Friday, 4th December, 2015

The House met at 0900 hours

[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]

NATIONAL ANTHEM

PRAYER

________

ANNOUNCEMENT BY MR SPEAKER

ACTING LEADER OF GOVERNMENT BUSINESS IN THE HOUSE

Mr Speaker: Hon. Members, I wish to inform the House that in the absence of Her Honour the Vice-President and Minister of Development Planning, who is attending to other Government business, the hon. Minister of Works and Supply, and Chief Whip, Hon. Yamfwa Mukanga, has been appointed Acting Leader of Government Business in the House today, Friday 4th December, 2015, until further notice.

I thank you.

Hon. Opposition Members: He should answer the questions.

Mr Speaker: You will have to change the Standing Orders.

Laughter

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BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

The Minister of Works and Supply, Chief Whip, and Acting Leader of Government Business in the House (Mr Mukanga): Mr Speaker, I rise to give the House some idea of the business it will consider next week.

Sir, on Tuesday, 8th December, 2015, the Business of the House will commence with Questions for Oral Answer, if there will be any. This will be followed by presentation of Government Bills, if there will be any. Thereafter, the House will consider the Committee Stages of the Constitution of Zambia Bill, 2015 and the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill, 2015. The House will, then, resolve into Committee of Supply on the 2016 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure and will continue to consider Heads 88 and 90-98, Office of the President – Provinces.

Mr Speaker, on Wednesday, 9th December, 2015, the Business of the House will commence with Questions for Oral Answer, if there will be any. This will be followed by 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 resolve into Committee of Supply on the 2016 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure and continue to consider Heads 88 and 90-98, Office of the President – Provinces.

Sir, on Thursday, 10th December, 2015, the Business of the House will commence with Questions for Oral Answer, if there will be any. This will be followed by 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 resolve into Committee of Supply on the 2016 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, and will consider Head 99, Constitutional and Statutory Expenditure.

Mr Speaker, the House will then deal with any other Business that may be outstanding. On this day, all things being equal, I intend to move a Motion to suspend the relevant Standing Orders to enable the House to complete all the Business on the Order Paper and, thereafter, adjourn sine die.

I thank you, Sir.

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MINISTERIAL STATEMENT

THE DRAFT CONSTITUENCY DEVELOPMENT FUND GUIDELINES

The Minister of Local Government and Housing (Mr Kampyongo): Mr Speaker, I wish to submit, on the Floor of the House, the Draft Constituency Development Fund (CDF) Guidelines.

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!

Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, during my last budget policy statement, and when I was responding and making comments on the Motion to adopt the Committee on Local Governance, Housing and Chiefs’ Affairs, I informed the House that my ministry had embarked on the revision of the 2006 CDF Guidelines.

Sir, I wish to report to this House that my ministry conducted consultations with various stakeholders and has since received comments on the Draft CDF Guidelines. The Draft CDF Guidelines are now ready for comments by the hon. Members of Parliament.

Mr Speaker, let me also mention that the CDF is not a ward development fund which can be thinly distributed. The CDF should be targeted at projects that will have an impact on the lives of the people we are called to serve.

Sir, may I also remind the House that the CDF was approved by Parliament in 1995 to finance micro community based projects that contribute to infrastructure development at constituency level. Therefore, the goal of the CDF is to empower local communities to take part in decision-making processes through improved local governance and development management in order to reduce poverty and improve service delivery. In addition, the CDF was established to provide a nationwide, sustainable, standardised and transparent financing mechanism to fund community based projects. The specific objectives of the Draft CDF Guidelines are to:

(a)    provide for community participation in decision making during project identification;

(b)    support community-driven projects;

(c)    support the planning and management of the CDF at constituency level; and

(d)    provide resources which ensure that development investments respond to the priority needs of the constituency.

Sir, the CDF is a specific allocation of funds in the National Annual Estimates appropriated by Parliament. As we embark on decentralisation, community participation is cardinal in achieving the desired development by people at local level.

Mr Speaker, in view of the above, I wish to urge all the hon. Members of Parliament to effectively scrutinise the Draft CDF Guidelines and make appropriate comments to enhance community participation to ensure that the CDF brings development at local level. This approach has been taken by my ministry to ensure wider participation and the production of guidelines which are user-friendly as they have encompassed divergent views.

Sir, my ministry will await comments from hon. Members of Parliament to enable it to finalise the production of the Draft CDF Guidelines. I also wish to seize this opportunity to inform the hon. Members that the notice which was circulated form the office of the Clerk of the National Assembly indicated that we should have these submissions by Monday, 7th December, 2015. However, we have received communication that we move this date to Wednesday, next week.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Speaker: Hon. Members are now free to ask questions on points of clarification on the statement given by the hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing.

Mr Livune (Katombola): Mr Speaker, does the hon. Minister accept that an hon. Member of Parliament is a key figure in as far as the disbursement of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) is concerned?

Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, an hon. Member of Parliament is very cardinal in every constituency because he/she is an elected representative of the people. Therefore, hon. Members are key stakeholders with regard to the disbursement of the CDF.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Muchima (Ikeleng’i): Mr Speaker, maybe, the hon. Minister is not aware that the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) is a baby of this House. It is primarily meant for hon. Members of Parliament to use in their efforts to complement the Government’s development agenda. Therefore, where are the officers in the Ministry of Local Government and Housing getting the mandate to formulate the CDF Guidelines without the involvement of hon. Members of Parliament? Are they not overriding the authority of hon. Members of Parliament, who are supposed to champion this cause?

Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, I am aware that the CDF was created by this institution. I mentioned that in the statement. I even indicated the year in which this fund was introduced. The reason we have brought the said document to the House is exactly to address the issues that the hon. Member has raised. If we did not think that hon. Members are critical stakeholders, the ministry could have just consulted other stakeholders. However, we must also be mindful that apart from hon. Members of Parliament, there are other interested parties and stakeholders to this programme.

Mr Muchima: Who are more important than an hon. Member of Parliament?

Mr Kampyongo: These are the people that we serve in the constituencies and organisations …

Interruptions

Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, I need your protection.

Mr Speaker: Order!

Give an opportunity to the hon. Minister to respond.

Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, these are public funds and, therefore, there is a lot of public interest. So, we cannot say this process is only for us. In any case, the projects that we apply these funds on are for the people and not for ourselves. The people whom we are meant to serve should also have a say in how the fund is used.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Ndalamei (Sikongo): Mr Speaker, is the hon. Minister not surprised that officers in his ministry have put an administrative fee of 10 per cent of the annual allocation for this fund? This means that the administrative fee has increased from K20,000 to K140,000 per constituency.  The K140,000 can be used to build a classroom block.

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Let us have some order. I am not very sure what the content of this document is, but it seems to have excited a lot of consternation and so on and so forth. However, since this is part of the Business of the House today, I have to manage the debate surrounding it properly and orderly. You may find an opportunity to engage the hon. Minister further at another juncture. So in short, let us proceed in an orderly fashion, whatever our feelings are regarding this particular document.

Mr Ndalamei: Mr Speaker, I was asking the hon. Minister if it is normal to have a 10 per cent administrative fee, instead of the K20,000 which was enough?

Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, I an equally an elected Member of Parliament who is an interested party. Thus, I have got my own views about this document. The reason we have brought the document here is for hon. Members to comment on it. They can state whether they think it is normal or not to have such a provision and many other aspects …

Interruptions

Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, I think we need to have order.

Mr Speaker: Order! Order!

Hon. Minister, please take a seat.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Speaker: Order! Order!

Let us give the hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing an opportunity to respond. He has the Floor and, therefore, let us respect his office. I have given him an opportunity to address the House.

Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, let me make it very clear that I am not here to defend this document. I am not defending the submissions from the ministry. What I am saying is that I have brought this document so that the hon. Members can comment on it and refine it to suit what we feel should be the proper guidelines. That is what I have done.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Kampyongo: So let us tame our emotions.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Interruptions

Mr Mbewe (Chadiza): Mr Speaker, I stand here very disappointed. The hon. Minister, whom I feel is quite a very good …

Mr Nkombo: On a point of order, Sir.

Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Nkombo: Sir, I sincerely hope my point of order will assist in the proceedings this morning. The hon. Minister has just stated that he has not come here to defend this document, but instead to get comments from hon. Members on how they feel about it. In the order of business, we are supposed to ask the hon. Minister questions on points of clarification on his statement. In light of what he has said, is it not possible that you can guide that, maybe, this may not be the right forum for us to actually give comments that will add value to whatever the hon. Minister is trying to achieve at this moment?

Mr Speaker: I immensely appreciate the point of order raised by the hon. Member for Mazabuka Central and, of course, his genuine desire to assist me in dealing with this situation. In terms of our modus operandi, the hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing has issued a ministerial statement, regardless of the content of the document in question. Now, the juncture at which we are is to seek clarification on the statement issued by the hon. Minister.

The challenge we seem to be faced with is that we want to engage the hon. Minister on the basis of that document. The sense in presenting that document is to invite comments from hon. Members. In due course, he would like to elicit a response from hon. Members in writing, I presume. Although there are suggestions and utterances that this might be totalitarian, that is another issue. It is not for me to say what platform the hon. Minister should use. If he approaches my office for somewhere to discuss this matter with hon. Members, of course, I will be able to avail those facilities.

Sir, I think we need to make this clear distinction between the content and the statement. If we use this occasion to try to debate the content of this apparently controversial document then, we will miss the point. Of course, the hon. Minister has made a very interesting statement that he is not here to defend the document from his ministry.

Laughter

Mr Speaker: I will not comment further on that.

Laughter

Mr Speaker: Please, let us see if we can create an appropriate forum …

Mr Habeenzu: Hear, hear!

Mr Speaker: … and the modus operandi for interrogating this document. I do not think this is the occasion to go into the details of the document. I do not want to curtail questions on points of clarification although I have that power. I am giving an opportunity to those who would like to clarify what is contained in the ministerial statement and not the Draft CDF Guidelines.

Mr Miyutu: Ah!

Mr Speaker: Not the document. What is causing confusion is the fact that we are trying to deal with the document now.

May the hon. Member for Chadiza, continue.

Mr Mbewe: Mr Speaker, I stand here a very disappointed Member of Parliament for I hold the hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing in very high esteem. Unfortunately, he has allowed himself to be manipulated by the civil servants. It is not too late for him to change course. Is he in a position to call for an urgent workshop so that we go through the guidelines from the first to the last page …

Mr L. J. Ngoma: Yes!

Mr Mbewe: … so that we have the opportunity to accept and reject certain guidelines?

Mr Muchima: Hear, hear!

Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, the hon. Member who has posed the question is the Chairperson of the Committee on Local Governance, Housing and Chief’s Affairs. He is supposed to propose the way forward.

Interruptions

Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, what I have stated here is that I have brought this document to the House for the purpose of consultations. I did not want to sit alone as a politician at the ministry and start telling the technocrats on how the document should be shaped. I have already said that I am an interested party. I have been a member of the CDF Committee for so many years.

Mr Speaker: Order, on the left.

Mr Kampyongo: Sir, I brought this document here because I did not want to sit alone and make decisions. I have brought it here so that hon. Members of Parliament can make submissions either through the Committee …

Ms Kapata: Hear, hear!

Mr Kampyongo: … which Hon. Allan Mbewe chairs…

Interruptions

Mr Kampyongo: … or through the Office of the Clerk …

Interruptions

Mr Kampyongo: … by way of written submissions which we can then give to our technocrats.

Interruptions

Mr Kampyongo: It will be as simple as that. That is the spirit with which I brought this document to this House.

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

Mr Kampyongo: I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker: Just a moment, hon. Member for Kalomo Central.

Hon. Minister, the question from the hon. Member for Chadiza is this: Are you ready to consider appointing a time and venue where you can sit with the hon. Members outside the Floor of this Chamber and consider this document clause by clause or paragraph by paragraph? I have not seen the document. I do not know how it is framed. Are you able to consider that option? That is the question.

Mr Mbewe: Yes!

Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, through consensus, if that is the option which will be reached, …

Mr Muntanga: Yes!

Mr Kampyongo: … I will have no option, but to follow that route.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Kampyongo: I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Speaker: Are there any further questions?

Laughter

Mr Speaker: Are there any further questions?

Hon. Members: No!

Interruptions

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT ON THE IMPORTANTION OF MILK FROM POLAND BY SHOPRITE

The Minister of Agriculture (Mr Lubinda): Mr Speaker, you may recall that during my response to question number eighty-one on 6th October, 2015, I stated that the ministry was going to investigate the matter regarding the alleged importation of milk from Poland by Shoprite through South Africa.

Sir, the investigations have been conducted and concluded. It has been established that the issues surrounding Shoprite’s importation of milk from Poland have been resolved. It was established that the rules of origin…

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order, order!

Mr Lubinda: … under the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol were overlooked by Shoprite when it imported milk from Poland through South Africa.

  Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

Hon. Minister, just pause.

Can we settle down, please.

Hon. Minister, continue.

Mr Lubinda: Sir, at the time of the conclusion of the investigation, the quantity of milk imported from Poland was insignificant. Therefore, it was allowed to be sold off from the shelves.

Sir, according to the Dairy Association of Zambia, the country produces approximately 215 million litres of milk out of the required 300 million litres per year. However, only 65 million litres of milk is processed for the formal consumer market. Zambia, on the other hand, imports 12 million litres of milk in the form of ultra-heat treated long life milk, yoghurts, cheeses, butter and powdered milk in order to meet the milk deficit.

Mr Speaker, the Government has taken several measures in order to safeguard and foster the growth of the dairy industry. The measures include:

(a)    construction of milk collection centres;

(b)    training of small holder dairy farmers in good diary management and health practices;

(c)    improving the genetics of national dairy herds through artificial insemination and the importation of quality diary animals;

(d)    improved pasture establishment ...
 
  Interruptions

  Mr Speaker: There are too many conversations on the right especially.

  Mr Lubinda: ...

(e)    promotion of diary production’s core ventures in the farming blocks as well as through matching grants; and

(f)    limiting the amount of milk being imported into the country.

As I conclude, Sir, I would like to seize this opportunity to remind importers of commodities into Zambia that before they import any commodity, they ought to ensure that they obtain valid import permits from the relevant Government agencies. With regard to the importation of foodstuffs, especially from the SADC region, the importers must always observe the rules of origin.

   I thank you, Sir.

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

Mr Nkombo (Mazabuka Central): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister was gesticulating that I must not ask a question.

Mr Lubinda laughed.

Mr Nkombo: Sir, little did he know that I wanted to commend him for the statement. It is as it should be. I brought the milk that came from Warsaw into the House. In his statement, the hon. Minister said that the quantities were insignificant and that the importation procedures, vis-a-vis the rules of origin, were overlooked.

Sir, since importation runs through a process which includes the issuance of import permits and other border processes involving customs officers who understand the rules of origin, I would like to know whether the investigations found out which officer issued the import permit which made it possible for the milk to come into the country.

Mr Lubinda: Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for acknowledging that what has been done is as it should be. I was directed by the technocrats in my ministry that since I made an undertaking to come back and inform the House on this matter, I should do so quickly before the House rose. I am, therefore, just being an obedient servant.

Mr Muntanga laughed.

Mr Lubinda: Mr Speaker, as regards the substantive question as to whether we managed to  investigate which particular officer allowed this commodity to come into the country, I am afraid to say that I do not have that information. The report that was given to me was short of that information. It did not state whether any particular individuals who were involved in making the decision were identified. This was not done.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Brig-General Dr. Chituwo (Mumbwa): Mr Speaker, …

Mr Livune: On a point of order, Sir.

Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Livune: Mr Speaker, I would like to apologise to Hon. Brig-Gen. Dr Chituwo who was on the Floor for disrupting his question. Is the hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing in order to accept to meet us outside the Assembly Chamber without stating the date and venue for the meeting?

 I need your serious ruling.

Mr Speaker: The hon. Minister is certainly in order. Give him space.

Laughter

Mr Speaker: He is one of you. He has said so repeatedly. I am sure you want to resolve this matter as amicably and as expeditiously as possible.

The hon. Member for Mumbwa may continue.

Hon. Government Member: Mpombo wibilima, ababilima tabaya.

Brig-Gen. Dr Chituwo: Mr Speaker, we know, as a country, that the stunting percentage standing at 40 per cent for our children is unacceptably high, yet we know that milk is a wholesome food. We still fall far short of the milk requirements for our country even with all the measures which the Government has put in place to boost its production. What plans has the hon. Minister put in place to accelerate efforts to meet the annual production demand for milk so that we can curtail this appalling stunting for children, which is not good for future generations?

Mr Lubinda: Mr Speaker, I would like to recognise that the hon. Member has been very consistent on matters of nutrition. I wish all Zambians were as concerned as he is.

Sir, I have said on the Floor of this House that the intake of protein in Zambia, generally, is extremely low. As regards milk, the per capita consumption in Zambia is frustratingly low at less than 15 lt per year per person, which translates into about a litre a month, yet the international standard is close to 1 lt per day. It is extremely low and all of us in this House must take it upon ourselves to do whatever we can to improve the situation.

Sir, I read out the numerous measures which the Government has put in place to try to improve on the production rate of milk.

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mr Lubinda: Sir, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, working together with the Ministry of Agriculture, is putting in place efforts to try to encourage further and better investment in diary production. We shall announce the re-launch of the farming block concept through which we are hoping that some people can invest in diary production.

Sir, only a week ago, the hon. Minister of Fisheries and Livestock responded to a question on how we are trying to make Zambia a disease free zone country for livestock. This is all towards improving on our productivity. I want to admit that the figures in Zambia for milk consumption are very low. We have to do something about the problem. This is why we have refused to stop the importation of milk despite some dairy farmers lobbying us to stop the issuance of import permits. We cannot stop the importation of milk when the production in Zambia is so low. Limiting the importation of milk will only increase the price and make it inaccessible by the poor.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Konga (Chavuma): Mr Speaker, considering that the levels of production are lower than what should be consumed in this country, does it matter if the milk is imported from countries other than those in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region to fill the gap?

Mr Lubinda: Mr Speaker, it would matter because under the SADC trade protocols, the SADC member states agreed that they would trade amongst themselves so as to grow their infant industries.

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order, on the left.

Mr Lubinda: Sir, the reason for including the rules of origin in the protocols is to make sure that any commodity that is imported outside the SADC region attracts duty which is higher than for products which are imported from within the SADC region. So, this particular importation of the milk from Poland, through South Africa was on the assumption that it was produced in South Africa and, therefore, should attract lower duty. This is what we are against. However, if anybody comes and tells us that they are importing milk from outside the SADC region and pay the right duties and the milk meets the Zambian standards, we will have no problems with that.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Muntanga (Kalomo Central): Mr Speaker, ...

Brig-Gen. Dr Chituwo: On a point of order, Sir.

Mr Speaker: Order!

A point of order is raised.
    
Brig-Gen. Dr Chituwo: Mr Speaker, thank you for allowing me to raise this very important point of order. I think that, as leaders, we must lead by example. Is the hon. Minister of Agriculture in order not to set an example by offering free milk to his counterpart, the hon. Minister of Livestock  and Fisheries, in order to improve his nutrition?

Laughter

Brig-Gen. Dr Chituwo: Mr Speaker, is he in order?

Laughter

Mr Speaker: Order!

I do appreciate that the hon. Member for Mumbwa is a medical practitioner. However, I do not know what diagnosis he has made in relation to the hon. Minister of Livestock and Fisheries. Thus, I am not too sure what the panacea is to whatever he is perceiving. I do not think it is fair to put that onus on the hon. Minister of Agriculture to improve the nutrition of another hon. Minister.

Mr Muntanga: Mr Speaker, we have received contaminated meat, from Poland, via London, before. In the investigations, did the ministry find out whether the milk could have come from horses and other animals? People from that country can milk any animal and send that milk to Africa for Africans who want the milk to improve their nutrition. We have a lot of farmers locally that are producing milk, which we are not accounting for. It is necessary for the ministry to continue being very careful so that we do not receive any more milk from other countries.

Mr Lubinda: Mr Speaker, in concluding my statement, I urged the importers of commodities to comply with the importation regulations. If it is food they are importing, they should approach the ministry responsible for the importation of food so that vital sanitary conditions are abided by. That is why we would like to have nobody importing any food without following the laid-down procedures. With regard to this particular milk in question, the milk was found to be wholesome. It was not contaminated, unlike the case which Hon. Muntanga spoke about.

Sir, on a light note, I know you ruled on the point of order, but I would like to inform Hon. Brig-Gen. Dr Brain Chituwo that from the time that I have known the hon. Minister responsible for livestock and fisheries, I have been extremely impressed at his body’s ability to resist ballooning, notwithstanding the amount of proteins he takes. I have known him to drink more than one litre of milk a day.

I thank you, Sir.

__________

QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

GRADING OF THE MUMBWA/KASEMPA ROAD

214. Mr Pande (Kasempa) asked the Minister of Works and Supply:

(a)    when the Mumbwa/Kasempa Road was last upgraded, especially the following stretches:

(i)    Mumbwa/Lubungu Bridge; and

(ii)    Kasempa/Lunga Bridge; and

(b)    when the road was scheduled for rehabilitation.

The Deputy Minister of Works and Supply (Dr Mwali): Mr Speaker, the section from Mumbwa to Lubungu Crossing Point was last worked on in 2009. Equally, the section from Kasempa to Lunga Crossing Point was last worked on in the same year.

Mr Speaker, the Mumbwa/Kasempa Road is scheduled to be upgraded to bituminous standard starting from 2017.

I thank you, Sir

Mr Pande: Mr Speaker, ...

Mr Mwiimbu: On a point of order, Sir.

Mr Speaker: Order!

A point of order is raised.

Mr Mwiimbu: Mr Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity to raise a very serious point of order which is anchored on Article 87 of the Constitution of Zambia, pertaining to privileges and immunities of hon. Members of Parliament, as read with Section 3 of Chapter 12 on parliamentary privileges.

Sir, I am aware that this House has always guarded the privileges and immunities of hon. Members of Parliament very strictly. I am also aware that four years ago, I, Jack Jacob Mwiimbu, Member of Parliament for Monze Central, Hon. Given Lubinda, and the former hon. Member of Parliament for Munali, were punished by this House for the comments we made and for casting aspersions on the statements of hon. Members, which were made on the Floor of this House. This Parliament has been very consistent on this issue. The Presiding Officers have warned that they would deal sternly with anyone who is found guilty of abusing the privileges and immunities of hon. Members of Parliament.

Mr Speaker, yesterday, in the evening, the hon. Minister of Information and Broadcasting addressed the nation and made various aspersions on the character of Hon. Gary Nkombo, the hon. Member of Parliament for Mazabuka Central, pertaining to the statements he made on the Floor of this House, when he was debating the budget pertaining to the Southern Province.

Sir, in his address to the nation, the hon. Minister of Information and Broadcasting alleged that Hon. Gary Nkombo made serious tribal remarks on the Floor of this House, and that he condemned him for making those tribal remarks. As if that was not enough, various members of the Patriotic Front (PF), such as Father Frank Bwalya, also made similar comments on Radio Phoenix, on what Hon. Gary Nkombo said. Mr Hapunda, and the PF Provincial Youth Chairman, Kennedy Kamba, also made similar comments.

Mr Speaker, I have in my hand the statement that was made by Hon. Garry Nkombo, on the Floor of this House. In this statement, there is no reference, whatsoever, on tribe or tribalism. Is the hon. Minister of Information and Broadcasting in order to cast aspersions and abuse the immunities and privileges of Hon. Nkombo, pertaining to the statement that he made on the Floor of this House?

Sir, taking into account the various rulings made and punishments meted out by this House, is this House in order not to take appropriate action against the hon. Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Father Frank Bwalya, Mr Kennedy Kamba and Mr Brian Hapunda, vis-à-vis the rights of Hon. Nkombo as hon. Member of Parliament for Mazabuka Central?

Mr Mwiimbu laid the Paper on the Table.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Speaker: My ruling is that as much as the law is clear on the point of order which the hon. Member for Monze Central has raised, I still need to study, firstly, the debate by the hon. Member for Mazabuka Central, and secondly, the statement made by the hon. Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the two other persons that have been referred to in the point of order. Only after I have perused through that material, can I make an informed ruling on the subject. So, in short, I reserve my ruling.

Hon. Member for Kasempa, you may continue.

Mr Pande: Mr Speaker, before I ask my supplementary question, I would like to make a correction. It is not the Mumbwa/Lubungu and Kasempa/Lunga bridges, but the Mumbwa/Lubungu and Kasempa/Lunga pontoons because there are no bridges there yet.

Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister indicated that the Mumbwa/Kasempa Road is scheduled to be upgraded to bituminous standard in 2017. I wish that both the hon. Minister of Works and Supply and Deputy Minister for the province, who claims that there is development taking place in the area, could try to use this road. Instead of flying to the province all the time, the hon. Deputy Minister should use the road so that he sees how bad the state it is in. When is the Government going to work on this road so that, it is, at least, motorable because right now, it is in a very bad state?

Dr Mwali: Mr Speaker, the correction by the hon. Member of Parliament for Kasempa is duly noted. This is why in our response, we referred to Mumbwa/Lubungu and Kasempa/Lunga as ‘crossing points’ because there are pontoons there.  

Mr Speaker, indeed, this road is in a very bad state. Considering the prevailing condition, we have requested the Road Development Agency (RDA) to review the situation so that some intervention can be made before upgrading it.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Muchima (Ikeleng’i): I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Namulambe: On a point of order, Sir.

Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Namulambe: Mr Speaker, you have always allowed hon. Ministers to update us on the happenings in various Government programmes. When Parliament is sitting, it is important that as the people’s representatives, we are told what is happening so that we can ask questions on points of clarification, if we are not clear.

Sir, we are aware that the press is only interested in what makes news. However, there are certain areas like Shang’ombo where people will read last month’s newspaper this week. Is the hon. Minister of General Education in order not to inform the House about the Grade 7 Results, which are out, and instead decide to hold a press briefing?

Sir, in the same vein, is the hon. Minister of Defence in order to give clarification on the recruitment process to the press, instead of informing the House so that we, as the people’s representatives, go and explain to the electorate when we adjourn next week the real picture? Are they in order not come to this House with statements?

Sir, I need your serious ruling.

Mr Speaker: Certainly, he is not out of order by issuing a statement outside the House. The hon. Minister of General Education is scheduled to give a statement to the House next week. Even prior to the point of order, he was scheduled to do so.

Hon. Member for Ikeleng’i, you may continue.

Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, I am at a loss. Is there co-ordination in the way things are done by the different Government officials? Not long ago, the President was purported to be supervising projects in Kasempa and the hon. Member of Parliament for the area, Hon. Kabinga Pande, was present. The President announced that the Mumbwa/Kasempa Road would be worked on in 2015. Today, the hon. Minister has said that works on this road will start in 2017. Is it the same Government that I am listening to?

The Minister of Works and Supply (Mr Mukanga): Mr Speaker, when the statement was given by the President, there were no specifics. Today, we are specifically looking at the Mumbwa/Lubungu and Kasempa/Lunga pontoons.

Sir, there is a lot of co-ordination in the way we do our work. You may be aware that Government does its work in a consultative and well co-ordinated manner under the direction of His Excellency the President.

I thank you, Sir.

Brig-Gen. Dr Chituwo (Mumbwa): Mr Speaker, what the hon. Minister of Works and Supply has talked about are details of the whole stretch, which is the Mumbwa/Kasempa Road.

My question arises from the answer given by the hon. Deputy Minister, who said that the road will be upgraded to bituminous standard in 2017. Can we, at least, have some indication of when the works, which will make this road motorable, will be started so that we can inform our people of these plans as they wait for the definitive works in 2017?

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, we intend to start working on that road after the rainy season.

I thank you, Sir.

Prof. Lungwangwa (Nalikwanda): Mr Speaker, we have heard of references to time frames with regard to the rehabilitation or construction of various roads in the country this week and the weeks before. Today, we are being informed of the upgrading of the Mumbwa/Kasempa Road by 2017. Is there a document in the ministry that has all these time frames that are being referred to which can be availed to us so that we are well informed about the time frames that have been outlined for works on various roads in the country?

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, yesterday, there was a question that was posed on when the document on the Link Zambia 8,000 Kilometres Road Project would be released. We said we would give it to hon. Members during the first quarter of 2016.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mutelo (Lukulu West): Mr Speaker, I need the hon. Minister to reconcile these statements for me. The President said this road would be worked on in 2015. Which part of the Mumbwa/Kasempa Road is being worked on now as per the directive of the President?

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, although that is a new question, ...

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!

Mr Mukanga: ...  I wish to state that there has been a consultant who has been working on that road who did not give us a good result this year. Thus, we are terminating the contract because he is not working at the speed that we wanted. We are giving another contract to another person to start doing a feasibility study by early next year so that we have a document by 2017 for the implementation of the project.

I thank you, Sir.

RENOVATION OF YUKA HOSPITAL

215.    Mr Miyutu (Kalabo Central) asked the Minister of Health:

(a)    whether the Government had any plans to facilitate the renovations of Yuka Mission Hospital in Kalabo Central Parliamentary Constituency; and

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

The Deputy Minister of Health (Dr Chilufya): Mr Speaker, the Government has plans to facilitate the renovation of Yuka Mission Hospital in Kalabo Parliamentary Constituency through a phased approach. To this effect, an amount of K200,000 has been allocated in the Draft 2016 Infrastructure Operational Plan towards the rehabilitation of the hospital. Since the Government notes that the hospital is a faith-based mission facility, it intends to work with other donors to improve the state of the infrastructure at Yuka Mission Hospital.

Sir, the rehabilitation of the hospital will commence in 2016 and will be done in phases.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Miyutu: Mr Speaker, previously, Yuka Mission Hospital used to be referred to as the mother hospital for the whole district due to the quality service it used to offer. How much time will it take for the completion of the rehabilitation works because the hospital is in a deplorable state?

Dr Chilufya: Mr Speaker, we intend to undertake the rehabilitation in three phases and we expect to be done with Phase I in 2016. We will embark on Phases II and III in 2017.

Mr Mufalali (Senanga): Mr Speaker, I wish to declare interest because I was born at the Yuka Mission Hospital.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mufalali: Sir, is the hon. Deputy Minister in anyway able to help find donors to assist Yuka Mission Hospital get back to what it was before?

Dr Chilufya: Mr Speaker, we embrace partnerships with organisations that promote the common aspirations of our people in the health sector. We recognise the fact that the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church has identified donors to work with. We sent a team to go and determine the works required to rehabilitate the institution. We have acknowledged the fact that the institution, itself, has identified donors, although they have delayed to come on board. However, we have decided to advance the institution with K200,000 so it can begin the works.

Sir, we are committed to working with whichever donors the institution has identified.

I thank you, Sir.

OPENING GRADE 10 CLASSES AT KAKULUNDA BASIC SCHOOL

217.    Mr Mutelo asked the Minister of General Education:

(a)    whether the Government had any plans to open a Grade 10 class at Kakulunda Basic School in Mitete District in 2016; and

(b)    if there were no such plans, why.

The Deputy Minister of General Education (Mr Mabumba): Mr Speaker, the Government has plans to open a Grade 10 class at Kakulunda Basic School in Mitete District in 2016. In order to facilitate the opening of the school, the ministry has put up the following measures:

(a)    deployment of teaching staff to handle the senior classes at the school is ongoing; and

(b)    processes of recommending Kakulunda to be one of the schools to get Grade 10 pupils in 2016 are ongoing.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Minister very much. Is it possible for him to repeat his answer?

Mr Speaker: Any other questions?

Laughter

PROFESSIONALS WORKING IN ZAMBIA

218.    Mr Mbewe (Chadiza) asked the Minister of Labour and Social Security;

(a)    how many professionals were working in Zambia as of 31st December, 2011 in the following categories;

(i)    medical doctors;

(ii)    electrical engineers;

(iii)    mechanical engineers;

(iv)    teachers; and

(v)    chartered accountants; and

(b)    of the professionals above, how many were foreigners.

The Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Security (Ms Kansembe): Mr Speaker, the number of professionals working in Zambia as at 31st December, 2011 as requested were as follows:

  Professionals        No. of Professionals

  Medical Doctors    1,493 (specialists and registered medical doctors)

  Electrical Engineers     1,213

   Mechanical Engineers    992

  Teachers    137,119 (Primary, Basic and Secondary School Teachers)

  Chartered Accountants     1,530 (Associates and Fellows)

Mr Speaker, out of the 1,493 medical doctors, 948 were Zambian while 545 were not. Out of the 1,213 electrical engineers, 918 were Zambian while 295 were not. Out of the 992 mechanical engineers, 624 were Zambian while 368 were not. The data sets for teachers and chartered accountants were not disaggregated by nationality.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Mbewe: Mr Speaker, has the number for these professionals reduced from what it was in December, 2011 to what it is currently? Are the conditions for Zambians and non-Zambians the same?

Ms Kansembe: Mr Speaker, we did not analyse the data to see whether the figures have reduced or increased. In some industries, of course, there is a disparity in terms of emoluments for Zambians and non-Zambians.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, among the professionals, I am more concerned about the medical doctors. Do we have sufficient medical doctors in Zambia to an extent that we cannot depend on foreign doctors, especially those coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)?

Ms Kansembe: Mr Speaker, it goes without saying that we do not have sufficient numbers in terms of medical doctors. I have already said that we have a number of foreign doctors whom we depend on.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Namulambe (Mpongwe): Mr Speaker, why has the Government allowed doctors to take up administrative positions, thereby reducing the number of those who are able to attend to patients in hospitals?

Ms Kansembe: Mr Speaker, that question should have been directed at the Ministry of Health because it is the ministry which is responsible for making such decisions.

I thank you, Sir.

Prof. Lungwangwa: Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security is the custodian of the labour in the country. Can the hon. Deputy Minister assure the nation that we have a clear training needs policy for the country out of which we can make very well-informed assessments about the professional status of the people in the country in various sectors and the projected needs for the country?

Ms Kansembe: Mr Speaker, we do have a training needs policy in place. If the hon. Member wants to find out more about it, he can liaise with the Central Statistical Office (CSO). It has a lot of information with regard to that subject.

I thank you, Sir.
_______

COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY

[THE CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITEES in the
Chair]

VOTE 88 – (Muchinga Province – K50,625,853),  Vote 90 – (Lusaka Province – K60,533,931), Vote 91 – (Copperbelt Province – K68,773,031), Vote 92 – (Central Province – K64,656,749), Vote 93  – (Northern Province  – K63,924,668), Vote 94 – (Western Province – K69,401,741), Vote 95 – (Eastern Province – K61,063,176), Vote 96 – (Luapula Province – K60,771,073), Vote 97 – (North-Western Province – K59,303,719) and Vote 98 – (Southern Province – K80,642,037).

(Consideration resumed)

The Deputy Minister for Central Province (Mr Chisopa): Mr Chairperson, thank you for giving me this opportunity to debate on the Budget …

The Chairperson: Order!

Let me just guide the House before you go any further. The fact that you are not timed does not mean that you have to speak for too long. If you do that, you will be in danger of repeating yourselves. It becomes very difficult for the Chairperson to begin telling you to conclude your debate. We are only remaining with only a few days next week and we still have some other business to transact.

The hon. Minister may continue.

Mr Chisopa: Mr Speaker, in support of the 2016 Budget,

Interruptions

The Chairperson: Order in the House.

Mr Chisopa: … I want to thank the hon. Members of Parliament for Central Province …

Mr Muchima: On a point of order, Mr Chairperson.

The Chairperson: A point of order is raised.

Mr Muchima: Mr Chairperson, I sincerely apologise to the hon. Deputy Minister for interrupting his debate. I feel that my point of order is a serious one which requires some clarification.

Mr Chairperson, in this House, it is a known fact that we depend on facts. Any information that is misleading requires to be corrected. As I stand here, I feel humiliated. I am humiliated in the sense that the hon. Deputy Minister for North-Western Province misrepresented the province in the manner he debated last evening. He was not even referring to a written speech.

Mr Chairperson, first and foremost, the hon. Minister misinformed the nation that there were seven Cabinet hon. Ministers in the Mwanawasa Administration from the North-Western Province, yet, there were only four. That is Hon. Sayifwanda, Hon. Kabinga Pande, Hon. Konga and Hon. Mukuma.

Mr Moonde: What is the point of order?

Mr Muchima: Monde, I will include you.

 Mr Chairperson, in this county, there is a trend for any …

 The Chairperson: Order!

Hon. Muchima, the hon. Member who wondered what the point of order is has a point.

 Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Chairperson: I would rather you get to the point of order instead of debating the issues behind it. I am sure you can raise it in a very nice way instead of debating it.

You may continue, please.

Mr Muchima: Mr Chairperson, is the hon. Deputy Minister for North-Western Province in order to mislead the nation and all hon. Members of Parliament that the contractor for the Jhimbe Road is on site, yet the President has said that there would be no more new contracts which will be entered into.  Besides, the President did not go to launch the project as has been the case with most ground-breaking projects.

 Sir, according to information which was provided on the Floor of this House, works on the Mutanda/Kasempa Road is scheduled to commence in 2017.

Mr Chairperson, is the hon. Minister for North-Western Province, who spent two hours repeating himself, in order to mislead the people of Zambia instead of debating based on  facts. Is he in order to continue misleading the people of the North-Western Province when everyone in the province is crying for development, which they cannot see?

I need your serious ruling.

Mr Kafwaya: On a point of order, Sir.

Laughter

The Chairperson: Order!

 Hon. Deputy Minister, you cannot raise a point of order on a point of order.

 That point of order serves to remind all of us to try as much as possible to be factual. That is the input of that point of order. I am not going to make any ruling on it. All I can say is that, we all should be as factual as possible …

 Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 The Chairperson: …. because only that will help us. Although, I have made a remark on that point of order, I should not have allowed it because it was against the points of procedure, decorum and not contemporaneous. Anyway, the most important point which we should all bear in mind is that we must all be factual in our debates.

Mr Chisopa: Mr Chairperson, first and foremost, I would like to thank the three hon. Members of Parliament who debated on the Vote for Central Province.

 Interruptions

 The Chairperson: Order!

Hon. Minister, I am sorry to disturb your debate.

 I want to remind and educate the people who might be listening to our debates that ‘Minister’ is a generic term which is used when we are talking of hon. Ministers because we have Cabinet and Deputy Ministers. Therefore, when one says that there are so many ministers, they have to make a distinction between Cabinet and Deputy Ministers.

 You may continue, hon. Deputy Minister.

Mr Chisopa: Mr Chairperson, I would like to thank the three hon. Members of Parliament who contributed in support in support of the Central Province Budget. Before I go into my policy statement, I would like to respond to what the hon. Member of Parliament for Mumbwa said. He said that there is nothing that is happening in terms of development in Mumbwa. Contrary to that, there are quite a number of projects that are going on and others have even been completed.

 Mr Namulambe: On a point of procedure, Sir.

The Chairperson: This will be the last point of order which I will allow to be raised.

 Mr Namulambe: Mr Chairperson, indeed, hon. Members debated according to the issues related to the provinces where their constituencies are found. Therefore, it is now time for the hon. Deputy Ministers to respond. Is it procedural that they should start to respond to what was raised instead of reading their policy statements first in order to avoid repetition? Are they in order to, first of all, respond to the concerns that were raised before reading the statements?

The Chairperson: According to procedure, it is smoother for hon. Deputy Ministers to first read their statements and then, later on, address the specific issues raised by hon. Members of Parliament. With that kind of guidance, I expect the hon. Deputy Minister to go straight into his policy statement.

 Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chisopa: Mr Chairperson, I wish to thank you for giving me this opportunity to address this august House and present the policy statement for 2016 for the Central Province.

Sir, from the outset, I wish to thank all hon. Members of Parliament who debated in support of the Central Province Budget.

Mr Chairperson, the vision of Central Province is to attain a sufficient level of social and diversified economic development that promotes human development through the equitable and efficient delivery of goods and services by 2030. Therefore, the 2016 to 2018 Medium Term Expenditure Framework takes into consideration the achievements scored in the past and the challenges deterring development efforts in the province. Given that the implementation of the Revised Sixth National Development Plan comes to an end in 2016, the aim of the province is to conclude the projects associated to it in order to lay a strong foundation for the future. That aspiration is in line with the 2016 Budget theme which is: “Fiscal Consolidation to Safeguard our Past Achievements and Secure a Prosperous Future for all.”

Sir, despite the global climatically-induced challenges the country endured in 2015, the province made some progress in the implementation of developmental programmes and projects.

 Interruptions

The Chairperson: Order!

Mr Chisopa: Mr Chairperson, under agriculture, crop production during the 2014/15 Farming Season was generally lower than the previous farming season due to the lower levels of rainfall received by the end of March, 2015. This was evidenced by the reduced production figures to nearly 27 per cent of all crops captured by the Central Statistical Office during the 2014/15 harvest period.

  Sir, the total output per hectare of Sweet Virginia tobacco, mixed beans and barley, and thirteen other crops fell compared to the previous 2013/2014 Farming Season. However, despite this setback, the yields of millet, sorghum, cowpeas, Bambara nuts and popcorn increased compared to the 2013/2014 Farming Season. From the national total, the province still produced more wheat at 44 per cent, soya beans at 45 per cent, maize seed at 85 per cent and popcorn at 66 per cent than any other province in Zambia. In addition to crop production, three dip tanks were constructed in Mumbwa and one was rehabilitated in Serenje District. Two artificial insemination satellite centres have been constructed in Chibombo. An agro processing plant was also constructed at Keembe in Chibombo District and is yet to be commissioned.

Hon. MMD Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chisopa: Mr Chairperson, with regard to the health sector, the construction of Phase II of the Mkushi District Hospital and Phase III of the Serenje District Hospital is progressing. The construction of an incinerator for Phase III of the Serenje District Hospital is complete while the construction of the mortuary, staff houses and wards is nearing completion. The province was allocated sixty out of the 650 health posts being constructed countrywide, through the Indian Credit Line, and works are progressing well. At the Kabwe General Hospital, the construction of a trauma centre has been completed and an additional centre is being constructed at Liteta Hospital in Chibombo District. This is in a bid to address the challenges encountered in handling the cases of road traffic accidents.

Sir, in order to train adequate front line staff for health facilities, a student hostel at Kabwe School of Nursing, and student hostels, staff houses and classroom blocks at Chibombo School of Nursing were completed in 2015. The Chainama School of Health Sciences in Kabwe commenced operations in July, 2015. A total of sixty-four student clinical officers are being trained and will go a long way in augmenting the delivery of health services by qualified health personnel.

Mr Chairperson, on education, the province scored progress in upgrading infrastructure for Mulungushi and Kwame Nkrumah universities. Progress is also evident with regard to the construction of the three secondary schools initiated in 2013 by the Patriotic Front (PF) Government. The construction of Makululu Day School in Kabwe is 60 per cent complete while the construction of Muchinda Boarding Secondary School in Serenje and Luano Boarding Secondary School in Luano District is at 40 per cent towards completion. The province is further on course in converting twenty-two primary schools into secondary schools in order to increase enrolment levels and reduce on the distance covered by pupils to access secondary school education.

Sir, under governance and administrative sectors, the construction of staff houses, district administration, council office blocks, police stations and police offices in the newly created districts is progressing well, except for Chitambo District where the community delayed reaching consensus on where the district administrative offices should be located. In Serenje District, progress has been scored with the construction of sixty-six staff housing units for the Zambia Police Force and an additional forty-four housing units for other departments in the Ministry of Home Affairs. This is in addition to the modern police stations being constructed for Serenje and Chibombo districts as well as Liteta Township of Chibombo and Katondo Township in Kabwe. The construction of palaces in the three chiefdoms, namely Chipepo in Kapiri Mposhi, Moono in Mumbwa and Serenje in Serenje District, is on course, with two of the three at 30 per cent towards completion.

Mr Chairperson, under the transport and trade sectors, tarring of 54 km of 115 km of the Mumbwa Landless Corner continued in 2015 with more than 45 per cent of works done so far. The upgrading of the Mumbwa/Itezhi-tezhi Junction to Itezhi-tezhi Road is progressing well with works exceeding 40 per cent towards completion. The province also continued with the periodic maintenance and expansion of the Kabwe to Kapiri Mposhi and Kabwe to Chibombo roads and works commenced in 2015. In a bid to expand and modernise the towns in the provinces, township roads are being upgraded in Serenje, Mkushi, Mumbwa, Kapiri Mposhi and Kabwe districts and works are progressing well. In order to lengthen the lifespan of our roads and also generate revenue from road users, an electronic weighbridge is being constructed at Mumbwa Junction and a toll gate at Manyumbi on the Kabwe/Kapiri Mposhi Road and works are progressing well.

Sir, under the energy sector, the construction of 120 MW Itezhi-tezhi Hydro Power Plant in Itezhi-tezhi District is 92.5 per cent complete and is scheduled to be commissioned on 15th December, 2015. The upgrading of the Lusiwasi Hydro Power Station in Serenje from the current 12 to 101 MW production capacity is also on course. I want to appeal to the hon. Minister of Energy and Water Development to expedite the process of handing over the site to the contractor so that we can quickly avert the challenges that we are facing on electricity. This will go a long way in meeting the power deficit currently being experienced in the country. The construction of a modern market and bus station in Itezhi-tezhi District is also 90 per cent complete.

Mr Chairperson, let me now present the budget figures to this august House. The total budget allocation for the province in 2016 is K64,656,749 out of which K2,305,261 has been earmarked for Poverty Reduction Programmes (PRPs), representing 3.57 per cent of the total provincial budget. Compared to the 2015 budget, the 2016 budget has been reduced by K18,240,842 because the Rural Roads Unit (RRU) was reallocated from Provincial Administration to the Zambia National Service (ZNS).

Sir, under forestry protection and management, the province has allocated a total of K428,000 for afforestation and deforestation programmes in all the eleven districts of the province. The establishment of factories for the production of forest by products such as exotic furniture and medicines will be encouraged in the province.

Mr Chairperson, under the Agriculture and Resettlement Scheme Development, emphasis will be placed on the development of infrastructure for the social service provision in order to encourage settlement and also stimulate agriculture production. As such, a total sum of K535,261 has been allocated for the drilling of boreholes and construction of ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines while an additional K237,403 has been allocated for scheme establishment and resettlement.

Sir, in order to promote road side trade and value addition for agriculture produce, a Jubilee Integrated Market will be established at John Chinena in Chibombo District.

Hon. Members: Aah!

Mr Chisopa: Sir, this project will include the construction of a …

Interruptions

The Chairperson: Order!

Let us have Order! Can you consult quietly.

Continue, hon. Deputy Minister.

Mr Chisopa: Mr Chairperson, this project will include the construction of a modern market and other facilities for the provision of education, health, banking and security services. This will go a long way in uplifting the lives of the community, especially the youth and the womenfolk.

Sir, under infrastructure development, the completion of projects for public administration at district level will be a priority during the 2016/2018 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF). To this effect, K960,000 has been allocated for the completion of project works. The works include:

(a)    completion of the District Administration Block in Itezhi-tezhi District;

(b)    classroom blocks and health posts at Chilumba in Kapiri Mposhi District;

(c)    mechanical workshop at Serenje Youth Training Centre; and

(d)    relatives shelter at Mumbwa District Hospital.

Sir, the monitoring and supervision of construction works for all Government projects will be enhanced in 2016 to ensure the completion of the works while not compromising the quality.

Mr Chairperson, culture and ethno-tourism will be encouraged through the development of support infrastructure. This will include the construction of facilities for the provision of water and sanitation services at traditional cultural centres. A total of K130,000 has been allocated for the drilling of boreholes and installation of steel tanks at the places where the Kulamba Kubwalo Traditional Ceremony in Chibombo and the Chibwela Mushi Ceremony in Mkushi take place. This will improve the supply of water and sanitation services at traditional cultural centres.

Sir, as I stated earlier, the province will place particular emphasis on enhancing the transformation of the Public Service in 2016 through the prudent management of the core functions outlined in the Budget.

Mr Chairperson, before I conclude, I would like to indicate that in Mumbwa, we have continued with the construction of Nalusanga Clinic, which is yet to be commissioned. I hope that the area hon. Member of Parliament will take time to visit this place so he can appreciate the fact that the Government attaches great importance to the needs of the people of Mumbwa Parliamentary Constituency. Further, the construction of the Veterinary Disease Control Centre at Nalusanga is on-going. We have also constructed three staff houses, which have since been occupied by the officers. We are also constructing a veterinary office, which is about to be completed. Ten dip tanks have been allocated in Mumbwa and their construction is progressing. These are all located in different parts of the constituency.

Sir, the construction of 16.5 km of township roads in Mumbwa is ongoing and so far, 1.7 km of road works have been worked on, and the roads are being used. I hope that the people of Mumbwa will not be swayed and cheated that the Government is not looking after them well. This Government will continue trying to ensure that people’s lives improve. We hope that in 2016, the people will also come and pat our back so that the Patriotic Front’s presence can be stronger there.

Hon. Government Member: Hear, hear!

Mr Chisopa: Mr Chairperson, let me conclude with a common idiom which says that: “The future of any person or nation belongs to people who see possibilities before they become obvious.” As people of Central Province, we have been awakened and inspired by the call by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zambia, to embrace a transformational culture for a smart Zambia now. His Excellency, the President, said that Zambians deserve a better life. As Central Province, we seek to re-position, ...

The Chairperson: Order!

Business was suspended from 1045 hours until 1100 hours.

[THE CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES in the
Chair]

Mr Chisopa: Mr Chairperson, before we went on break, I was concluding my debate by saying that as a people from Central Province, we are seeking to re-position ourselves into a hub for developmental activities in the country. Our central and strategic location, abundant natural resources such as water bodies, wildlife and fertile land should be effectively and efficiently utilised for the advancement of this great nation into a prosperous middle income country by the year 2030 and a developed country by the year 2064 as pronounced by His Excellency Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, President of the Republic of Zambia.

Sir, I wish to pledge to the hon. Members of this august House that our efforts should, with immediate effect, be tilted towards doing things differently in a positive and visionary manner that will consolidate our past achievements and ensure the security of our posterity. With collective development efforts and shared determination, founded on the motto “One Zambia, One Nation”, and in the current political will, ably led by His Excellency Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, the President of the Republic of Zambia, we can translate our vision into tangible benefits that can touch the lives of our people in our respective constituencies.

Mr Chairperson, I beg to move.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mwaliteta: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Minister for the Copperbelt Province (Mr Mwenya): Mr Chairperson, thank you for according me this opportunity to contribute to the Motion on the Floor. First and foremost, allow me to send a message of condolences to the three families of the miners who perished in a mine accident at Chambeshi yesterday.

Mr Mwaliteta: Oh sorry.

Mr Mwenya: Sir, it is, indeed, a sad situation, more especially that the Copperbelt Province is passing through a really difficult time. Allow me to commend the three hon. Members of Parliament, namely Hon. Bonny Mutale, Hon. Namulambe and Hon. Chungu, for bringing out the major infrastructure development projects which have been implemented in the province over the past few months. They have actually made my job easier because most of the projects have actually been highlighted. I also want to commend all the hon. Members of Parliament on the Copperbelt for the way that we have really worked together as one team to develop our various constituencies. Through the utilisation of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), a number of projects have actually been implemented. It is my prayer that this shall continue. With the revision of the CDF Guidelines, we hope the hon. Members of Parliament will be given more influence in the utilisation of the fund.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwenya: Mr Chairperson, I would like to acknowledge the turbulences the province has gone through over the past few months concerning the job losses in the mining sector. The Government is very saddened that all the efforts put in to try to save jobs in this sector have not helped much. We are grateful to His Excellency the President for his visit to the province, as it helped to reduce the targeted number of retrenchments by almost 50 per cent.

Mr Chairperson, due to external factors, it is extremely difficult to put pressure on the mining companies to maintain the status quo. What is happening on the Copperbelt is a matter that affects all of us. The repercussions affect the entire country. As we are all aware, this country depends fully on the mining sector for our economic growth. Therefore, it is folly for anyone to take advantage of the sad state of affairs to try to make political mileage out of it. Certain political parties have been trying to do that through their party presidents and these are the United Party for National Development (UPND), Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) and Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD), to name just a few.

Sir, it is my humble appeal to all well-meaning Zambians to put thoughts and minds together to find ways and means to get our country out of this predicament. The Copperbelt Province has taken the directive from His Excellency the President, My Edgar Chagwa Lungu, to find alternative land for affected miners very seriously. We shall go further to accommodate even others who are interested in venturing into farming. We have already identified the Luswishi Farming Block in Lufwanyama and an anchor farmer has already been found. As we speak, this farmer has developed over 5,000 ha and is producing tonnes of soya beans. It is our belief that this farming block can accommodate all the miners who have been retrenched from the mines, as long as they have shown interest to go into farming. The Government is committed to support all those who are interested in farming through and through.

Mr Chairperson, allow me to also mention that, indeed, copper is a wasting asset and one day, it will definitely be exhausted. Therefore, it is important that we start showing interest in diversification and move into agriculture, as His Excellency has always been preaching. I want to see the Copperbelt moving away from being a major producer of copper to becoming a major producer of green gold.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwenya: Mr Chairperson, allow me now to highlight some of the activities taking place in my province. The 2016 Annual Budget for the Copperbelt Province is K68,773,031. This is against the K89,346,969 which was allocated to us in 2015. This represents a reduction of 23 per cent for the 2016 Provincial Annual Budget. The reduction is on account of the President’s directive to move the functions of the Rural Roads Unit (RRU), with matching resources, from the Provincial Administration to the Zambia National Service (ZNS). This move will help accelerate the construction and rehabilitation of feeder roads in the province. I am glad to mention here that the ZNS has already embarked on the rehabilitation of the Mukutuma/Lumpuma Road, which is about 28 km.

Mr Chairperson, it is important to note that 71 per cent of our 2016 total budget has gone towards personal emoluments (PEs), commonly known as PEs, and the other 29 per cent towards various activities. The budget has focused on the implementation of the Revised Sixth National Development Plan (RSNDP) to ensure that the economic growth and development that is taking place in the province is people-centred. In the RSNDP, the main focus for the province is economic diversification from mining and the promotion of economic activities in manufacturing, forestry, tourism and agricultural production.

Mr Chairperson, we have also allocated money for water development and sanitation, youth empowerment, resettlement development, child development, community based projects as well as investment promotion in tourism and forestry in 2016.

Mr Chairperson, allow me to share information with this august House on some of the major projects being undertaken in the province which, once completed, will contribute immensely to development and reduction of poverty that is encountered by the people in the province.

Sir, in the road sector, the Government is constructing and rehabilitating roads such as the Kitwe/Chingola and 60 per cent of the works have already been done. There is also the Ndola/Kitwe Road and about 79 per cent of the works have been done. Works on the Mufuchani Bridge are now 65 per cent complete. It is worth noting that all these projects have led to job creation as the local communities have been given preference in terms of employment. The rehabilitation of 23.35 km of selected urban roads in Chingola is also ongoing.

Mr Chairperson, as you are aware, there has been a number of township roads which have been worked on on the Copperbelt Province. Chingola was the only district that had lagged behind because of the various contractors who were failing in their duties. However, I am happy to mention that we finally crossed that bridge and the contractor that we have on the ground is doing extremely well.

Mr Chairperson, in 2016, the Government, through the Road Development Agency (RDA), will start the C400 Kilometres Road Project in the province, which will cost US$500 million. The project will be undertaken in all the districts on the Copperbelt. This project has certainly come as a blessing to the province. Since the Copperbelt Province is quite vast, 400 km is not adequate to cover all the roads in all the districts but, at least, it will go a long way in rehabilitating most of the roads that have not been worked on since Independence.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwenya: Mr Chairperson, it is worth noting that the previous Government, under the Formula One Project, worked on a number of roads. However, all the roads that were worked on under the Formula One Project are now dilapidated. Therefore, we have to reconstruct these roads. The previous construction was of poor workmanship because drainages were not made of stones.

Mr Chairperson, in the education sector, a number of schools are being constructed and rehabilitated such as Lumpuma Secondary School, Luansobe Boarding Secondary School and Murundu Day Secondary School, to mention just a few. The projects are expected to be completed before the end of next year.

Mr Chairperson, in the health sector, the rehabilitation of the Renal Unit at the Ndola Central Hospital has been completed. This has come as a huge blessing to our people on the Copperbelt. Those who have challenges with issues to do with kidneys had to travel long distances to come to Lusaka. Not only that, the only hospital that was able to provide such a service on the Copperbelt was the mine hospital in Chililabombwe which offers services which are not affordable for most of our people. The hardworking Government which has created these Renal Units at Ndola and Kitwe Central hospitals has lightened the burden on our afflicted relatives and friends.

Mr Chairperson, may I also say here that in Ndola, a Psychiatric Unit is being constructed and 45 per cent of the works have been completed. This is a very important project, more especially that the previous Government or administrations never showed any interest in our relatives and friends who usually roam the streets because of psychiatric problems. I want to believe that once this unit is completed, we will take a deliberate step to ensure that no patient is found roaming the streets. All the patients will be taken care of at this hospital.

Mr Chairperson, in the agriculture sector, the rehabilitation of four fish ponds in Mwekera, ten dip tanks and one spray race in Misundu have been completed in the province. In addition, nine livestock service centres are being constructed. This is an indicator of how committed we are as a province to diversify and work with all those who have shown interest to go into agriculture and to make sure that in the next few years, Copperbelt is also a food basket.

In this year’s budget, Mr Chairperson, the Government has allocated K 681,800 to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) for the purchase of 487 metric tonnes of maize in the province.

Mr Chairperson, the agriculture sector is key to the continued development of the province. The focus of the province is to ensure that there is crop diversification to reduce the dependency on maize.

Sir, to this effect, under the 2015/2016 Farming Season, the Government is targeting 95,544 beneficiaries in the province under Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP). This will cover various crops, namely 1,375 sunflower; 317 beans; 1,500 soya beans; 700 orange maize; 3,460 groundnuts; 7,620 sorghum; and 72,312 maize. The province will roll out the electronic (e)-voucher system programme in Ndola District. This will cover 8,260 farmers.

Mr Chairperson, under the Irrigation Scheme Development Programme (ISDP), two projects are being undertaken. These are Musakashi ISDP as well as the construction of a wier dam in Masaiti to enhance irrigation for small-scale farmers.

Sir, the province is considering value addition in the agriculture sector to ensure that farmers get more value from their produce as well as promote the food manufacturing sector and enhance local food production.

Mr Chairperson, youth unemployment is still a very big challenge in the province. The Government has put in place measures to ensure that the number of unemployed youths is reduced. As you may be aware, youths are an asset to this nation. In this regard, the province is constructing four youth resource centres to help develop the skills of the youth in the area of carpentry, metal fabrication and other artisan programmes. These skills are needed for one to be self employed. In addition, K300,000 has been allocated in the 2016 Budget for youth empowerment.

Mr Chairperson, the province has been dependent on mining for a long time. In order for the province to diversify, there is a need to promote other economic sectors. One such sector is tourism. Next year, the province will embark on a programme to promote tourism in the province by ensuring that tourists sites such as the Dag Hammarskjold Memorial site, Lake Chilengwa, Lake Kashiba National Monument as well as Nchanga Open Pit Mine are marketed and promoted. To this effect, K200,000 has been allocated in the 2016 Budget to go towards investment promotion to help with the diversification programme.

Mr Chairperson, the Provincial Administration, working together with the Department Of Chief’s Affairs, is looking at how best it can promote local cultural ceremonies in the province to contribute to the development of tourism.

Sir, the Copperbelt Province has about fifteen chiefdoms and several traditional ceremonies which are celebrated yearly. It is important for the Provincial Administration to work with its colleagues from the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs to come up with better modalities of promoting traditional ceremonies. The province is in the process of constructing chiefs’ palaces. So far, the three chiefs’ palaces which are being constructed are for Chief Mwinuna in Mpongwe District, Chief Nkambo in Masaiti District and Chieftainess Shimukunami in Lufwanyama District. The programme will help improve the living standards of Their Royal Highnesses. This will go a long way to show how much we treasure the royal establishments in our province.

Mr Chairperson, I wish to reiterate that the Government wants to improve the economic and social status of the people in the province, especially in rural areas by ensuring that all infrastructure development projects being undertaken are completed on time.

Mr Chairperson, in conclusion, the province will continue to focus on economic diversification in line with the RSNDP as well as remain committed to ensuring that inclusive growth and development is achieved for the people on the Copperbelt.

Mr Chairperson, I beg to move.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Minister for Northern Province (Mr Sikazwe): Mr Chairperson, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to you for giving me this opportunity to say a few words on the 2016 Expenditure Estimates for the Northern Province.

Mr Chairperson, firstly, I would like to recognise all the hon. Members of Parliament from the Northern Province.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sikazwe: Sir, I also want to recognise our civil servants and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other co-operating partners for contributing to the attainment of the development agenda of the province. I am hopeful that we shall continue to work together in the year 2016 and beyond.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!
    
Mr Chairperson, the mission statement for Northern Province is: Promote sustainable development with a view to improving the quality of life of the population and alleviate poverty among our people.” In line with the Revised Sixth National Development Plan (RSNDP), our provincial focus will continue to be based on the four key results areas which are infrastructure development, employment creation, rural development and human development.

Mr Chairperson, in view of the above, allow me to briefly highlight the key issues that arose during the implementation of the 2015 Budget as well as the challenges which the province faced and continues to face in its quest to foster development.

    Transport and Communication

Mr Chairperson, though the province continues to face challenges in this sector, efforts are being made to improve the road network in the province. Notable among the key roads being constructed in the province are the Kasama/Mporokoso, Mbala/Nakonde and the Luwingu/Mansa roads.

Mr Chairperson, the Government has also commenced works on the township roads in Mporokoso. We look forward to other districts like Kaputa coming on board.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sikazwe: Sir, plans have also advanced for the rehabilitation of the Mporokoso/Kaputa and the Luwingu/Kasaba via Chungu and the Luwingu/Nsombo roads. These roads have already undergone the procurement stage and, the Luwingu/Kasaba Road has already been awarded to a company called Motor Angel.

Sir, under the Rural Roads Unit (RRU), the province did not perform very well with regard to the rehabilitation of the feeder roads due to the non-release of budgeted funds. No money was released to the province as at 31st October, 2015, out of the total budgeted amount of K17 million. This is attributed to the issues surrounding the merger between the RRU and the Zambia National Service (ZNS).

   Forestry

Mr Chairperson, the province planted trees on 45 ha of land in the 2014/2015 Farming Season under the Afforestation Programme. Of the 45 ha, 30 ha were done at the Nkole Mfumu Plantation, 10 ha at Kasama Plantation and 5 ha in Mporokoso. The province has planned to plant 71,000 trees in the 2015/2016 planting season covering about 70 ha of land.

    Agriculture

Mr Chairperson, the province in the 2014/2015 Agriculture Season produced 5,523,980 x 50 Kg bags of maize. As regards maize marketing, I wish to announce that by the end of October, 2015, the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) purchased 2,428,689 x 50 Kg bags of maize over the targeted 1,500,000 x 50 Kg bags at a total crop cost value of K182.1 million. This represents 161 per cent above target.

Sir, on irrigation, our simple weir is being upgraded to a permanent one at Munyele in Nsama District. Works have progressed and are expected to be completed soon. Thirty-five households with half a hectare of land each have been targeted to benefit from the permanent weir once completed.

Mr Chairperson, I am proud to say that the Northern Province is doing very fine in agriculture. We have had the defunct Kasama Coffee resuscitated. This has brought relief to the people of the Northern Province because employment has been created. The company that has come on board has also applied for more land to try and expand its operations. It has already started exporting coffee and the testimony is that in June, this year, the Ministry of Agriculture came and witnessed the first export of the crop which was harvested in Kasama.

   Tourism

Mr Chairperson, the Northern Province is endowed with abundant tourism resources as well as cultural heritage sites. Tremendous strides have been made in the development of tourism in the province. This includes infrastructure development at heritage sites, formation of a provincial working committee on tourism and a creation of synergies with other provinces making up the Northern Tourism Circuit. The opening up of the Mbala Military Airbase to the community and the upgrading of the Kasama Airport to bituminous standard has also contributed to tourism development in the area.

    Health

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Chairperson, the Government has already started the construction of sixty-nine prefabricated health posts in five districts of the province and, construction in the other four districts is in the mobilisation stage. On this one, we have had a challenge in that the Ministry of Health had a challenge with the contractor. I am happy to announce that we have been assured that the problem has been resolved. We expect the company to come back on site and continue with the works.

Sir, other notable projects in the sector include the completion of Phase I of Chilubi District Hospital, commencement of the construction of Mungwi District Hospital, rehabilitation of Lukupa Nursing School and the construction of ten staff houses at the Mpulungu District Hospital which are near completion. These projects are important as our people will easily access the much needed medical services as close to them as possible.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sikazwe: Sir, at this stage, I also want to announce that there are plans for a regional hospital called the Bangweulu Hospital to be constructed in Lupososhi Constituency in Luwingu District.

    Education

Mr Chairperson, under the education sector, progress has also been made in the construction of high schools in the province. Notable projects include the following:

(a)    Lunte Girls Boarding Technical School in Mporokoso;

(b)    Lupososhi Boarding Secondary School in Luwingu;

(c)    Mpulungu Boarding School in Mpulungu;

(d)    Chilubi Boarding School in Chilubi; and

(e)    Kaputa Secondary School in Kaputa;

Sir, an additional four boarding secondary schools are under construction in Nsama, Mungwi, Mporokoso and Luwingu districts. These activities are aimed at scaling up the provision of quality education to our people.

   Water and Sanitation

Mr Chairperson, the Government has continued the drilling of boreholes and rendering of help to the Chambeshi Water and Sewerage Company. Major urban water works are being carried out in Luwingu, Mungwi and Kaputa. The Mpulungu Water Project is also under the procurement stage.

   Youth Empowerment

Mr Chairperson, progress has been made to empower the youth with entrepreneurship skills in the province. So far, in 2015, about K1.5 million has been disbursed as loans to seventy-five youths, and K272,000 was disbursed as grants to eight non-profit making institutions dealing with youths.

   Social Cash Transfer Scheme

Sir, in an effort to alleviate poverty among the vulnerable people in the province, the Government, through the Social Cash Transfer Scheme, has disbursed K12 million to a total of 25,966 beneficiaries in eight districts. The districts are as follows:

(a)    Kaputa – 2,337 beneficiaries;

(b)    Chilubi – 2,597 beneficiaries;

(c)    Nsama – 1,857 beneficiaries;

(d)    Mporokoso – 3,376 beneficiaries;

(e)    Mungwi – 6,416 beneficiaries;

(f)    Luwingu – 6,383 beneficiaries;

(g)    Mbala – 1,500 beneficiaries; and

(h)    Mpulungu – 1,500 beneficiaries.

   Proposed 2016 Budget

Mr Chairperson, the proposed 2016 Budget for the Northern Province is K63,924,668, out of which K22.8 million is for non-personal emoluments, which includes capital projects, while K41 million is for personal emoluments. Out of these funds allocated to the province, we expect to undertake major development activities in 2016 as follows:

(a)    agriculture development support fish-restocking of small water bodies and establishment of out-grower schemes;

(b)    construction of a new provincial administration office block to accommodate all Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) departments at a cost of K1.3 million under Phase 1 of the project;

(c)    the rehabilitation of GRZ buildings and facilities;

(d)    water and sanitation support; and

(e)    tourism investment promotion.

Sir, the province has also set aside K641,768 in the 2016 budget to offset arrears on personnel related emoluments such as settling allowances, long service bonuses, leave days, and so on and so forth.

Mr Chairperson, the development activities I have outlined above have been proposed based on the provincial priorities. The budget is focused on projects, programmes and activities, aimed at reducing poverty levels among our people, in line with the Patriotic Front (PF) manifesto, and the RSNDP. As per tradition, some projects and programmes are reflected in the sector ministries’ budgets.

Mr Chairperson, I would like to conclude by thanking His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, and his PF Government, for the relentless efforts in giving hope to the Zambian people in general, and the people of the Northern Province in particular, despite the many challenges we are facing, as a country.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sikazwe: Mr Chairperson, I wish to appeal to all the hon. Members of this House to be mindful of the needs of the people they represent, and the challenges they face, so that we can all work together and improve the living conditions of our people. I now wish to appeal to the hon. Members of this august House to support the Estimates of Expenditure for the Northern Province.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Minister for Luapula Province (Brig-Gen Kapaya): Mr Chairperson, thank you for giving me this opportunity to present the budget for Luapula Province. Let me start by thanking my colleagues who discussed the issues affecting the province. These are: Hon. Mighty Mumba, Hon. Mwansa Mbulakulima and Hon. Anthony Kasandwe.

   Mandate and Mission statement of the Province

Mr Chairperson, we seek to have a poverty-free province by the year 2030. We also seek to achieve increased and equitable access to quality socio-economic services in the entire province in order to promote a high standard of living for our people.  

   Review of the Medium Term Past Performance from 2013 - 2015

Mr Chairperson, in 2015, the province had a total budget of K79,732,554, out of which K37,642,861 was for non-personal emoluments and K42,089,693 was for personal emoluments. As of September, 2015, the province had received funding amounting to K7,783,263 for non-personal emoluments and grants. The funding received in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), covering the period 2013 to 2015, has enabled us to make key sustainable contributions towards the realisation of the goals set, some of which include the areas which I will now look at.

    Infrastructure Development

Mr Chairperson, under infrastructure development, the province rehabilitated a total of 265 km of feeder roads in a number of districts, and procured a number of road construction equipment. Luapula Province is still working on the Pedicle Road and we also worked on the Chembe/Mansa/Nchelenge Road. The Mansa/Chipili/Luwingu Road is being worked on, and Kawambwa/Mushota/Luwingu Road has been worked on. The Musaila/Kasaba/Luwingu Road is also being worked on. The contractor is on site. We are yet to receive a contractor to start working on the Nchelenge/Chienge Road, as well as the Chembe/Milenge Road.

   Health Sector

Mr Chairperson, under the health sector, the province commissioned Chienge and Samfya District hospitals, while four others and a number of health posts are under construction.

Sir, the province has four new districts that were created. These are Chembe, Chipili, Lunga and Mwansabombwe. In these districts, the following infrastructure is under construction: Police stations; post offices; district administration offices; civic centres; and staff houses. Three palaces for Senior Chief Mununga, Chieftainess Kanyembo and Chief Munkanta are under construction.

   Investment Promotion and Development

Mr Chairperson, under investment promotion and development, the province is actively attracting investment in a number of economic sectors. In agriculture, the province has attracted investment in sugar plantations for the production of sugar and ethanol and cassava plantations for bio-energy. These investments, when fully operational, are expected to create more than 6,000 direct jobs in plantations and processing plants, and more than 22,000 jobs in the out-grower schemes.

    Scheme Establishment and Land Resettlement

Mr Chairperson, for scheme establishment and land resettlement, the province has continued with the efforts to increase agriculture productivity by ensuring that resettlement schemes have all the necessary infrastructure.

In this line, the following activities were undertaken:

(a)    construction and installation of hand pumps on thirty-one boreholes across  the four resettlement schemes in the province namely, Matanda, Mansa, Milambo and Mukanga;

(b)    construction of a 90 km road across the four resettlement schemes;

(c)    construction of a staff house, storage shed and four water wells in the mentioned resettlements.

   Natural Resource Protection and Management

Mr Chairperson, environmental issues have been critical for sustainable development. In view of this, the protection of the environment has remained a key activity in the province. For this reason, the province, during the period under review, undertook activities aimed at protecting and managing our natural resources, which include, among others, forest patrols, expansion of rubber and exotic tree plantations and training of 541 beekeepers in sustainable beekeeping.

   Youth and Skill Development

Mr Chairperson, the province upholds the importance of ensuring that our youth are empowered. We, therefore, carried out a number of activities including the training and provision of loans and grants to various youth groups and individuals. The total value of the loans which were disbursed during the period under review was K1,895,870, and sixty-three youth groups benefited. With regard to grants, K604,595 was disbursed and twenty youth groups benefited. Further, 396 youth were trained in skills development.

Mr Chairperson, in the area of social cash transfer, K15,976,080 was disbursed to 18,000 beneficiaries in nine districts of Luapula Province, excluding Mansa and Chembe, where the programme is currently not being implemented.

   Economic Diversification

Mr Chairperson, in line with the economic diversification strategy, the province has also continued developing the following viable economic areas:

(a)    Fisheries Development

The province is implementing programmes aimed at improving the fish stock in the province. These include:

(i)    fish farming in Mwenda Chipili District;

(ii)    fish fingerling production at Fiyongoli in Mansa, which hopefully, will be the anchor for the production of fingerlings in the entire province;

(iii)    pilot projects aimed at boosting aquaculture (fish cage culture) in Nchelenge, Mwense and Mwansabombwe;

(iv)    construction and stocking of fish hampers in Lake Bangweulu in Samfya District; and

(v)    in order to prevent indiscriminate catching of fish in the province’s waters, a Marine Unit has been set up on Lake Mweru, in Nchelenge District, to undertake constant patrols.

Mr Chairperson, I would like to take this opportunity to advise the people of Luapula Province that this time, we are observing the fishing ban. It is important that we observe this fishing ban for our own good. After all, the products of the fishing ban will be enjoyed by people. As we observe the fishing ban, we can venture into farming.

(b)    Agriculture

Under agriculture, the following are the priority activities:

(i)    Isubilo Palm Oil Plantation in Mwense District with potential to produce palm oil and improve income and nutrition for our people;

(ii)    cassava growing in Chembe, Mwense and Mansa; and

(iii)    cattle animal husbandry in Chishinga Ranch in Kawambwa District.

   Challenges

Mr Chairperson, we also faced a number of challenges. The following are some of the challenges that hindered effective implementation of programmes and projects in the province during the period under review, and which will also affect programme implementation in 2016-2018 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), if not addressed:

(a)    a number of departments in the province had inadequate transport, which greatly affected the smooth implementation of programmes and activities;

(b)    high vehicle maintenance costs, as most departments have very old vehicles;

(c)    inadequate funding and untimely release of funds;

(d)    the poor road network in some districts hindered the implementation and monitoring of programmes;

(e)    dredging of water canals, which is a mode of transport for our people in the islands and swampy areas, has been a challenge due to a lack of funds for the procurement of fuel and other necessary requisites for the operation of the dredgers; and

(f)    like other provinces, Luapula Province has not been spared with regard to the challenge of electricity. However, this problem will improve once the upgrading of Musonda Falls Hydropower Station, from 5MW to 10MW capacity, is completed.  

    Key issues to be addressed during 2016 to 2018

Mr Chairperson, apart from challenges faced during the implementation of projects in 2105, some key issues have continually adversely affected programme implementation during the MTEF period 2013 to 2015. The challenges need to be addressed in cycles during the 2016-2016 MTEF periods in order to enhance performance, as follows:

(a)    the Budget ceilings for the province need to be realistically increased. The need for the upward revision of Budget ceilings have become more profound due to the creation of four new districts: and

(b)    there is a need to improve on the disbursement of funds as projected in cash flow forecasts submitted to the Ministry of Finance. The timely and adequate disbursement of funds is also cardinal in the successful implementation of programmes and activities. Some activities can only be undertaken during certain times of the year.

   Policy Framework, Objectives and Programmes

Sir, during the MTEF 2016-2018 period, developments in the province will be guided by various policies and reforms implemented in various sectors. Notably, the implementation of the Decentralisation Policy, through the Decentralisation Implementation Plan, will play a key role in accelerating development in the province. The Revised Sixth National Development Plan (SNDP) will also play a key role in guiding the development process. More importantly, the Seventh National Development Plan which is in the process of being developed will be the lead instrument in the development agenda of the province.

   Prioritisation of Programmes and Activities

Mr Chairperson, I will now draw your attention to the 2016 Budget which has been brought before the House. The province has a budget allocation of K60,771,071 for its 2016 planned activities as compared to K79,732,544 that was allocated in 2015. This reduction is because of the transfer of our monies to the Zambia National Service (ZNS).

Sir, in 2016, the following will be our priority programmes and activities to be undertaken:

(a)    infrastructure development, which involves construction of health centres in the resettlement schemes, rehabilitation and construction of boreholes and dams and dredging of canals. Focus will also be on ensuring the completion of all health institutions, education facilities, new infrastructure in the newly created districts and all road works;

(b)    tourism and investment promotion, which involves promotion in order to attract private investments in many areas with economic potential;

(c)    plantation establishment and management which includes establishment and maintenance of forests in the province;

(d)    monitoring and evaluation to ensure the proper implementation of Government programmes; and

(e)    town planning and development control, which involves squatter upgrading and updating of layout plans.

Mr Chairperson, in conclusion, the implementation of programmes and activities has always been a challenge mainly due to insufficient and erratic funding coupled with high fluctuation in the prices of goods and services. This has resulted in most of the planned and budgeted for programmes being partially implemented, thereby, having minimal or insignificant impact in the ground.

Sir, the following are recommendations for the MTEF period 2016-2018:

(a)    expedite full and fiscal decentralisation;

(b)    increase budget ceilings for the province;

(c)    improve disbursement of funds as projected in the cash flow forecasts submitted to the Ministry of Finance to ensure the effective implementation of programmes; and

(d)    improve transport in the province.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Minister for Western Province (Mr Njeulu): Mr Chairperson, I thank you ...

Mr Masumba: Njeulu!

Laughter

Mr Njeulu: ... for giving me this opportunity to say a few words to the House in way of outlining the 2015 Budget performance for the Western Province ...

Mr Masumba: Voice!

Mr Njeulu: ... and what the people can expect for 2016.

Sir, I am glad to report that the Patriotic Front (PF) Government is implementing projects in the Western Province which are too numerous to mention. Most of these projects are on course and the people of the Western Province have started enjoying the benefits of these facilities and are very happy.

Mr Chairperson, contrary to the view raised by hon. Members of Parliament, especially the hon. Members of Parliament for Sikongo and Senanga, who said there is nothing happening in the Western Province, I wish to state that it is one of the provinces receiving serious attention in terms of development under the current PF Government.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Njeulu: Sir, nine new districts have been created in the four years that the PF has been in Government ...

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Njeulu: ... making the province the highest in terms of the number of districts created in the country. The Government has gone further to embark on several infrastructure development projects in all the newly created districts.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Njeulu: Sir, the projects include the construction of twenty low-cost houses, a post office, a district council office block, two high-cost houses, a district administration office block and ten medium-cost houses. These projects are at various stages of completion and has cost the Government a total of K351.1 million broken down as follows:

(a)    Nkeyema District in Kaoma Central Constituency received K48.7 million;

(b)    Luampa District received K51.9 million;

(c)    Sioma District received K48 million;

(d)    Mwandi District received K31.7 million;

(e)    Mulobezi District received K29.7 million;

(f)    Nalolo District received K47.2 million;

(g)    Sikongo District received K35.7 million;

(h)    Limulunga District received K29.1 million; and

(i)    Mitete District received K33.1 million.

Sir, I wish, therefore, to take this opportunity to request all the hon. Members whose constituencies are in the newly created districts in the Western Province to take a keen interest in helping the Government supervise different projects. When the different projects are implemented, they will change the lives of our people. The hon. Members should not just criticise the Government.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Njeulu: Mr Chairperson, the PF Government is also undertaking a number of road projects across the entire province. The assertion that the Western Province has been left out completely in terms of road infrastructure is not correct. Some of the major projects which are being undertaken in 2015 include the following:

(a)    the construction of the Sioma Bridge across the Zambezi River at a cost of K79.6 million is underway. Works are in progress and over 97 per cent of the work has actually been done. The project is scheduled to be completed on 31st December, 2015. In 2016, the President will be invited to commission that project;

(b)    the construction of the most expensive road in Zambia, the Mongu/Kalabo Road which has cost the Government K1.8 billion is scheduled to be completed in December, 2015;

(c)    the construction of the Sioma/Nangweshi Road by China Geo Engineering Corporation (CGEC) is ongoing and will cost the Government a total of K188.6 million;

(d)     the construction of 13.5 km of the township roads in Mongu. The surface of the road to market is in the bituminous standard condition. The work on that road which has cost almost K171.1 million has been done by the CGEC. If you went to Mongu, you would notice that the sand is no longer there. It has been covered by the bituminous tar. I thank the area hon. Member of Parliament who facilitated this project;

(e)    the maintenance of the Simungoma/Mulobezi Road is ongoing. The works are in Phase 1. The road will be upgraded to bituminous standard. Phase II will commence soon;

(f)    the maintenance of the Matebele/Shangombo Road at the cost of K751,883.03 is on-going;

(g)    the Gravelling of 17 km of the Kaoma/Nyango Road by Nzovu Transport Enterprises Ltd is going on well.
Mr Chairperson, there has been a lot of distorted information which has been spread regarding the King Lewanika University. I, therefore, wish to correct the assertion that the Government has abandoned the construction of the King Lewanika University in the Western Province. The House may wish to know that the site for this project was handed over to Datong Construction Limited in November, 2015. The project will cost the Government a total of K288 million.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Njeulu: Sir, the Government has also awarded a contract to China New State for the construction of the Matebele/Kalongola/Kalabo Road at a cost of K1.6 billion. Currently, a contractor is mobilising and will be on site soon. In addition, four contractors have been short listed for the construction of the Kalabo/Sikongo/Angola Border Road while three contractors have been identified to construct the Katunda/Lukulu/Watopa Road.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear! Washishi!

Mr Njeulu: Mr Chairperson, contractors have also been identified for the construction of the Kaoma and Senanga Township Roads. The Government has also facilitated the construction of a shopping mall right at the town centre of Mongu. This will be completed by the end of this month. This will be giving the provincial headquarters a new phase.

Sir, I am happy to report the progress that is taking place in some sectors in the province. Under health, the following has been done:

(a)    Phase II of the Mongu District Hospital at a cost of K8.8 million;

(b)    nurses flats at the Lewanika General Hospital at a  cost of K4.4 million;

(c)    Phase I of the Lukulu District Hospital at a cost of K11.7 million;

(d)    the Senanga School of Nursing at a cost of K184 million. This project awaits being commissioned by His Excellency the President;

(e)    the Keyana Rural Health Centre has been completed and is waiting to be commissioned;

(f)    construction of sixty-four health posts at a cost of K183.9 million. These projects are at an advanced stage. Some have already been completed.

Sir, under education, the following projects have been completed:

(a)    Mulobezi and Mwandi Day Secondary schools;

(b)    Nangweshi Boarding Secondary School in Sinjembela Constituency which will be commissioned soon.

Sir, the construction of a regional laboratory in Mongu has almost been completed. The construction of a fisheries breeding centre in Senanga has also reached an advanced stage.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Njeulu: Mr Chairperson, the development of inland water ways is very important in the Western Province. In 2015, the Government continued the programme of clearing and dredging canals. A total length of about 1,031 km has been worked on.

Sir, in Sinjembela Constituency, the Shan’gombo/Rivungu Canal Project has been completed. The contractor is working on the terminals. A contract to put up ten housing units in the same project area has been awarded to Mongu Trades Training Institute.

Mr Chairperson, in terms of energy, in the Western Province, we have benefited from the Rural Electrification Program (REP) and the following has been done already:

(a)    Moyo/Nanjuta/Litoya Line;

(b)    Liangati/Senanga Line;

(c)    Kalabo/Sihole Line;

(d)    Mongu/Nangula Line;

(e)    Luampa/Kaoma Line;

(f)    Kaoma/Mangango Line;

(g)    Lukulu/Mumbezhi Line; and

(h)    Kaoma/TBZ (Nkeyema) Line.

Sir, the installation of a reserve tank in Mongu has been almost completed.

Mr Chairperson, as you may be aware, the Western Province was hit by the dry spell which was experienced in the 2014/2015 Farming Season. It was estimated that about 86.7 of the affected households in the province are projected to run out of food by the beginning of November, 2015. To this effect, the Government has taken measures to mitigate the impact thereof. As a short-tem measure, the Government, through the Office of Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU), has been providing relief food to the affected households. As I speak, 7,800 metric tonnes has been released and is currently being distributed to the affected families. This exercise will continue up to the next harvest season. I wish, therefore, to assure the House that no one will die of hunger …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear! Long live PF!

Mr Njeulu: … due to this unfortunate tragedy.

Mr Chairperson, if we translate this figure into 50 kg bags, we are talking of bags worth K156,000.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Njeulu: Sir, the Social Cash Transfer Programme has been scaled up from the initial two districts in 2011. Shang’ombo and Lukulu were the two initial districts. When the PF came into power, it scaled up this number to eight districts.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Njeulu:  Mr Chairperson, for 2015 alone, a total of K27.1 million has been disbursed to 88,429 beneficiaries.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Njeulu: Sir, in 2016, six more districts will be on the programme, bringing the total number of districts on the programme to fourteen districts. Only two districts will not be covered by 2016. This programme is expected to alleviate extreme poverty among many of our people in the province.

Sir, because of the number of people who have been receiving social welfare support, the province has now graduated from being the poorest province to somewhere around the richest.

Laughter

Mr Njeulu: Mr Chairperson, the Government is aware of the misunderstanding that has surrounded the Barotse Agreement of 1964, and that some people are trying to use it to gain political mileage. To this effect, I want to inform the House that the Government is addressing this issue and has already engaged the Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE) to start the dialogue on the same.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Njeulu: Mr Chairperson, in conclusion, the budget allocation of K69.4 million entails that we are second to the Southern Province.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Njeulu:  Sir, the Western Province will continue to pursue equity, transparency and accountability in the allocation of resources in line with the National Planning and Budgeting Policy (2014) and the Revised Sixth National Development Plan (SNDP). This will help to mitigate some of the challenges encountered when implementing projects.

Mr Chairperson, I am confident that this budget will contribute to the enhancement of economic development and contribute to reducing extreme poverty among the people of the Western Province. I, therefore, urge this House to support the expenditure for the Western Province for 2016.

I thank you, Mr Chairperson.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Minister for Eastern Province (Mr Sichone): Mr Chairperson, I thank you for giving me this chance to debate on the Motion on the appropriation of the expenditure for 2016.

Sir, our mission statement, as a province, is to promote equitable and sustainable development in order to ensure improved standards of living of the people of the Eastern Province.

Mr Chairperson, in the 2016 Budget, which we are debating in this House, the province has been allocated with resources for essential expenditures required to execute certain projects and also for the completion of on-going infrastructure development projects which are under way in the province.

Mr Chairperson, the province has been allocated K61,617.178 for 2016. This particularly, encompasses personal emoluments and non-personal emoluments.

Sir, hon. Members may wish to note that in the 2015 Budget, the province was allocated  K81,925.248, which represents a reduction in terms of the budget of about 25.46 per cent.

Mr Chairperson, actually, the huge reduction is as a result of the allocation that has been given to the Zambia National Service (ZNS) through the Road Rural Unit (RRU). The House may wish to acknowledge that programmes under the RRU will be implemented by the ZNS.

Sir, as I proceed, I also wish to bring to the attention of the House that the Eastern Province is one of the largest provinces in terms of population in this country. In fact, we are third in terms of population. According to the information which was provided by the Central Statistical Office (CSO) Data of 2010, the population was at 1,592,661 people, both male and female.

Mr Chairperson, according to the same data, the Southern Province had 1,589,926 people at that time. This shows that as province, we had 2,735 people more than the Southern Province, yet our allocation for this year is K61,063,178 whereas the Southern Province has above K80 million.

Sir, according to the CSO Living Conditions Monitoring Survey, which was carried out in 2010, the Western Province had 83.3 per cent of its people who were poor. Indeed, it is the most poor or the poorest provinces.

Mr Chairperson, hon. Members may wish to know that the Eastern Province was second to the Western Province with 78.8 per cent poverty levels, as per the CSO Living Conditions Monitoring Survey of 2010. Interestingly enough, the Northern Province has 78.5 per cent of poverty levels while the Southern Province has 73.1 per cent. I may not dwell so much on that knowing that Luapula Province is fourth in the country with 73.9 of poverty levels.

Sir, the reason I am talking about this is that the Eastern Province has made remarkable progress in terms of development and like my colleagues debated, we must be grateful. Therefore, the people of the Eastern Province would like to thank this Government …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sichone: … under the leadership of President Edgar Chagwa Lungu.

Sir, having indicated the population and poverty levels in the Eastern Province, it is not even justifiable for other provinces to get K20 million more than our province which has more people. Arising from this, I want to urge this responsible institution to relate to this information as it shares the national cake. The cake for the Eastern Province will cater for a lot of projects which include the construction of boreholes in Misholo and Mnukwa resettlement areas, rehabilitation of an office block in the district and houses. The funds will be used for the construction of office blocks for District Commissioners (DCs) in the two new districts.

Mr Chairperson, in addition, the following projects are being implemented:

(a)    the upgrading of Chipata/Chadiza/Katete Road;

(b)    the upgrading of the Chipata/Vubwi Road;

(c)    the rehabilitation of the Great East Road from Luangwa to Mwami Border which is 90 per cent done;

Hon. Government Members: Aah! Long live the PF!

Mr Sichone:

(d)    the  upgrading of township roads in Chipata, Lundazi, Petauke, Chadiza, Katete …

Interruptions

Mr Sichone: … and Mambwa districts; and

(e)    the construction of four district hospitals in Chipata, Nyimba, Vubwi and Lundazi which will soon be completed.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sichone: Mr Chairperson, you may wish to note that the hospital in Lundazi has reached an advanced stage and will be opened in 2016.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Chairperson: Can you repeat that, hon. Minister.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sichone: I am most obliged, Mr Chairperson.

The Chairperson: This is because the hon. Minister of Health is listening.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sichone: Mr Chairperson, I emphasised that Lundazi District Hospital will be opened before the end of next year because it is a very important hospital.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sichone: Sir, this year, the construction of fifty-seven prefabricated health posts commenced. So far, thirty-two slabs have been built. How I wish we could construct ninety health posts like in the Southern Province because our population is more than that of the Southern Province.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sichone: Mr Chairperson, the construction of boarding and day secondary schools in all the districts in the province will soon be completed.

Interruptions

Mr Sichone: Sir, we also commenced the construction of twenty housing units in Vubwi and Sinda districts.

Brig-Gen. Dr Chituwo: On a point of order, Sir.

The Chairperson: A point of order is raised.

Hon. Government Members: Aah!

Brig-Gen. Dr Chituwo: Mr Chairperson, I am grateful for according me this point of order. The hon. Deputy Minister is my beloved brother-in-law. Is he in order to lament the allocation of funds to the Eastern Province? Where was he when these figures were being included in the Budget?
I need your serious ruling.

The Chairperson: My serious ruling is that the hon. Deputy Minister is comparing what has been allocated to the Eastern Province to allocations to the other provinces.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Chairperson: So, maybe, he has realised that the allocation is less.

Brig-Gen. Dr Chituwo indicated dissent.

The Chairperson: I can see Brig-Gen. Dr Chituwo is not satisfied with my ruling.

Laughter

The Chairperson: Continue, hon. Deputy Minister.

Mr Sichone: Mr Chairperson, the upgrading of the urban water supply system in Nyimba, Chadiza and Katete districts of the Eastern Province is being undertaken by the Eastern Water and Sewerage Company. The drilling and equipping of ninety boreholes in rural areas will be undertaken as we implement the 2016 Budget.

Sir, the policy direction for the province in the 2016 Budget is to ensure that all the on-going infrastructure projects have been completed before embarking on new projects and His Excellency the President reiterated this at the press conference he recently held. Therefore, it is important to mention that for the funds allocated for infrastructure development in 2016, priority has been given to the completion of on-going projects, which include the following:

(a)    construction of a wall fence and rehabilitation of an ablution block at David Kaunda (DK) Stadium;

(b)    construction of Chipata Urban Health Centre;

(c)    construction of the District Administrative Officer’s house in Nyimba;

(d)    completion of the community hall in Msanzala in Petauke District;

(e)    rehabilitation of Chadiza District Administration Office Block;

(f)    maintenance of the Provincial Administration Office Block;

(g)    construction of Luli Dam in Chadiza;

(h)    rehabilitation of Udzu and Kanyanja dams in Nyimba and Chipata districts respectively; and

Mr Musonda: Hear, hear!

Mr Sichone:

(i)    drilling of ten boreholes in resettlement schemes.

Sir, all these projects have been included in the 2016 Budget.

Mr Chairperson, let me now respond to the concerns of my colleagues who debated earlier on. Allow me to mention that for the first time in the history of our modern politics, the hon. Members of Parliament in the Eastern Province are united.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwaliteta: I have seen that.

Mr Sichone: Sir, I want to thank the all the hon. Members from the province and would like to put it on record that as leaders of the various constituencies in my province, we are all providing quality leadership …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sichone: … and have a very strong understanding that goes beyond tribe and boundaries in our constituencies. We need to commend this kind of leadership. Such leadership will lead to the people from the Eastern Province becoming more productive. The province will become a haven of peace and a better home for the growth of our democracy as well.

Mr Sikazwe: Naba Chair.

Mr Sichone: Sir, I have just been reminded by one of my colleagues that I also need to acknowledge that the Chairperson of this important session and Committee is also providing the best leadership in the Eastern Province.

Laughter

The Chairperson: While that is good news, you are not supposed to debate the Chairperson.

Laughter

Mr Sichone: Noted, Mr Chairperson.

Sir, I must mention here that I have taken note of Hon. Banda’s contribution. He was so eloquent and provided an action sheet for us. Suffice to say that connecting Chinsali Primary School to the national grid is one of the things that we will seriously embark on with the Provincial Administration.

Sir, the upgrading of the road leading to Paramount Chief Gawa Undi’s Palace in Katete is being actively considered. I want to assure you that that is on our papers and it will definitely be done.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sichone: Sir, Hon. Banda, the Member of Parliament for Lumezi Parliamentary Constituency also eloquently debated on so many developmental projects that are taking place in Lumezi and Lundazi. I must acknowledge that the action sheet which was delivered to this House by Hon. Banda was well delivered. As a Government, we are going to adopt it and see how best we can implement the projects which the hon. Member talked about. Having said that, let me now come to the issues which the hon. Members have raised which require my responses. One of the issues has to do with the human-animal conflict in Mwanya Chiefdom.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sichone: Mr Chairperson, I take note of the fact that Hon. Mbulakulima is a close friend of the Chief in that Chiefdom.

Laughter

Hon. Members: Mwanya.

Mr Sichone: Sir, Hon. Mbulakulima is my uncle. I just want to remind the House that he is related to the Chief there. In this Chiefdom, human-animal conflicts are very rife. Thus, we are putting a strategy in place on how best this conflict can be overcome so that we can enable the people to be productive. If people are going to depend on relief food forever, then living in this particular area will not be worth it. The people must be empowered to grow their own food even in the midst of this human-animal conflict.

Mr Chairperson, I want to thank Hon. Banda for the good leadership that he provided to the squatters who needed help in Lukusuzi. I must say that we had serious encounters with the people who have settled there. There are 3,000 households in total. In the first place, we almost applied unconventional methods of displacing or removing these people from the park but, later, we realised that dialogue was the best way of dealing with the problem. That dialogue yielded good results because when the deadline for these people to relocate passed, over 90 per cent of the people had already moved. We had an agreement with the people that they needed to go back to where they came from. We also had a few foreigners from there.

Sir, having said this, I want to mention that as a Provincial Administration, we are embarking on providing relief support to those households. That is because we are aware of the fact that most of them lost a lot of their foodstuffs during the relocation.

Mr Chairperson, Umi and Kapekesa Primary schools in Lundazi and Chasefu, have been under construction for a very long time. The hon. Minister of General Education is here, and so, we will sit down with him so that we can try to ensure that the two projects are completed. We will make sure they are completed because they are not very huge projects.

Mr Chairperson, the demarcation, ...

The Chairperson: Good news.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sichone: ... and conflicts along the Ntintimila Ward, which is on the border with Malawi also have to be dealt with. It is sad that my brothers and sisters in the Eastern Province are so accommodating that they tolerate illegal immigrants from Malawi and let them settle amongst them in Lukusuzi. Our people do not even inform us of the presence of the illegal immigrants in those areas. On the Malawian side of the border, however, Zambians are victimised, brutalised and so on and so forth.

Interruptions

Mr Sichone: Mr Chairperson, two days ago, I gave a directive that all Malawians living on the Zambian side of the border in the Eastern Province go back to Malawi.

Interruptions

The Chairperson: Order!

Mr Sichone: Sir, most of them were alienated from their country as result of the demarcations which were recently undertaken. We are not going to tolerate any illegal immigrants. They have to go back to their land and leave Zambian land for our people. We are going to apply the most acceptable conventional approach in sending them back to their countries of origin. So that is one of the challenges in the province that I thought I should mention.

Mr Chairperson, Hon. Margaret Miti from Vubwi brought out a lot of issues and gave the Government some great accolades. It is difficult to imagine sleeping in an electrified house in Vubwi. When I went to Vubwi as the new hon. Deputy Minister for Eastern Province with the late President, he told me about declaring Vubwi a district and developing it into a town. I must confess that at the time, I thought that was unattainable. However, President Lungu has fulfilled President Sata’s vision. Today, Vubwi has electricity.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sichone: Sir, Vubwi now has a post office and the farmers of Sindamisale are going to have a good road connection. There is a so much which has been planned for Vubwi. Even if some people want to politicise these matters, I think it is imperative to just thank the Government for what it is doing.

Mr Chairperson, I would be failing in my duties if I did not mention to this House that the contract to construct the Masese Musataye Road has just been signed.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Laughter

Mr Sichone: Sir, I hope you will not ask me to translate or interpret what that means. The Ministry of Local Government and Housing has signed the contract and, therefore, the road will be worked on soon. This road is among many roads which will soon be worked on in the province.

Mr Chairperson, let me now come to my last remarks and I would like to repeat something I have always talked about. As Zambians, we need to rise above what we are seeing nowadays in this country. The political violence that this country is experiencing starts from this House. It starts with what we say on the Floor of this House. People out there think the Opposition and Ruling Party are fiercely divided. Yet, Hon. Hamududu and I share the same table and bottle of drink at tea break. He will pour into his cup and then pour into mine.

Laughter

Mr Sichone: Sir, people out there think we are serious enemies because of the manner we debate in this House. We need to reach a point where we unify this country. Violence is unacceptable in this country. In the Eastern Province, any perpetrator of violence, either from the Ruling Party or Opposition, will be severely dealt with.

Sir, I recently leant of a concept called predatory politics. This concept is unacceptable in this generation. It did not work wherever it was practiced. At some point, European communities almost annihilated themselves because of predatory politics. I end by saying that we need to be factual with what we say on the Floor of this House.

Mr Chairperson, I thank you.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Minister of Works and Supply, Chief Whip, and Acting Leader of Government Business in the House (Mr Mukanga): Mr Chairperson, I would like to thank all the Members who have debated this Vote and those who were not able to, but were supporting us from their seats.

I thank you, Mr Chairperson.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Vote 88/01 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/02 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/03 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/04 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/09 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/16 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/17 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/18 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/19 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/23 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/24 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/25 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/35 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/36 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/40 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/41 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/42 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/43 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/44 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/46 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/48 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/49 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/51 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/52 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/53 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/55 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 88/56 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 90/01 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 90/02 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 90/03 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Vote 90/04 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

The Chairperson: Order!

(Debate adjourned)

________

HOUSE RESUMED

[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]

(Progress reported)

________

The House adjourned at 1257 hours until1430 hours on Tuesday, 8th December, 2015.

 

LAPSED QUESTION

WRITTEN REPLY TO QUESTION

REHABILITATION OF THE CANALS LIUWA

216.    Dr Musokotwane (Liuwa) asked the Minister of Transport and Communication:

(a)    whether the Government had any plans of rehabilitating and constructing canals in Liuwa Parliamentary Constituency; and

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

The Minister of Transport and Communication (Mr Simbao): Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Finance has released a total of K3 million for the rehabilitation and maintenance of canals countrywide. The Western Province was allocated K1 million, the Copperbelt Province was allocated K500,000 and Luapula Province was allocated K1 million.

Sir, in consultation with the Provincial Administration in the Western Province, Kalabo District was given K123,000. Funds have already been disbursed to the Western Province and the mobilisation of manual methods of clearing canals is underway. Dredging of canals in Kalabo will commence as soon as a dredger is delivered from Lusaka to Kalabo, hopefully by the end of December, 2015.

I thank you, Sir.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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