Friday, 19th June, 2015

The House met at 0900 hours

[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]

NATIONAL ANTHEM

PRAYER

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ANNOUNCEMENT BY MR SPEAKER

ACTING LEADER OF GOVERNMENT BUSINESS IN THE HOUSE

Mr Speaker: I wish to inform the House that, in the absence of both Her Honour the Vice-President and the hon. Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication and Government Chief Whip, who are both attending to equally important Government business, the hon. Minister of Justice, Dr Ngosa Simbyakula, MP, has been appointed Acting Leader of Government Business in the House today, Friday, 19th June, 2015.

Thank you.
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BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

The Minister of Justice and Acting Leader of Government Business in the House (Dr Simbyakula): Mr Speaker, I rise to acquaint the House with the business it will consider next week.

Sir, on Tuesday, 23rd June, 2015, the Business of the House will begin with Questions for Oral Answer, if there will be any. This will be followed by Presentation of Government Bills, if there will be any. After that, the House will debate the Motions on the reports from the following Committees:

(a)    Communications, Transport, Works and Supply; and

(b)    Estimates (main report).

Mr Speaker, on Wednesday, 24th June, 2015, the Business of the House will begin with Questions for Oral Answer, if there will be any. This will be followed by the Presentation of Government Bills, if there will be any. Thereafter, the House will consider Private Members’ Motions, if there will be any. Then, the House will debate the Motion on the Report of the Economic Affairs, Energy and Labour.

Sir, on Thursday, 25th June, 2015, the Business of the House will commence with Questions for Oral Answer, if there will be any. This will be followed by the Presentation of Government Bills, if there will be any. The House will, then, debate the Motions on the reports from the following Committees:

(a)    Legal Affairs, Governance, Human Rights, Gender Matters and Child Affairs; and

(b)    National Security and Foreign Affairs.

Mr Speaker, on Friday, 26th June, 2015, the Business of the House will begin with the Her Honour the Vice-President’s Question Time. This will be followed by Questions for Oral Answer, if there will be any. After that, the House will deal with the Presentation of Government Bills, if there will be any. Then, the House will consider the Second Reading Stage of the Referendum (Amendment) Bill, No. 5 of 2015. Thereafter, the House will debate the Motion on the Report of the Committee on Estimates, the quarterly review of the Budget. The House will, then, deal with any other business that may be outstanding.

I thank you, Sir.
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QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

ADDITIONAL LIBRARY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA

537. Mr Miyanda (Mapatizya) asked the Minister of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education:

(a)    whether the Government had any plans to construct another library at the University of Zambia (UNZA), Great East Road Campus, in order to accommodate the increased number of students;

(b)    if so, when the plans would be implemented;

(c)    what the cost of constructing a new library was; and

(d)    if there was no such plans, why.

The Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education (Mr Mabumba): Mr Speaker, the university has plans to improve and expand the physical and technical capacity of the library at the University of Zambia (UNZA) in order to accommodate the increased number of students within the University of Zambia Strategic Plan of 2013 to 2017. The plan is to build libraries that are within schools in addition to the main university library.

Sir, the plan is being implemented in a phased approach and is expected to be completed in 2017.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Miyanda: Mr Speaker, has anything being done towards the implementation of this project at this important university since we only have a year before it is 2017?

The Minister of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education (Dr Kaingu): Mr Speaker, our answer is very clear. Let me also add that one hon. Member of this House, who was the Vice-Chancellor then, together with others, came up with a network provider called the Zambia Research and Education Network (ZAMREN) to improve on the learning at the University of Zambia (UNZA) and the other two universities. This network provider was to enable the learners, the researchers and, indeed, any other person concerned with education to access materials from the internet. On this network provider, we also have the open education resources.

Sir, I, therefore, want to thank this hon. Member of Parliament who did this good job for UNZA, Copperbelt University and Mulungushi University because, now, students can access materials from these three universities and any other sites that they would want to access.

Mr Speaker, we are moving away from conventional learning. With the advent of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), I want to encourage our learners and researchers out there to use the ICT as the leverage pedagogue to improve learning in schools.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.
    
Mr Lufuma (Kabompo West) Mr Speaker, whereas we appreciate the initiative that was undertaken by the named hon. Member of Parliament, who is the ex-chancellor of the university, we also appreciate that most of our students at the University of Zambia (UNZA) come from poor backgrounds and even struggle to pay the necessary fees required by the university. We know that internet is not free. Therefore, has a facility been put in place to ensure that these poor students access this facility free of charge?

Dr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, the hon. Member’s assertion is, indeed, true. This is why it is a special internet provider. It is offered almost free to our learners. I want to add that if we are going to utilise the ICT, we are going to cut our education budget to almost 30 per cent of the National Budget.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Hamudulu (Siavonga): Mr Speaker, I would like the hon. Minister to confirm, here and now, that the system that he has made reference to, which is internet based, is actually dotted with a lot of operational problems and that it is not reliable.
 
Dr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, the hon. Member of Parliament is misinformed. The truth of the matter is that you can access ZAMREN anywhere around UNZA, Mulungushi and Copper belt University campuses and, maybe, even outside the campuses. That is the state of affairs.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Namulambe (Mpongwe): Mr Speaker, the usage of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) and also the provision of free internet services to the students is very welcome. However, there may be some people who study online and the rates of internet services in Zambia are quite high. Therefore, what is the hon. Minister and his counterpart at the Ministry of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication doing to ensure that the rates of internet services are lowered so that every Zambia can access them?

Dr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, I want to apologise to hon. Members. It seems I was not very clear on this issue and, maybe, I should repeat myself. This internet service is almost free to the learners, researchers and any other person dealing with education. So, I do not see how the issue of costs comes in. We worked with the Ministry of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication at the time of establishing ZAMREN, through the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA), and other network providers like Airtel and the Zambia Telecommunications Company (Zamtel) to come up with this network provider. This network provider connects the researchers and learners to Ubuntu Net, which is for the Southern and Eastern African regions, and it connects Africa to the world. Therefore, one is able to access any material that he/she would want as he/she studies and carries out research.

Sir, I also want to inform hon. Members that, as a country and a region, we are developing what we call Square Kilometer Array (SKA) and African Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) Network or AVN to utilise Mwembeshi Earth Station which is obsolete so that we can use it as a radio autonomy to receive research signals, again, to enable our researchers and scientists to access current information on the subject that I mentioned.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Ms Imenda (Luena): Mr Speaker, I want to be educated. First of all, I appreciate the new technology that has been introduced. However, I believe that we should still not do away with the conventional way of borrowing a book from the library. Now, with this technology, one can still read a book online, but then for him/her to read it from his/her room, they will require computer hardware and because of that, I believe that the conventional way of having hardcopy books is still very important. The hon. Minister, in his response, mentioned that libraries will be enhanced. How will he ensure that the books that are available in the conventional form, as we know it, are up-to-date and available?

Dr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, I would like the hon. Member of Parliament for Luena to know that, actually, with the ICT, you will stop borrowing books. The materials will be with you twenty- four hours, seven days, thirty or thirty-one days and everyday of the year. I know that most of the learners at UNZA have cellular phones. Therefore, as long as one has a cellular phone, they will be connected to ZAMREN. With regard to the updating of hardcopy books, it is very difficult to update the hard copy materials, but it is very easy to update the ICT materials.  
    
In fact, Sir, you are always up to date with ZAMREN because it is a wonderful piece of technology. I am there wondering why our lectures at the UNZA are even clamming for an overload when they have this technology. Therefore, for your information, you are able to update yourself hourly or on a daily basis as long as you have your cellular phone.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mutelo (Lukulu West): Mr Speaker, twice the hon. Minister has said that this internet service is offered almost free. What does the hon. Minister mean? Could he come out clearly whether the internet is free or almost free?

Mr Speaker: Order!

What is meant by the phrase ‘almost free?’

Dr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, there is always a minimum cost to everything and  I would not know the minimum cost, but I can assure the hon. Member of Parliament for Lukulu West that it is much cheaper to use the ICT than to continue with our conventional learning.

 I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mwiimbu (Monze Central): Mr Speaker, I would like to appreciate the answers that have been made by hon. Minister pertaining to the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in universities and schools. The question that begs an answer is: What measures has the Government put in place to ensure that students at the university, secondary schools and, in particular, in primary schools and those in basic schools have computers? This is considering that computer lessons are now examinable, and yet the Government has not provided anything and that most of the pupils who are from secondary schools have no knowledge of the ICT.

Dr. Kaingu: Sir, you will agree with me that the hon. Member of Parliament for Monze Central has digressed a bit from the question, but I would want to use this question to implore other hon. Members to be progressive. I had actually had a discussion with this progressive hon. Member of Parliament for Monze Central, who approached me with a request to use the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to buy computers for his schools. That is what we call being progressive.

Laughter

Dr. Kaingu: Mr Speaker, such hon. Members of Parliament must continue to come to this House because they make the Government’s business very easy.

Sir, this Government has come up with this very good intervention called the CDF and I would want, therefore, to encourage other hon. Members of Parliament to follow the footsteps ofthis progressive hon. Member of Parliament for Monze Central to utilise their CDF to acquire computers and laptops for their schools.

Interruptions

Dr. Kaingu: Mr Speaker, I have seen that whenever you mention the CDF, you emotionally injure some hon. Members.

Laughter

Mr Speaker: Order!

If I may just intercede, may the hon. Minister, please, focus on the question, which is: What measures is the Government taking in that regard? I appreciate all the points that you have made about the CDF as a supplementary measure, but what measures have been undertaken by the Government? That is the question.

 Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Dr. Kaingu: Mr Speaker, I would like to thank you for that guidance.  I am sure you can hear the support that you are getting from the hon. Members.

Laughter

Dr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, that is how it should be.

Sir, we, as a Government, are striving, through the budget that has been provided, to acquire computers. So far, we distributed about seventy-five computers in each province. We are also budgeting to come up with a component of our target that will focus on acquiring computers.

Mr Speaker, I would like the House to know that even Rwanda which came up with one laptop per child has failed to achieve that. In fact, Rwanda went further by bringing in a manufacturing company into the country, but even then, it has failed to achieve having a laptop for each child.

Sir, the House may also wish to know that when I was with the hon. Minister of Education from Rwanda in China, he confessed to me about moving away from the principle of one laptop per child. I would, therefore, want to appeal to our parent-teacher associations (PTAs) to also utilise some of the money that they get to acquire this very important tool of learning.

 I thank you, Sir.

PROGRESS ON CONSTRUCTION OF HEALTH POSTS IN LIUWA CONSTITUENCY

538. Dr. Musokotwane (Liuwa) asked the Minister of Community Development, Mother and Child Health:

(a)    what the progress on the construction of the following health posts in Liuwa Parliamentary Constituency, which commenced in 2010, was:

(i)    Namweti;

(ii)    Mulinga;

(iii)    Luoke West; and

(iv)    Mushukula;

(b)    what estimated period for completing the projects was

(c)    what had caused the delay in completing the projects; and

(d)    what the health post at Salunda, which was completed in 2011, would become operational.

The Deputy Minister of Community Development, Mother and Child Health (Mr Chisala): Mr Speaker, I wish to inform the House that the following is the progress recorded:

(a)    Namweti

Mr Speaker, this health post is being constructed under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). The current progress on the site is that the staff house has been completed. The outstanding works include out-patient department (OPD) and the ventilated-improved pit latrines (VIP);

(b)    Mulinga

Sir, works for all the structures in the scope of works have commenced. Both staff house and the OPD are roofed. The outstanding works are wall and floor finish, metal work, carpentry and paint works;

(c)    Luoke West

Mr Speaker, currently at this health post, both the OPD and the staff house are at gable level. The outstanding works are roofing, finishes, metal, carpentry and paint works of both the staff house and the OPD. Further, the construction of the VIPs has not yet commenced; and

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

There are far too many conversations going on, both on the left and the right. I am not able to follow the hon. Minister.

Hon. Minister, you may continue.

Mr Chisala:

(d)    Mushukula

 Mr Speaker, currently at Mushikula Health Post, only the outpatient department and foundation excavations for staff houses have commenced. The outstanding works are staff house, partial demolitions of the ODP, completion of the OPD and construction of the VIP latrines.

Sir, each of the health posts had an estimated project period of three months. The completion of the project is dependent on the availability of funds. Funds for these projects were allocated in the 2014 Infrastructure Operation Plan. However, the ministry did not complete the projects due to financial resource constraints. Salunda Health Post is a Community Development Fund (CDF) project, but due to the demise of the contractor during the implementation of this project, there were delays in handing over the structure. However, the health post was handed over to the Government on 27th May, 2015. At the moment, staff and equipment for the facility are being mobilised and the health post is expected to commence operations in the third quarter of 2015.

I thank you, Sir.

Dr Musokotwane: Mr Speaker, as you can see, these projects started in 2010, which is five years ago, and contrary to what you are being told, there is hardly any funding being provided for these facilities. In view of what the hon. Deputy Minister said yesterday when we discussed the report on Health, Community Development and Social Welfare, do you not think that lack of commitment to finish these cheap structures is worsening child and maternal mortality rates as well as other indicators you mentioned yesterday? Where is your commitment, as a Government?

The Minister of Community Development, Mother and Child Health (Ms Kabanshi): Mr Speaker, firstly, I would like to thank the hon. Member of Parliament for Liuwa for his follow-up question. When you look at all these projects, you will see that most of them were being funded using the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and the hon. Member should be aware of this because he is a councillor at this council. There is a need for the council and the Government to work together so that we complete these projects.

I thank you, Sir.

Brig-Gen. Dr Chituwo (Mumbwa): Mr Speaker, I understand that these projects were initiated by the Government and that the decision to use the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) was meant to try to assist. Could the hon. Minister clarify this point.

Ms Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, these projects must have been started as Government projects in 2010. As a working Government, when we came into power, we advised that the projects be completed using the CDF. It is now up to the hon. Member of Parliament for a particular area, the council and the Government to work together to ensure that these projects are completed.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Prof. Lungwangwa (Nalikwanda): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister is telling us that she advised the use of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to complete the projects. However, she is also telling us that last year, she made an allocation from the Budget, to the projects. Could she be clear and state the sources of funding for these projects.

Ms Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, we are not talking about one project here, but four projects, which are being undertaken in one district. All of these projects are being funded differently. Some are being funded by the ministry and others by the CDF, which is also Government money.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Miyanda (Mapatizya): Mr Speaker, you have indicated that you advised the communities to use the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). What is the cost of completing all the four projects in Liuwa?

Ms Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, these projects are at different levels, and when you look at the work done so far, it is clear that some of them are almost complete. So, it will be difficult for me to come up with the total amount of money that is outstanding. However, if the hon. Member wants to know exactly how much is needed for each project, he can file a new question.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, out of the four health posts, how many are being funded by the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and the Government? There is a need to clarify that aspect and not mix the sources of funding for these projects.

Mr Speaker: This seems to be the same as the previous question, unless I understood it otherwise.

Ms Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, these projects are being funded by the Government. The CDF and money from the Ministry of Health as well as the Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health is all Government money. The health posts will not be operationalised if the Government or the ministry does not fund these projects. So, we try to work with the councils to help them complete the projects by sourcing for equipment and staffing. We ask for the CDF to be used where we have a shortfall.

I thank you, Sir.

IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT IN MWINILUNGA DISTRICT

539. Mr Katuka (Mwinilunga): asked the Minister of Home Affairs:

(a)    when transport would be provided to the Immigration Department in Mwinilunga District to assist in monitoring the newly-created border posts at Kambimba and Kamapanda; and

(b)    when the Government would send officers from other security wings like the Zambia Police Force and the Zambia Army to complement the immigration officers at the border.

The Deputy Minister of Home Affairs (Col. Kaunda): Mr Speaker, the Government, through the Immigration Department, has procured two motor cycles that will help in the monitoring of security operations at the border controls.

Sir, the Zambia Police Force will deploy officers at both Kamapanda and Kambimba once staff houses and other necessary logistics have been put in place.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Katuka: Mr Speaker, Mwinilunga District borders Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which are war-torn countries. Therefore, how soon will the Government provide security for immigration officers there?

Col. Kaunda: Sir, I cannot give an exact date, but the ministry is in the process of building houses for security services countrywide. So, as soon the programme is actually put in place, we shall allocate houses to various places.

Thank you, Sir.

Mr Pande (Kasempa): Mr Speaker, while it is appreciated that the ministry has provided two motorcycles, are there any plans to provide motor vehicles because I know motorcycles have their limitations?

Col. Kaunda: Yes, Sir. The hon. Minister made an announcement sometime last week on the programme of buying vehicles for the security services. As soon as vehicles arrive in the country, we will distribute them, according to the needs in various places.

Thank you, Sir.

DISTRICT HOSPITAL CONSTRUCTION IN MPONGWE DISTRICT

540. Mr Namulambe asked the Minister of Health:

(a)    whether the Government had any plans to construct a district hospital in Mpongwe District; and

(b)    if so, when the plans would be implemented.

The Deputy Minister of Health (Dr Chilufya): Mr Speaker, the Government has no immediate plans to establish a district hospital in Mpongwe District as the district is currently served by two first level hospitals, namely Mpongwe and St Theresa’s Mission Hospitals. Both these hospitals offer full first level health services. The House may wish to note that the Government has prioritised the construction of hospitals in districts that have none at all.

Mr Speaker, as indicated earlier, Mpongwe District already has two first level hospitals and as such, the Government has no intentions of constructing another first level hospital in the district.  

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Namulambe: Mr Speaker, that being the case, will the ministry provide these two mission hospitals with the necessary equipment required? For instance, an x-ray machine has been provided in Ibenga, but Mpongwe has not received anything. The health facilities in Mpongwe are very different from what is obtaining in other district hospitals.

Dr Chilufya: Mr Speaker, these are grant aided institutions and we provide support as agreed in the memorandum of understanding (MoU). However, when it comes to modernisation and equipping these hospitals, we actually do not discriminate. We equip all the hospitals that provide service to citizens of this country. Even as we speak, both these hospitals benefited from the equipment that we bought for service blocks and even for imaging and other diagnostic services.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

MATERNITY WING CONSTRUCTION AT HEALTH CENTRES IN CHADIZA

541. Mr Mbewe (Chadiza) asked the Minister of Community Development, Mother and Child Health:

(a)    when maternity wings would be constructed at the following health centres in Chadiza District:

(i)    Sinalo;

(ii)    Chamandala; and

(iii)    Zemba; and

(b)    what the cost of constructing one maternity wing was.

Mr Chisala: Mr Speaker, the Sinalo Health Post Block was constructed through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) between 2011 and 2013. Health post building plans do not have maternity wings. Since the CDF projects are community-driven, in liaison with the local authority, the Sinalo Community had applied for the CDF funding to construct a maternity annex in 2015.

Sir, the Chamandala Heath Post Block was also constructed through the CDF between 2011 and 2013. Although the clinic block was completed in 2013, the health post could not be operationalised because there was no staff house. Construction of a staff house is currently underway (the house has been roofed and is currently being plastered) and completion status is at 80 per cent. The community may need to apply for further CDF funding to construct a maternity annex at the health post once the current running project of staff house construction is completed. The health post will be operationalised and assigned a catchment population once the staff house is completed.

Mr Speaker, the Zemba Health Centre serves a population of 10,931, according to the Central Statistical Office (CSO) Survey of 2012. The community applied for the CDF funding in 2015 to construct a maternity wing at the facility and is awaiting a response. The cost of constructing one maternity wing ranges from K350,000 to K400,000 and is also dependent on the availability of skilled personnel to man the maternity wings.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mbewe: Mr Speaker, there is no need to have this ministry because it does not serve the needs of the people. Maternity wings are very important structures which our people need. It is sad that this …

Mr Speaker: Order!

What is your question?

Mr Mbewe: Mr Speaker, can the hon. Minister confirm to me, this House and, of course, the people of Chadiza that this ministry has nothing to do with the construction of health posts and clinics. Since this is being done through the CDF, has the ministry surrendered its duty to construct maternity wings in these places?

Mr Chisala: Mr Speaker, I have just indicated that these projects were initiated through the CDF. The CDF is from the Central Government. Therefore, the hon. Member of Parliament should just use the CDF allocation for 2015 to complete these projects.

Thank you, Sir.

Mr Mwiimbu (Monze Central): Mr Speaker, I heard the Hon. Minister of Community Development, Mother and Child Health indicating the role the ministry plays pertaining to the construction of health posts.

I would like to find out from the hon. Minister whether his ministry liaises with the Ministry of Health over the construction of health posts. As you may be aware, Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister of Health is the one who has been coming on the Floor of this House informing us on the progress of the construction of the 650 health posts and other health posts in the country. Today, we are hearing from the hon. Minister of Community Development, Mother and Child Health that his ministry is the one charged with the responsibility for this particular assignment. May I hear from the hon. Minister who is actually responsible for the provision of funding and the construction of health posts in this country.

Mr Chisala: Mr Speaker, we have to clear the air. In the first place, the hon. Member should understand the fact that long before the Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health came into being, there used to be the Ministry of Health. It is the Ministry of Health which was charged with the responsibility of constructing health posts, rural health centres, district hospitals and general hospitals until the Patriotic Front (PF) Government came into power in 2011, when the new Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health was created. As a result of this ministry’s creation, part of the construction of the structures such as the health posts, were channeled to it.

Sir, the point the hon. Member is trying to put across is this that, currently, there is the construction of the 650 health posts under the Ministry of Health. The situation is in that fashion in the sense that the loan was signed by the Ministry of Health, long before our ministry was created. It is for that reason that such a responsibility of supervising the construction of the 650 health posts is being done by the Ministry of Health otherwise, it is the responsibility of our ministry to see to it that the health posts, health centres and district hospitals construction is underway.

Thank you so much, Mr Speaker.

Ms Lubezhi (Namwala): Mr Speaker, going by the way the hon. Minister has responded, is he then telling us that the Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Health, Hon. Dr. Chilufya, has been straying off his ministerial duties when he has been going round carrying out ground breaking ceremonies for these 650 health posts?

Ms Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Health is responsible for the construction of hospitals and health posts and the Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health, is responsible for staffing and …

Interruptions

Ms Kabanshi: … also management. I think that is a point I would like to clarify. So, when the hon. Deputy Minister of Health goes round ground breaking, it is his responsibility. The responsibility my ministry is charged with is to take care of the operations of these institutions.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: I am a bit concerned.

Hon. Opposition Members: Yes!

Mr Speaker: We seem to be receiving contradictory positions.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Speaker: I think we need to find a way of resolving this matter properly and finally. In that sense, I will invite the hon. Minister of Health just to clarify the position after the questions from the hon. Members for Nkana and Mumbwa.

Mr Kazabu (Nkana): Mr Speaker, it is a well-known fact by all of us gathered in this Assembly Chamber and the nation out there that maternity services are important to our expecting mothers. In the absence of maternity facilities at the named areas, may I find out from the hon. Minister where are our expecting mothers are attended to at the moment?

Mr Speaker: We are still dealing with supplementary questions.

Ms Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, sorry I did not get the question. May he kindly repeat it.

Mr Kazabu: Mr Speaker, I was saying that it is clear to all of us in this Assembly Chamber and the people out there that maternity services are very important to our expecting mothers. Therefore, may I find out from the hon. Minister from where our expecting mothers are currently being attended to in the absence of maternity facilities at the named areas.

Ms Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, in our design for the health system, the health posts are not supposed to have maternity wings, but where we find that the health centres are far apart, that is, more than five kilometres apart, there we, as a Government, come in and so does the community, through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), to build a maternity wing. As a Government, we are committed to taking these facilities as close as possible to the people.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Brig-Gen. Dr Chituwo: Mr Speaker, I am really getting worried. I would like to find out from the hon. Minister whether there has been a policy shift. The current policy, as I understand it, is that this House appropriates funds to various sectors, including infrastructure. The CDF, from inception, was to be used for community-initiated projects to complement the functions of various ministries, in this case, the Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health. However, it seems that the hon. Minister is saying that the CDF should be used to complete such projects because it comes from the same source.

Mr Speaker, can hon. Minister clarify why, then, we appropriate funds in this House to the various ministries to undertake the various programmes, including infrastructure? Has there been a policy shift?

Ms Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, there is no policy shift by this Government. We are still committed and are building district hospitals and clinics whose budget was approved in this august House. However, the projects that we are talking about were initiated by the community to be funded by the CDF. That is why I am saying that, as a ministry and a loving Government, we will support these projects even though they were initiated by the community because what we want to see is service delivery even in those areas where we have not reached.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker: I will now give an opportunity to the hon. Minister of Health, as I indicated earlier on, to just clarify who is responsible for what.

The Minister of Health (Dr Kasonde): Mr Speaker, thank you for inviting me to address this important issue. I could address it at three levels. Firstly, the rationale of the realignment of the two ministries, secondly, policy division regarding the actual allocation of responsibilities between the two ministries and thirdly, the operational level of what happens from day-to-day.

Mr Speaker, at the rationale level, it was realised that the community was being left out of an important activity of delivering health services and of preventing disease. The community is an important component of the whole effort. Believing that structures of hospitals and health centres, as delivered by the Ministry of Health, were adequate to control disease was clearly totally incorrect. What was correct was to allocate a lot of the responsibility to the community itself and ensure that it participates in the delivery of services to itself. This is the reason the re-alignment was ultimately announced and the allocation of responsibilities was as follows:

Ministry of Health

(a)    Policy - all policies that affect national health development are the responsibility of the Ministry of Health;

(b)    Infrastructure Development - the infrastructure development that we are talking about, as it relates to the construction of all those services, is apportioned to the Ministry of Health;

(c)    Education - all training of health workers is allocated to the Ministry of health; and

(d)    Drugs- being a common service, they are administered by the Ministry of Health.

Mr Speaker, this leaves the Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health to concentrate on very important issues as follows:

(a)    ensuring that the community carries out disease prevention through immunisation, through the promotion of health;

(b)    we know that most of the problems that arise and that lead to maternal death are because of what is happening or not happening in the community. For instance, the decision of a woman who is in labour to go to the hospital is a community decision. Sometimes, the husband will say that you are not going to the hospital. The mother-in-law will question why the daughter-in-law must go the hospital when all the other women have been delivering at home. This is a community issue. It causes delay and what we call the first of three delays. Therefore, the emphasis of looking after those mothers from the date of family planning to the date of delivery is a responsibility of the Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health; and

(c)    finally, there is the welfare and development of the child. Child health, again, is based on what happens at home. For this reason, child health is a responsibility, in the sense of child welfare and the context of the development of a child, given to the Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health. Yes, it is true that because of this, what is called primary health care, which means the first contact between a community and the formal system, was allocated to the Ministry of Community Development.

This, sir, was the allocation of responsibilities.

Mr Speaker, when we come down to the day-to-day practice, it is true that we have found difficulties of interpretation not only in Parliament, but also to our own staff in some cases. Where you have a health centre under primary health care, you have the responsibility for clinical care and, sometimes, it is misunderstood to say that we now take over responsibility across the board.

Mr Speaker, this kind of misunderstanding may also affect staff that see themselves as losing the opportunity of development in their own professions to specialisation because they are now in community development and they fear that education training is given to the Ministry of Health. There are a number of misunderstandings in this area of the relationship of the two ministries at practical community level. These misunderstandings are compounded by the level of misunderstandings among the stakeholders, including partners and hon. Members of Parliament.

Mr Speaker, for this reason, we must conclude that we have not arrived at a stage when everybody understands the differences in the allocation of responsibilities and, particularly where responsibility for policy and construction is given to the Ministry of Health. In this instance, what we do about the execution of that responsibility when the originator is the community, through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF)? In this situation, the correct way is, indeed, to proceed. However, can we discuss in the Ministry of Health what we are going to be doing, what we are going to be achieving and what the role of the Government will be in that process before, during and after construction.

Sir, unfortunately, quite often these projects begin and take no account of what would have been advised by the Ministry of Health policy on construction on the consequences of constructing a structure. What happens to the personnel? What happens to the community and the use and management of that institution? These are the questions that must be answered before the first brick is put on the ground, but is so often omitted.

We have a situation where the rationale is clear, the policy is clear, the divisions are clear, but difficulties crop in during our administration of those policies.

I thank you, sir.

Mr Speaker: I will be closing this subject with the hon. Member for Chavuma, the hon. Member for Mpongwe and end with the hon. Member for Lubansenshi.

The hon. Member for Chavuma, you may ask your question.

Mr Konga (Chavuma): Mr Speaker, I would like to take the opportunity to praise the hon. Minister of Health for a very elaborate explanation. However, I still want to go back to the hon. Minister of Community Development, Mother and Child Health on the question that was asked by the hon. Member for Nkana Constituency. In the absence of maternity wings in some areas in Chadiza, where do expectant mothers deliver from?

Ms Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, Chadiza is a district and I know that it has a hospital. As a ministry, we have delivered some ambulances and are trying to strengthen the referral system so that in areas where there are no maternity wings, pregnancy cases could be referred to the nearest hospital or clinic with a maternity wing.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Namulambe: Mr Speaker, I want to thank you for having allowed the hon. Minister of Health to clarify issues of operations between the Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health and the Ministry of Health. He has acknowledged the fact that there are some operational problems. Is there a possibility that both the hon. Minister of Health and Community Development, Mother and Child Health could organise a workshop to orient provincial officers and, in turn, the district officers so that the general public does not suffer for the confusion?

Dr Kasonde: Mr Speaker, I appreciate the comment by the hon. Member. Quite correctly, there is a need, in terms of management, to meet, reflect and arrange for things to be done properly. In fact, it has been our practice to have meetings with provincial medical officers every year. It is important to continue holding these meetings because there are changes of responsibility even at that level. The one who was provincial medical officer last year, may not be provincial medical officer this year. Therefore, it is important for us to meet regularly, and that is exactly what we are doing.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mucheleka (Lubansenshi): Mr Speaker, I want to thank you for having given an opportunity to the hon. Minister of Health to clarify certain issues on this matter. Health care delivery system is very important for our people. I can see that there is a lot of misunderstanding even among policy-makers themselves. The hon. Minister of Health has clearly outlined the dichotomy between the two ministries, in terms of service delivery in the health sector. Therefore, is it possible to have orientation among the hon. Ministers so that they can clearly understand the differences between the two ministries with regard to service delivery? It is very clear that the hon. Minister of Health has a clear understanding, as opposed to his counterpart in the Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health. Therefore, is it possible for these two hon. Ministers to meet first before meeting the administrators in the two ministries to try to clarify issues, make everybody understand and read from the same page?

Mr Speaker: Order!

Do you want to give the assurance, hon. Minister of Health?

Dr Kasonde: Mr Speaker, certainly, I am pleased to give the assurance.

ZCCM-IH YOUTH SKILLS TRAINING CENTRE

542. Mr Mutale (Kwacha) asked the Minister of Mines, Energy and Water Development:

(a)    when the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mine Investment Holding (ZCCM-IH) would commence providing skills training programmes for youths, as announced previously by the company;

(b)    how many students would be trained;

(c)    what the cost of training one student was;

(d)    which centres had been identified for the exercise; and

(e)    whether there were other stakeholders involved in the programme and, if so, who the stakeholders were.

The Deputy Minister of Mines, Energy, and Water Development (Mr Musukwa): Mr Speaker, the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mine Investment Holding (ZCCM-IH) will, in conjunction with other stakeholders, commence providing skills training programmes for youths once the Zambia Mining Skills Education Trust (ZAMSET), which was incorporated under the …

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

May I have order on the left.

Mr Musukwa: Mr Speaker, I will begin again so that our colleagues can follow.

Mr Speaker, the ZCCM-IH will, in conjunction with other stakeholders, commence providing skills training programmes for youths once the Zambia Mining Skills Education Trust (ZAMSET), which was incorporated under the Land (Perpetual Succession) Act, in February, 2015, is operationalised. ZAMSET was incorporated following the signing of the memorandum of understanding for the Mining Skills and Training Framework in December, 2013, by the Government of the Republic of Zambia, the mining industry, relevant education and training institutions, and equipment suppliers. The House may wish to know that the provision of skills training for youths is a collaborative effort of various stakeholders which the ZCCM-IH is part of. The programme is being spearheaded by the Chamber of Mines of Zambia.

Mr Speaker, the number of students to be trained is not yet known, as this will be determined by the industry needs coupled with the annual work plans and availability of resources. It must be noted that ZAMSET will not directly provide training programmes, but will work with established education and training institutions from which it will procure services. ZAMSET will focus on mobilising resources necessary to support identified industry needs.

Mr Speaker, the unit cost of training one student will depend on the course or trade and level of study which will be undertaken.

Mr Speaker, no centres have been identified yet. ZAMSET will begin procuring training services from training institutions on a competitive basis once industry needs are established.

Mr Speaker, there are stakeholders involved in the managing and running of this programme and the key stakeholders in this programme include:

(a)    The Government through the following:

(i)    Ministry of Mines, Energy and Water Development; and

(ii)    Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education;

(b)    Mining Companies

(i)    Copperbelt Energy Corporation Public Limited Company;

(ii)    Sentinel Mining;

(iii)    Kansanshi Mining Public Limited Company;

(iv)    Konkola Copper Mines Public Limited Company;

(v)    Mopani Copper Mines Public Limited Company;

(vi)    Ndola Lime Company Public Limited Company;

(vii)    NFC Africa Mining Public Limited Company;

(viii)    Chamber of Mines of Zambia;

(ix)    Kagem Mining Limited;

(x)    Barrick Gold Lumwana; and

(xi)    ZCCM-IH;

In principle, all mining companies with a huge challenge in skills gap are all involved.

(c)    Education and Training Institutions

(i)    Copperbelt University;

(ii)    University of Zambia; and

(iii)    Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority (TEVETA);

(d)    Parastatal

Zambia Telecommunications Company Limited (ZAMTEL).

(e)    Equipment Suppliers

Barloworld Equipment Zambia Limited.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mutale: Mr Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. Minister for that elaborate and exciting answer. Since we lack skills to develop this country, how soon does the hon. Minister think we can start implementing this training programme?

Mr Musukwa: Mr Speaker, this programme is principally industry-based. We have a huge skills gap in the industry, in terms of availability of men and women that are able to drive our mining industry. Therefore, the ministry, through the ZCCM-IH and the Chamber of Mines of Zambia, is pursuing this programme in order to ensure it starts operating immediately. It is envisaged that because this programme is targeting the youths, it will pave way for a lot of skills development for our people and ensure that the youths have sustainable skills that can support the mining industry.

 I thank you, Sir.

CEEC LOANS DISBURSED IN 2013 AND 2014

543. Mr Mucheleka asked the Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry:

(a)    how much money was disbursed, in form of loans, by the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) in 2013 and 2014; and

(b)    which sectors were funded.

The Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry (Mrs Mwanakatwe): Mr Speaker, in 2013, the Government disbursed a total of K4,370,560. In 2014, a total of K45,028,700 was disbursed. The total in the two years was K K49,399,267.

Mr Speaker, the following sectors were funded from the funds disbursed by the commission:

    Sector    Funds (K)

    Agriculture    42 million
    Manufacturing    500,000
    Apiculture    600,000
    Tourism    2.8 million
    Energy    500,000
    Wood and Wood processing    1.475 million
    Education    648,000

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Mucheleka: Mr Speaker, of the over K49 million disbursed in 2013 and 2014 to the different sectors, and given the poor rate of loan recovery by the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC), I would like to find out from the hon. Minister how much of this money has since been repaid.

Mrs Mwanakatwe: Mr Speaker, the history of poor recovery by the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) is well-known. We have actually split the book into two. We have ring-fenced the very initial loans that were disbursed. At the time, the recovery was as little as 40 per cent. For the book that we have now, recovery is hitting 80 per cent.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Speaker: I will take questions from the hon. Member for Mbala, hon. Member for Chadiza, hon. Member for Mpongwe, hon. Member for Monze and hon. Member for Siavonga.

Hon. Member for Mbala, you may proceed.

Mr Simfukwe (Mbala): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister said that K49 million was disbursed by the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) in 2013 and 2014. There have been promising pronouncements by the ministry in the last few years about industrial clusters which we were told would be set up in our districts.

Mr Speaker, Mbala is the beans capital of Zambia, among many other agricultural enterprises. The people of Mbala were very excited about seeing baked beans nicely labelled and funded by the commission and being processed to replace the imported South African one.  Hon. Minister, what is the progress, so far, in processing beans or, indeed, any other agro produce from Mbala, with the pronouncement of industrial clusters?

Mr Speaker: I have a problem with that question. We are dealing with supplementary questions and so let us, please, bare this in mind.  We are dealing with Question 543.

Hon. Member for Chadiza, you may ask your question.

Mr Mbewe: Mr Speaker, this is Government money. I heard the hon. Minister lamenting that the repayment rate is very poor. Hon. Minister, in your wisdom, do you think that this programme is viable since repayment is poor? Do we need to continue funding it?

Mrs Mwanakatwe: Mr Speaker, I lamented the poor repayment in the past when the rate was at 40 per cent for the initial book for the CEEC, which resulted in us ring-fencing it so that we could track progress. I went on to say that the new book on new disbursements has a recovery rate of, at least, 80 per cent. If you ask me, a banker, I would like 100 per cent recovery, but having moved from 40 to 80 per cent, you have to give us some credit.

Mr Speaker, the programme has not failed. In fact, it is getting even more exciting. My team and I had a long session with our colleagues the hon. Minister of Finance and his team and the CEEC team focusing on making sure that the strategy of industrialisation and job creation that the CEEC will embark on actually works. To be honest, we are very excited by the team in place because we believe that it will deliver for the country.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Namulambe: Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister indicated that about K42 million was disbursed to the agriculture sector.

Sir, in Zambia, we talk, but implementation is usually very poor. People that have learnt from us have done far much better. What is the ministry doing to resolve the poor administrative structures which have made it impossible for funds to be disbursed to fish farmers on the Copperbelt and Luapula provinces?

Mrs Mwanakatwe: Mr Speaker, the CEEC is being resourced to ensure that it is able to handle the administrative challenge that it has had. We are putting in place structures to ensure that this happens. We are now present in every district, manning and ensuring that we handle the administration.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mwiimbu: Mr Speaker, does the hon. Minister think that the K500,000 that was disbursed towards the infamous clusters is adequate?

Mr Mwanakatwe: Mr Speaker, the answer is no, it is not enough. This is why we are striving to find more funds for the CEEC and for the clusters that we are going to embark on. So, we are scouting for funds because we do need more money.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Hamudulu: Mr Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. Minister for indicating that the operations of the CEEC are actually improving by making sure that they are present in almost all the places that they need to operate from.

Hon. Minister, may I know whether, in your restructuring process, you have considered eliminating the agents that have been a problem in this process in the past with regards to disbursing these funds?

Mrs Mwanakatwe: Mr Speaker, one bad egg does not mean that everybody is bad. We have seen some bad agents, but we have also seen some extremely good ones. So, we will be evaluating each agent and removing the bad ones while certainly keeping the good ones.

I thank you, Sir.

ACCOMMODATION OF DISABLED PUPILS A CHILOLWA PRIMARY SCHOOL

544.    Mr Sichula (Nakonde) asked the Minister of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education:

(a)    when modern structures to accommodate disabled pupils at Chilolwa Primary School in Nakonde Parliamentary Constituency would be constructed;

(b)    whether the school was given a grant for the Department of the Disabled;

(c)    if so, how much was paid, on average, per month; and

(d)    if the grant was not paid, why.

Mr Mabumba: Mr Speaker, the construction of modern structures to accommodate disabled pupils at Chilolwa Primary School in Nakonde Parliamentary Constituency will be undertaken in 2016. Currently, there is only one Government dormitory constructed with support from Irish Aid to accommodate pupils with special education needs at Chilolwa School.

Sir, the school was allocated a total of K40,000 in the 2015 Budget. The average grant is K3, 333. There are times when grants are released late, but the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education endeavours to ensure that these grants are released consistently when the money is made available.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Sichula: Mr Speaker, is the hon. Minister aware that the school is faced with challenges of feeding the pupils at the moment?

Mr Mabumba: Mr Speaker, we recognise those challenges, but like I said in my answer to part (b) of the question, according to our grants budget in the 2015 Budget, the school has been allocated K40,000. If you look at the monthly grant, which I mentioned in part (c) of the question, you will realise that K3,333 may not be enough. However, we endeavour to do what is needed at the school, in terms of feeding the children.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mbewe: Mr Speaker, schools and facilities for the disabled are very important. If my memory serves me well, only Magwero caters for the disabled in the Eastern Province. Since the population of Zambia has grown to about 14 million, does the Government have a plan to construct schools in districts for the disabled, who are facing a lot of problems while others are not going to school at all?

Mr Mabumba: Mr Speaker, there are plans and I am sure Hon. Mbewe is aware. In fact, the Patriotic Front (PF) Manifesto states that we shall provide inclusive education for children with special education needs. Based on that principle, we are supposed to open up units within schools so that we provide that inclusive education for children with special education needs. In fact, at the moment, a very good example is here in Lusaka Province where we are building one of the most expensive schools for children with special needs in Munali.

Sir, funds permitting, we will continue with that programme. However, according to me, what is cost-effective is opening up special units within existing establishments.

I thank you, Sir.

REDUCTION OF STREET KIDS

545.    Mr Phiri (Mkaika) asked the Minister of Gender and Child Development what measures the Government had taken to reduce the number of street kids which is on the rise countrywide.

The Deputy Minister of Gender and Child Development (Col. Lungu): Mr Speaker, the Government of the Republic of Zambia is committed to addressing the welfare of children in its pursuit to national development, as demonstrated by its ratification of international and regional commitments on the rights of children such as Convention on the Rights of the Child and African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

Sir, the phenomenon of children living on the streets of our major towns and cities is an issue of great concern not only to you as hon. Members of this august House, but also to the Government of the Republic of Zambia and the nation as a whole. In order to address the problems of children living on the streets, the Government has put the following measures in place:
(a)    revision of the National Child Policy to take on board emerging issues in the areas of child development and their welfare. The policy, amongst other things, has addressed child marriages, the impact of the human immuno-deficiency virus and the acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) on children, alcohol and substance abuse, teenage pregnancies and children living on the street; and

(b)    rehabilitation and re-integration of the children living on the streets within the community due to various circumstances.

Sir, under this programme, the Ministry of Gender and Child Development does the following:
(i)        provides support to child protection committees countrywide for them to address issues of child neglect, abuse, abandonment and exploitation, including the issue of children living on the streets. The committees identify and mobilise children living on the streets and take them to childcare institutions where they receive counselling, education support, healthcare, recreation, clothing and so forth. Some of these institutions take these children back to school;

(ii)        provides support to the Child Protection Unit of the Zambia Police Force, which undertakes outreach in areas where children living on the streets are found as well as the enforcement of laws pertaining to child abuse and neglect;

(iii)        strengthens the capacity of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) and duty bearers like parents and guardians. Families identified to be vulnerable are given entrepreneurship training and startup funds for them to engage in income generating activities to enable them to look after their children;

(iv)        provides support to childcare institutions looking after orphans and vulnerable children, including street children, through monthly grants to these institutions for them to provide care and support to these children through counselling, education support, healthcare, recreation and family tracing, among others;

(c)    other programmes the Government is implementing to address the issues of children living on the street include:

(i)    public welfare assistance: the Government welfare assistance intervention is designed to offer social assistance or support to the most vulnerable, poor and destitute in the country such as children living on the street. The scheme is implemented through the Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health;

(ii)    Social Cash Transfer Scheme: the scheme falls under the Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health. Vulnerable households are supported to engage in income generating activities as a way of reducing poverty. In this way, they become self-sustaining and provide care and support to their children;

(iii)    Women Economic Empowerment

    Sir, under this programme, the Government has been providing support to women’s clubs countrywide for them to engage in the income-generating activities to enhance household food security and prevent vulnerability of children. This programme is being implemented by the following ministries and institutions:

1.    The Ministry of Gender and Child Development;

2.    The Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health;

3.    The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock; and

4.    The Ministry of Youth and Sport; and
 (iv)    Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission

Mr Speaker, I wish to point out to the fact that my ministry is redesigning the child development activities to ensure that we focus on the activities that can prevent children living on the street such as:

1.    ensuring the children are given the right to play as part of the development;

2.    nutrition support to abused children over the above legal support;

3.    support of the families living with vulnerable children through the Girls’ Education and Women Empowerment (GEWE), under the World Bank. Other programmes include Boys to Men, Girls at work.

Mr Speaker, any intervention has challenges and in the case of programmes addressing children living on the streets, the following are outlined:
(a)    inadequate funding – increased funding to my ministry will facilitate scaling up of preventive measures such as support to vulnerable children, putting up recreation facilities in communities and awareness campaigns on children’s rights;

(b)    co-ordination of activities nationwide by other ministries such as those focusing on early education, child health and other related sectors;

(c)    lack of domestication of the law and inadequate logistics to enforce the law on the part of the police, including soldiers and courts of law. The enforcement of the law on child abuse, neglect, exploitation and abuse has been strengthened so that children are protected and prevented from going to the streets as a means of survival. Apart from protecting children, the same law has to be applied on parents, guardians and other care givers who are in the habit of neglecting children under their custody; and

Interruptions

Col. Lungu: Just keep quiet and wait.

Laughter

Mr Speaker: Order! The measures were sought.

Complete your narration, hon. Minister.

Laughter

Col. Lungu: Mr Speaker,

(d)    inadequate human resource – the ministry has a staff of eighty, which falls short of the required human resource. Given the fact that the ministry is understaffed and underresourced, it is desirable that the ministry has a robust monitoring and evaluation unit.
Mr Speaker, in conclusion, …

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Col. Lungu: … I wish to state that there is need for concerted efforts by all Zambians to improve that status of children living on the streets. It is not just a question of removing these children from the streets, but also to ensure that those factors which drive them to the streets are adequately addressed. This can be achieved if the ministry is adequately resourced by both human and financial resources, among others. These children have to be given …

Mr Speaker: Order!

Laughter

Mr Speaker: You will finish the conclusion after the break.

Laughter

Business was suspended from 1045 hours until 11hours.

[MR DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair]

Col. Lungu: Mr Speaker, before business was suspended I was saying that …

Laughter

Col. Lungu: … there is a need for concerted effort by all Zambians to improve the status of children living on the streets. It is not just a question of removing these children from the streets, but also to ensure that those factors which drive them to the streets are adequately addressed. This can only be achieved if my ministry is adequately humanly and financially resourced, among others. These children have to be given a decent life, just like any other child in our families, homes, schools and communities. This category of children was given an opportunity to fully realise their potential as future doctors, soldiers, engineers, nurses and law-makers. The list is endless.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Phiri: Mr Speaker, how often do you undertake the exercise of mobilising these kids from the streets? Is it monthly or yearly?

The Minister of Gender and Child Development (Prof. Luo): Mr Speaker, as we said, the exercise is done through committees all over the country. The committees set their own programmes, which vary from province to province. These committees set their programmes either on a monthly or weekly basis, depending on the availability of resources.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mweetwa (Choma Central): Mr Speaker, …

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

Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Mbewe: Mr Speaker, I rarely stand on points of order, but I am compelled to do so because this deals with issues that affect Zambians.  

Mr Speaker, I have been sitting in this House for the last four days and I think all my colleagues, including you, Mr Speaker, have been expecting the hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing to say something concerning the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

Sir, several statements, which have cleared the air on certain issues, have been presented on the Floor of this House, especially the one that was presented by the hon. Minister of Finance. However, the hon. Members and the people of Chadiza have been waiting for a statement from the hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing concerning the CDF.

Mr Speaker, is the hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing in order to keep quiet and not update this House and the people of Zambia about the 2014 CDF which some constituencies have not yet received? When are we going to get our 2015 CDF and the 2014 CDF for those constituencies that did not receive it?

Sir, I need your serious ruling.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Deputy Speaker: Hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing, please, come up with a statement in the course of next week.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Deputy Speaker: Can the hon. Member continue.

Mr Mweetwa (Choma Central): Mr Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. Minister for the lengthy, but elaborate answer he gave. I followed him very carefully, except at some stage where I lost him because Hon. Mucheleka kept on running comments about the hon. Minister being a weak soldier.

Laughter

Mr Mweetwa: Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister, in his lengthy answer, stated a lot of possible measures that will be put in place to deal with the rising number of street kids. In view of that fact, does he agree with me that those solutions that have been prescribed, perhaps, most of them are theoretical?

Prof. Luo: Mr Speaker, none of the solutions are theoretical. In fact, we have already put in place some measures and will soon start to implement those activities. You may wish to know, and taking advantage of this question, that the ministries of Gender and Child Development, Agriculture and Livestock, Chiefs and Traditional Affairs and Youth and Sport met to see how they could put their resource envelopes together to come up with something more substantial in order to implement these activities. We have further gone round the country to mobilise our people around the new concepts that were discussed and as soon as the hon. Minister of Finance signs one of the agreements of some resources that we have raised from our co-operating partners, we will start implementing our programme, Boys to Men and Girls at Work.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Namulambe: Mr Speaker, I attentively followed the answer by the hon. Minister on the measures that are being taken to reduce the number of street kids. One of them was the reintegration of the children into the community or relatives. There are some children who move around the streets with their parents and they aid those with sight challenges. Then, others are sent to beg on the streets by their mothers. So, how will such children be dealt with?
    
Prof. Luo: Mr Speaker, when you design interventions, you also take into account the situations. Obviously, any sane person would not reintegrate a child whose parents also have their own challenges. To that effect, we stated that we have sourced some resources, through the World Bank, that will empower vulnerable families and this programme will soon be launched.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mwiimbu: Mr Speaker, I would like to beg your indulgence to ask the hon. Minister of Gender and Child Development a very lengthy question. I attentively listened to the hon. Deputy Minister when he was making a statement on the Floor of the House. I am aware of the statement the hon. Minister issued to the nation pertaining to the repossession of recreation parks in the country. I am also aware of what transpired in Lusaka pertaining to the disposal of recreation parks. According to the law which I am going to quote, the council cannot sell a property unless the hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing gives authority to dispose of that property. The Government, which she is a part of, has given authority to dispose of these properties. For ease of reference, before I pose my question, I would like to quote Section 67 (2) of the Local Government Act which states that:

“a council shall not sell land, let for a period of fourteen years or more, or otherwise dispose of, any land or building except with the approval of the Minister.”

Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister stated that one of the interventions of reducing the number of street kids intro viro is to ensure that there are recreational facilities in the country. Considering that her Government has decided to sell the remaining recreational facilities in Lusaka, where the major issue of street children is prevailing, what measures will she put in place concerning recreational facilities?

Prof. Luo: Mr Speaker, the Japanese say, domo arigatou gozaimashita.

Laughter

Hon. Opposition Members: Meaning?

Prof. Luo: Meaning thank you very much for that important question.

Mr Speaker, before anything is brought to Parliament, some homework would have been done. The hon. Member of Parliament may wish to know that the Ministry of Gender and Child Development met with the ministries of Local Government and Housing, Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection and Youth and Sport to discuss such issues before this statement was brought to Parliament. We have done an inventory because we are not only doing it for Lusaka, but also for the whole country, realising that one of the important rights we have to put in place is the right to play.

Mr Speaker, it has been said by researchers that the cognitive assets of a child are the first step to development. Those that become architects are children who were allowed to admire even flowers in a botanical garden and are sold to that and start building their capacities around that. I shared the importance of the need to bring back the right of children to play with my colleagues from these ministries. Therefore, an inventory has been done.

Sir, yesterday, our staff met to enable us to know where to start from. In fact, the Government never allowed people to possess certain facilities, but if underhand methods were used to acquire those properties, it will be brought to our attention and we will inform the House of our next steps. Therefore, let me just assure you that the rights to play in this country will be given back to the children through my ministry.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Kapeya (Mpika Central): Mr Speaker, indeed, it is true that children in Zambia make up half of the country’s population. It is also true that these children are found in every single place of Zambia. Has the Ministry of Gender and child Development, at one time or another, carried out a research to ascertain why the issue of street kids is mainly prevalent in big cities and not in towns like Mpika? I would like to know if that has been done.

Prof. Luo: Mr Speaker, actually, it is telepathy that the hon. Member has asked this question. Just before I came to this august House this morning, we had a meeting on that topic. We would like to look at statistics to also confirm some of the known reasons of street children and also just the vulnerability of our children in this country.

 Mr Speaker, let me take advantage of the question. Normally, when people introduce me, they introduce me as the hon. Minister of Gender. However, I insist that I would rather not be introduced as hon. Minister Gender, but the hon. Minister of Child Development because the most important aspect of this ministry is actually child development. This is because it is how this child develops that also translates in how men respect women and how women will also perceive the men. Therefore, it is something that my ministry is taking very seriously. Apart from that, we have a lot of programmes that we have designed in the last two months and we will be announcing them programme by programme.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

 Mr Mbewe: Mr Speaker, I undertook a research and it was discovered that most of the street kids are found in Munali Parliamentary Constituency.

 Hon. Government Members: Aah!

Mr Mbewe: Sir, I also went further and found out that most of the street kids have turned into street venders. The conclusion of my research was that these kids came to the streets because they wanted to engage in street vending.

Sir, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister what precaution has been put in place to do away with the street vending so that these children can stay at home and do other things.

Prof. Luo: Mr Speaker, when you plagiarise or tell lies in research, you get into trouble …

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order!

Could the hon. Minister substitute the word ‘lies.’

Prof. Luo: Mr Speaker, I just want to underscore that when people plagiarise information, they get into serious problems.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Prof. Luo: Sir, I would like to take advantage of the question that has been asked by the hon. Member for Chadiza that the hon. Member should lay the results of his research on the Table of the House and in which publication he published that information.

 I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Laughter

Mr Shakafuswa (Katuba): Mr Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. Minister of Child Development or whatever her new title is today for the manner in which she is tackling the questions.

Sir, I believe the issue of street kids is very alien. I am saying this because my village is near Lusaka, but you will not find anyone in the streets or sleeping outside. Therefore, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister whether this is happening in Lusaka because it is an economic and social phenomenon. Even when you go to Chongwe or Kafue, you will not find any street kids, but instead, we take care of our own children.

Mr Speaker, does the hon. Minister not think that this is as a result of the fact that most of the people who have come to Lusaka are unable to look after their children and the social fibre of life like family has just broken down? Does the hon. Minister not think that what we have to look at now is how to remedy this situation through social intervention where we can emphasise the need of family and taking care of our children and, maybe, the most important thing will be the economic factor where these people cannot find jobs and as a result you find that parents send their kids to beg on the streets.

 Prof. Luo: Mr Speaker, in fact, the question to discuss the causes was not for us, but I will give the hon. Member a bonus answer.

Sir, unlike the hon. Member who asked the question before the hon. Member for Katuba, I wish to inform the hon. Member for Katuba that we have already done research, a quick survey, to try to understand the causes of streetism.

 Mr Speaker, although I am referring to these children as street children, it is simply because the question was asked like that. The House may wish to know that, as a ministry, we have never seen a street girl get pregnant and deliver a child. Therefore, maybe, we should take into account the use of words and find a better way of describing of these children. Therefore, my ministry is looking for a better word to describe these children.

Sir, let me share the causes of children on the streets with the House. One of the causes is poverty. We found that 64 per cent of the people that were associated with these children live in abject poverty and, therefore, send these children to the street or the children go on their accord because of trying to find their livelihood.

Sir, the second reason for this is the impact of the human-immuno-deficiency virus/acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDs) epidemic that has left a lot of children without parents. Some of these children are looked after by grandparents. Since some grandparents are not able bodied and cannot afford to do some of the things youthful people do, the children find themselves being the bread winners of those particular families.

Mr Speaker, the third reason is the abuse that is happening in our families, especially where female step children are being abused by their step fathers, uncles, cousins and other male relatives. Suffice to say that some run away from their homes because of abuse.

Mr Speaker, the other reason we have these children on the street is the breakdown of our extended family system. As we have designed the interventions, we are also looking at that particular issue to see how we can work with family in our communities to make them realise that the breakdown of the extended family system is not good for Zambia. We need to re-enhance it. Soon, we will be carrying out what is called community conversations in the communities on this matter.

Sir, finally, one of the other reasons the children find themselves on the street is influence by their peers. When children have lived on the streets and go back home, they tell of life on the streets to other children as being exciting. Therefore, due to peer influence, they get onto the street.

Mr Speaker, we must worry about this, as a nation, because what is happening on the street is not good. Hon. Members need to take some time on one of the nights to see what is happening to our children. It is disheartening, especially that there is a new phenomenon on the street where we are now seeing street girls. Unlike in the past where we saw more boys on the streeets, now there are girls on the street. Therefore, I will not even belabour or even add on unto some of the problems that we have identified.

 I thank you, Sir.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order!

 I will take the last three hon. Members for the following constituencies; Rufunsa, Nkana and Siavonga.

Mr Chipungu (Rufunsa): Mr Speaker, I agree with the hon. Minister, who is also my area Member of Parliament since I reside in her constituency, that indeed, child development is a very important component of her ministry. Since she is very uncomfortable with being introduced as hon. Minister of Gender and Child Development, is not considering changing the title to Ministry of Child Development and Gender?

Prof. Luo: Mr Speaker, unfortunately, I am not the one who changes titles of ministries. That is the responsibility of the Cabinet, and it is the arguments that I will take to Cabinet that will help us look at this seriously. In fact, I really think that the Ministry of Gender and Child Development is one that must be looked at extremely seriously because that makes who we are, as we sit in this House. I think that we have underplayed its role in the past.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Kazabu: Mr Speaker, it would appear to me that this phenomenon of street children has come to stay. If that is so, it is important for us, as a nation, to have a way of assessing how many children are moving onto the street as well as those that are leaving the street. To that effect, I want to find out whether the ministry has compiled statistics of children who are moving out of the street and those that are going onto the street. If such statistics are available, what is the turnover?

Prof. Luo: Mr Speaker, firstly, I want to disagree with one of the statements that the hon. Member has just made that the issue of street children is here to stay. If you want it to stay, it will be very unfortunate because what we are striving to do, as a ministry, is to say bye to it. The reason we have spent the last two months thinking about how we can address some of these issues and running around trying to raise funds for us to deal with this is because we have to say bye to it. Having said that, I want to add that we have just done a quick survey to that effect. We are now in the process of developing a score card for measuring not only street children, but also many other programmes in my ministry. This score card will be able to tell us the number of children the street now and those that would have moved at a later stage. The score card is what will determine whether or not we will be looking at it on an annual basis and it will also show if there are any new entrants.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Hamudulu: Mr Speaker, the issue of street children is very vexing in our country. I want to commend the hon. Minister for the measures that were put forth in the answer. One of the interventions that the hon. Deputy Minister mentioned is that the Government has introduced the Social Cash Transfer Scheme. However, it is common knowledge that this problem is mostly prevalent in big cities and towns. I totally agree that the Social Cash Transfer Scheme will be one positive measure to undertake. However, I want to find out if this scheme has now been introduced in cities as well, as opposed to its usual confinement in rural areas.

Prof. Luo: Mr Speaker, if the hon. Member was listening, he will recall that we said other additional measures were being put in place. That is why we had to mention the Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health and also just to share with the hon. Member that the issue of street children is not only found in big cities, but elsewhere too. Therefore, as a ministry, we are not saying we will implement the Social Cash Transfer Scheme. That is up to the ministry that has been tasked to implement that programme and so, the hon. Minister for Community Development, Mother and Child Health may be in the right position to answer.

 However, Sir, I am able to tell the hon. Member the measures that my ministry will be taking and I am responsible for designing those measures. So, maybe, the hon. Member can file in a new question to the hon. Minister of Community Development, Mother and Child Health to find out if she will also consider supporting children in towns. However, I know that the children in the rural areas are benefitting from this programme.

I thank you, Sir.

_______

BILLS

FIRST READING

THE INCOME TAX (Amendment) BILL, 2015

The Minister of Finance (Mr Chikwanda): Mr Speaker, I beg to present a Bill entitled the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2015. The object of the Bill is to amend the Income Tax Act so as to:

(a)    increase the Corporate Income Tax for mining operations from 0 per cent to 30 per cent;

(b)    introduce the Variable Profit Tax of up to 15 per cent for mining operations;

(c)    increase the Corporate Income Tax Rate for mineral processing from 30 per cent to 35 per cent;

(d)    limit the deduction of losses for mining operations to 50 per cent of taxable profits for each charge year; and

(e)    provide for markers connected with or incidental to the foregoing.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Deputy Speaker: The Bill stands referred to the Committee on Estimates. The Committee is required to submit its report on the Bill to the House by Tuesday, 14th July, 2015. Hon. Members who wish to make submissions to the Bill are free to do so within the programme of work of the Committee.

THE NATIONAL PENSIONS SCHEME (Amendment) BILL, 2015

The Minister of Labour and Social Security (Mr Shamenda): Mr Speaker, I beg to present a Bill entitled the National Pensions Scheme (Amendment) Bill. The object of this Bill is to amend the National Pensions Scheme Act so as to revise the retirement age.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Deputy Speaker: The Bill stands referred to the Committee on Economic Affairs, Energy and Labour. The Committee is required to submit its report on the Bill to the House by Wednesday, 15th July, 2015. Hon. Members who wish to make submissions on the Bill are free to do so within the programme of work of the Committee.

THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES SUPERANNUATION FUND (Amendment) BILL, 2015

The Minister of Justice (Dr Simbyakula) on behalf of the Minister of Local Government and Housing (Dr Phiri): Mr Speaker, I beg to present a Bill entitled the Local Authorities Superannuation Fund Amendment Bill, 2015. The object of this Bill is to amend the Local Authorities Superannuation Fund Act so as to revise the retirement age.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Deputy Speaker: The Bill stands referred to the Committee on Economic Affairs, Energy and Labour. The Committee is required to submit its report on the Bill to the House by Wednesday, 15th July, 2015. Hon. Members who wish to make submissions on the Bill are free to do so within the programme of work of the Committee.

SUPPLEMENTARY APPROPRIATION BILL, 2013

Mr Chikwanda: Mr Speaker, I beg to present a Bill entitled the Supplementary Appropriation Bill, 2013. The object of the Bill is to confirm the supplementary expenditure of monies aggregating K4,172,548,568, required for the services of the Republic during the financial year ended 31st December, 2013.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Deputy Speaker: The contents of the Bill have already been considered in the Committee of Supply. What is the day for second reading?

Mr Chikwanda: On Tuesday next week.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Second Reading on Tuesday, 23rd June, 2015.

EXCESS EXPENDITURE APPRORPIATION BILL, 2012

Mr Chikwanda: Mr Speaker, I beg to present a Bill entitled the Excess Expenditure Appropriation Bill, 2012. The object of the Bill is to approve the excess expenditure of monies aggregating K12,785,039 required for the services of the Republic during the financial year ended 31st December, 2012.

Mr Lufuma: On a point of procedure, Sir.

Mr Deputy Speaker: A point of procedure is raised.

Mr Lufuma: Mr Speaker, if you can hear me out. Concerning the committal of a Bill to an appropriate portfolio or select Committee, Standing Order No. 103 reads that:

“When a Bill has been read the first time, it shall stand committed to an appropriate Committee.”

Therefore, my point of procedure is that the Bill which has just been read has not been committed to a standing Committee. This standing Committee should appropriately be the Estimates Committee.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Which Bill are you referring to?

Mr Lufuma: The Supplementary Appropriation Bill, 2013.

Mr Deputy Speaker: I think I indicated that the contents of the Bill had already been considered in the Committee of Supply. So, that has already been dealt with.

Mr Lufuma: Mr Speaker, I am talking about the first one which was not read and this is the Supplementary Appropriation Bill, 2013.

Mr Deputy Speaker: The Clerk of the National Assembly of Zambia read that Bill.

Interruptions

Mr Deputy Speaker: It was read. From the time we started the process, I do not remember any point where the Clerk of the National Asssembly of Zambia did not read the Bill.

Mr Chikwanda: Sir, since you want me to repeat it, I had begged to present a Bill entitled the Excess Expenditure Appropriation Bill, 2012. The object of the Bill is to approve the excess expenditure of monies aggregating K12,785,039 required for the services of the Republic during the financial year which ended 31st December, 2012.

Mr Deputy Speaker: The contents of the Bill have already been considered in the Committee of Supply. What is the day for second reading?

Mr Chikwanda: Next Tuesday, Mr Speaker.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Second Reading on Tuesday, 23rd June, 2015.

_____________  

MOTION

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE

Mr Lombanya (Solwezi East): Mr Speaker, I beg to move that this House do adopt the Report of the Committee on Agriculture for the Fourth Session of the Eleventh National Assembly, laid on the Table of the House on 5th June, 2015.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Is the Motion Seconded?

Mr Mumba (Mambilima): Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.

Mr Lombanya: Sir, in accordance with its terms of reference, your Committee considered submissions on the “State and Management of the Fisheries Sector in Zambia,” and the Action-Taken Report of your Committee’s report for the Third Session of the Eleventh National Assembly. In line with the topical issue, your Committee also undertook a local tour to both public and private institutions involved in the fisheries sector.

Sir, as hon. Members are privy to the contents of your Committee’s report, I will just highlight a few salient issues contained in your Committee’s report.

Mr Speaker, it is a well-known fact that the agriculture sector in Zambia has vast potential to be the major contributor to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), if all the subsectors were fully exploited. It is in light of this observation that the hon. Minister of Finance once remarked that, “If we worked to try and develop our agriculture, we could even close the mines.”

Mr Speaker, the lopsided or skewed focus on the crop sector, especially maize, by the Government with little focus on other subsectors has contributed to the untapped potential of other viable options such as the fisheries sector.

Sir, it is worth noting that the successive agriculture budgets, over the years, have been skewed towards the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) and the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) respectively.

Mr Speaker, suffice to mention that fish makes up 40 per cent of the annual protein in the diet of Zambians. The current estimates for annual fish production from capture fisheries is about 75,000 tonnes, and an addition 20,000 tonnes from aquaculture, while the estimated annual demand stands at 140,000 tonnes, indicating a deficit of about 45, 000 tonnes. This is according to the Department of Fisheries. The 45,000 tonnes deficit provides room for a flourishing fish farming industry in Zambia. The demand for fish has resulted in pressure on fishermen, prompting them to employ environmentally harmful methods of capturing fish and further reducing the catch in most water bodies in the country.

Sir, with Zambia having about 40 per cent of water in Southern Africa, the fisheries sector has a huge potential to not only address the huge national deficit, but also to be a source of export to the region and other international markets. The subsector equally has potential to improve the country’s economy through generation of employment, increasing income and reducing poverty, especially in rural areas.

Sir, the fisheries sector consists of two sub-sectors, namely the capture and aquaculture. On one hand, capture fisheries involves the harvesting of naturally occurring fish resources in the natural water bodies such as lakes, rivers and any impoundments. Aquaculture on the other hand, is the cultivation, propagation or farming of fish, aquatic vegetation or other living aquatic resources whether from eggs, spawn, spat or seed or by rearing fish lawfully taken from the wild or lawfully imported into the country, or by other similar processes.

Sir, stakeholders informed your Committee that the study on the state and management of the fisheries sector by your Committee is timely, given that the sector has vast potential to transform the country’s agriculture profile. In addition, stakeholders also stressed the need for the Government to put in place practical interventions on the agriculture diversification programmes if any meaningful results are to be achieved.

Mr Speaker, the House may wish to note that the fisheries sector in general and aquaculture in particular, is the fastest growing agriculture subsector in the country.

Mr Speaker, your Committee notes that transforming the fisheries sector requires a three-pronged strategy to significantly increase fisheries output for the local and international market which are improving the management of natural capture fisheries, increasing investments in expansion of aquaculture and improving value-addition, processing and marketing activities as well as improving the regulatory environment.

Allow me, Sir, to share some of the challenges the fisheries sector is faced with in Zambia.

Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, through the Department of Fisheries, is mandated to manage fish, as enshrined in the Fisheries Act No.22 of 2011, through a number of management measures. The measures include imposition of the closed fishing season, which runs from 1st December to the last day of February of every year, restriction of gear mesh size and licensing of boats to limit the number of fishing operators thereby maximising the economic benefits of the fishery, among the others. However, due to inadequate financial and human resources, enforcement is very weak, thereby encouraging the use of inappropriate fishing methods.

Sir, your Committee also notes that climate change has been ignored in the fisheries sector despite its effect being very evident. For instance, Lake Bangweulu has been drying up slowly in the last few decades. According to data obtained from the Department of Water Affairs and reported by the Department of Fisheries, the lake has reduced in its depth by 0.66 metres between 1974 and 2011.

Sir, the other challenges affecting the sector include, among others:

(i)    The dual role played by fisheries staff between extension service delivery and law enforcement, thereby compromising the effectiveness and efficiency of enforcing regulations;
(ii)    Limited access to credit and finance for fish farmers and under capitalisation in the sector as there are a few financial players supporting fish farmers. This has resulted into limited access to credit especially the aquaculture sector which is relatively new and, therefore, still viewed as a high risk investment area, hence the slow entry of financing institutions; and
(iii)    Weak value chain development of supportive industries from supply of improved fish fingerlings, fish feed, fish disease control, pond and cage technology, processing and cold chain facilities, landing sites, boats, diagnostic laboratories, breed certification and quality control systems.

Mr Speaker, in view of the challenges above, your Committee finds it disheartening that despite the Government revising and enacting the Fisheries Act No. 20 of 2011, the said Act has not been fully implemented, thereby contributing to the non exploitation of the sector. Your Committee recommends, as a matter of urgency, that the Government must fully implement the Fisheries Act No. 20 of 2011. The measure will undoubtedly stimulate growth in the sector.

Sir, your Committee notes that the absence of a standalone fishery policy to deal with issues hampering the full exploitation of the fishery subsector has not helped matters. Your Committee is aware that the draft policy has not been officially launched by the Government despite it being compiled. Your Committee, therefore, strongly recommends that the Government launches and implements the Fishery Policy so that stakeholders can have clear Government policy objectives on the fisheries sector.

It is worth noting, Sir, that inconsistent fishery statistical data has contributed to the inaccurate production and consumption figures. Stakeholders have continued to give varying production and consumption figures due to the fact that collection of data is not only inconsistent, but also characterised by poor management and dissemination.

Further, your Committee also notes that the absence of this data has equally contributed to the depletion of fish in most water bodies as the Government was unable to plan effectively on which water bodies have been heavily affected by overfishing when executing the annual fishing ban. Your Committee, therefore, strongly recommends that the Government ensures that the Department of Fisheries, in collaboration with the Central Statistical Office, conducts periodic surveys in both the capture fishing and aquaculture in order to enable stakeholders to have accurate production and consumption figures. Further, the Government must ensure that the data is well managed and disseminated to stakeholders.

Mr Speaker, your Committee also observes that the dual role being undertaken by Fishery Extension Officers of not only offering extension services, but also enforcement of the law has resulted in a poor working relationship between the fishermen and the extension staff. Your Committee, therefore, recommends that the Government should ensure that a separate law enforcement agency undertakes the enforcement while the Fishery Extension Officers perform their mandate of offering extension services.

Mr Speaker, in its quest to validate what was obtaining on the ground, your Committee toured selected public and private institutions involved in the fisheries sub-sector in the Southern, Copperbelt, Luapula, Northern and Lusaka provinces. To further appreciate the concerns and views the communities had on the state and management of the fisheries sector, your Committee held a public hearing in Nchelenge District in Luapula Province. Allow me to share some of your Committee’s findings arising from the tour.

Sir, the location of the Department of Fisheries headquarters in Lusaka’s Chilanga area has contributed to the stagnation of the fisheries sub-sector in the country. Your Committee recommends that the Government relocates the Department of Fisheries headquarters to a more suitable location with adequate space, water resources and modern infrastructure in order to enhance its technical support to stakeholders in the sector.

Mr Speaker, the lack of national standards in fish feed formulation has compromised the quality of fish feed available on the market. Your Committee strongly recommends that the Government, through the Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZBS), establishes national standards of fish feed formulation in order to improve the quality of feed on the market. Further, the ZBS should undertake periodic laboratory verifications on the fish feed on the market in order to guarantee quality fish feed.

Sir, your Committee is concerned with the state of the National Aquaculture Research and Development Centre (NARDC) which was established to be the main player in the development of the aquaculture sector. The institution has remained a mere spectator due to inadequate funding and inadequate staff to discharge its mandate. Your Committee recommends that the Government should not only increase funding to the NARDC, but also ensure that the release of the funds is timely in order to enable the fisheries sector have the much-needed information on research and development. Furthermore, the Government must ensure that the staff establishment of the NARDC is filled to enable the institution operate at full capacity.

Sir, allow me to also briefly share with this august House some of the concerns that were brought to the attention of your Committee at a public hearing held in Nchelenge.

Mr Mpundu: Hear, hear!

Mr Lombanya: Sir, your Committee observed that the limited alternative livelihood available for most people who live near water bodies has contributed to the high depletion of fish in capture fisheries as fishing is their only main source of livelihood.

Sir, your Committee recommends that the Government must promote other sources of livelihood to people who live near water bodies in order to reduce their over reliance on capture fisheries as their main source of survival.

Mr Speaker, your Committee is concerned about the laxity of some chiefs who are supporting illegal fishing practices by fishermen to catch fish in fish breeding areas with impunity. Your Committee recommends that the Government, through the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs and the Department of Fisheries, conducts periodic sensitisation campaigns with chiefs in order for them to appreciate the importance of good fishing practices on water bodies.

Mr Speaker, as I conclude, allow me to pay tribute to all the witnesses who appeared before your Committee for providing the necessary memoranda. Special tribute also goes to all the public and private institutions that enabled your Committee to undertake its local tour and for providing information.

Sir, let me also take this opportunity to convey my appreciation to all the Members of your Committee for their commitment and co-operation during the session. Your Committee also wishes to express its gratitude to the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly for the services rendered to it.

Mr Speaker, finally, on behalf of your Committee, I wish to express our gratitude to you for rendering guidance to it throughout the Committee’s deliberations.

Mr Speaker, I beg to move.

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

Mr Mumba: Now, Sir.

Mr Speaker, I wish to second the Motion that has been ably moved by the Chairperson of the Committee and in doing so, I will restrict my comments to matters that were not highlighted by the mover.

Mr Speaker, other challenges facing the fisheries sector include the following:

(a)    insufficient human and technical capacity to cover all key areas in the sub-sector. According to the 2014 Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock staff establishment, the Department of Fisheries was supposed to have a total staff establishment of 2,347, that is, 1,468 professional and technical officers, and 879 support staff. However, the department had a total staff assignment of 430 only, thus operating at 18.3 per cent staff capacity;

(b)    weak extension delivery system, as there was low human, financial and infrastructure investment to effectively transfer technologies to fishermen. This contributed to low participation and unco-ordinated extension service delivery by stakeholders in the sector; and

(c)    weak fish and aquaculture research and development. The capacity to conduct research had diminished over the years due to limited investment and human resource.

Mr Speaker, your Committee is concerned with the merging of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries into the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. This has worsened the continued overshadowing of other sub-sectors in the agriculture sector. Your Committee urges the Government to re-establish the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries so as to enhance the support of the fisheries sector in its growth.

Mr Speaker, the role of the private sector in the promotion of aquaculture cannot be over emphasised, considering the huge investment that has been put in the fisheries sector by most private actors in the fisheries sector. Your Committee strongly recommends that the Government, through the Department of Fisheries, enhances collaboration between the private sector and the Government so as to stimulate growth in the sub-sector. This collaboration may result in symbiotic technology or sharing, beneficial to both the private sector and the Government.

Mr Speaker, the high cost of ingredients imported in the formulation of feed which, in turn, causes the high cost of feed has contributed to the limited investment in the aquaculture sector. It is your Committee’s considered view that the Government must put zero taxes on the major ingredients that are imported in the formulation of feed such as fishmeal and hormones so as to reduce the high cost of doing business. Your Committee also observed that the lack of national presence by the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) both in some provinces and districts, has contributed to the bureaucratic and long processes of obtaining both Environmental Impact Assessment reports and environmental planning briefs by most stakeholders in the country. This has contributed to the slow pace at which the sector is growing. Your Committee strongly recommends that the Government ensures that ZEMA is decentralised by facilitating the establishment of offices in all the provinces and possibly in some districts so as to ease access to the agency by stakeholders. This will reduce the length of accessing licences from ZEMA by stakeholders.

Mr Speaker it is disheartening that a number of countries with a flourishing aquaculture sub-sector in Africa learnt most of the things during their study tours to Zambia. Kenya is one such country with a flourishing fisheries sector that has implemented what it learnt from Zambia. It is, therefore, necessary for the country to walk the talk regarding the transformation of the fisheries sector.

Mr Speaker, allow me to also make a brief comment on the responses by the Executive, contained in the Action-Taken Report regarding your Committee’s observations and recommendations on the various topical issues undertaken by your Committee. In most instances, not only are these responses unclear, but also show lack of commitment by the Executive in appreciating the oversight function of the National Assembly. Allow me to remind this August House on the definition of the term “oversight.” Oversight refers to the crucial role played by the Legislature in monitoring and reviewing the actions of the Executive organ of the Government. The term refers to the large number of activities carried out by the Legislature in relation to the Executive. Considering the unquestionable seriousness your Committee attaches in undertaking this role, the Executive is urged to exhibit a similar spirit of commitment in its responses contained in the Action-Taken Report.

Mr Speaker, lastly, allow me to thank you and the Clerk of the National Assembly of Zambia for the guidance rendered to the Committee during its deliberations. Allow me to also thank the Members of the Committee for giving me this opportunity to second this important Motion.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Musokotwane (Liuwa): Mr Speaker, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to make remarks on the report that has been presented, and to start, I want to congratulate the Committee for the report that has been well presented.

Mr Speaker, I come from a constituency where fishing is an important industry. The Zambezi River flows through Liuwa, and the Lwanginga and Lwambimba Rivers, and many others flow through Liuwa too. We also have plenty of swamps, including the Barotse Flood Plain. Therefore, fishing is an important economic activity, in addition to agriculture and others.

Mr Speaker, I have taken note of the point made by the Committee that when properly harnessed, the fishing industry can contribute very significantly to the economy. Fish provides cheap proteins. I also know that the market for fish is growing. I know this because when I look around the shops, I find imported tilapia from China, Namibia and many other places. Therefore, I know that the market for fish is there, but the problem is that of how to take advantage of it.

Sir, as I have said, globally, fishing is a very important industry. There are countries like Namibia which have made millions of dollars out of fisheries. Iceland is another example. Japan, which we know to be an industrialised country, also has a very thriving fishing industry. The Philippines started exporting tilapia, which I believe it got from Africa. Tilapia was taken  from Africa to the Philippines, and the Philippines managed to produce it on an industrial scale and it is now a big export commodity to the United States of America (USA). I think that the tragedy for us is that fishing is yet another example of the many potential industries that we speak about in our country that we have failed to transform into something that brings money on the table.

Mr Speaker, talking specifically about Liuwa, I did say that it is place where the fishing industry is important because fishing is one of the major economic activities. In addition, fishing is one of the buffers against hunger. For instance, there is a lot of hunger in the Western Province this year, 2015, and Liuwa is no exception. This is because of the low ability of the sandy soils to maintain moisture, making the casualties from failed crop very significant.

Sir, in years when people cannot harvest much of the crops, they turn to fisheries. They can catch and sale fish, and with incomes generated, buy alternative food stuffs. This year, however, there is a total change because there was not enough rainfall. As a result, even the fisheries have completely failed meaning that there are no food crops to eat and no fish to eat or sell and herein lies the problem.  

Mr Speaker, Liuwa is a game park. Therefore, when crops and fisheries fail, there is only one thing that remains, the meat. So, this year, unfortunately, the hon. Minister of Tourism and Art is not here, the ministry will have a lot of work. There is no hiding the fact that people are going to poach because there are no crops and no fish to eat.

Mr Mucheleka: And no relief maize.

Dr Musokotwane:  And there is no relief maize

Mr Lubinda: Aah!

Dr Musokotwane: Sir, there is no relief maize. Do not argue. I was there two weeks ago. Hence, there is going to be pressure on the wild life because there is no food for the people.

Mr Speaker, arising from this situation, I want to make a few suggestions. Firstly, the Office of the Vice-President should work very hard to provide timely food relief because the whole province has had total crop failure. If the Government does not provide the necessary food relief this year, in the absence of the crops and fish, people are going to eat the animals.

Laughter

Dr Musokotwane: You should have no doubt about that.

Mr Speaker, I am pleading with this Government to look into this because we want to develop the tourism sector with the animals we have. For us to save those animals, people must have alternative food. I am pleading with this Government, once again, to deliver relief food, not in October, not in November, but now because hunger has been in the province since January. The Government must ensure that it releases sufficient relief food immediately.

Mr Speaker, in the past few years, and in line with what Your Committee said, fishing stocks have been declining. Unfortunately, when the Patriotic Front (PF) was campaigning in 2011, it that said that it would do away with the fish ban upon coming to office. This was its campaign message and so, people took advantage. Therefore, at times even during a fish banned, they went ahead to fish.

Last year, Sir, officials from the Department of Fisheries tried to stop people from fishing during the ban. However, because Lozis have good memories, they reminded the officials about the campaign message of not implementing the fishing ban and went ahead to fish. They have, therefore, been fishing even during the ban.

Mr Speaker, another unfortunate factor is that wrong fishing methods are employed mostly by fishermen from outside the province. They have brought poison to put in water to kill the fish, snails and fingerlings. Mosquito nets are being used as fishing nets, resulting in snails, fingerlings and fish being depleted.

Mr Speaker, I mentioned earlier that relief food must be taken to the province immediately. In the medium-term, we must find a solution to this issue of declining fishing stocks. It is important for this Government, which promised that there would be no fishing bans, to go back to the province and tell the people that it was wrong. Fishing bans from December to March must be maintained. In addition, wrong fishing methods like poisons and mosquito nets must definitely be banned so that the stocks, once again, can rise.

Mr Speaker, thirdly the people of Liuwa do not benefit from the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) partly because, given the sandy soils, the people believe that fertiliser will destroy them completely and partly because the Government has not bothered to take fertiliser to the area, anyway, because of the logistical difficulties. However, in the absence of genuine equitable FISP, can I request that the Government focuses its attention on providing proper extension services and credit facilities to the people of Liuwa and the Western Province at large so that the fishing industry can be developed. Can I also ask that credit facilities and extension services for fishermen be intensified. I would like to also ask that the credit that you give to farmers in other areas be intensified. Can I further ask that since we do not get FISP, you give us loans so that we can begin to develop aquaculture? It is not enough to depend on the natural waters as we have seen this year. I am, therefore, requesting the Government to develop the fishing industry in Liuwa and the Western Province into something that is sustainable.

Mr Speaker, lastly, I did state earlier that Liuwa has a game park and some of the fishing ponds are within the park. Now, when villagers go inside the game park to fish, which is allowed, they get a lot of harassment or trouble from game guards or officers of the African parks. They get accused of going into these parks to poach and not to fish.

Sir, if, for example a person goes to Liuwa Game Park, he or she can actually see the Kafue Game Park because there are no trees in between. So, how can anyone kill an animal and put it on his shoulder and not be seen by the wildlife officers?

So, my request to the Government, through you, Mr Speaker, is that we want to co-exist with the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) and with the African parks. In that co-existence, the villagers must be allowed to fish without any problems.

Mr Speaker, with these few remarks, I would like to thank you for this opportunity to contribute to the debate on this Motion.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Deputy Speaker: Before the hon. Member for Lubansenshi debates, I just want to make it clear that the fact that you stand up first does not necessarily mean that you will be the first to speak. Picking who to speak is the preserve of the presiding officer.

Laughter

Mr Mucheleka (Lubansenshi): Mr Speaker, I take your advice. Allow me to also join Hon. Dr Musokotwane in congratulating your Committee for the manner in which it has presented your report. It has captured a number of salient issues with regards to the fish sub-sector in the agriculture sub-sector.

Sir, your report has highlighted a number of weaknesses, particularly on page twelve, and your Committee has also made observations and recommendations that are worth considering, especially from pages 12 to 36.

Mr Speaker, your report has raised a number of issues with regards to the challenges faced by this important sector with so much potential to contribute to our gross domestic product (GDP), if only we showed political will.

Sir, it is true that the agriculture sector, in general, is characterised by low funding. Even with that low funding, the funding is seriously skewed towards maize, leaving other important sub-sectors with very little funding. The fish sub-sector is one of these sectors that has suffered from low funding.

Mr Speaker, just the other day, the hon. Minister of Finance lamented about the mining sector’s failure to help us grow our economy. He also talked about the agriculture sector, and yet it is the hon. Minister of Finance and the Patriotic Front (PF) Government which control the Budget. All that is required is political will to increase funding to this important sector, particularly the fish sub-sector.

Sir, in rural areas, the majority of our people are small-holder farmers. In the Northern, Luapula, Western and Southern provinces, where we have a lot of our natural water bodies, most of the fish has almost disappeared. If you went to a place called Kampinda in the Northern Province, where Hon. Chansa comes from, what you will see there is a sad story. In the past, those of us who grew up in the Northern Province would see huge trucks from the Copperbelt and Lusaka going to Kampinda transporting fish to feed people in the urban areas. However, if you went to Kampinda today, you would see a sad story. Mweru Wantipa and Bangweulu …

Mr Pande: Bangweulu is worse.

Mr Mucheleka: … are even worse.

Mr Speaker, one of your Committees conducted a tour in Samfya on the shore of Lake Bangweulu and it was very sad that the fish being sold there was imported from China.

Hon. Opposition Member: Shame!

Mr Mucheleka: That made me very sad. I felt like shedding tears for our people in the Luapula and Northern provinces. We went to Nchelenge, Lake Mweru and found out that it was the same. We went to Kaputa, through Kampinda, and what we found was sad.
Sir the point I am making here is that if we are truly concerned with improving the livelihoods of our people, particularly in the rural areas where we have these natural water bodies, why then not invest where we should be investing within the agriculture sector?

Mr Speaker, the previous administration had deliberately setup up a Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock. The Fisheries sub-sector has now almost been confined to the periphery with very poor funding. When you go to Fisheries Department in Chilanga, you will see that there is very little that is happening. The report has brought out challenges that are being faced by the Fisheries Department being based in Chilanga because it makes it entirely inaccessible by the majority of the people that department should be serving.

Sir, there is so much poverty in this country and all of us, as leaders, appear to have failed with regard to how we can free our people from it. How can we remove the yoke of poverty from the majority of our people in the rural areas? Subsistence farming, through the Farmers Input Support Programme (FISP) or other means, has not really worked. The only thing that it causes is the politicisation of maize production. Everything is based on political patronage.

Further, Sir, people are not graduating from this programme. People who have been beneficiaries of FISP for almost ten years are still benefitting from the programme with no hope, whatsoever, of them graduating or improving their income levels. Is it not possible that we can look at other sub-sectors within the agriculture industry as opposed to politicising the maize sub-sector? Why not invest in the fisheries, fish capture or aquaculture? We can go into fish farming.

Mr Speaker, I am speaking from experience, as I am a fish farmer. I have a farm in Lubansenshi with so many fish ponds, demonstrating that it can be done. In Mucheleka, where I come from, I also have a farm with big ponds for fish farming. I am producing and selling to the market in order to show that it can be done.
Through you Mr Speaker, we need to encourage Zayellow, …

Laughter

Mr Mucheleka: … sorry the hon. Minister of Agriculture and Livestock to discuss with his colleagues in the Cabinet so that they give him adequate funding. There is even a Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) compact, Pillar I which talks about food and nutrition security in rural areas. We are now talking about fish farming. Not only are we going to use it as a means of taking our people out of poverty through improved income, but also to improve the nutrition status of our people. Apart from livestock development, the only way to go is fisheries development. That is where the money has to be put. There are youths in the rural areas. Instead of moving around with brown envelopes trying to keep people in bondage and wanting them to continue being in poverty, why do you not free them by encouraging them to participate in fish farming?

Mr Speaker, in Luwingu, in Lubansenshi Constituency, we are very close to natural water bodies. We have a lot of perennial rivers and streams which can enable our youths to participate in fish farming. This can be done in the Northern, Southern, Western and North-Western provinces. That is the way to go. Once that is done, you will see that this issue of going around keeping people in poverty by giving them money which has been obtained corruptly is bad. Do not think you can corrupt their conscious. You should instead free them by making them participate in economic activities through which they can begin to make informed choices and make their own money.

Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, on a point of order.

Mr Deputy Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, I stand on a very serious point of order and I thank you for allowing me to raise it. I have been following the debate of the hon. Member for Lubansenshi and it has been very difficult for me to put a head and a tail to his debate.

Sir, is he in order to refer to an intervention such as the Social Cash Transfer Scheme as a corrupt process which is keeping people in perpetual poverty? Is he in order not to appreciate the funds which his people in Lubansenshi are really appreciating?

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order! The statement that I got is that it is better to teach people how to catch fish than to give them fish. So, let us give him a benefit of doubt.

Can the hon. Member continue, please.

Mr Mucheleka: Mr Speaker, if you allow me, this hon. Member has a tendency of always trying to disturb my …

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order!

I will not allow you to go on. I have made a ruling and you better proceed with your debate.

Mr Mucheleka: Mr Speaker, I sincerely appreciate your guidance and I will continue. If we are to diversify from mining, where we have all these challenges, and use the agriculture sector as a means of improving the livelihoods of our people in the rural areas and, in turn, combat poverty, let us invest adequately in the agriculture sector. I think the fisheries sub-sector is the way to go because there is potential.

Sir, your report has already brought out the deficit in terms of tonnage of fish that we need in this country. That can only come if only we can invest adequately in this important sector.  Once that is done, you will see that the hon. Minister of Finance may stop lamenting the challenges we have had in the mining sector. Instead, we can this gold that, indeed, can grow the fisheries sub-sector.

Once that is done, we would have created a means of, indeed, taking our people out of poverty. I appreciate the Social Cash Transfer Scheme for the vulnerable groups. That is very important and the people are grateful. Important to note is my reference to the majority of our youths who are not able to find meaningful employment, and yet have so much potential. I am speaking from experience because I participated in promoting fish farming.

Mr Speaker, your report referred to a facility on Lake Kariba in Chief Chipepo’s area. That facility was put up by me when I worked for Caritas Zambia to show that the Government may not necessarily do everything on its own. There are a lot of non State actors which are willing and ready to partner with the Government. In the next few years, we will only take our people out of poverty when the Government shows political will and gets rid of these policy inconsistencies which the report brought out. We need to reduce on political rhetoric and translate our rhetoric into actions that can improve the livelihoods of our people.

Sir, the Patriotic Front (PF) Manifesto is lower taxes, more jobs and more money in your pockets, whatever that means. It does not mean that you must go round corrupting people because you want them to defect. Empower them economically and they will be able to make meaningful choices and decisions without being persuaded by those envelopes which you use to entice them when the money contained therein is obtained through corrupt practices.

Laughter    

Mr Mucheleka: So, the point I am making, Mr Speaker ...

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order!

I think you have exhausted your debate because you are now talking about something that you know might prompt others to rise on points of order and I made a ruling on that. That is what the Hon. Mr Speaker referred to the other time. Do not lace your statement with some sarcasm. That is what makes our work difficult. So, if you want to debate, just do so reasonably so that you can convince the others. Otherwise, I will take it that you have exhausted your debate.
You may continue.

Mr Mucheleka: Mr Speaker, as I continue to debate, I want to plead, through you, that the hon. Ministers of Finance and Agriculture and Livestock, both able citizens of this great country, and, perhaps, the hon. Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, who talked about clusters, sit together and look at how they can also identify some of these clusters ...

Mr Zulu: On a point of order, Sir.

Mr Deputy Speaker: The last point of order on the person debating.

Mr Mucheleka: Iwe, ulemfulunganya. Nnishani kanshi?

Mr Deputy Speaker: You have your point of order.

Mr Zulu: Mr Speaker, I am sure that you are aware that I have never risen on a point of order. However, is Hon. Mucheleka, who is an independent hon. Member of Parliament like me, ...

Mr Mbewe: You are not.

Mr Zulu: ... in order to wear a jacket with spare buttons on it?

Laughter    

Mr Deputy Speaker: I do not see anything wrong with the way he has dressed.

Laughter

Mr Deputy Speaker: Can the hon. Member continue with his debate.

Mr Mucheleka: Sir, I think that my cousin there does not know what ...

Mr Deputy Speaker: No! Continue with your debate.

Laughter

Mr Speaker, on a serious note, I want to conclude by saying that we have already partnered with Africa Self-help in fish farming in Luwingu District and Lubansenshi, in particular. Therefore, we would like sufficient funding because the actor partnering with the Government is a non State. Therefore, I would like to urge the Government to put in sufficient resources to ensure that this important sub-sector that can help to contribute to the GDP, poverty reduction and employment recreation for our youths is adequately be funded.

Sir, it is for this reason that I am making a passionate appeal to the relevant ministries, the ministries of Finance, Agriculture and Livestock and Commerce, Trade and Industry to sit down together and, perhaps, create the seed money that can be used to grow the fish sub-sector and look at the cardinal component. Maybe, also engage the international community to come. It is unfortunate that other than just political rhetoric, we have failed, as country, to meet our commitments with regard to the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development (CAADP) under the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Framework. Therefore, I would like to encourage the hon. Minister of Agriculture and Livestock to study the report that has been presented by the Hon.  Mr Speaker’s Committee and pick some of the recommendations that have been made.

 Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity.

Mr Mpundu (Nchelenge): Mr Speaker, I would like to thank you for according me this chance to put my thoughts on record, as I contribute to the debate on the report on the Floor of the House which has been ably presented by the Chairperson of your Committee.

 Sir, the state and management of the fisheries sector in this country is one of Ari Bule, I must say. It is a melancholy state. It is one of sadness. The report clearly shows that the contribution of the sector to the gross domestic product (GDP) is sub-optimal. It is below 4 per cent, at barely above 3.2 per cent, which is very sad. Worse still, it points to the fact that the sector is systematically declining. This must not be allowed to continue.

 Mr Speaker, as the report clearly shows, the gross underperformance of the sector has not started now. It is historical. The report cites a number of factors. It indicates that there has been low attention paid to the fish sector, as opposed to the maize sector which, over time as we all know, has overshadowed the other sectors.

Sir, it also clearly shows that there     has been inadequate public sector investment in critical areas of the sector such as conservation and protection of the breeding grounds where fish breeds naturally. Since these places have been encroached, fish has been inhibited from breeding in an environment of peace and quiet. Also, there has not been enforcement of the fish ban. Although we are told that it happens, it is not effective and also there has not been investment in the policing of the usage unsustainable fishing methods.

Mr Speaker, your report also points to the low staffing levels at the Fisheries Department, which clearly shows that, at present, only 18 per cent of the total establishment is on the ground. I must say that this is very sad. It also clearly indicates that there is no specific sector policy although we are being told that this is being developed, kudos to this administration.

 Sir, as we sit here and the nation listens, the administration of the Patriotic Front (PF) Government administration is poised to address the downside of what we are hearing. Your report points to the fact that within the context of agriculture diversification, this Government has come up with the National Agricultural Investment Plan, which is supposed to run from 2014 to 2018. It captures both components of the fish sector which are capture fisheries as well aquaculture.
    

It is also developing what your Committee’s report calls an elaborate and stand alone fisheries policy. This will be good for the development of the sector. As the Government embarks on such initiatives around the fisheries sub sector, I would like to advise that the Government, particularly, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, moves a bit faster and establishes the Fisheries Fund, as contained in the Fisheries Act No. 22 of 2011. This will be very helpful.

Sir, I would also like to urge the Government to consider re-establishing the guard unit in the ministry. This is equivalent to the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) officers. This is for purposes of policing the water bodies, particularly the breeding grounds.

Mr Speaker, your chairperson clearly indicated that poverty levels in places like Nchelenge, where we pre-dominantly depend on fish, are now very high because of the depletion of the fish. You can tell by the poverty levels which stand at 83 per cent. This is totally unacceptable. As you know, where fish occurs naturally, it is always subject to the tragedy of the commons, and we, in Nchelenge like, any other place where people depend on fish, are bearing the scars of the depleted fish stock.

Mr Speaker, the hope of the sector lies in efforts being undertaken by the Government as well as in the implementation of the recommendations that are contained in your report.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Minister in the Vice-President’s Office (Mr Kampyongo): Mr Speaker, I will be very brief. I know that the hon. Minister of Agriculture and Livestock will adequately respond to the report. I would like to comment on the fears that were expressed by Hon. Dr Musokotwane with regards to food relief. On behalf of Her Honour the Vice-President, I would like to assure the hon. Member that as we speak now, the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) is already on the ground. The poor rainfall pattern affected about eight districts in the Western Province. This year, our interventions started much earlier than any other year because our people did not have the opportunity to feed on the first crops as it should be. So, my assurance to Hon. Dr Musokotwane is that the DMMU is in control of the situation and there will be no one dying of hunger in the Western Province and any other area where there is some food insecurity.

The Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry (Mrs Mwanakatwe): Mr Speaker, I have studied your Committee’s report with a lot of interest.

________

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order!

(Debate Adjourned)

The House adjourned at 1255 hours until 1430 hours on Tuesday, 23rd June, 2015.

 

WRITTEN REPLY TO QUESTION

SPEED HUMPS CONSTRUCTION ON KAMANGA RESIDENTIAL AREA ROADS

536. Mr Chipungu (Rufunsa) asked the Minister of Local Government and Housing:

(a)    whether the Government had any plans to construct speed humps on township roads in Kamanga residential area in Lusaka District;

(b)    if so, what type of speed humps would be constructed;

(c)    what the estimated timeframe for completion of the project was; and
(d)    what the estimated cost of the project was.

The Minister of Local Government and Housing (Dr Phiri): Mr Speaker, I wish to inform this House that Kamanga Township roads in question are among the project roads under the L400 km Road Project that the Government is currently implementing in Lusaka through the Road Development Agency (RDA). About 3 km of township roads have already been worked on under the L400 km Road Project. The consultant is currently on ground doing a safety survey to identify points that require speed humps on all the roads under the L400 km Road Project that have been constructed. Therefore, the Government already plans to construct speed humps in Kamanga. The number of speed humps will be determined from the survey that the consultant is currently conducting.

Sir, in addition, the ministry through Lusaka City Council has already planned for construction of 420 speed humps and installation of road signs in all high risk urban roads in Lusaka. The ministry is currently securing funds for the works to commence.

Mr Speaker, the ministry had planned for 3.7 m long x 100 mm high asphalt humps. Once the consultant completes the safety survey and gives instructions to the contractor, the exercise will only take two weeks to install speed humps and road signs in Kamanga. The estimated cost of speed humps in Kamanga is K3 million.

I thank you, Sir.