to write their examinations in a few weeks. They feared that, if they had applied to write deferred examinations, their lecturers would have concluded that they were more interested in playing than in their academic work.

Introduction of Sports Scholarships

Sir, we also need to introduce sports scholarships to even the ground between students who want to pursue academic studies and those who wish to pursue professional sports or both, and provide adequate funding for sports activities in learning institutions through a budget line in the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education. Currently, as a result of a lack of funding for sports, the ministry has been left with no option, but to begin to implement measures that can only be deemed unorthodox to support sports activities. For example, the district school authorities have now written to head teachers and principals instructing that each pupil should pay a K50 sports fee, and that this money should be put in one pool to be administered by the district authorities. This is a contradiction to what should be happening. In my view, it is the Government that should provide the funding, not the poor families of school-going children, who already pay other school fees.

Training and Capacity Building Programmes for Sports and Physical Education Teachers on-the-Job or at the University Level

Mr Speaker, the Government must develop and institutionalise training and capacity building programmes for sports and PE teachers on-the-job or at the university level. In this regard, the Government can even develop curricula, rulebooks, training manuals and other materials for sports or PE programmes.

Promotion of Close Working Relationships between Sports Associations and Institutions of Learning

Mr Speaker, there is a need to promote close working relationships between sports associations and institutions of learning in order for the associations to render expert and technical assistance to institutions of learning for sports development. Partnerships can also be created between academic institutions and sports practitioners to promote research in sports development.

Mr Speaker, I propose that, as the Government considers implementing measures to enhance the development of sports in institutions of learning, it should re-introduce or reactivate the following:

(a)    district primary schools sports associations;

(b)    district amateur sports associations;

(c)    provincial sports associations;

(d)    Zambia Higher Institutions of Learning Sports Association (ZHILSA);

(e)    Zambia Secondary Schools Sports Association; and

(f)    revitalised Zambia secondary schools sports national teams.

Mr Speaker, allow me to reiterate the need for a clear sports policy at institutions of learning in order to foster sports development in the country at the grassroots level. Currently, sports, which are such an important set of national and international activities, an art by design, are referred to as extracurricular activities and have no proper place on the school calendar.
 
Sir, I urge hon. Members to support this Motion because it is non-controversial, straightforward and beneficial to the Executive. I would also like to take advantage of this opportunity to urge the other wing of the Zambian Government to enhance sports for its workers and hon. Members of Parliament so that the return match against Zimbabwe is played soon.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

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

Dr Kalila: Now, Sir.

Mr Speaker, I thank you most sincerely for according me the opportunity to second this very important Motion, which is, “That this House urges the Government to take measures to enhance the development of sports at institutions of learning in order to promote youth participation and improve performance at both the local and international levels.”

Sir, as the hon. Member of Parliament for Choma Central has stated, this is a very good and non-controversial Motion and I am delighted to second it. Let me take note of the three important issues that this Motion raises, namely:

(a)    that this Government should enhance sports development;

(b)    that there is a need to promote youth participation in sports; and

(c)    that we need to improve the country’s performance at both local and international competitions.

Mr Speaker, this is a very loaded Motion. In fact, it is very difficult to deal with it conclusively in twenty minutes, but I will try to be very brief and speak about some of the important or salient points that I consider worth espousing before both the hon. Ministers of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education, and Youth and Sport.

Sir, this Motion has come against a background of poor performance in sports, especially in the last month. I am sure that hon. Members are aware, if we use soccer as a window through which we can see what is happening elsewhere, that our senior national team, as my colleague has said, was booted out of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament held in Equatorial Guinea. Not only that, our Under-17 Football Team was also booted out of the Junior African Championship held in Niger. More recently, our Under-20 National Team lost all the three games in the first round of a continental tournament in Senegal. We are all aware, too, that all our athletes who participated in both Olympics and Commonwealth Games came back almost wallowing in shame at the fact that they did not bring any medals brought worth talking about. So, indeed, this Motion has been moved at the right time. Will we sit and let the situation continue as it is? I hope that we will not.

Sir, I will not dwell on the benefits of sports because my colleague, the mover, has aptly done that. So, I will talk about the reasons responsible for the current state of affairs in our sporting enterprise, which are many, but I will consider four, if not five.

Sir, the first factor is the all-important issue of the lack of a well-thought-out development framework. I think that this has been one of the reasons we have begun to see poor results because, in sports, the results you achieve today are due to what you did previously. I am sure that all sportsmen here, like the Minister of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education, Hon. Dr Kaingu, who is a keen sportsman, will agree with me on that. In fact, I am told Hon. Dr Kaingu holds a Black Belt in karate. That is why I keep a safe distance from him.

Laughter

Sir, I am also aware that the hon. Minister of Youth and Sport is also a keen sportsman. I am not sure about his neighbour (referring to Hon. Kambwili), but I think, he has also been trying.

Laughter

Mr Livune: Mpukunya matobo.

Dr Kalila: Sir, sporting achievements are a result of a process. You only reap results if you invest heavily before you actually participate in a competition.

Mr Mutelo: Hear, hear!

Dr Kalila: Sir, it is because of our lack of well-thought-out development programmes that we have begun to reap these poor results. In other words, we are not investing sufficiently in the development of our athletes. As my colleague has said, the biggest pool of athletes is the school system. There are thousands of our children in the school system among whom we can begin to harness the potential and develop talents. As my colleague has said, the time we excelled in sports was when the sporting function was under the ministry responsible for education. In other words, because of the disconnect that presently exists between the Ministries of Youth and Sport, and Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education, the sporting enterprise in the education sector has suffered. In fact, in the current education system, there is little attention paid to sports in terms of funding and programmes. The little sporting activity that takes place in schools is all about football. I think that those who had the privilege to go to school sometime back played cricket, basketball or badminton, unlike currently when sports in the school sector is only synonymous with football.

Mr Speaker, the second reason we are reaping poor results in sports is the disconnect I hinted at earlier. We have to go back to the basics; back to where the pool of athletes exists, which, currently, is the school sector. So, I urge my colleague, the hon. Minister of Youth and Sport, who, I am sure, is equal to the task, to start looking very carefully at sports development programmes, which he can only enhance if he works very closely with the hon. Minister of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education to tap into the wealth and potential of our people and our youths, who are in abundance in the school sector.

Mr Shakafuswa: Hear, hear!

Sir, third reason our sports is beginning to suffer, in my view, is that we have a weak legal and policy environment. Our policy, although updated recently, can still be improved upon because it seems to over-emphasise participation rather than qualitative development, which can lead to our getting optimum results. Additionally, in my view, our legal framework is also outdated in that it also over-emphasises participation promotion and is generally not respected. I think that everyone knows that the National Sports Council of Zambia (NSCZ), although it is the one that registers sports associations and clubs, is not that much respected by them, especially the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ). The associations and clubs go straight to the hon. Minister of Youth and Sport all the time in spite of having been admonished many times that they need to work under the supervision of the NSCZ. In my view, the council has no teeth because it is under-funded. So, people do not see much from it. They would rather go straight to Hon. Mwale to get the necessary funding for whatever they want to do. So, I think that there is a lot that we can do to the legal framework so that our sports begin to play an important role in national socio-economic development.

Sir, in terms of the institutional framework, you will discover that, although we have the Ministry of Youth and Sport with a Directorate of Sports, I think that sports officers go only as far as the provincial level. Beyond the province, there is nobody responsible for sports development.

Mr Mutelo: Hear, hear!

Dr Kalila: So, there is no one at the district level and the little sports activity that takes place at that level is mainly on a voluntary basis.

Mr Mutelo: Hear, hear!

Dr Kalila: Sir, although the NSCZ talks about the advisory committees and the like, these are a group of volunteers. So, they are not compelled or obliged in any way to organise sports, and I think that we need to do something about that. Many people continue to say that sports is not doing well as a result of under-funding. Yes, that is true but, unfortunately, it is not only money that goes into the improvement of sports. If you want to achieve good results in this enterprise of sports, there must be a correct mix or blend of many factors. Firstly, you must have a pool of athletes from the school system. Secondly, you must have the facilities. It is no use to teach people basketball when there are no basketball courts. Facilities must be present. Of course, I acknowledge that we have begun to do something in that regard, especially in terms of building stadia, which is the right way to go. However, even this is not enough. We also need sound management and administration skills. We all know that this is a challenge in this country, particularly in our sports associations. The managerial resources to run sports enterprises are very limited, to say the least. They bicker and disrespect their constitutions and drag one another to court every day. In light of all these things, it is important that we build the capacity of the administrators to run sports enterprises.

Mr Speaker, the coaching aspect is necessary if we are to produce results. Of course, we need money to undertake all these things. However, in modern sports management, attention is also paid to sports science because sport has become very competitive. It is no longer just a leisure activity. So, if we are to reap medals and perform at optimum levels, we need to invest in sports science, through which we will generate evidence, knowledge and best practices in line with our situation in this country.

Mr Speaker, many people do not realise it but, in fact, individual sports have brought more honour to Zambia than group sports. So, it is important that we pay attention to individual sports. For example, we have had more glory from boxing. You can talk about Mr Lottie Mwale and Esther Phiri. We have also had more glory from swimming and athletics, through sportsmen like Mr Samuel Matete and the legendary Yotam Muleya. Those who were born earlier than us recall what I am talking about. So, it is important that we begin to define ourselves, as a people. What are we good at? What kind of sport are we best at? For example, our Kenyan friends have realised that they are good at marathon and have invested heavily into it although they also continue to promote football. In Zambia, on the other hand, there has been an over-dependence on soccer. I was very impressed when, at the swearing in ceremony, the hon. Minister of Youth and Sport said that he did not intend to be the hon. Minister of football, but wished to look at other sporting activities in the country as well.

Mr Mbewe: Hear, hear!

Dr Kalila: If only he can follow up on his word, we will go somewhere, especially in individual sports on which our policy should focus more because they are the ones, so far, that have brought more honour and glory to the country.

Mr Speaker, in order to reap medals, it is important that our policy framework is right, like my colleague, Hon. Mweetwa, has indicated. It is shocking to discover that the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education does not have a policy on sport. There are practically no pathways, linkages or even structures through which some people who are talented in sports can progress to join organised associations and clubs so that they can begin to perform at optimum levels.

Mr Speaker, on account of time, I will abridge my debate by suggesting that, if I were given the opportunity to sit with the hon. Ministers of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education, and Youth and Sport at a dinner table, …

Mr Mbewe: Hear, hear!

Dr Kalila: … I would do more talking than eating and would suggest to them that there is a need to enhance our sports policy to emphasise development and create structures and linkages from the junior levels. If we are to attain results, like I have said, we need to invest.  The 2012 AFCON, which we won, was a result of what some other people had done earlier. Now, after 2012, we are struggling because nothing has been happening in terms of development. So, the hon. Minister of Youth and Sport should create synergies with the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education. The two ministries should collaborate in tapping into the huge resource at the school level.

Sir, sport, as a subject, should be part of the vocational pathway. I know that it is non-academic, but it can be recognised as a part of the vocational pathway so that those who are good at sport can pursue that path, like we have seen in other countries. Mr Samuel Matete got a scholarship on account of his athletic prowess. So did Melissa Nawa in golf and many other examples. Those of our children who are good at sports should not be discouraged. Instead, they should be included among those pursuing a vocational pathway so that they excel.

Sir, I would also urge the hon. Minister of Youth and Sport to immediately repeal the Sports Council of Zambia Act and replace it with the Sports Development Act, which will emphasise development, provide for a sports commission that can have a commissioner responsible for schools sports, the setting up of a sports lottery that can generate money for sports, especially currently, when the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education is struggling in terms of funding sport. My view is that the hon. Ministers of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education, and Youth and Sport must immediately impress upon sports associations, especially during the registration of the latter, that, unless they develop a development blueprint, they cannot be registered. They should tie their registration to development and the maintenance of reserve or junior teams. There was a time when FAZ talked about introducing a reserve league. In fact, those who have ever played football know that we once had reserve leagues, which we do not currently have. We need to re-introduce them at all levels of our sporting enterprises.

Sir, I am aware that there is a provision for a Sports Development Fund (SDF) in the NSCZ. However, I wonder whether it has ever been operationalised. If it has, we should strengthen it by introducing a lottery to pool more money into the fund. Some of the money can then be given to the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education to run sports activities.

Sir, I would also like to suggest that we should, as matter of necessity, establish an institute of sports science, which will generate knowledge and best practices to inform all the stakeholders in sport.

Mr Speaker, as I said, this is a very big subject to which you cannot do justice in a short time. Suffice it for me to emphasise that, if we intend to realise results, we must begin to pay attention to the school sector. There was a time when some of the best footballers came from Mwinilunga Secondary School. They included Obby Kapita, Milton Muke, Francis  Kajiya and Kapela. Now, there are not many because we just emphasise participation. Well, we participate, but we lose and come back to wait for the next tournament, assemble a team quickly, God knows where from, we participate, we lose and come back again. We do not do anything between events. Sport is a process. You must take several steps to realise the desired result from this undertaking.

Sir, this is a non-controversial Motion. So, it is my sincere hope that many hon. Members will support it, including those on your right.

With those few remarks, I beg to second.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear.

Mr Miyutu (Kalabo Central): Mr Speaker, I appreciate the mover of the Motion for moving it and would like to state that I am in support of it, especially since I come from a very rural constituency where there are almost no sports activities.

Mr Speaker, sometimes, a person might not know that the spear that has killed an animal has a wooden handle, which is completely different from the metal part. He might only look at the metal part of the spear and forget about the wooden handle, which has enabled him to throw the spear to kill the animal.

Mr Mutelo: Hmm! Tuyoko, yaya.

Mr Miyutu: Mr Speaker, the Government has ignored the learning institutions. This is March, and it is the time for sports in Kalabo. However, you can shed tears when you see how schools in Kalabo are failing to hold sports activities because they do not have food and balls, yet those are Government learning institutions. I thank the mover of this Motion because I know that the people of Kalabo are listening and want to hear the response of the Government to the Motion because we have suffered a lot.

Mr Mutelo: We are.

Mr Miyutu: This Motion should ring a bell for the Executive, a very big bell, like the one at some church somewhere.

Mr Mutelo:  In the Roman Catholic Church.

 Mr Miyutu: Mr Speaker, sports are being sidelined. The Government does not allocate any money to the promotion of sports activities in schools but has, instead, left the task of running sports in schools solely to the teachers. However, the teachers have not been empowered in any way, but receive letters asking them to organise sports activities in their schools. There was a time when the Government used to give grants to schools for them to run sports activities, but, lately, the responsibility has been left solely to the teachers in schools, yet it is from the institutions that we are ignoring that future players of various sports in our country are supposed to come from. These future players, who will be expected to fly Zambia’s flag high in other countries, are not being imparted with the skills that they need because the schools they go to do not have any sports programmes. I do not want to say too much, but I will still plead with the Government to allocate some coins to the provision of the equipment necessary for sports activities because sports are practical activities, not theoretical. Yes, one can learn sports academically, but the course must carry a component of practice, which must be facilitated by the provision of sports equipment. If you went to rural places in Kalabo or Luapula, the only sports activities the people know there is football, yet the field of sports is very vast. There are so many kinds of sport that should be played, but they are not held because the learning institutions have not been empowered and equipped. In many schools, there are no trained sports teachers. It is no wonder they call sports extra-curricular activities, meaning that sports activities are outside the curriculum. When you go to the schools to see the way they conduct this extra-curricular activity, you will find that it is not taken seriously. There is a laissez faire towards it. Pupils and teachers who do not want to participate in sports activities are allowed to go home. Surely, do we expect the schools to be reservoirs of good sportsmen and sportswomen in the future when they do not take sports seriously?   

Mr Speaker, how many times has Zambia won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament?

Hon. Opposition Members: Once.

Mr Miyutu: In contrast, how many times have we desired to win the tournament? The success that we desire cannot just come like a dream. It is not a dream. So, all those who have the desire to win must work to transform their desire into tangible results. Open your hearts, and pump money into the learning institutions to fund sports activities. There is nothing else that can take the place of money in the promotion of sports. A word will never take the place of money. Debates and speeches can also never take the place of money because money is the medium that will bring the balls, chess boards and other sports equipment to schools. Those are the things that the teachers need to teach the pupils sports. Unfortunately, the schools are not funded, yet the teachers are blamed and even written to, to explain why their schools do not do well in sports activities. That is not fair. Quite alright, it might be that the schools are not given money because the resource envelope is limited, but we can still glean a little from what is available and allocate it to sports. Some fraction must go to funding sports activities.

Sir, we all know the burden that we carry in supporting sports in schools when that burden should have been borne by the Government.  

Sir, it is only at sporting events that one can find a chairperson of some committee in the Patriotic Front (PF) shaking hands with his or her United Party for National Development (UPND) counterpart

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Miyutu: Mr Speaker, at events like inter-school sports tournaments, people from different political parties mix without even realising that they are from different political backgrounds. They come together in unity and share ideas.

Mr Mutelo: Hon. Kambwili and Hon. Mweetwa.

Mr Kambwili: Fyafula, mwana.

Laughter

Mr Miyutu: Mr Speaker, this is a very important Motion. Regardless of how old we may be, the children in schools need our support for them to become good sportsmen and women and make Zambia a shining star in sports.

With those few words, I thank you, Sir.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Speaker: Hon. Members, as we progress with the debate on the Motion, let us bring in new perspectives and organise our thoughts in advance. Let us, especially, avoid repetition. I think that the mover and seconder of the Motion have gone to great lengths and exhaustively and comprehensively presented it. I know that you are entitled to debate for twenty minutes, but let us use that time only if we can add value to the debate.

Hon. Member for Mazabuka Central, you may debate.

Mr Nkombo (Mazabuka Central): Mr Speaker, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to debate the Motion. I will take your advice seriously and be very brief.

Sir, to begin with, I would like to state that I support the Motion and that, indeed, there is an absolute need for the Government to prioritise sports and try to ignite the desire to participate in sports in pupils. I say so because those of us who went to school back in the early seventies do recall that, when we reported for Grade 1, there was not only a pack of khaki uniforms on the desk, but also a white short and a T-shirt, and sporting activities remained an integral part of the learning system. Physical Education (PE) was an integral part of the curriculum.

Sir, let me draw the attention of the House to the history of some sung and unsung legends of this country and beyond, who made a living from sporting activities. I have in mind Mr Yotam Muleya and Mr Samuel Matete, who have already been mentioned, Mr Godfrey ‘Ucar’ Chitalu, Jan Simulambo, Kaiser Kalambo, Fanny Hangunyu and Kalusha Bwalya, who were schoolboy internationals. Their talent was tapped from the education system. I also have in mind Peter Mhango and Denis Lota. All these people were identified from the school system. Away from football, the country has had excellent tennis players, some of whom, unfortunately, have migrated. We have the Simunyola brothers, Teza and Prof. Kela Simunyola, whose talent was tapped from the school system, too. The others are Robby Lingashi, Norena Mutoya and Philip Musonda who have done Zambia proud in the squash fraternity.

Sir, Zambia has bid to host the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament. The question that comes to mind is: What platform have we put in place to ensure that we do not contest as underdogs in a tournament we will host? We need to prepare adequately by putting money in talent-identification for us to get the best sportsmen and women in this country and the only way we can identify talent is by putting people to the test.                

Mr Speaker, moving forward, sport is, in itself, an investment that earns any country worth its salt revenue, just like art does in some West African countries like Nigeria. Twenty years ago, Nigeria deliberately put money into art and, today, the whole world is responding to the products that Nigerian film-makers and musicians are churning out onto the market. That industry is now humongous and earns Nigeria foreign exchange. The same applies to sport.

Sir, today, it is plain knowledge that, in some schools in Lusaka, the Capital City of Zambia, some children have never heard of hockey or badminton. They do not know what a shuttlecock or tennis is. As if that was not bad enough, one of the digital satellite television systems we enjoy watching in Zambia, Multichoice, which televises many sports on its bouquet, is about to become unaffordable to many Zambians due to the depreciation of the Kwacha. So, the few who have been enjoying watching football, tennis and other sport disciplines will no longer be able to do so because of the cost of the service. I am aware that there has been a campaign on social media against the announced increase in the fees and that the hon. Minister of Information and Broadcasting had a meeting with the company to try to ameliorate the situation. I hope that this will not be the final blackout for Zambians who watch sports because even just watching does create some sort of interest in people to participate.  

Mr Speaker, investment in school sports circumvents certain vices, including alcohol abuse and prostitution, which can lead to unwanted pregnancies among school girls. Sport keep youths away from vice because it is a pre-occupation in its own right. So, if we encourage investment of money into it, we will definitely be nation-builders and saviours of many youths from the vices I have mentioned.

Sir, this country has become very famous in pool or snooker and darts, which are played in beer halls. They are sports, quite alright, but sedentary activities. We have seen even people in the higher enclaves of the Government demonstrate an inclination to playing pool more than games that enhance physical wellbeing. The mover of the Motion was very clear when he stated that sporting activities enhance mental alertness and circumvent the contraction of simple ailments, such as the influenza (flu) virus.

Sir, let me end, because I promised that I would be very brief, by stating that the time has come for us to make our own heroes and legends. Today, even a child, whether male or female, in the most rural constituency is able to tell you about Wayne Rooney, Manchester United Football Club, Galatasaray SK, Fenerbahçe SK, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Nkombo: We have stopped celebrating the Mighty Mufulira Wonderers, Zamcoal Diggers, Monze Swallows and Nakambala Leopards. We have been re-colonised and made to believe that it is sufficient to know David Beckham, Ronaldo – Uitwa buti oyu?

Mr Livune: Ronaldinho.

Mr Nkombo: Ronaldinho. It is as if knowing Sir Alex Ferguson keeps our wheels turning, but we do not ask about ourselves.

Hon. Member: José Mourinho.

Mr Nkombo: This Motion is an indictment on the hon. Ministers of Youth and Sport, and Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education to harmonise their act. It also calls on all of us who mean to build a nation to agree, in no uncertain terms, that it is timely and should be adopted without a comma or full stop being modified.

Laughter

Mr Livune: No mpukunya matobo.

Mr Nkombo: We should agree that, come the next fiscal year, we will start saving our upcoming generations from the vices that result in juvenile delinquency. There are many delinquents in this country, and the time has come for us to stop believing that sports is an activity for idle minds or leisure like politics have become the mainstay of our youths. Today, our youths have found a livelihood in politics although it is a phenomenon that they probably do not understand much. They know it is a game of power, but they throw themselves into it and commit acts of violence to earn money to feed their families. If we created an alternative that could bring out real long-term benefits to our children, then, we would be doing the right thing. We also have gangs of youths on the street, who should be on the basketball court, the tennis court or football pitch, or engage in activities that would help them to discover who they are so that they can unleash their potential and make themselves better people in the future.

Mr Speaker, I support this Motion, and it is my plea that those on your right understand how non-controversial, harmless and progressive it is.

Again, Sir, I thank the mover, the seconder and those who debated before me, like Hon. Miyutu, for supporting the Motion. I shudder to think that anyone would want to put a comma, a full stop or even a question mark to a Motion so innocent and well-intended.

I thank you, Sir.

Ms Imenda (Luena): Mr Speaker, I thank the mover and the seconder for this very important Motion.

Sir, I note that all the pervious debaters have been men, and that is how it is in most cases in sports today. Sports in Zambia are male-dominated while women are forgotten.

Mr Nkombo: Hear, hear!

Ms Imenda: Sir, I salute the likes of Esther and Catherine Phiri and our women’s soccer team. These women need to be encouraged.

Sir, the youths of today scare me. They are so lethargic and obese. Talking about obesity, there is an article in one of the newspapers today that women, especially in Zambia, are very obese, fat or plump.

Mr Nkombo: Vidumbo.

Ms Imenda: This supports my opening statement that we forget about women. What do you expect if they cannot go for sports but, instead, spend all their time in the kitchen frying and tasting chips and other foods? They do not even go to the night clubs or bars …

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Laughter

Ms Imenda: … that the last debater talked about, where there are some types of leisure activities that may reduce obesity or, at least, relax their minds. We are even talking about people being diabetic, but what can we expect with so much intake of sugar, Coca-Cola and Fanta? You need some sport to burn off all those calories and look fit. Otherwise, what you will see is public opinion (pointing at her belly).

Laughter

Mr Livune: Madam, that is balloon type.

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

Ms Imenda: Mr Speaker, maybe, I am being old-fashion, but I will go as far as to suggest that we go back to the days of the United National Independence Party (UNIP), when we had compulsory National Service, if we cannot make people participate in sports. That is the only way we will be keep them fit. There they will be made to run uphill with guns at high point. They may pant for the first few days but, by the third day, they will be as fit as mules.

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

Ms Imenda: Mr Speaker, it might be premature to suggest that at the moment. So, maybe, let us try to use sports to keep our people fit and healthy.

Sir, as it has been mentioned, the starting point to developing sports should be institutions of learning because that is where you find a concentration of people of a certain age group.

Mr Livune: Even Parliament.

Ms Imenda: Of course, Parliament as well, as the hon. Member has mentioned. However, learning institutions are the ones from which you can tap a group of youths who can be involved in sports.

Mr Speaker, I commend the new hon. Minister of Youth and Sport for saying that his ministry is not just for soccer, but also for so many other sports, such as athletics. The other sports should also be promoted. I am still looking for somebody to take over from Samuel Matete, the 400 m hurdles champion who took over from Ed Moses of the United States of America.

Mr Livune interjected.

Ms Imenda: I am also looking forward to Zambia producing a decathlete. How many Zambians even know what decathlon is? Decathlon is the sport and a person who specialises in ten sporting activities in the athletics field is called a decathlete. The word comes from the Greek word ‘déka,’ which means ten. I am looking forward to a day when a Zambian will take over from the likes of Carl Lewis of the United States of America and Daley Thompson of the United Kingdom. I look forward to such people coming from Zambia, and we can do it. However, we need planning.

Sir, the problem we have in Zambia is that we start developing our sportsmen and women when they are already old. We should start when they are young.

Mr Livune: Chishimba Kambwili.

Laughter

Ms Imenda: I have noticed, in athletics, when you watch – what is this sport that takes place every four years?

Interruptions

Ms Imenda: The Olympics, ...

Mr Kambwili interjected.

Mr Speaker: Order!

Ms Imenda: … you will notice that the acrobats and gymnasts start very young. Some of them begin training at four or five years of age. When they start practicing at that age, their body flexibility becomes very good. We need to do the same in Zambia. We can also do the same with our footballers. Those fan-favourite Manchester United Football Club players did not start training when they were already eighteen, but rather when they were still very young. Those little boys you see escorting the footballers onto the pitch are part of the baby teams. They start training from that age and become fully-fledged footballers as they grow. I hope that my brother, the hon. Minister of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education, Dr Kaingu, is listening. Sports should begin at schools because that is where we have a concentration of children.

Mr Speaker, our rural areas are ignored in as far as sport is concerned. As a woman who represents a rural constituency, I challenged Kalusha Bwalya the other day to tell me why the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) does not get players from rural areas and concentrates on urban areas. I also asked him where the next Kalusha Bwalyas would come from. Good players can be found in places like Liuwa. The people in Liuwa are hunters who can chase a zebra until it gets tired and, then, walk it into the village.

Laughter

Ms Imenda: Sir, if you introduce such people to cross-country, they will excel at it.

Sir, what occupies the minds of our young people? My predecessor here (indicating Hon. Nkombo) has already talked about teenage pregnancies. If you do not introduce alternative activities, how will you combat teenage pregnancies? What can the young people do if there is nothing else to do? There is a sport that is freely available and they will engage in it.

Mr Livune: That is right.

Laughter

Ms Imenda: So, how do you combat that problem?

Laughter

Ms Imenda: Mr Speaker, …

Mr Speaker: We may be misconstruing the definition of sports.

Laughter

Mr Mufalali: What is that sport?

Laughter

Ms Imenda: Mr Speaker, in diversifying our sports from emphasising football alone, we can introduce rowing. Even paddling. I think, that is a sport, too. People who come from areas near water bodies, such as the Zambezi River and Lake Bangweulu, should be encouraged to take up paddling and swimming as sports because they are already familiar with those activities. If you go and tap that talent from the rural areas, you will be able to develop sportsmen and women who will excel even at the Olympic Games.  For example, in Kenya, they have discovered where their strength in sport is and decided to invest in that area.
 
Mr Speaker, in schools, it is easy to call sports experts to train and motivate the children in sports. For example, when I was in Form 2, a certain Brazilian man taught us how to throw discus. To that point, everybody had thought that discus was only about swinging. The Brazilian man showed us how to spin, and that is how I got a comparative advantage in the sport over everybody else in the Western Province. When the sports day came, I just swung and my throw was the furthest even though I was a very slender person. I managed to ...

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Imenda: … beat people who were more muscular than me. I just swung, released the discus and it went very far.

Laughter

Mr Livune: Released?

Laughter

Ms Imenda: Mr Speaker, when I was in Form 5, there was a girl from Sefula Secondary School.

Mr Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member, I think that you have given sufficient personal examples. You may, now, risk debating yourself. I gave you leeway to give one example or two.

Ms Imenda: Mr Speaker, when I was still in school, there was somebody who was very good at high jump. This person did not come from the line of rail, but he represented Zambia at the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games. This person was from some rural area of Barotseland. What I am saying is that, if you go to all the schools in both rural and urban areas, you will capture everybody, not just some section of our society.

Sir, with those words, I support the Motion.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

The Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services (Mr Kambwili): Mr Speaker, thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to add a word to the debate on the Motion on the Floor. I will be very brief.

Sir, what I have learnt from this afternoon’s debate is that there is a lack of consultation between our colleagues in the Opposition and us, in the Executive. When we bring up Private Member’s Motions that hinge on the Ministry of Youth and Sport, I advise that we sit with the hon. Minister of Youth and Sport to find out what is being done in the ministry so that we do not waste time on unnecessary debates.

Sir, when I heard the hon. Minister, I mean, the …

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwila: You are not a Minister.

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mr Kambwili: Anybody is a potential Minister, depending on the political party they belong to.

Laughter

Mr Kambwili: If you belong to a wrong political party that declares itself a winner before the winner is announced, you will never be a Minister.

Mr Livune: Question!

Mr Kambwili: Mr Speaker, when I heard my colleague, Hon. Mweetwa, speak, I had the impression that he might have had documents from either the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education or the Ministry of Youth and Sport because everything that he proposed is already being done. There is an inter-ministerial committee on sport, and we have prioritised sport in primary schools. That is why we want to employ sports co-ordinators at the district level. We want to do that under the Decentralisation Policy in the local authorities, that is, the councils, to enhance sports in primary and secondary schools.

Sir, we agree that, between 1990 and 2011, sports had deteriorated in Zambia because the people who were responsible for running the country did not bother much about sports in schools. However, when the Patriotic Front (PF) came into power, we realised that there was that disconnect and tried to fix it.

Sir, I heard Hon. Nkombo say that, for a certain thing to work out, it required long-term planning. He even cited the example of Nigeria having invested in film-making twenty years ago and reaping the fruits now. Now, do hon. Members want the PF to perform wonders in three years? We have planned exactly the same way the hon. Members want us to, and I think that the results will start showing eventually. Therefore, this Motion is not necessary.

Interruptions

Mr Kambwili: You are pushing an open door. Speaking on behalf of the Executive, I do not support this Motion.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Minister of Youth and Sport (Mr Mwale): Mr Speaker, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to wind up the debate on this Motion for the Executive.

Sir, the former hon. Minister of Youth and Sport, who is now the hon. Minister of Information and Broadcasting, has given ample background to what I now want to outline.

Sir, there are a number of measures and interventions that the ministries of Youth and Sport, and Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education are effecting to develop sport, namely:

Policy and Legislation

Sir, I ask hon. Members to mark this: The Government has a National Sports Policy to guide and encourage all stakeholders, including the people of Zambia, to participate in a sport of their choice to enhance their health, socio-economic and political development. The policy promotes the teaching of Physical Education (PE) and sports in learning institutions, and I take note that learning institutions were specifically singled out in this discussion. In addition, the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education developed a new curriculum that is currently being implemented, which also encourages the teaching of PE and sport in schools from early childhood to Grade 12. Under the two-tier system, the curriculum is segmented into academic and technical pathways. This allays the fears of Hon. Dr Kalila. In the technical pathway, pupils will have an opportunity to follow a vocation-oriented pathway in which one of the subjects is PE and sport, which is examinable at Grades 9 and 12. This allays Hon. Mweetwa’s fears.

Sir, in order to ensure the effective implementation of the sports policy and new curriculum, the Government established an Inter-ministerial Committee on Physical Education and Sport consisting of key stakeholders from the Ministries of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education; Transport, Works, Supply and Communication, which is responsible for infrastructure development; and Youth and Sport. The committee aims to revive PE in institutions of learning and ensure that PE is taught by people with the right qualifications. This should address one of Hon. Dr Kalila’s concerns.

Mr Speaker, we acknowledge that, currently, there are a number of challenges that need to be addressed in our learning institutions, including:

(a)    inadequate qualified PE teachers. Currently, there are less than 600 of them and most have only diploma qualifications;

(b)    inadequate or dilapidated sports infrastructure in schools and communities;

(c)    inadequate sport equipment;

(d)    inadequate resources to invest in sports development;

(e)    poor physical fitness; and

(f)    inadequate experts in sports medicine, sports nutrition, sports psychology and fitness.

Sir, in this regard, the Government has taken measures to ensure that all the new schools under construction have sports facilities in their designs. In the quest to increase the number of PE teachers, the Government has upgraded some colleges, such as the former Kwame Nkrumah College and National In-Service Teacher Training College (NISTCO), commonly called Chalimbana, into universities, which will offer degree courses in PE. All these efforts are aimed at improving and enhancing PE and sport in learning institutions.

Mr Speaker, with regard to improving the performance of athletes at regional and international competitions, which was another theme of the Motion, the Government is currently implementing a number of programmes.

Capacity Building for Coaches and Sports Administrators

Sir, you may wish to know that, currently, most coaches in Zambia are under qualified, by international standards.

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order, on the right!

Mr Nkombo: Same side.

Mr Mwale: Most of them have basic first-level qualifications, which limits their ability to impart adequate knowledge and techniques into the athletes and do not accord them the right to sit on the technical bench during international competitions.

Mr Mweetwa: Yes.

Mr Mwale: Mr Speaker, to this effect, the Government introduced the Sports Education and Accreditation System in 2013. The programme focuses on the education and accreditation of coaches to ensure that uniform internationally-accepted qualifications are attained in the country. It is hoped that, once the programme has been fully implemented, coaches will have the right qualifications to produce quality elite athletes who will effectively represent the country and mint medals at the regional and international levels.

Talent Identification and Development

Sir, in order to identify and nurture athletes who have the potential to mint medals in particular sports, the Ministry of Youth and Sport has since 2014 been implementing the Podium Performance Programme (PPP). In that regard, the Olympic Youth Development Centre (OYDC) has been designated as a Centre of Excellence. This programme answers Hon. Dr Kalila’s question about our focus being solely on football because it will help us mint medals in judo, karate and other sporting disciplines. Athletes with the potential to win medals, including those identified in schools, will be mobilised from different sports disciplines and taken to the OYDC for further nurturing and preparation.

Community Sport

Mr Speaker, in order to encourage participation in sport and physical fitness activities at the grassroots level, the Government will soon launch the Community Sports Programme, which will be another platform for talent identification and future participation of the youth in local, regional and international sports events. This should comfort the Hon. Member for Luena, who was worried about the high incidence of obesity and inadequate participation of the general citizenry, especially women, in sport. We intend to put up infrastructure, such as football pitches, and netball, basketball and volleyball courts, which will be fenced and dressing rooms and boreholes, in almost all constituencies so that we can allow women to participate in sport. In fact, we are now preparing ourselves to launch this programme.
    
Sports Infrastructure

Sir, the Government has embarked on the construction and rehabilitation of sports facilities across the country to improve participation in sports at all levels. This is being done in phases as resources become available. With these efforts, we aim to improve access to sports infrastructure by all. A good example is the construction of the Levy Mwanawasa and Heroes Stadia. The construction of sports complexes in Chinsali and Mufumbwe, which will be similar to the OYDC, …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwale: … and stadia in Mongu and Livingstone are all in the pipeline. That takes care of the issue of sports infrastructure.

Incentives in Sport

Mr Speaker, the Government has noted another area that needs to be addressed in the development of sports, which is the aspect of motivation. Therefore, it will soon revise the National Sports Policy to incorporate aspects of sports incentives.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwale: Sir, the incentives will not only be monetary, but will also include rewards like award of scholarships. That will address yet another of Hon. Dr Kalila’s concerns. So, we are already doing all the things that have been proposed. Therefore, there was no need for this Motion to be moved.

Laughter

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwale: Mr Speaker, the Government is working tirelessly to create an enabling environment for the development of sport through increased investment; promotion of the local production of sports equipment; infrastructure development; capacity building of coaches and administrators; and training of experts in sports medicine, nutrition, psychology and fitness.

Sir, again, as I highlighted, sports development is not cheap in material or human resource preparation. The investment takes long to bear the desired results. For instance, it takes eight years to develop an athlete who can win a gold medal at international tournaments, such as the Olympic Games. It, therefore, calls for the concerted efforts of all stakeholders, especially the private sector. I, therefore, urge the hon. Members of this august House to encourage the private sector in their constituencies to invest in sport. I am very impressed that Hon. Nkombo was able to talk about almost all the famous footballers of this world, such as Ronaldinho. However, that was a self-indictment because he was the one who also decried the fact that we know more about the outside than about Zambia in as far as football is concerned. He actually portrayed what is happening in the country. Hon. Nkombo knows more about world-famous sportsmen than Mufulira Wonderers players. So, there is a need for all of us to change and provide leadership in recognising local sports. We should be going to Nkoloma Stadium to watch football matches and other sports activities.

 Mr Speaker, as I conclude, let me comment on some of the questions raised by some hon. Members who debated this Motion.

Sir, there was a concern that we do not have a clear sports development policy. Let me say that it is there and we have demonstrated that.

 Interruptions

Mr Mwale: Sir, I know that I will conclude before the tea break.

Mr Speaker, some hon. Members talked about the lack of provincial, district and national sports committees or associations but, to the contrary, the committees are there and they affiliate to the National Sports Council of Zambia (NSCZ), which gives them a bit of funding to support their activities.

Sir, there was a call for the revision of the NSCZ Act to make it more relevant the current sports needs, I wish to inform the House that, that is already in the pipeline. In fact, if there are hon. Members who may wish to participate and see what is happening, they can go to our offices.

Sir, we have already talked about the existence of an inter-ministerial committee on sports development.
 
Mr Speaker, we also have a draft document on the operationalisation of the Sport Development Fund (SDF), incentives included.

Sir, everything that has been raised in this Motion by the mover, the seconder and everybody else who contributed to the debate have been taken care of. I assure the House that sport is in safe hands because the hon. Minister is a sportsman and the Government cares for sport. I, therefore, do not know whether there is any necessity to have the Motion passed by this House.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

 Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mweetwa: Mr Speaker, I profoundly thank all the hon. Members who have debated this Motion, namely, Hon. Miyutu, Hon. Nkombo, Hon. Imenda, my now publicly known good friend, Hon. Kambwili and the hon. Minister of Sport and Youth. In the name of my partnership or friendship with Hon. Kambwili, I urge hon. Members to take advantage of national functions to promote sport and unity in the country, like we did. There is no justification for us, who enjoy good relations here, to fan anarchy in the communities. That is not in the interest of the youths of this country.

Mr Speaker, regardless of the outcome of this Motion, I am very proud to have moved it because it is very clear that all the hon. Members who participated in the debate, either by debating or listening, enjoyed it. We have also been able to understand that hon. Members are very knowledgeable, as demonstrated by Hon. Imenda, who told us that she was once slender and beautiful.

Laughter

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mr Mweetwa: Sir, she is still beautiful.
 
Mr Speaker, her knowledge of sports would not have been revealed to the House and the nation if I had not moved this Motion.

Sir, I am encouraged by the responses of the two hon. Ministers. However, I do not necessarily agree with them that the Motion was not necessary because, listening to them, they actually have been the greater beneficiaries of this Motion because it has given them a platform to expound what they are doing, and intend to do, to the whole House, unlike if had gone alone to find out from the hon. Minister’s Office. Then, only Hon. Mweetwa would have known. Now, the whole nation does. Therefore, this Motion is very beneficial to both sides of this House. Equally, it is in the furtherance of our duties to move Motions that assist the Government to make its good works visible to the public, which is often not aware.

 Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mweetwa: Further, Sir, the hon. Ministers have agreed that, essentially, they are already doing or intend to do what we have proposed they do. However, what we have come here for is to ask them to enhance the development of sports. We have not commanded them to do what they do not want to do.

 Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mweetwa: Mr Speaker, both the Opposition and the Ruling Party are in total agreement and have done justice to the topic.

Sir, I also think that many people are now more hopeful that sports will develop even under the leadership of the Patriotic Front (PF). Therefore, with that in mind, I urge the Executive to U-turn on, and forget, the statements that have been made on its behalf by the two hon. Ministers because they were made as a result of a misunderstanding of our proposition. We are actually in agreement and should unanimously support the Motion, which is meant to enhance sports.

Sir, with those few words, I thank you.

 Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!     

Question that this House urges the Government to take measures to enhance the development of sports at institutions of learning in order to promote youth participation and improve performance at local and international events put and negatived.

ADJOURNMENT

The Vice-President (Mrs Wina): Mr Speaker, I beg to move that the House do now adjourn.

Question put and agreed to.

________

The House adjourned at 1814 hours until 1430 hours on Thursday, 19th March, 2015.