Debates - Tuesday, 14th October, 2014

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DAILY PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES FOR THE FOURTH SESSION OF THE ELEVENTH ASSEMBLY

Tuesday, 14th October, 2014

The House met at 1430 hours

[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]

NATIONAL ANTHEM

PRAYER

______ 

ANNOUNCEMENT BY MR SPEAKER 

Mr Speaker: I wish to inform hon. Members of Parliament that Umoyo Natural Health will conduct a general health talk entitled, “Reclaiming Your Health” and general awareness of their services, on Wednesday, 15th October, 2014, in the auditorium, from 0900 hours to 1200 hours.

Hon. Members are urged to attend the talk. Attendance will be on a voluntary basis.

I thank you. 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!
___________ 

QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

FEEDER ROADS

150. Mr Mpundu (Nchelenge) asked the Minister of Local Government and Housing whether the Government had any plans to maintain feeder roads that were constructed with support from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA).

The Deputy Minister of Local Government and Housing (Mr N. Banda): Mr Speaker, it is the responsibility of the Government to maintain all the roads including those that were constructed with the support of the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA).

  I thank you, Mr Speaker.

       Mr Ng’onga (Kaputa): Mr Speaker, I just want clarification from the hon. Deputy Minister as to where we should draw the boundary between the roads that are supposed to be maintained by the Rural Roads Unit (RRU) and Ministry of Local Government and Housing. I need to be educated on this issue. 

Mr N. Banda: Mr Speaker, the roads that are maintained by the Rural Roads Unit (RRU), in most cases, are submitted to it by the local authority through the provincial administration which controls its operations.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mufalali (Senanga): Mr Speaker, the hon. Deputy Minister has just said that they have the duty to maintain the roads which were constructed with the support of the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA). There are a number of roads in Senanga which were constructed with the support of DANIDA. In fact, most of the roads in Senanga were constructed that way. Why is it that the ministry has failed to maintain these roads?

Mr N. Banda: Mr Speaker, the Government has not failed to maintain the roads which were constructed with the support of the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA). The hon. Member should appreciate the fact that DANIDA’s participation in road works came to an end in December, last year. At that stage, all the councils were requested to submit progress reports on the DANIDA-funded projects. Councils which did not submit their progress reports did not have their roads considered for any works. It is very important for local authorities to submit progress reports for any donor-funded projects so that any outstanding issues can be taken care of by the Government.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mbulakulima (Chembe): Mr Speaker, my question is similar to the one which was asked by my colleague. I think this question is arising from the realisation that the roads which used to be maintained with the support of the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) are now in a dilapidated state. What is the Ministry of Local Government and Housing doing, for instance, in Luapula Province, to ensure that roads such as the Mansa/Milambo Road which used to be maintained through DANIDA funding is worked on? That road has never been maintained from the time DANIDA‘s funding was discontinued. What is causing this?

Mr N. Banda: Mr Speaker, this question is very close to the previous one. I have stated that when the project which was being funded by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) was about to come to an end, we asked all local authorities to submit progress reports so that the road works would then be taken over by the Government. Unfortunately, some of the local authorities did not give prompt responses to that request from the ministry. We have made efforts, as a ministry, to encourage local authorities which have not yet submitted progress reports regarding the works which were funded by DANIDA to do so. Once that is done, the ministry will submit the information regarding the works to the National Road Fund Agency (NRFA) so that they can be taken over by the Government.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Simbao (Senga Hill): Mr Speaker, at the time the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA)-funded project was going on, the Government knew the cost of the works on the roads in question. Does the Government have an allocation for works on the same roads?

The Minister of Local Government and Housing (Mr Chenda): Mr Speaker, the onus to maintain feeder roads is on both the council and the Central Government. The local authorities are, however, the owners of these feeder roads. It is expected, therefore, that as they budget, they should include the maintenance of such roads. 

Mr Speaker, all of us in this House are councillors who are aware of the poor financial position of the councils. Most councils are failing to do the work that they were created for because of lack of funds. This is why the Central Government is moving in to help out.

Mr Speaker, it still remains our responsibility to work on feeder roads. It is clear that while on board, the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) provided an additional source of revenue for the councils which enabled them to work on the feeder roads. However, as things stand, and with limited resources from the councils and the Government, we are not able to maintain the feeder roads to levels that we would like to. This is the challenge that we have. Obviously, if funding is increased, we would like to do much more than we are doing now.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Livune (Katombola): Mr Speaker, it appears that the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) was doing far much better than the Government is doing. Is there any hope of DANIDA coming back?

Laughter

Mr Chenda: Mr Speaker, the Government continues to work in collaboration with donor partners. It is our sincere hope that, one day, DANIDA will come back. That will be good. However, we should not be dependent on the donor community although we must appreciate that the interventions that they make go a long way in trying to help us resolve the many issues that we face.

Mr Speaker, I am not in a position to say whether they will come back or not. I am not the competent authority. That question can be appropriately answered by the Danish Government. Obviously, we should be grateful for all the support that we are getting from the donor community and co-operating partners. This is not to say that we should be completely dependent on donors for our projects. We should strive to build our capacity.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Habeenzu (Chikankata): Mr Speaker, before the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) left, there were contractors who were contracted to work on certain feeder roads and were paid in full. What is the Government’s position on contractors who were paid in full but did not finish the works?

Mr Chenda: Mr Speaker, this is a very serious anomaly. The contractors were supposed to be paid on the basis of the certificates of the work done. Paying any contractor in full before works are completed is a serious anomaly.  We would like to get more information so that we can follow up on these issues. The normal practice is that payments are made on work done.

 Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Hamudulu (Siavonga): Mr Speaker, the hon. Deputy Minister informed this House that maintenance works are not being carried out simply because councils have not submitted their progress reports. The hon. Minister, however, attempted to correct this statement by saying that there is actually no funding. I would like clarification from the hon. Minister. Is it a guarantee that when reports are submitted the roads will be worked on?

Mr Chenda: Mr Speaker, the starting point is obviously for the councils to draw the attention of the parent ministry to their inadequacies so that jointly we can look at the problems that they face. However, there is no guarantee that the roads throughout the country will be worked on when reports are submitted by the councils. It is a known fact that we face a lot of challenges with regard to infrastructure development. This is why we have embarked on this very aggressive programme to construct new roads and rebuild the old ones. We know that much more could be done if funds were available. However, there are serious challenges regarding the resource envelope.

 Mr Speaker, I thank you.

YOUTH SKILLS TRAINING CENTRE IN KAPUTA

Mr Ng’onga asked the Minister of Youth and Sport:

(a)    when the youth skills training centre in Kaputa District would be expanded to enable it cater for the increased number of youths in Kaputa and Nsama districts; and

(b)    whether the Government had any plans to broaden the skills programmes being offered at the centre.

The Minister of Youth and Sport (Mr Kambwili): Mr Speaker, it is the vision of the Patriotic Front (PF) Government to construct, at least, one ultra-modern youth skills training centre in each district, including Kaputa and Nsama. This programme will be implemented in phases subject to the availability of funds from the national Treasury. So far, the Government has embarked on constructing seven new youth resource centres.

Mr Speaker, I wish to inform this august House that the Government is also broadening and modernising the youth skills development programme to include non-traditional programmes such as those to with information and communication technology (ICT) as well as creative art and industry.

Mr Speaker, let me also take the opportunity to inform the House that we have since applied to the Ministry of Finance to give us Treasury authority to employ instructors and principals for these youth resource centres. In the meantime, we have opened up discussions with the Ministry of Defence so that the Zambia Army, Zambia Air force, Zambia National Service and the Zambia Police Force can second instructors to the youth resource centres to take care of the gaps that are there in terms of human resource.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Katuka (Mwinilunga): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister said that the Government has embarked on the construction of seven ultra-modern youth resource centres. Would he be kind enough to indicate to the House where these are being constructed?

Mr Kambwili: Mr Speaker, we are building these youth resource centres in Chililabombwe, Mpongwe, Kafue, Chongwe, Kalabo and Chama districts.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Dr Kalila (Lukulu East): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out what sort of skills gap he hopes to address by bringing on board members of the defence and security forces?

Mr Kambwili: Mr Speaker, the House may wish to know that the defence forces have a lot of qualified instructors who can teach even at the Technical Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority (TEVETA) institutions. Most of them have been idle since the programme that we had started to train street kids has not been scaled up and so we want to use them in the skills training centres. 

Mr Speaker, at the moment, we have a very big knowledge gap in the youth resource centres because they employ volunteers within the communities who are paid from the funds generated at the centres. So, we now want to bring in qualified instructors so that the people who are going to be graduating from these institutions are able to have, at least, test certificates approved by TEVETA.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Habeenzu: Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister what the cost of constructing one resource centre is.

Mr Kambwili: Mr Speaker, the average cost of constructing a new resource centre is K12 million, which is K12 billion in the old currency.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Livune: Mr Speaker, earlier, Hon. Katuka asked the hon. Minister to state the areas where the seven resource centres would be constructed and in his answer, the hon. Minister stated four of them only. Can the hon. Minister confirm that Kazungula is among the other areas that he has not mentioned?

Mr Kambwili: Mr Speaker, Kazungula is not among those areas which will have a resource centre built. There was a programme that was started by the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD), and under it, a 1 x 2 classroom block and a workshop was built in Kazungula. However, we have plans to build modern infrastructure there funds permitting so that we can complement what our colleagues in the MMD left.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mufalali: Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister seems to have not answered the question on the skills gap. What are the skills that we need the military to train the youths? 

Mr Kambwili: Mr Speaker, the skills which are going to be offered at these resource centres include those to do with welding, mechanics, carpentry, bricklaying, tailoring and ICT. 

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Antonio (Kaoma Central): Mr Speaker, according to the hon. Minister’s answer, the construction of one skills training centre costs K12 million. What structures are constructed? I ask this question because in Kaoma, we have a skills training centre with only two structures.

Mr Kambwili: Mr Speaker, like I have said before on the Floor of this House, what used to exist as a youth resource centre under the MMD Government was basically a 1 x 2 classroom block and a workshop. However, the skills training centres we have started building now have, at least, eight classrooms, two workshops, hostels to accommodate about 100 students, ablution blocks and sports facilities.

I thank you, Sir.

PROVISION OF SOLAR POWER FOR SCHOOLS IN KALABO

152. Mr Miyutu (Kalabo Central) asked the Minister of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education whether the Government had any plans to provide solar power to the following primary schools in Kalabo Central Parliamentary Constituency:

(a)    Imilangu;

(b)    Ituya;

(c)    Ndoka;

(c)    Mayumbi; and

(d)    Lushi.

The Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education (Mr P. Ngoma): Mr Speaker, the Government has no immediate plans to provide solar power to Imilangu, Ituya, Ndoka, Mayumbi and Lushi Primary schools. However, the ministry, in future operational plans, may consider to provide solar power to primary schools not just in his constituency, but countrywide.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Miyutu: Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister has given an answer which is not very precise because he used the word ‘future’. I would like us to measure that word. How soon is that future? When is the future he is referring to going to be?

Interruptions 

Mr Speaker: Order!

The measurement of future.

Laughter

Mr P. Ngoma: Mr Speaker, the future can even be tomorrow or the days after.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Antonio: Mr Speaker, I would like to get some comfort from the answer which the hon. Deputy Minister gave. Is the exercise going to happen in 2016 like he has always told us?

Interruptions 

Mr Speaker: Order!

Hon. Deputy Minister, can you give any indication or approximation?

Mr P. Ngoma: Mr Speaker, we are talking about the future which could be at any given time. He should just give us time.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Livune: Mr Speaker, when campaigning in Luambwa, the hon. Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education promised that his Government would electrify Luambwa Primary School. Before Hon. Lingweshi is kicked out by the people whom the hon. Deputy Minister promised, when will power be taken to the school? 

Mr P. Ngoma: Mr Speaker, the Luambwa Primary School he is talking about already has solar power.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Opposition Members: Question!

CONSTRUCTION OF MUFUCHANI BRIDGE

153. Mr Mutale (Kwacha) asked the Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication:

(a)    whether detailed plans had been prepared for the construction of Mufuchani Bridge in Kwacha Parliamentary Constituency; and 

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

The Deputy Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication (Col. Kaunda): Mr Speaker, yes, detailed plans or drawings have been prepared for the construction of Mufuchani Bridge in Kwacha Parliamentary Constituency.

Mr Speaker, the detailed plans or drawings are available and can be accessed from the Road Development Agency (RDA).

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Ng’onga: Mr Speaker, has the contract for putting up the bridge been signed?

Col. Kaunda: Mr Speaker, yes it has. The construction of the Mufuchani Bridge is being undertaken by China Henan International Co-operation Group Company Limited at the sum of K62,783,327. The construction works started on 20th May, 2014, and will end on 20th November, 2015.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Chishimba (Kamfinsa): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister whether there are plans to build a road from the Zamtan Turn-off to Mufuchani Bridge to Riverside.

Col. Kaunda: Mr Speaker, I would like the hon. Member to give us time to prepare an answer to his question by filing it in formally.

I thank you, Sir.

CONSTRUCTION OF SHELTERS AND PUBLIC TOILETS FOR THE HARBOURS IN KALABO AND MONGU

155. Mr Miyutu asked the Minister of Local Government and Housing whether the Government had any plans to construct shelters and public toilets at the harbours in Kalabo and Mongu districts.

The Deputy Minister of Local Government and Housing (Mr Tembo): Mr Speaker, it is the policy of the Government to construct shelters and public toilets in conjunction with local authorities, including those in Kalabo and Mongu. It is the responsibility of local authorities to provide municipal services. The Government will only supplement their efforts once funds are available especially when dealing with high cost capital projects such as the ones we are talking about.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Miyutu: Mr Speaker, the response by the hon. Deputy Minister has driven away hope … 

Laughter 

Mr Miyutu: … from the people of Kalabo. 

Mr Speaker, the people of Kalabo have suffered since creation. 

Laughter 

Mr Miyutu: Sir, as we head towards the rainy season …

Mr Speaker: Order! 

What is your supplementary question?

Mr Miyutu: Mr Speaker, notwithstanding the intensity of the problem, does the hon. Minister, from the bottom of his heart, not feel the need to reserve some money for a very simple structure so that people have some shelter?

Mr Tembo: Mr Speaker, I believe that all constituencies are facing a similar problem. As I stated earlier, we still have a challenge with regard to infrastructure development, especially the construction of shelters, markets and bus stations. I would like to advise the hon. Member of Parliament for Kalabo Central to do what other hon. Members have done in their constituencies. Since this matter seems to be urgent, he can use the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), to commence the construction of the shelters and toilets. 

Mr Livune: Question!

Mr Tembo: Sir, afterwards, when funds are made available, like I indicated in my response, the Government will move in. This is an issue that has been brought to the House before. 

I thank you, Sir. 

Mr Habeenzu: Mr Speaker, how do we start constructing these shelters when the Government has not released the Constituency Development Fund (CDF)?

Mr Livune: Hear, hear!

Mr Tembo: Mr Speaker, I want to confirm that we have released the CDF. I would like to appeal to hon. Members to check their CDF accounts. Very few councils have not yet received the CDF. We are depending on the Ministry of Finance to release the last installment of the CDF. Hon. Member, you are free to phone your Council Secretary and find out whether the money is there. There might be some delay in the disbursement of the funds by various financial institutions.

I thank you, Sir. 

Dr Kalila: Mr Speaker, the reason given for the failure to construct these toilets and shelters by the …

Mr Mbewe: On a point of order, Sir. 

Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised. 

Mr Mbewe: Mr Speaker, is the hon. Minister of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection in order to sit so miserably while sitting next to the hon. Minister of Finance? Is he in order to look so miserable? 

Laughter 

Mr Speaker: I am sure that he is empathising with all these financial demands that are being placed on the Ministry of Finance.

Laughter 

Dr Kalila: Mr Speaker, the reason given for the failure to construct these toilets and shelters by the hon. Deputy Minister is that they are high cost capital projects. I find that reason funny. How can they be high cost projects when he is advising us to construct them using the Constituency Development Fund (CDF)? How can the Government fail to fund them?

Mr Tembo: Mr Speaker, I want to clearly state that the Government has a lot of commitments in terms of infrastructure development. I am sure that the hon. Members have seen the developments which are taking place across the country.  

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

Hon. Members, especially the hon. Member for Katombola, let us have some order. 

Hon. Deputy Minister, you may continue. 

Mr Tembo: Mr Speaker, two projects have been mentioned. That is the construction of toilets and shelters for the harbours. 

Sir, constructing a harbour is a very big project which needs a lot of financial backing. The magnitude of the project is a key factor worth considering. If the toilets can be constructed using the CDF, I see no reason why that should not happen. For big capital projects, the biggest challenge we have is the resource constraint. This is why I stated that once funds are available, we will embark on the construction of some capital projects. 

Mr Speaker, we started some capital projects in various councils which we have not even completed because of the non-availability of funds. Once we receive more funding, we will embark on the completion of these capital projects. 

I thank you, Sir. 

Mr Ng’onga: Hear, hear!

Mr Speaker: Hon. Member for Kaoma Central, you can ask your follow-up question, unless it has been overtaken by events. 

Mr Antonio: I thank you, Sir. 

Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister …

Ms Imenda: On a point of order, Sir. 

Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised. 

Ms Imenda: Mr Speaker, I thank you for allowing me to raise this point of order. The hon. Deputy Minister says that he is sure that the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) can build toilets and shelters for harbours. Is he is in order to speak like that when the Government has failed to build the same structures?

Mr Speaker: Hon. Deputy Minister, as you continue responding, please, clarify that position.

Hon. Member for Kaoma Central, you may proceed. 

Mr Antonio: Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister how much money would be needed for the construction of these toilets and shelters at the harbours.

Mr Tembo: Mr Speaker, I will attempt to clarify the point of order first. 

Sir, I would like to be quoted clearly. I have not said that the Government has failed to construct these toilets and shelters. I said that the structures have not been constructed due to the non-availability of funds. We are not able, at the moment, to construct the toilets and shelters. However, once funds are made available to our ministry, we will embark on these projects. 

Sir, what I said was that these structures can be constructed using the CDF. I can give an example of what happened in Mporokoso and Nyimba. Markets have been constructed in the two areas using the CDF. What can, therefore, stop other hon. Members from using the CDF in that way? As long as a project is a priority, the CDF can be used to fund it. 

Mr Speaker, coming back to the question by the hon. Member for Kaoma Central, it all depends on the …

Mr Antonio was consulting Mr Sianga.

Mr Tembo: The hon. Member is not paying attention. 

Mr Speaker: Hon. Deputy Minister, continue. 

Mr Tembo: Mr Speaker, it all depends on the plan. The cost can only be determined once the plans are drawn for the structures which need to be constructed.  

I thank you, Sir. 

Mr Mbulakulima: Mr Speaker, I reluctantly stand to ask this question.  

Laughter 

Mr Mbulakulima: Sir, it is normally said that an hon. Member of Parliament is an enemy of himself or herself. 

Sir, many times, hon. Ministers from the Ministries of Local Government and Housing, and Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education are fond of telling us to use the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) for different projects. Do they not think that this actually sends a wrong message to many citizens in this country who consequently blame the hon. Members of Parliament for undone projects? Do they not think that this CDF is overloaded in terms of priorities? Are there no other responses that you can give us?

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Tembo: Mr Speaker, the hon. Member of Parliament, like me, has a constituency. I feel the same way he does. I agree that the money is not enough. This is the only time that we can persuade the hon. Minister of Finance to increase the CDF because it is the only money that has a direct impact on our communities.  

I thank you, Sir. 

Ms Lubezhi (Namwala): Mr Speaker, can the hon. Minister tell us the difference between the failure to build and non-availability of funds. 

Laughter 

Mr Tembo: Mr Speaker, failing to build is failing to start a project whether the funds are there or not. The non-availability of funds means that there is no money. It is that simple. 

Laughter 

Mr Tembo: Sir, what else can I say? Maybe, she can educate me more.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

CONSTRUCTION OF DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION OFFICES IN LIMULUNGA 

155. Ms Imenda (Luena) asked the Vice-President:

(a)    when the construction of district administration offices in Limulunga would commence;

(b)    what the cost of the project was; and 

(c)    what the duration of the works was. 

The Deputy Minister in the Vice-President’s Office (Mr Mwango): Mr Speaker, the contract for the construction of the district offices in Limulunga has already been awarded and works are expected to commence in the third week of this month, October, 2014.

Sir, the cost of the project is K7,360,850.13. The contract period is seventy-eight weeks. 

I thank you, Sir. 

Ms Imenda: Mr Speaker, Limulunga was one of the first places to be declared a district. I have noticed that places like Chipili already have concrete slabs, but Limulunga District does not even show any signs that there is a structure being built for the district administration’s offices. Is it Government policy that the works should begin in areas where the hon. Members of Parliament belong to the Patriotic Front (PF)? 

The Vice-President (Dr Scott): Mr Speaker, that is not Government policy. All the construction contracts for the twenty-eight new districts have been signed with various contractors. The district engineers are in the process of assimilating the contracted works into their work schedules. 

Sir, in the case of Limulunga, the works include a modern post office at the cost of K3 million with a contract period of thirty-two weeks, ten medium cost houses at the cost of K8.7 million with a contract period of fourteen months and twenty low cost houses at the cost of nearly K12 million. Everything is on track.

I thank you, Sir. 

Mr Miyutu: Mr Speaker, which contractor has been awarded that contract?

The Vice-President: Mr Speaker, the name of the contractor is Walltech Enterprises Limited. 

Mr Livune: Mr Speaker, His Honour the Vice-President has said that contracts have been signed for the construction of district administration offices for all the new districts when some districts that were almost new when the Patriotic Front (PF) took over power, such as Kazungula, do not have district administrative offices. When will the contracts be signed to build offices in such areas?

The Vice-President: Mr Speaker, the question is broadening the scope of the inquiry beyond the information which I have at hand. 

I thank you, Sir. 

CONSTRUCTION OF MODERN BUS STATION AND MARKET IN SESHEKE

Mr Sianga (Sesheke) asked the Minister of Local Government and Housing when the Government would construct a modern bus station and a market in Sesheke Parliamentary Constituency. 

Mr Tembo: Mr Speaker, it is the policy of the Government to construct modern markets …

Interruptions 

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mr Tembo: … in conjunction with all local authorities, including Sesheke. However, we must all bear in mind the fact that these are high capital projects which are dependent on the availability of funds.

Sir, you can clearly observe that my answer is similar to the one which was given for Question 154.

I thank you, Sir. 

Mr Sianga: Mr Speaker, the people of Sesheke are tired of hearing the same response of about the non- availability of funds. Knowing that the Sesheke Parliamentary Constituency has its bus station in the middle of the town centre and a lot of accidents happen there, can the ministry consider an emergency plan to build a new bus station for the area?

Mr Tembo: Mr Speaker, we have taken note that observation.

I thank you, Sir.

Laughter 

Mr Mufalali: Mr Speaker, the hon. Deputy Minister has said that the ministry is willing to build stations, but is constrained by funds. Why is it that it does not plan for the construction of markets and other similar projects? 

Mr Tembo: Mr Speaker, planning is automatic for us. We have been planning for the capital projects, …

Mr Livune: Question!

Mr Tembo: … but, like I have indicated, it is the lack of funds that constrains us from building markets and bus stations. 

Sir, there is an allocation of K25 million in the 2014 Budget for the building of markets which is not enough. We spent that money according to what we were given as a ceiling. We need to ask the hon. Minister of Finance, if possible, for supplementary funding.

I thank you, Sir. 

Dr Kalila: Mr Speaker, it seems the Ministry of Local Government and Housing has a lot of challenges when it comes to funding capital projects. Other than direct budget support, can the ministry use alternative funding mechanisms such as municipal bonds so that we do not keep getting repeated answers?

Mr Chenda: Mr Speaker, we are not sitting idle. We are looking at all the options that may help us bring the councils back to the level where they should be. They are meant to be instruments of economic development at the local level. The issue of municipal bonds, is one that has been on the table for a long time but, obviously, for people to be able to buy those bonds they must have faith and trust in these institutions. The starting point is to build capacity so that these institutions are responsive to the needs of the people. 

I thank you, Sir. 

Mr Muchima (Ikeleng’i): Mr Speaker, the hon. Deputy Minister stated that the Ministry of Local Government and Housing has been facing challenges getting money from the Ministry of Finance. He also said that the allocation of K25 million in the 2014 Budget has already been exhausted. Which challenges was the hon. Deputy Minister referring to when the K25 million in the 2014 Budget has already been exhausted? Is he talking about money from the supplementary budget or other sources which he has not yet told us about? 

Mr Chenda: Mr Speaker, we should not only look at this issue from an isolated request from one council, but holistically. The Government is looking at this issue as a national responsibility. If you take the demands from each council and multiply them by 103 councils, you would know the magnitude of these problems. Most importantly, we should not just be planning for today, but for the years ahead. In this era, we cannot begin to have ramshackles for bus stops and markets. Constructing infrastructure in line with modern trends costs a lot of money. I am sure everybody knows our resource envelope because it is approved by this august House. Clearly, we face a lot of challenges. I would also like to emphasise that we want to dwell on the principle of not planning for today only. We should plan for the years ahead of us so that the infrastructure that we build is solid and will be able to serve for us for many years.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Sing’ombe (Dundumwezi): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister said that he has taken note of the problems that are in Sesheke and that planning is automatic. What are they planning to do now that the problems in Sesheke has been brought to their attention?

Mr Chenda: Mr Speaker, all the projects are driven by individual local authorities. The councils working together with the hon. Member of Parliament, submit their requirements to the ministry. We do not want to have a prototype kind of approach for the different councils. Each local authority has its own peculiar needs. Therefore, we work in conjunction with the local authorities in planning for these needs.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Nkombo (Mazabuka Central): Mr Speaker, on one hand, the hon. Minister is telling the hon. Members of Parliament that we must look at this issue of constructing decent markets holistically whereas, on the other hand, the Patriotic Front’s (PFs) policy to allow venders to sell anywhere has been enforced since they came into the Government.  As stated by the hon. Minister, despite his ministry being against the creation of ramshackle markets, the PF’s policy of allowing vendors to trade anywhere has actually increased the numbers of ramshackle structures in the last three years exponentially. Can the hon. Minister kindly reconcile those two positions.

Mr Chenda: Mr Speaker, we have all agreed in this House that street vending is a problem that all of us must put our heads together to resolve. 

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Let the hon. Minister complete his response.

Mr Chenda: Mr Speaker, I am actually surprised that my neighbours on my immediate left who had a vendors’ desk at State House …

Laughter

Mr Chenda: … are the ones who are crying out loudest. 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chenda: Mr Speaker, this issue affects all of us. Nobody is happy with what is happening on our streets. The Government is not sitting idle.  

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Let us have some order, please.

Mr Chenda: Mr Speaker, we are doing everything possible to redress this situation. Let me emphasise the fact that all the temporal markets people are seeing around have not been approved by the councils. It does not mean that you are on the road legally when you are driving a vehicle which has a defective tyre or indicator, then a traffic officer allows you to pass and tells you to replace those things when you get to your destination. The official policy of my party and my Government is that we should allow our citizens to trade in hygienic and well-organised places. That is why we have embarked on a programme to construct markets.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Hamudulu: Mr Speaker, tagging on the question that was asked by …

Ms Imenda: On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Ms Imenda: Mr Speaker, I am perplexed by the appeal from the hon. Minister that we should come together and deal with the issue of street vending. When the Minister of Local Government and Housing was Hon. Kabanshi, the Opposition really talked about the issue of street vending and the Government was in the forefront defending it. They were even saying that we were being unprogressive. Now, I am surprised that the hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing wants us to come in to help when the situation is out of control. Is he in order to ask us to help them to arrest the situation?

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: The problem is that you have debated the point of order. Please, let us use follow-up questions instead of points of order. If you want to make the hon. Minister account for what you see to be a contradiction in position, you just ask a question and then he will respond instead of asking the Speaker to rule on these issues. May the hon. Member continue.

Mr Hamudulu: Mr Speaker, let me tag on the question that was asked by the hon. Member for Ikeleng’i and also take advantage of this chance to seek clarification on what I consider to be a contradiction by the hon. Deputy Minister. He said that they are having challenges in accessing money that has been budgeted for. Can the hon. Minister clarify whether even the little that has been budgeted for has not been forthcoming.

Mr Chenda: Mr Speaker, it is common knowledge that there is a very big difference between the Budget and the actual release of the funds. The problem that all of us, especially those that have been in the Government know, is that usually, not all funds that are actually included in the Budget are released. Due to that, we face certain challenges. For planning purposes, you work on the basis of what is contained in the Budget. For implementation purposes, you work with the actual cash which you receive. If you do not have the money in your hands, you cannot implement the projects. All of us know that there are so many projects that have stalled because money has not been flowing. We will continue to work very hard to ensure that we collect all the money that is put in the Budget and if it is released, we will implement the projects.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Livune: Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister nicely told us here that in addressing the problem of the street traders, his Government is reconstructing markets so that the traders can trade in clean environments.

Mr Speaker, the other Governments before this PF Government constructed markets that are empty because people have gone in the streets to trade. Why is the Government finding it difficult to move those people off the streets so that they can trade in the clean markets that the other Governments built and not them who just want to waste money?

Laughter

Mr Chenda: Mr Speaker, we, indeed, appreciate the effort that was made by our colleagues, the ones who were there before us. We will continue to build on the good things that they started. The problem of street vending is one that every citizen of this country must join hands with the Government to resolve. The traders are able to sell on the streets because the citizens of this country buy from them. The few people who are selling in the markets are facing serious challenges from those that are trading in the streets. It seems that now everybody wants to go to the streets. We must build a culture where we should all go back to the traditional methods whereby we go to the markets to buy our merchandise. That way, we shall be helping to deal with the problem of street vending.  

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

NAKONDE POLICE STATION

157. Mr Sichula (Nakonde) asked the Minister of Home Affairs:

(a)    when Nakonde Central Police Station was built;

(b)    when the dilapidated police station would be rehabilitated;

(c)    whether the Government had any plans to construct female and juvenile cells at the police station; and

(d)    what the total cost of the projects at (b) and (c) was.

The Deputy Minister of Home Affairs (Mr Kampyongo): Mr Speaker, Nakonde Central Police Station was built in 1959. The rehabilitation of Nakonde Central Police Station will be done in 2015. The construction of juvenile and female cells at Nakonde Central Police Station will be done as part of the rehabilitation and upgrading exercise. The total estimated cost for the projects is about K266,607. The rehabilitation of the police station will cost K116,607. The construction of female and juvenile cells will cost an estimated K150,000. 

Mr Speaker, as a ministry, we are grateful to the hon. Minister of Finance for allocating a total amount of K2.2 billion, or K2.2 trillion in the old currency, to the public order and safety sector in the 2015 Budget.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Mwila (Chipili): Mr Speaker, I was going through the Yellow Book …

Laughter

Mr Mwila: … and I have not seen the money for the rehabilitation of the police station in Nakonde. Can the hon. Minister tell us on which page in the Yellow Book …
                                                                                                                                            
Laughter

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwila: … where this money has been indicated.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, I would like to draw the hon. Member to page 21 …

Hon. Opposition Members: Which page 21?

Mr Kampyongo: I am giving you the response and you are making noise.

Mr Speaker: Just address me.

Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, I would like to draw the hon. Member’s attention to page 21 of the speech by the hon. Minister of Finance.

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah, Yellow Book!

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order! 

Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, it is very clear that we have been allocated these funds. We do plan our activities. The Yellow Book does not show exactly what we are going to do with the money which is allocated to us every year.

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!

Hon. Back Benchers: Yes!

Interruptions

Mr Mwale: Activity-based Budget.

Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, much as we have an activity-based Budget in place, we also have plans which show which police stations are to be constructed and rehabilitated.

Hon. Opposition Members: Question!

Mr Kampyongo: Sir, my response is well premised …

Mr Livune: Question!

Mr Kampyongo: … and accurate.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Opposition Members: Question!

Mr Mwale: Where is the money?

Mr Hamudulu: Mr Speaker, a while ago, the hon. Member for Chipili lamented the failure by the Ministry of Finance to release funds which appear in the Budget. The hon. Deputy Minister has said that he is grateful to the hon. Minister of Finance …

Mr Livune: Shame!

Mr Hamudulu: … for allocating money to public order and safety. Can his gratitude to the hon. Minister of Finance not wait a little longer …

Mr Livune: Yes.

Mr Hamudulu: … until they receive the funds?

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, I do not think my colleague was lamenting in the first place.

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!

Mr Kampyongo: Sir, I want to state that we have been able to implement a number of projects from the allocations that we have gotten in the past few years. We have no doubt in our minds that the money which has been allocated to us will go a long way towards helping us implement our projects.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Livune: Question!

Mr Speaker: Let me give some guidance. Most of these questions, if not all, are premised on the current Budget. To avoid confusion, we should not jump the gun. We are yet to cross the bridge. We are still in 2014.

Mr Habeenzu (Chikankata): Mr Speaker, can the hon. Deputy Minister assure the hon. Member of Parliament for Nakonde that this station will be rehabilitated.   
                                                          
Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, we appreciate the strategic nature of Nakonde and the need for us to upgrade the police station which is there. I know about the immense challenge that is faced in terms of keeping the women and juveniles that are arrested in the cells at Nakonde Central Police Station because I visited the place. We also know that the opening up of the one-stop border post there will create a lot of work for the police. Therefore, we are committed to ensuring that that station is upgraded and rehabilitated. That is the assurance that the hon. Member should have.

I thank you, Sir.

Ms Namugala (Mafinga): Mr Speaker, the question from Hon. Sichula is very clear. Following your guidance that we cannot discuss the 2015 Budget because it has not yet been passed by this House and that we should restrict this discussion to the 2014 Budget which has passed through this House, can the hon. Deputy Minister clarify the position regarding the works for the Nakonde Central Police Post for 2014.

The Minister of Home Affairs (Dr Simbyakula): Mr Speaker, the Nakonde Central Police Station was built in 1959 and will be rehabilitated in 2015.

I thank you, Sir.

KATETE STATE PRISON

158. Mr P. Phiri (Mkaika) asked the Minister of Home Affairs:

(a)    when the following items would be provided to the inmates at Katete State Prison:
    
          (i)    uniforms;
    
         (ii)    mattresses; and
    
        (iii)    blankets;

(b)    when the kitchen at the prison would be rehabilitated and modernised; and

(c)    when the two holding cells would be rehabilitated.

Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, I wish to inform the House that the Government has provided K830,000.00 for prisoners’ welfare provisions. The procurement process is underway which will see the procurement of uniforms, more mattresses and blankets for all prisons countrywide, including Katete State Prison.

Sir, the kitchen at Katete State Prison is earmarked for rehabilitation and modernisation in 2015 under the Prison Infrastructure Development Programme.

Mr Speaker, Katete State Prison is earmarked for rehabilitation in 2015 under the Prison Cells Expansion Programme.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr P. Phiri: Mr Speaker, I would like to know if the materials in question will be procured this year.

Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, indeed, if the hon. Member followed my response carefully, he should have heard that I mentioned the total sum and that the procurement process is currently underway which means that the procurement will be done this year. It is our hope that the distribution can also be done before the end of the year.

 I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mufalali: Mr Speaker, the hon. Deputy Minister has just indicated that he is going get thousands of uniforms. I would like to know the colour of the uniforms the Government intends  to procure because we have seen different colours in different prisons. What colour do we have for this country?

The Minister of Home Affairs (Dr Simbyakula): Mr Speaker, our colour is orange.

 I thank you, Sir.

Interruptions 

Mr Speaker: Order!

Orange!

Laughter

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mr Milambo (Mwembeshi): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister has stated that the procurement process is underway. I would like to know the stage at which the procurement process has reached.   

Dr Simbyakula: Mr Speaker, I am not too sure whether I got the question correctly.

Sir, if the procurement process is underway, it means that the buying of items is being carried out.

 I thank you, Sir.

Mr Speaker: Order!

Could the hon. Minister shed more light. Where are we exactly in the procurement process?

Dr Simbyakula: Mr Speaker, we need to come back to the House as regards that question so that we give the correct answer as to exactly where we are.

Mr Speaker: Order!

That is a fair response.

Mr Chipungu (Rufunsa): Mr Speaker, as regards part (b) and (c) of the question, I would like to know whether the Bill of Quantities has already been made. If so, roughly, how much is it?

Dr Simbyakula: Mr Speaker, we do not, the details right now. However, we can come back and furnish the House with those details later.

 I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mbewe (Chadiza): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister whether the Government will only rehabilitate the cells or they have a programme of expanding them since they are very small.

Dr Simbyakula: Mr Speaker, the program is all about expansion. As you know, the prison population has increased over the years and yet the structures have remained the same.

 I thank you, Sir.

Mr Haabenzu: Mr Speaker, I would like to have some clarification over the K830,000 figure which was given. Which budget are we using? Is it the 2014 Budget or the one for 2015?

Mr Speaker: Order!

I thought I gave some guidance earlier on.

Dr Simbyakula:   Mr Speaker, we are using the 2014 Budget.

 I thank you, Sir.

Laughter

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, now that we know that the colour is orange, is the Ministry of Home Affairs going to withdraw other colours from other prison like green and white?

Dr Simbyakula: Mr Speaker, we must bear in mind the fact that prisoners have grades. Some prisoners wear certain colours because they are captains.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

BOARDING SCHOOL FACILITES IN BWACHA

159. Mr Mushanga (Bwacha) asked the Minister of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education:

(a)    how many boarding schools are in Bwacha Parliamentary Constituency; and

(b)    when Mukbeko Secondary schools would have boarding facilities to cater for pupils from far-flung areas.

The Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education (Mr Lubumba): Mr Speaker, I wish to inform the House that there are no boarding schools in Bwacha Parliamentary constituency because most of the constituency is in an urban setting which has day schools. In the part which is in the rural set up, the Government is upgrading some primary schools into secondary schools to reduce distances pupils walk to access education in the area.

Mr Speaker, at the moment, the Government has no immediate plans to construct boarding facilities at Mukobeko Day Secondary School because our emphasis, as has been repeatedly stated, is to complete the ongoing construction of secondary projects this year and in 2015.

 I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mushanga: Mr Speaker, most of the children accessing education at Mukobeko Secondary School are from nearby villages. Some of them come from Kapiri Mposhi District and its surrounding villages. Bearing that in mind, is it possible that Mukobeko Secondary School could be turned into a boarding school in the near future? 

Mr Mabumba: Mr Speaker, like I said in my earlier response, at the moment, our focus is to complete the on-going construction of schools. After that, the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education will look at other projects. It is at the stage when we shall consider whether it will be appropriate to add boarding facilities to Mukobeko Secondary School.

I thank you, Sir. 

GRADING OF FEEDER ROADS IN CHIPILI

160. Mr Mwila asked the Minister of Transport, Works. Supply and Communication:

(a)    how much money was budgeted for the grading of feeder roads in Chipili parliamentary constituency from 2010 to 2014, year by year;

(b)    how many feeder roads were graded in the period above; and

(c)    whether the money was spent on the intended purpose.

  The Deputy Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication (Col. Kaunda): Mr Speaker, I wish to inform the House that feeder roads are budgeted for per district to cover all constituencies and not per constituency. Chipili Parliamentary Constituency was under Mwense District until 2012 when it became a district. Therefore, in the respective years, the funds budgeted for Mwense and Chipili districts were as indicated in the table below:

    District    Year        Budgeted    Released amount

    Mwense    2010            650,000    180,000.00
    
Mwense    2011            950,000    260,000.00
    
Chipili        2012            550,000    400,000.00
    
Chipili        2013            650,000    650,000.00
    
Chipili        2014         1,270,000    1,000,000.00

Sir, no feeder roads were worked on in Chipili Constituency in 2013 because the funds were used for other important road construction activities. However, the Rural Roads Unit (RRU) is currently on site carrying out some grading works on the Kamani to Kashimba Road. The table below shows the road works that were planned and done in each year:

      Year                    Planned Roads         No of Roads Done

           2010 (Under Mwense District)            4            2-Nil

    2011 (Under Mwense District)            4            1-Nil 

    2012 (Under Chipili District)            1            None

    2013 (Under Chipili District)            1            None

           2014 (Under Chipili District)            1            On-going

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, the hon. Deputy Minister has accepted that no feeder road was worked on in Chipili from 2010 to 2013. Obviously, money was allocated and released. Could the hon. Deputy Minister state what action will be taken against the officers who misapplied these funds for three years in Luapula Province.

Col. Kaunda: Mr Speaker, no action will taken because the funds for these roads were not misappropriated. In 2010, the roads were not worked on because funds were used to rehabilitate the Mansa/Chipili Road, which is an important link between Chipili and Mansa. In 2011, funds were not released. In 2012, the road was not worked on because funds for Chipili District and other districts were released very late. The RRU, through the Provincial Administration, used the funds to procure equipment to increase the capacity of the unit in 2013. In 2014, the roads are still being worked on.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, do you have a plan for the RRU for all the districts, just like in Chipili? If not, why? We would like to know about your plans for the RRU so that we can follow its work.

Col. Kaunda: Mr Speaker, the hon. Member must go back to school and read Geography. Chipili is in Luapula, …

Mr Speaker: Hon. Deputy Minister, this is a supplementary question which is an over-arching one. The hon. Member wants to know if there is a plan, and if so, when it will be availed.

Col. Kaunda: Mr Speaker, we have a plan and it will be made available when he asks for it.

I thank you, Sir.

Brig-Gen. Dr Chituwo (Mumbwa): Mr Speaker, I listened attentively to the hon. Deputy Minister’s reply on the variation of the funds, and he repeatedly said funds were varied to buy equipment. For three consecutive years, you were varying funds to buy equipment. What sort of equipment is this that the funds were spent on instead of the roads?

Col. Kaunda: Mr Speaker, the equipment included two water bowsers and two road compacters.

I thank you, Sir.

Ms Kalima (Kasenengwa): Mr Speaker, you will forgive me if I did not get the hon. Deputy Minister’s answer because he is just jumping up and about. I cannot …

Hon. Government Members: Iwe!

Mr Speaker: Hon. Member for Kasenengwa, that is a very inappropriate way of addressing your fellow hon. Members. He is certainly not jumping up and about. If anything is not clear, you ask a question. It is as simple as that.

Ms Kalima: Mr Speaker, in his response, the hon. Deputy Minister said that the reason the roads were not worked on in 2012 is because the funds were released late. I would like to know what happened to the funds that were released late since the roads still remained undone.

Col. Kaunda: Mr Speaker, the funds were released in the fourth quarter of that year. These are the same funds that were varied to buy equipment, as I have said.

Mr Speaker, I thank you. 

Dr Kalila: Mr Speaker, when responding to the question by Hon. Muchima, the hon. Deputy Minister said the ministry has a plan in place. I would like to find out when the ministry is going to make its plan available to this House, especially that in the past, we have, yearly, almost consistently received the annual work plans from the ministry. 

The Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication (Mr Mukanga): Mr Speaker, annual work plans are always made available to this House. I do not remember any year when we have not done that. We are going to give the hon. Members the annual work plan for our feeder roads in the next one month.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mbulakulima: Mr Speaker, your answer was accurate when you said from 2010 to 2014, the money for road works for Chipili was varied and used to buy equipment. What that entails is that the people of Chipili have been deprived with regard to road works, meaning that the works have piled up. Does the ministry have any intention to carry out the works in a manner which takes into account the arrears which have accumulated the past three years?

Mr Mwila: Hear, hear!

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, we will work on the road that was planned for, but not done. We will do everything in our power to make things better.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Haabenzu: Mr Speaker, when the funds are released to the provinces, who is responsible to ensure that this money is used for the intended purpose?

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, in all the provinces, we have controlling officers who ensure that money is spent in accordance with our plans. If the money is released, but not used, at the end of the financial year, that money goes back to the central Treasury.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Milambo (Mwembeshi): Mr Speaker, these funds were varied for three years. Who authorised the variation of the funds?

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, the variations were authorised by the appropriate authority. That is why no action has been taken against anybody.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Speaker: Hon. Minister, the hon. Member wanted to know who exactly authorised the variations.

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, the controlling officer is the Permanent Secretary.

I thank you, Sir.

REHABILITATION AND EXPANSION OF THE SOLWEZI/MWINILUNGA (T5) ROAD

161. Mr Katuka asked the Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication when the Solwezi/Mwinilunga (T5) Road would be rehabilitated and expanded to cater for the increased flow of traffic as a result of mining activities.

Col. Kaunda: Mr Speaker, the Road Development Agency (RDA) has split the periodic maintenance of the Solwezi/ Mwinilunga (T5) Road into two lots. Lot 1, which is the 136 km stretch from Solwezi towards Mwinilunga, was awarded to Messrs Inyatsi Roads Zambia Limited at a contract sum of K140,234,535.35. The project commenced on 28th April, 2014 and is expected to be completed on 28th October, 2015. Lot 2, which is the 136 km portion just before Mwinilunga, was also awarded to the same company at a contract sum of K159, 985,158.40. The project commenced on 9th October, 2014 and is expected to be completed on 8th October, 2016.

Mr Speaker, part of the scope of works on both lots included the reinstatement of shoulders and widening of the carriageway width. This intervention will cater for the increased flow of traffic as a result of mining activities.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Katuka: Mr Speaker, the T5 Road runs from Mutanda Turn-off up to Jimbe. Does the second lot include the part up to Jimbe where this road ends?

Col. Kaunda: Mr Speaker, I cannot confirm that, but will go and check the scene so that I can come and give the hon. Member a proper answer later.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mtolo (Chipata Central): Sir, does the Government have any plans to put a rail line to and from Solwezi, so that copper, which is so heavy, can be carried on rail instead of the roads? If the current situation persists, the roads will definitely not last with the increased flow of traffic.

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, although the hon. Member’s question is not related to the substantive question, I will try to give an answer since we are talking about the same place. We have been talking about the need to put up a rail line from Chingola to Solwezi up to Jimbe. We have been discussing that project with Mr Kavindele’s North-West Railway Company. We are trying to negotiate with the ministry responsible for transport in Angola so that our colleagues come on board and we work together on connecting our line to the Benguela Railway Line.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, T5 is the road I talk about all the time and when it comes under discussion like this, I feel so happy.

Mr Mbulakulima: Cry tears of joy.

Mr Muchima: No, I have no tears to cry.

Laughter 

Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, when answering the follow-up question by Hon. Katuka, the hon. Deputy Minister indicated that he would check the scene of construction. If he checked and found that the part in question is not included, what is going to be done for the people of Ikeleng’i who want that road done?

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, we will see what we can do, whether it is possible for us to do a variation to include that portion.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Hamudulu: Mr Speaker, …

Ms Lubezhi: On a point of order, Sir.

Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, my apologies to the hon. Member of Parliament for Siavonga.

Sir, much as you have guided that we are supposed to rise on points of order contemporaneously, this one is compelling. Is the hon. Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication in order to mislead the House that the one who did the variation was the controlling officer, who is the Permanent Secretary (PS) in the ministry, when the PS can only do the variation if the funds are for the same project? In this instance, the funds were meant for feeder roads, but instead they were used to buy capital equipment. The Secretary to the Treasury is supposed to have made the variation in this case.

Mr Speaker: You have rightly pointed out yourself that I would not allow a point of order in that fashion. 

Mr Hamudulu: Mr Speaker, in an event that the PS decides to variate the funds for the T5 road …

Dr Simbyakula: Mr Speaker, variate?

Mr Hamudulu: You do not know ‘variate’? You do not understand the word ‘variate’?

Mr Speaker: Order!

Hon. Minister, please let us not proceed in that fashion. Let us have some order.

Mr Hamudulu: This is English and not law, my friend.

Laughter 

Mr Hamudulu: Mr Speaker, I was saying that in an event that the PS decides to do – because the hon. Minister does not want the word ‘variate’– what his colleague …

Mr Speaker: Order, hon. Member!

I have given you the Floor …

Mr Hamudulu: Thank you, Sir …

Mr Speaker: Just a moment. I have given you the Floor to engage me. In other words, you speak through the Speaker. If you want to engage the hon. Minister directly on the Queen’s language, you can do so during the tea break which is eight minutes away.

Mr Hamudulu: Yes, Sir.

Sir, in an event that the PS decides to ‘variate’ the funds from the intended purpose without seeking authority of the Secretary to the Treasury, is the hon. Minister going to tolerate it in the same way he did with the Chipili situation? 

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, all variations are normally done in collaboration with the Secretary to the Treasury. Action is always taken on anybody who acts outside the laid down procedures. 

Thank you, Sir.

Dr Kalila: Sir, it has been mentioned on the Floor of this House that the North-West Railway Company is discussing with the Government as regards the construction of a rail line along the corridor we are talking about. Since an opportunity has presented itself to me, may I find out the status of these discussions and whether we expect to see the first rail slipper being laid any time soon.

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, we have been having round table discussions with the Director of the North-West Railway Company and in those discussions we are trying to check what the Government’s stake would be. We believe that rail infrastructure is very important for the Government and, therefore, we cannot allow a private company to engage in such a project on its own. So we have not yet come to a conclusion. Once we come to a conclusion, we will be able to communicate it through you, Sir, to the hon. Members.

Thank you, Sir.

CONSTRUCTION OF A ROAD TO BYPASS THE KITWE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT FROM KAFUE BRIDGE TO SHOMBE VIA KALULUSHI AIRPORT TO SABINA/CHINGOLA ROAD

162. Mr Mutale asked the Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication:

(a)    whether the Government had any plans to construct a road to bypass the Kitwe Central Business District from Kafue Bridge in Luangwa Township to Shombe road via Kalulushi Airport to Sabina/Chingola road;

(b)    if so, what the estimated cost of the project was; and

(c)    what the time-frame for executing the project was.

Col. Kaunda: Mr Speaker, there are no immediate plans to construct a road to bypass Kitwe Central Business District from Kafue Bridge in Luangwa Township into Shombe via Kalulushi Airport to Sabina/Chingola Road. However, the feasibility study and detailed engineering design for this by-pass may be considered for inclusion in the 2016 Annual Work Plan. There is no estimate regarding the cost and time frame since there are no immediate plans for the project.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Mutale: Mr Speaker, currently, Kitwe is heavily congested with traffic and the road tonnage is quite rampant. Can the hon. Minister kindly consider putting the project on the priority list so that we divert traffic going into the Central Business District.

Col. Kaunda: Mr Speaker, I think that the suggestion by the hon. Member will be considered. In due course, we shall make the hon. Member aware of our decision.

I thank you, Sir.

CONSTRUCTION OF A BRIDGE ACROSS LOANJA RIVER AT KALUNDU SCHOOL

163. Dr Kaingu (Mwandi) asked the Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications when the Government would construct a bridge across Loanja River at Kalundu School in Mushukula Ward in Mwandi Parliamentary Constituency.

Col Kaunda: Mr Speaker, the Road Development Agency (RDA), in conjunction with the local road authority, will urgently carry out an assessment of the crossing point to ascertain the works and funds required for the provision of the bridge across Loanja River at Kalundu School.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Dr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, I do not think the hon. Deputy Minister has answered the question. The question is: When?

Col. Kaunda: Mr Speaker, I said the RDA, in conjunction with the local road authority, will urgently carry out an assessment of the crossing to ascertain the works and funds required for the provision of a bridge across Loanja River at Kalundu School.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mtolo: Mr Speaker, following the answer given by the hon. Minister, would he kindly define the word ‘urgently’ in terms of days.

Col. Kaunda: Mr Speaker, within a month.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Speaker: A definition was sought.

Laughter

WORKS ON THE ROADS IN KAPUTA

164. Mr Ng’onga asked the Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications:

(a)    whether any roads in Kaputa District had been included on the Link Zambia 8000 km Road Project;

(b)    if so, what the names of the roads were;

(c)    when the tarring exercise would commence; and

(d)    what the duration of the exercise was.

Col. Kaunda:  Mr Speaker, there are roads in Kaputa District which are part of the Link Zambia 8000 km Road Project. This includes 10 km of urban roads which include the following: 

(a)    Independence Road (1.4km);
     
(b)    Malila Road (0.73 km);

Mr Speaker: Order!

Business was suspended from 1615 hours until 1630 hours.

[Mr SPEAKER in the Chair]

Col. Kaunda: Mr Speaker, the other roads include:

(c)    Mbokolo Crescent Road (1.14 km)

(d)    Central Town Street (1.08 km)

(e)    U3-RD37 (5.7 km)

   Sir, the roads leading to Kaputa District which will be worked include the following:

(a)    U2 Chienge to Kaputa Road; and

(b)    D037 Mporokoso/Kaputa Road.

  Sir, the upgrading to bituminous standard of 10 km of urban roads in Kaputa District, including the road U2 Chienge to Kaputa and Chienge to Luchinda has commenced and the contractor is currently mobilising. However, the upgrading of the Mporokoso/Kaputa via Mutundu Gate (D37/D40) is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2016. The duration for the upgrading to bituminous standard of 10 km of urban roads in Kaputa District including the U2 Chienge to Kaputa and Chiengi to Luchinda Road is thirty months.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Ng’onga: Mr Speaker, I want to seek clarification from the hon. Minister on the Kaputa/Mporokoso/Nsama/Kaputa via the Mutundu Gate Road was in phase one. How can the construction be put in 2016 when the road is in Phase I of the Link Zambia 8,000 km Road Project?

Mr Mukanga: Mr Speaker, we vary our plans based on the resource envelope.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.
_______________ 

MOTION

BUDGET 2015

(Debate resumed)

Mr Bwalya (Lupososhi): Mr Speaker, thank you for giving me an opportunity to continue my contribution to the Budget Address.

Sir, on Friday last week, this House was honoured to listen to the 2015 National Budget presentation by the hon. Minister of Finance. The theme for this year’s Budget is “Celebrating our Golden Jubilee as One Zambia One Nation by Making Economic Independence a Reality for All.” This is an appropriate theme in recognition of the achievements which Zambia has made in the past fifty years.

Mr Speaker, as I proceed to debate the Budget in detail, I wish to raise some preliminary issues regarding the economic achievements of the Patriotic Front (PF) Government. The hon. Minister of Finance informed this august House that the Government has taken measures to consolidate its fiscal position. This includes action to contain the size of the public sector wage bill and stream lining of the expenditure towards priority programmes. As a result of this, the year end Budget deficit is expected to be within the programmed level of 5.5 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) compared to 6.5 per cent in 2013.

Sir, the hon. Minister further informed the House that inflation was contained within single digits over the first nine months and, as of September, 2014, the figure stood at 7.8 per cent. In response to the depreciation of the kwacha against major currencies, the Bank of Zambia (BOZ) tightened its monetary policy through a number of measures including adjusting the Policy Rate upwards, increasing the statutory reserve requirement and extending its application to the Government and Vostro Accounts. Through these measures, the exchange rate has now stabilised.

Mr Speaker, let me now look at some of the specific sectors of the economy and how they have been provided for under the 2015 national Budget. 

Agriculture

Mr Speaker, the PF Government’s commitment to agriculture development cannot be questioned by hon. Members of this august House. This commitment has led to an improvement in crop production, livestock and fisheries development. 

Mr Speaker, let me remind the House that during the 2013/2014 Farming Season, over 3.3 million metric tonnes of maize was harvested which was the highest tonnage ever attained. This was due to an increase in the area planted and an increase in yields. This is a reflection of the Government’s commitment to investing in crop diversification.

Mr Speaker, considering that Zambia has vast land that can still be used for agriculture using sustainable means, the Government should endeavor to continue investing in the sector. It is gratifying to note that in order to achieve more productivity in agriculture, the Government has since 2012, consistently allocated substantial amounts to the sector as has been provided for in the 2015 National Budget where the agriculture sector has been allocated K3 billion. 

Sir, further, there has been a general outcry from the public that the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) should not focus on maize alone as this defeats the whole purpose of crop diversification. In response to the public outcry, it is gratifying to note that the 2015 national Budget will tailor the FISP to provide a variety of seeds for different crops according to ecological comparative advantage.

Mr Speaker, achieving greater productivity and diversification in agriculture will require limiting spending on maize which currently absorbs over two thirds of the entire agriculture Budget. However, caution must be taken so as not to discourage farmers who have already specialised in maize farming.

Tourism

Mr Speaker, it is a well-known fact that tourism has great potential for increasing revenue collection and the number of decent jobs for our citizens due to its labour intensive nature. However, it is very sad to note that the tourism sector has been largely neglected in Zambia. This notwithstanding, the tourism sector has in the recent past seen positive indicators. Thus, to unlock the massive potential in the sector, the Government plans to continue to improve airport infrastructure, electricity connectivity and access roads to tourist areas. It is also worth noting that the Government is currently expanding and upgrading the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka and will also construct a new airport at Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe in Ndola. These and other initiatives will increase access to tourist destinations and ultimately enhance revenue to the Government for use on development projects.

Mining Sector

Mr Speaker, with regard to the mining sector, many Zambians have continuously called on the Government to change Zambia’s mining tax regime so that the local people will be able to benefit from our natural resources. It is gratifying to note that the Government plans to reduce its share in the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines – Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH) to 60 per cent. 

Further, the Government has also re-designed its tax regime for mining operations by replacing the current two-tier system with the following mining tax structure:

(a)    8 per cent Mineral Royalty for underground mining operations as a final tax;

(b)    20 per cent Mineral Royalty for open cast mining operations as a final tax;

(c)    30 per cent Corporate Income Tax rate on income earned from toiling; and 

(d)    30 per cent Corporate Income Tax rate on income earned from the processing of purchased mineral ore concentrates and any other semi processed minerals currently taxed as income from mining operations.

Mr Speaker, effectively, the Mineral Royalty Tax has increased by 2 per cent. The measures are clearly intended to increase Government income from the mining sector. It is also aimed at increasing transparency in the sector and achieving a more equitable distribution of the mineral wealth between the Government and the mining companies. This will also promote a win-win situation.

Mr Speaker, the expected additional consolidated revenue as a result of these new measures is estimated to be at K7.6 billion. Thus, the new proposals roughly account for around 30 to 40 per cent increase in money earned from mineral taxes. These measures are in line with the theme of making economic independence a reality for all as revenue collection from the mines will enable the country finance its own development agenda. 

Transport and Communication Infrastructure

Mr Speaker, it is very sad to note  that …

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

There are too many conversations going on. I am struggling to follow the debate. Please, if you feel compelled to converse, you have an option to go out.

The hon. Member for Lupososhi may continue.

Mr Bwalya: Mr Speaker, it is very sad to note that the lack of infrastructure has significantly constrained the economic growth of the country. Our country has failed to compete favourably with other countries in the region on account of poor infrastructure and high transport and communication costs. It is for this reason that when the PF took over Government, it immediately began implementing massive road projects such as the Link Zambia 8,000 km Road Project, Pave Zambia 2,000 km Road Project, Lusaka 400 km Road Project and road tolling. It is, therefore, worth noting that the Government has made provisions in the 2015 Budget for these projects to be continued and completed. 

Sir, apart from improving the road network, the Government is also on course to continue improving the rail network around the country. This will help reduce the heavy loads on our roads. Further, not only have such projects improved our economy, they have also provided some opportunities for some of our unemployed youth who have found something to do and are able to earn a living.

Education

Mr Speaker, I welcome the steps that the Government has taken to improve the provision of education in Zambia. I wish to commend the Government for prioritising the construction and improvement of education facilities and emphasising early childhood education. The Government should also be commended for the revised education curriculum that puts emphasis on life skills to align student qualification to the needs of industry and the wider economy. I am also happy to note that the Government has in the 2015 Budget, planned to continue implementing the school feeding programme for the underprivileged in society. It is a well known scientific fact that consuming nutritious foods helps children to grow, develop, do well academically and feel good about themselves. Therefore, the school feeding programme is a very welcome move that should be supported by all well-meaning Zambians as it will enable the country to unlock unexploited talents in the children. Previously, the School Feeding Programme has relied on funding from well wishers such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), and only provided food for a paltry 800,000 school children across the country over the last ten years, against an estimated 3.1 million vulnerable school children annually that needed to be on the programme. Therefore, with the K32 million allocation to the programme, many more children will be able to benefit from this programme.

Health

Mr Speaker, in line with the PF Government’s objective of bringing cost effective quality health services as close as possible to  all Zambians, it is commendable on the part of the Government to priorities increasing the availability of front line health personnel, enhance infrastructure, and improve the provision of drugs and medical equipment. The House was informed by the hon. Minister of Finance that the current number of frontline health personnel stands at 13,147. In the 2015 National Budget, the Government deserves commendation on its plan to recruit additional staff of 2,000 so that the number increases to 15,000. This move is a commendable one as it will reduce the patient medical personnel ratio.

Debt and Aid Policy

Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister of Finance informed this august House that in order to avoid burdening future generations with unsustainable debt, the Government will strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation such that a high amount of the Budget will be financed using our own resources. This is a sign of maturity and moral standing by the PF Government as it is thinking of the future generation …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Bwalya: … which it wants to free from the debt burden.

Mr Speaker, having said so much, let me conclude my debate by hastening to mention that His Excellency the President, Mr Michael Chilufya Sata is tuned in to the signals that provide insights  about the needs and wants of mother Zambia and the general populace. Thus, he needs our full support. It is in view of the above that on behalf of the people of Zambia, Lupososhi in particular, and indeed on my own behalf, I wish to sincerely and earnestly appeal to hon. Members of this august House to support the 2015 National Budget as presented by the hon. Minister of Finance so as to give the full support to His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Michael Chilufya Sata, and enable him continue with the development agenda of this country. Furthermore, I am glad that there has been a mindset change at micro level on how people manage their own resources. In view of this, the same mindset needs to be applied at a macro level were people should view the national resources as their own. 

Mr Speaker, the way we manage our own monies in our pockets is different from the way we manage the Government resources. I hope that those charged with the responsibility will be able to change their minds and manage the Government resources as their own.

Mr Speaker, all the planned projects can only be achieved in a violence-free society where there is peace and tranquility, a society where people uphold democratic values and good governance. As we decide where Zambia has to be in the next fifty years starting in 2015, we have to uphold peace and remain united and continue with our Christian values as enshrined in our Constitution. The motto of, “One Zambia, One Nation” needs to be upheld.

Mr Speaker, I beg to move.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Imenda (Luena): Mr Speaker, allow me to begin by congratulating the hon. Minister of Finance on his elaborate speech whose theme is: “Celebrating our Golden Jubilee as One Zambia One Nation by Making Economic Independence a Reality for All.”

Mr Speaker, the theme gives the impression that the country’s economic wealth will finally be shared by all the citizens and, as a result, all will benefit from the country’s wealth and resources. In this regard, I certainly agree with the hon. Minister of Finance that it is about time that Zambians gained their economic independence after having attained their political independence fifty years ago. Their economic independence is long overdue. However, looking at the details of this year’s Budget Speech, I cannot help, but wonder whether economic independence will be a reality for all of our country men and women. To elaborate my concerns, allow me to critically scrutinise some aspects of the 2015 Budget Speech as delivered by the hon. Minister.

Mr Speaker, let me begin with the Constitution-making process. I have noted that this activity has been allocated K29.26 million. I wish to congratulate the hon. Minister of Finance for including this item in the Budget. It shows that, at least, there is some degree of commitment on the part of the Government to break the impasse and forge ahead with the Constitution-making process. I only hope that it is not a kuku lobala kapili. In my language, this means a smoke screen meant to hoodwink and silence the agitation of the citizenry whose voice for a new Constitution continues getting louder and louder. I also hope that the Government will be committed to ensuring that this colossal amount of money is used prudently as we have already spent so much on this process in the name of commissions, conferences, technical committees and the like. We want to see this allocation translate into tangible and conclusive results.

Mr Speaker, I have noted with concern that the proposed expenditure does not include any provision for by-elections and yet it is public knowledge that there are looming by-elections scheduled for Malambo, Petauke and Mulobezi constituencies. 

Mr Livune: They have bought the councillors. 

Ms Imenda: Sir, at the same time, the Patriotic Front (PF) Government, particularly the new secretary-general, has gone on rampage buying councillors from opposition parties. 

Mr Lungu: Question!

Mr Livune: Shemuna bane?

Hon. Opposition Members: Shame!

Laughter 

Ms Imenda: Sir, I hope that the funds meant for development will not be diverted to these by-elections. We are all aware that by-elections gobble colossal amounts of money from the National Treasury. It would be better to channel this money to development projects so that the poverty and suffering of our people could be alleviated. To avoid any misunderstanding, suspicion and guessing, the money allocated to by-elections should have been indicated in the 2015 Budget Speech in the interest of transparency and for ease of accountability. 

Mr Speaker, I also noted with dismay that the expenditure table on page 18 does not show a provision for contingency funds. Does it mean that this year’s Budget has no contingency at all? What will happen in case of an emergency? We are part of a continent whose main concern right now is the deadly Ebola Virus. We have heard in international media that reputable international health organisations are saying that this virus is spreading like wildfire. God forbid that it reaches our beloved country. Contingency funds, however, if provided could go a long way towards mitigating any such emergencies whether they be health in nature or otherwise. 

Mr Speaker, I welcome the hon. Minister of Finance’s allocation to roads and education infrastructure amounting to K5,626,000.51 and K1,719,000.53, respectively. However, I am of the view that there should have been an allocation to cater specifically for infrastructure development in newly created districts. It is really unfortunate that most of these districts officers have no proper infrastructure and have resorted to working in unacceptable conditions. In the Western Province, for instance, Government and council officers in Limulunga District are squatting in the Litunga’s Capital, contrary to our traditional norms and practices. 

Mr Speaker, we know that Mwansabombwe was designed to be far away from Kawambwa District, Limulunga from Mongu District, Libonda from Kalabo District, and Mwandi from Sesheke District. This is how it was designed. So what is this thing creeping in our society? It appears that the creation of new districts was done without much thought or careful planning. As the situation is at the moment, more money will end up being spent on paying rentals for office space and transport for public officers. It would have been better to first of all put infrastructure in places where new districts were to be created. 

Mr Speaker, allow me now to turn my attention to the budgetary allocation with regards to the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). I have noted that the fund has received an allocation of K210 million which, when divided by 150, gives K1.4 million. This is the same amount that was allocated in 2014 meaning that there has been no increase and yet the costs have gone up. We just recently heard someone say that we should use the CDF for certain projects. As the most important source of infrastructure development in rural constituencies, the CDF should have been increased to enable constituencies increase the number of development projects to implement in 2015. 

Sir, in addition, there should have been a variation or differentiation in the amounts allocated to rural and urban constituencies. Rural areas are lagging behind in terms of development. I was appalled to find that there is so much in urban areas that it was decided to uproot the Great East Road which was just okay instead of using that money to construct roads in Luena which has no roads. 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Imenda: Mr Speaker is that morally right? 

Hon. Opposition Members: No!

Ms Imenda: Sir, to reduce the gap between the urban and rural areas in terms of development, it is imperative that rural areas receive a larger share of the CDF in comparison to the urban areas.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Hon. Government Member: Question!

Ms Imenda: Mr Speaker, someone from an urban constituency is saying “Question” because he is getting all the development from the coffers. 

Mr Speaker, it is necessary for the Government to raise revenue in order to grow the economy and take care of its people. However, we should be mindful that some of the strategies of raising revenue can actually subtract from the intended objective of getting our people out of poverty. I say this because I have noted that the hon. Minister of Finance has indicated that it is in this year’s Budget that the Government intends to implement a presumptive tax for individual operators of public service vehicles based on the sitting capacity. This was introduced in 2004, but was never implemented. According to the hon. Minister of Finance, this will raise additional revenue of K3.8 million. In my view, the timing for the implementation of this tax is bad.

 Sir, the financial burden for this will fall on the pockets of ordinary citizens who use public transport because of the possibility that public transport operators might hike fares to cover their expenses. Our citizens who will not benefit from any tax relief this year and who are enduring the consequences of a wage freeze and withdrawal of mealie-meal and fuel subsidies will find this situation financially unbearable. This will translate into more poverty and not more money in people’s pockets. 

Mr Speaker, I wish to comment on the changes of the mining fiscal regime which is long overdue. As we celebrate our fifty years of being independent from colonial rule, and as we strive for economic independence, I would like to congratulate the hon. Minister of Finance for taking this bold step of redesigning the mining tax regime. It was the mines which built this country and, therefore, we should ensure that we continue to reap the benefits from this sector which is still the core of our very existence as a nation. However, it is my sincere hope that the redesigning of the mining tax regime was done in close consultation with the mining industry. We have been informed by the hon. Minister of Finance that the new tax measures will make the country richer by K1.7 billion in 2015. We, therefore, do not want to hear, hon. Minister, that this money was not realised due to fact that there was no close consultation and that mining companies are not able to pay because they were not given enough time for this undertaking. There has been so much controversy over the benefits we as citizens should gain from the mining industry.

Sir, in conclusion, I would like to make a suggestion for us to be a bit revolutionary in the way we do our Budget presentation. In the Budget and Yellow Book we only mention what has been allocated for the previous year and the current year. However, we are not being informed as to what has been released. I say so because I know that, for example, money has been syphoned out of ministries and spending agencies to go and finance by-elections. 

Mr Speaker, I urge hon. Members of this House to go and look at how much has been released to ministries and spending agencies in the fourth quarter of this year following the Mangango and other by-elections.

Hon. Opposition Members: Zero!

Ms Imenda: Sir, we would like to see that information shown in the Yellow Book in the future. If there has been a Budget allocation to, say, the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, for the councils, I want to see how much was allocated and how much was released. We want to find a way of being revolutionary and changing the way we do things so that there is more accountability and transparency.

Mr Speaker, with these few words, I beg to second the Motion. 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Lubezhi (Namwala): Mr Speaker, I would like to thank the mover and seconder of the Motion who spoke before me. I would especially like to thank the seconder for saying last week on Friday that we needed to go and scrutinise the issues that were raised in the Budget Speech including those which were not read because they hinge on the lives of many people. 

Sir, from the outset, I would like to say that this is the worst Budget Zambia has ever had. 

Laughter 

Hon. Opposition Member: The worst alimwi?

Ms Lubezhi: Sir, it is irresponsible and does not bear much truth. As if that is not enough, the Budget is full of structural distortions.

Mr Livune: That’s right!

Mr Mufalali: Hear, hear!

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, let me remind the House of what I said when I debated the President’s Speech.

Mr Mufalali: Hammer!

Ms Lubezhi: Sir, I said the President’s Speech and the Budget should be related. Since the President’s Speech was basic and not innovative, I wondered what the Budget Speech would be like. The 2015 Budget Speech is the worst Zambia has ever had. 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Lubezhi: Sir, the Budget Speech and the President’s Speech are supposed to be related. The President talked about Senanga University on the Floor of this House, but in the …

Mr Mufalali: Hear, hear! Senanga University!

Ms Lubezhi: … Budget Speech, the hon. Minister of Finance told us that the Budget was going to finance a nursing school instead of Senanga University. I am alive to the fact that the hon. Member of Parliament has been to his constituency to tell his people that there will be a university which will be constructed by the Government.

Mr Mufalali: Hear, hear!

Ms Lubezhi: Sir, how can the President and the hon. Minister of Finance be giving contradicting statements? These are the times when I wonder if at all we have a functional political leadership in this country. 

Hon. Government Members: Aah!

Hon. Opposition Members: There is nothing. 

Ms Kalima: They are on autopilot.

Interruptions 

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, the Budget holds little truth. The hon. Minister of Finance informed us that he increased the Budget. I know the Budget for last year was K42 billion and this year it has gone up to K47 billion. However, let us look at it from this angle. If you are to take the exchange rate of K5 from December last year and divide K42 billion by K5 and get the exchange rate now of K6.2 and divided K47 billion, you will find that the figure has actually gone down in real terms.

Mr Mufalali: Ah!

Ms Lubezhi: Sir, the yardstick of the performance of the economy is the exchange rate. What does the hon. Minister of Finance mean when he says that he has increased the Budget when in real terms it has gone down? Do you expect the economy to grow like that?

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, I talked about structural distortions earlier. Tax revenue and financing for the 2015 Budget are talked about on page 22 of the Budget Speech. We have Value Added Tax (VAT) as revenue at a 14.10 per cent. Must we teach the Patriotic Front (PF) that VAT is a sundry income? It is an in-and-out income. It is more like credit and debit income. It is no wonder they are failing to pay the mines the US$600 million which they owe because they treat VAT as revenue. If they treat it as revenue …

Mr Mufalali: Hear, hear! Tell them!

Ms Lubezhi: … at what point …

Mr Kampyongo interjected.

Mr Speaker: Order!

Hon. Deputy Minister, the system here is very sensitive. It records everything, in case you are not aware. Everything is recorded and it is going out there. You are depriving the House of its dignity by those commentaries. 

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, I thank you for your protection. We are talking of national matters. You do not need to be an economist to know that there is structural distortion in the Budget. All you need to know are the basics of mathematics which are addition, subtraction and multiplication. 

Mr Speaker, I was saying that they are treating VAT, which is a sundry income, as revenue and that it is supposed to contribute 14 per cent revenue to the Budget. VAT is supposed to be put in the Astro Account. I now understand why they are failing to pay the mines and would rather rush to start amending VAT Regulation No. 18 to suit their situation.

Mr Mufalali: Hear, hear!

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, on the same page they are calling themselves a pro-poor Government. How can they call themselves a pro-poor Government when Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) amounts to K7,466.90 million as revenue contribution towards the Budget? How do you make employees pay more than mineral royalties which amount to K5,936.88 million and company income tax which amounts to K2,399.44 million? They are an anti-poor Government. That is why I wonder if we have a functioning leadership in this country. 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear! 

Mr Mufalali: We do not have. 

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, on the same page 22, under Total Revenue and Financing for the 2015 Budget, the contribution of Domestic Value Added Tax (VAT) and the Import VAT which is under Value Added Tax is at 14.10 per cent. When they take this figure and pay the VAT refund, what percentage will remain for revenue? When we are asking questions on the Floor of the House as to when a certain ministry will complete a certain project, they say, it will be done when funds will be available. This is so because the funds which they show us when they are budgeting are actually not their funds. These are funds which belong to the mines and corporate entities.

Hon. Mufalali: Hear, hear!

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, on page 18, 2015 Expenditure by Function, under General Public Service, the Domestic Debt Interest is K2896.16 and External Debt Interest is K2,391.68. If you are to put this money into dollars, it will be about US $832 million. How do we spend such a colossal amount of money on interest? If you convert the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) into dollar terms, it will only be US $33 and yet you say that you are a pro-poor Government. 

Interruptions

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, I mean US $33,000. Why should we be giving the CDF which goes back to our constituencies and communities US $33,000 and yet we are paying interest of US$832 million on debts? This is why I am saying that we have got a dysfunctional political leadership in place.

Laughter

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, by the end of this Government’s term, we will need the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative.

Laughter

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, on the same page, under Economic Affairs, we have Roads Infrastructure. You will find that a department under the Ministry of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication is given K5,626.51, but the entire Ministry of Health is given less than that. Why is there is so much emphasis on the construction sector? Is it because of their admission that there is corruption in their Government? Is it because of the colossal amounts which are involved in the construction sector? 

Sir, yesterday, I was at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) at Ward AO3 and I noticed that there is erratic supply of water. The situation is so pathetic. People are drawing water and we are giving the Road Development Agency (RDA) an allocation which is more than what the Ministry of Health is allocated. As if that is not enough, we have increased the allocation to the Ministry of Defence as if they are expecting war and trying to replace the armory. We have never had war in this country. 

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

Ms Lubezhi: Sir, when the hon. Minister of Defence was debating, he never said anything about the need for guns or equipment in his ministry. All he talked about was growing cabbage. 

Laughter

Ms Lubezhi: Sir, are we increasing this allocation for cabbage growing by the Ministry of Defence? I hope that the hon. Minister of Finance will justify this increment for the Ministry of Defence. That is why I am saying that there is structural distortion in this Budget. This is the worst Budget Zambia has ever had.

Mr Ng’onga: Question!

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, it is irresponsibility of the highest order to come and give us such a Budget. I know that the people of Namwala are not going to benefit from this Budget. 

Mr Speaker, let me talk about construction. The hon. Minister accepted that 60 per cent of construction of roads in the Northern part of Zambia has been completed. What about the Southern Province?

Hon. Government Members: Question! 

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, from 2011, they have been telling us about the Bottom Road. The hon. Minister could not even talk about the Monze/Nico Road. We are tired of listening to talk about the Bottom Road.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!  

Interruptions

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, even under construction, there was nothing the hon. Minister mentioned about universities in the Southern Province. The Kafue/Mazabuka Road has also claimed a number of lives, but nothing has been said about it and yet, they expect us to sit in here and say this year’s Budget is good.

Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister never spoke about domestic arrears. I know for sure that this Government owes a lot of money to people. Nearly each Government department is owed money. I am told that include the Legislature. Pay them, they need the money. 

Laughter

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, let me state that the farmers are crying for their money, but nothing has been done to sort out their problem. Very soon, the rains will start. This Government has power to delay the money and not the rains. May the Government, please, pay the farmers. These domestic arrears have implications on the flow of the Budget when it is rolled out because we are talking about colossal amounts of money being owed to the country’s citizens. Can you imagine that the hon. Minister of Finance even had the audacity of telling us that the debt is acceptable according to international standards. If Zambia was a company, it would have been declared insolvent by now. I am saying so because there is no way we can say that the debt has increased by 6.5 per cent. If we were to ask them what has necessitated this increment, we would find that it is due to the induced by-elections and unnecessary transfers of controlling officers. 

Mr Speaker, how many Permanent Secretaries has the Ministry of Local Government and Housing had since 2011? They are four and yet, each time you move them, they need settling-in allowances. Do you budget for that money? No! In the missions abroad, for example, Nairobi and Addis Ababa, how many ambassadors have we sent and recalled? 

Sir, what about the operations of the Zambia Railways Limited? Despite having given it U$120 million from the Eurobond, not much has happened. Even if the company was given US$150 million, its management officials would just be quarrelling about which bank to take the money for more interest. There is no prudent financial management in the PF Government. It is a shame.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, I know that the people of Zambia out there are regretting.  As Hon. Mufalali debated last week, the Zambians have even gone to the extent of naming some places, Chabwino Ayende.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Lubezhi: Sir, what is there to talk about in this Budget?

Mr Speaker: What do you mean?

  Interruptions 

Mr Speaker: Do not assist her. She is standing on her own. 

Laughter

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, there is now a place called Chabwino Ayende just like the way we have a river in Namwala called Chuluchukunka. Those are just names. 

Interruptions

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, what is there to talk about in the Budget when they have recorded the highest exchange rate ever? What is there to talk about when fuel prices are going up? What is there to talk about when there is brutality all over and people are killing each other? Under the PF, we have had the worst educational system. 

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!

Mr Nkombo: The hon. Minister must resign.

Laughter

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, as if that is not enough, …

Mr Nkombo: On a point of order, Sir.

Ms Lubezhi: … you find that even when there are confusions in the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education, we do not know who is in charge of that ministry. Is it Hon. Kambwili who has always been very loud about university bursaries or Hon. Dr Phiri who has been quiet?

Mr Hamududu: Aah! Go ahead.

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, in his debate, the hon. Minister of Finance never spoke about science and technology and yet a country can never develop without science and technology. We had an institution called the National Council for Scientific Research, which is now a white elephant. The PF Government has nothing to do with science and technology.

Mr Hamududu: Aah!

Ms Lubezhi: Sir, that is why it even abolished the Ministry of Science, Technology and Vocational Training.

Hon. Opposition Members: They did not appreciate it.

Laughter

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, when we had the Ministry of Science, Technology and Vocational Training in this country, we saw the manufacturing of Quench and Tarino. Biogas which is along the Great East Road is now a white elephant. They are talking of creating 5,000 jobs. How are they going to do that?

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Interruptions

Ms Lubezhi: Sir, do we really have a functional political leadership in this country?

Hon. Opposition Members: No!

Ms Lubezhi: Sir, I do not think so. 

Ms Kalima: There is nothing.

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, under the National Council for Scientific Research, we had projects which were funded by international donors like the Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) which included those to do with radio isotopes. 

Mr Hamududu: Hear, hear!

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, all those things were happening in the country, but under these people, the only thing they know is to fight among themselves ...

Mr Hamududu: Hear, hear!

Ms Lubezhi: … and to push money into the Road Development Agency (RDA). This is, probably, because they are a corrupt regime.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, …

Mr Hamududu: Chabwino bayende. 

Ms Kalima: Hear, hear!

Ms Lubezhi: Sir, when the PF took over Government, it found a very hefty Treasury in place …

Mr Hamududu: Aah!

Ms Lubezhi: … which it has depleted.

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!

Ms Lubezhi: Sir, right now, as we are talking, there is no money in the Treasury.

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!

Ms Lubezhi: Sir, that is why they are unable to pay domestic arrears.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 Ms Lubezhi: Sir, what have they done to our money? Where have they taken our money?

Hon. Opposition Members: By-elections.

Mr Nkombo: Paul Mushindo.

Ms Lubezhi: Mr Speaker, I feel very bad when I think about how things are going in our country. That is why I am saying that this is the worst Budget Zambia has ever had.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Speaker: Let me give my guidance on points of order. Like I indicated in the first phase of our business, when we were debating the President’s Speech or Address, I will be extremely slow to grant points of order. My reason is very simple. I want these debates to proceed as smoothly as possible. There is a propensity for some hon. Members to debate through points of order and I am trying to avoid that at all costs. That is my position. If there is something terribly wrong, I think I will try and discern, but if I do not, I am afraid the debate continues.

Mr Muchima (Ikeleng’i): Mr Speaker, in the first place, I would like to congratulate the mover and the seconder who have also debated on this important subject matter.

Sir, the Budget is of keen interest to every Zambian and not one particular section of people because of their political affiliation. That type of thinking should be removed from our debates.

Mr Mbewe: The family tree.

Mr Muchima: Sir, the Budget is of interest to all of us. We have not seen any major changes at all in the three years that we have been under the current Government. 

Mr Mwila: Question!

Mr Muchima: Sir, when you listen to the radio or watch television, you would get the impression that there is a lot of development taking place across the country. I was happy to hear the hon. Deputy Minister for the Southern Province boasting recently that there is a lot of development that is taking place there. Unfortunately, for the North-Western Province, there are no developments worth talking about.  I expected to see some development in the last two or three years in the area since we have been talking. The President once accused the hon. Members of Parliament from the North-Western Province of having not been talking about what they wanted for the province. We have been very loud and clear in this House talking about the few programmes that we want there. I expected this Budget to be very clear about the agenda of the North-Western Province.

Mr Speaker, not long ago, this Government held a by-election in Zambezi West. During the campaigns, the Patriotic Front (PF) officials said that the construction of a bridge connecting Zambezi East and Zambezi West on the Zambezi River would be a priority of the PF Government. 

Mr Mbewe interjected.

Mr Muchima: Sir, I have checked the Budget and not seen anything about the bridge. The PF Campaign Manager was my cousin over there (pointing at Hon. Simuusa). 

Mr Nkombo: Donchi kubeba.

Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, they are saying that they are working on the road between Chingola and Solwezi, when they are simply patching it up. This is despite the road being subjected to heavy truckloads day and night. There are accidents on that road everyday. I expected the hon. Minister of Finance, a man who earned my respect back in the United National Independence Party (UNIP) days. 

Mr Mbewe: In the MMD.

Mr Muchima: Sir, this man experienced how the UNIP Government used to disburse money to different parts of the country for developmental projects. In Livingstone, there was the motor assembly plant, in Mwinilunga, there was a cannery, in Chipata, there was bicycle assembly plant and in Kawambwa, there was a tea plantation. That was a deliberate move to develop different parts of the country. I expected Hon. Chikwanda to build on that. Unfortunately, this Budget is about Muchinga Province. Two universities are expected to be constructed in that province. There are also road projects in that province. In other places, there is completely nothing. 

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!

Mr Muchima: Sir, why is that the case?

Mr Speaker, let me now talk about inflation. Inflation is a technical term which means too much money chasing very few goods. This Government is very clever just like its slogan of donchi kubeba. It is saying that it has kept the inflation rate low.

Mr Speaker: What do you mean by that?

Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, donchi kubeba means do not tell them the truth, that you must keep the truth a secret.

Hon. Government Members: Aah!

Hon. Opposition Members: Yes!

Interruptions

Hon. Opposition Members: Munatigong’a.

Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, what is happening is that the inflation rate is deliberately being kept low for one reason. As the other speaker who was on the floor stated, it is because the domestic debt is not being offloaded. I challenge the Government to pay everyone that is owed by this Government and we will see whether the inflation rate will still remain  at the current level. They have deliberately stopped the money from circulating. To make matters worse, the Government has started borrowing from commercial banks. This means that the interest rates are going up. There is no money in circulation. As I speak today, the Government ministries have no money. Some of them were last funded in June. If a by-election arises, all Government vehicles will have fuel and their attention will go there. Where does the money come from?

 Mr Mwale interjected.

 Mr Muchima: Sir, today, even the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has no money. Where has the money been going? The Government is literally broke and failing to meet its obligations.

 Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 Mr Muchima: Sir, they are now saying that their borrowing is below the international standard. The question is: Do we have the capacity to pay back? Some of us are in our old age and should be worried for the people we are leaving behind.  I know that we are in the afternoons of our lives. We should not give them a burden which they will have difficulties resolving.  We had a serious burden which was left by the UNIP Government and resolved. Yet, today, we are going back to that.

 Mr Speaker, we have to be very careful when dealing with some of this issue because this is our country.  We are complaining that 60 per cent of the money is going to personal emoluments. This is because of the large Cabinet and unnecessary by-elections. It is for this reasons that we are failing to meet the running of some of the projects which are all over the country. It is difficult to complete these projects because the contractors have not been paid their money. This has happened because Government coffers are dry. Today, as we are speaking, if you went to any Government ministry and asked for any claim, it is impossible for it to be paid to you. We expected the hon. Minister of Finance, with his vast experience, to compare what is happening today and what used to occur in the UNIP days. 

Sir, is it necessary to debate a budget which has already been presented to the people? In my view, we should be debating the Budget before it is presented to the people because what we are doing now will not change anything. There is the tendency of hiding behind the so-called Link Zambia 8,000 km Road Project whenever we ask them a question to do with our roads. When I look at the same project, it is like a distance from here to Cairo. I, therefore, do not know how many years it will take and how much it will cost yet, we are only remaining with a few months before 2016. 

Sir, major infrastructure, which the whole country is supposed to benefit from, is not there. When they work on a 2 km road project, it becomes news on the ZNBC. It has now become the order of the day for the Government to say that it has no money whenever we ask them on the Floor of this House to construct small things like a pit latrine. In the meantime, they keep saying that they are implementing many infrastructure development projects. Whom are you deceiving? They should tell the people the truth. Kubeba. Let us be factual because this is our country. Nobody will condemn them if they tell the people the truth.

 Mr Muchima drank some water.

 Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 Mr Muchima: Sir, let me now talk about the tax regime which has since changed. The advice to my old is that…

Mr Speaker: Order!

 Which old man are you referring to?

Mr Muchima: The hon. Minister of Finance.

 Mr Speaker: Yes! That is his designation.

 Laughter

 Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, why can this Government not just re-introduce the Windfall Tax which everyone is comfortable with than coming up with other initiatives which are also raising other contentious issues? We will just be spending time and money to explain to the public about initiatives which are not working instead of us focusing on building our reserves. I do not know where the money will come from for building our reserves because the Government has no capacity to raise any money at the moment. 

Sir, since we have been talking about the need for pro-poor budgets for some time, I expected the hon. Minister of Finance to have taken a deliberate tour before coming up with the Budget of the Western, North-Western and Luapula provinces as well as other far-flung areas. This would have helped him to factor into the Budget the people’s expectations with regards to feeder roads and other things. You should not just listen to technocrats. They are capable of hiding information and just give you written speeches to come and read in this House. In those speeches, you tell us that there is no money for the projects in our areas. The technocrats know where the money is. When a trip to the United States of America comes up, they quickly provide money. As politicians, we have no control over them. 

Sir, pro-poor means that you have to look at issues to do with the Jimbe Road critically.

 Laughter

 Mr Muchima: You have to look at it critically.

 Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, this road is in the remote part of the North-Western Province. You left this road when you were hon. Minister then. It ended where we have buried your friend, Dr Peter Matoka. The road is still in the same condition it was when we were very young. We, therefore, expected you, the man we admire so much to take up the challenge of finishing up that road. Even in the Bible, it is written that Jesus came for the sinners and not the righteous or the rich. 

Sir, the PF Government should be looking at the Opposition hon. Members as partners so that it attracts them.

 Mr Sikazwe: Question!

 Laughter

 Mr Muchima: Sir, just as they are trying to buy the councillors, they should buy us by appeasing us with good things just like the late former President, Levy Patrick Mwanawasa, SC. did in Luapula and the Southern provinces. May his soul rest in peace.  He was sharing everything equally.

 Mr Speaker, what major infrastructure development project is currently going on in North- Western Province? I expected this document to talk about projects in Zambezi District. Somebody was saying what we did when we were in office. I was hearing. The same people who are asking such questions were in high decision-making positions in another Government. It is unfortunate that people change when they cross the Floor of the House. The way you speak from here should be the same even when you cross the Floor. You should maintain your integrity and speak the same language. Do not divide the people of Zambia.

Sir, last time I was on the Floor of this House, I stated that a place like Kaputa should ideally be reached in four hours from here. However, today, somebody going to the United Kingdom will arrive while the one travelling to Kaputa would still be on the road. Despite all this, those in the Government have been busy making pronouncements that they are doing this and that. Whom are they deceiving? I told my colleagues to be careful because during elections, the electorates will say that they were making pronouncements about things which they did not do.

 Mr Muchima drank some water.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, poverty levels in this country are extremely high. I was shocked when somebody talked about the Social Cash Transfer Programme and questioned what the Movement for Multi-party Democracy Government did to reduce poverty. This was an MMD programme. We piloted it in the Eastern and Southern provinces. They should learn to appreciate the work which we did. When you look at the programme for 2010, you will notice that works on the Jimbe Road were in it. The PF Government has deliberately chosen to ignore the works on that road.

Sir, in the last year’s budget, the hon. Minister talked about secondary schools and not basic schools. I would like to thank Hon. Dr Phiri for his brave decisions to continue with the parallel programme. Today, we would have been stuck. There is nothing that would have been built especially in Ikeleng’i. There is no secondary school in this area. These are some of the things which should have been talked about in the Budget Address. We should have first of all analysed the Budge for this year and measured our achievements. For that which we did not achieve, we would have asked ourselves what went wrong. We are still bringing the theories to this House as usual and thinking that they can develop this country. How can that be possible? This Budget is not making sense to people like me.

Mr Ng’onga: Hear, hear!

 Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, we built Mwinilunga Trades School, but did not provide furniture for it. There was a deliberate decision made for the North-Western Province – those of you asking what were we doing – we could not be selfish and, so, we decided to do the Mutanda/Chavuma Road because it had not been worked on since 1964. So, it was suggested that we do that road and after finishing it, we would do the other roads. The other portion of the money could go somewhere else. That was a good decision. Today, you come and say the people of the North-Western Province did not vote for us. Do not just keep them the way they are. Keeping on doing that is not being faithful to God because much of the money which is being used for projects elsewhere comes from there.

Hon. MMD Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Muchima: Sir, with these intermarriages, you are denying your own children, who are getting married from there, because they now belong to a Cinderella place, and they will never be proud people. Let us do the correct thing. Let us not be blinded by hatred. During the day, you speak in a different language from the one you use in the night. You are like a certain Briton who says you are very intelligent in your face, but when he goes away he says something to the contrary. Let us be honest at all times.

Mr Speaker, I want this Budget to be realistic. We are proud of malls which are just for trading when we need to be encouraging people to go into the manufacturing sector. Let us build trades institutes in all the places where there are secondary schools. There was one minister who talked about a university in Solwezi. I have not heard that university being pronounced. The university has been named after my uncle, Dr Peter Matoka, but there was no mention of that it by the hon. Minister. Hon. Dr Phiri, you are a doctor at from a university, please understand that we needed a university in the North-Western Province, like yesterday. We deserve it because it is our money which is being used to develop other areas. They must give to Ceaser what belongs to Ceaser.

Hon. MMD Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Muchima: Sir, they cannot be picking money from our area and expect us to just keep watching them. This is what made Musoloko a bush. We are not happy with whatever is happening.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, with those few words, I want urge the hon. Minister of Finance to revisit his Budget, and look at the plight of the people of the North-Western Province so that they can bless him more.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Kalima (Kasenengwa): Mr Speaker, allow me to firstly, thank the hon. Minister of Finance for coming to this House to present the Budget. I want to acknowledge that the hon. Minister is very committed and dedicated to the development of this country. I know that he reports to his office very early, for the betterment of the Zambians. In spite of his age, he is an example to follow. Unfortunately, he is working under very difficult conditions, and under a Government that lacks vision and so he is mostly pushing the development agenda alone. The Bembas say umunwe umo tausala nda meaning one finger cannot pick lice. So, from the onset, I would like to acknowledge that he is a wonderful hon. Minister who means well for the country, except he is working under very difficult conditions.

Mr Speaker, allow me to define a budget. What is a budget? A budget is a financial document used to project future incomes and expenses. In this case, the Government is presenting proposed revenues and expenses for the fiscal year 2015, from January to December. The main purpose of the Budget is to focus income and expenditure. It is a tool for decision-making. It is there to monitor the performance. The budget has a purpose and according to Jim Rowe, in the field of financial accounting, it is there to resolve conflicts and interests amongst groups within an organisation. In this case, it is there to resolve conflicts between the Government and people in constituencies.

Sir, the budget is there to improve the efficiency and evaluate performance. It is also there to control activities by measuring progress against the original plan. On page 19 of the hon. Minister’s Budget Speech, he stated that:

“Sir, the Government will continue promoting private sector participation in grain marketing by limiting grain purchases by the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to the 500,000 metric tonnes required for the strategic food reserve. In this regard, I have provided K992.9 million for the strategic food reserves.”

Mr Speaker, from that statement, there is a contradiction with my earlier description of what the budget does. In this country, we have a conflict right now, between the farmers and the Government. This conflict is as a result of the failure by the Government to pay the farmers. In the past three years, this Government has been budgeting for 500,000 metric tonnes. However, whenever it comes to purchasing, the Government has been able to buy more than what it budgeted for. This year, we are aware that the Government purchased 990,000 metric tonnes, and since it only budgeted for 500,000 metric tonnes, there is a conflict because most of the farmers have not been paid.

Sir, I was quite disappointed to hear the hon. Minister present his Budget and, again, allocate money that is only enough to buy 500,000 metric tonnes. As an agronomist and Member of Parliament for Kasenengwa, I am concerned because the people in my constituency have not been paid. I wondered why this Government only budgets for 500,000 metric tonnes year in year out, and yet it knows that it over-purchases. As we move towards the elections, I am sure that the Government will purchase more than 1,000,000 metric tonnes just to appease the farmers so that it can get votes. I was wondering why the hon. Minister of Agriculture and Livestock and the Minister of Finance could not just get some funds from a different Vote and increase the tonnage for the maize which is to be bought. I say so because if the budget was increased to purchase about 800,000 metric tonnes, the ministry would have a variance of just 200,000 metric tonnes to purchase. That would reduce the pressure on the Government to look for funds to pay the farmers.

Mr Speaker, I am appealing to the hon. Minister to relook into this and increase the tonnage to be bought because it is natural to do so and the country usually records a bumper harvest. So, even if the Government is a buyer of the last resort, it will definitely buy more than it budgeted for. Right now, we have a problem where most children are not in school because their parents have not been paid for the maize which they sold to the Government. Most of the children are languishing and some of them may end up getting involved in vices because they are just home when they should be in school. So, I am appealing to the hon. Minister of Finance to relook at this and increase the tonnage that has been budgeted for to avoid a deficit. We have a number of people who have, in the process, developed high blood pressure and died. Others have, probably, resorted to borrowing because the Government has delayed in paying them. So, I really just want to speak on behalf of the people of Kasenengwa that have still not been paid. Nonetheless, we can avoid this. In the past three years, we have made a mistake because of under-budgeting. I want to appeal to the Government to increase the funding for maize purchases.

Mr Speaker, financing for public services must be sustainable over a long period of time. If not, the poor, elderly and those on fixed income are the ones to suffer. When this Government came into power in 2011, it claimed that the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) was erring on the implementation of the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) tax. Therefore, when the hon. Minister of Finance was presenting the 2015 Budget Speech, I sat here and was anxiously waiting to hear what adjustments had been made in this regard.

Mr Speaker, I have a firm that I run and there are 100 people that look up to me year in and year out. I cannot give them an increment every year, which is the case in many other companies. However, I believe many companies were expecting a relief through the adjustment of the tax free threshold. 

Sir, when the Patriotic Front (PF) Government came into power after the MMD, it adjusted the threshold of paying PAYE from K700 to K1,500 and later moved it to K3,000. That excited workers. Therefore, they were expecting further adjustment to this threshold this time around. I was equally expectant to see something new on PAYE, but the hon. Minister of Finance came to this House and did not mention any changes. His silence on this matter has left a lot of people wondering up to now. We have searched his speech and seen that there is nothing on PAYE. So, I would want to hear a word from the hon. Minister at the end of this Motion. He has to explain why the threshold has remained stagnant in terms of PAYE.

Mr Speaker, after reading the Budget Speech, I have not seen anything tangible in terms of projects that would create jobs. The hon. Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry has been speaking about industrial clusters for some time now. When he moved to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, he was still talking about clusters. He has gone back to the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry and he is still talking about clusters. However, three years down the line, there is nothing that has been done on this matter.

Mr Speaker, the construction of 650 health posts countrywide has become a song. I went on leave when my seat was nullified. I have came back and found that the construction of 650 health posts by the Ministry of Health has not started. What plans does this Government have for the youth and women in terms of job creation? I cannot see anything to give the people of Zambia hope in this Budget. 

Mr Speaker, I remember that President Sata, when he was in the Opposition, spoke about casualisation. For example, he cited the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) as a company that was going to end casualisation if he came into power. When you go to ZESCO today, you will find that there are still a lot of casual workers. What is it that this Government is doing to end this casualisation? What has the hon. Minister of Labour and Social Security put in place to ensure that our labour inspectors are inspecting organisations to ensure that Zambians are protected from foreign investors? How much are local employers paying these workers? Is it a living wage or something that can be compared to what we are earning as leaders? So I want to hear a comment on this matter from the hon. Minister of Finance as he concludes this Motion later on such matters. He has to state the sector in which we are expecting jobs to be created. We want to know whether it is in the construction sector and if they are permanent or temporal jobs. We want these jobs to be permanent because we want to build the future of our children.

Mr Speaker, we have seen a lot of talk on television on the wage freeze. Even on The Assignment on Muvi TV the other day, the discussion was on the wage freeze. The cost of living has escalated. Poverty levels have increased and the gap between the poor and rich has widened. The prices of different products have gone up. For example, a 2 kg packet of sugar not so long ago was costing K9 to K10, but is now costing K20. The price of mealie meal has moved from K40 or K50 to about K70 per 25 kg bag. The contribution to the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) has moved from K50 to K100 for each beneficiary. The price of fertiliser in a shop like mine has increased. It is the same with Hon. Ng’onga’s Manna Agro. Fertiliser has moved from K180 to K250 per 50 kg bag.

Interruptions 

Ms Kalima: Sir, the bus fare from Chipata to Lusaka has increased from about K60 or K80 to K150 and K170. Yet, the salaries for government workers have remained stagnant. We expect them to remain the same for another one to two years. I think hon. Ministers are not affected by this situation. I always hear Hon. Nkombo say that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander.

Hon. Nkombo: Hear, hear!

Ms Kalima: Sir, I think we should be considerate. When the price of fuel increases, nothing changes for hon. Ministers because their fuel allowance is quoted in litres.  Maybe, I should talk as a hon. Minister. Let us consider the lowly-paid workers. What is it that we are doing for the poor as a pro-poor Government …

Mr Speaker: Did you say you are now debating as an hon. Minister?

Interruptions

Ms Kalima: I am putting myself in their shoes.

Mr Speaker: Oh, I see.

Ms Kalima: Sir, I am putting myself in their shoes so that they can also, for once, put themselves in the shoes of the people of Kasenengwa. When the price of fuel goes up from K6 to K8 or K10, which is the price now, hon. Ministers are not affected. The amount of fuel that they are given remains fixed, despite the cost increasing. Therefore, I would want the hon. Minister of Finance to just consider the poor and revisit this matter, as many union leaders have said. As a result of this, there is a looming strike and demonstrations. When the people voted for this Government, they hoped for change and money in their pockets. They were not looking for a wage freeze. 

Mr Speaker, I know that there is probably pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other organisations. I also know that the Ruling Party made many promises before coming into power. However, what is it that it can do for the poor civil servants that are faced with prices that have gone up? The exchange rate of foreign currencies has increased and this, in turn, affects commodity prices. The little money that civil servants are getting cannot make any difference. The cost of living has gone up.

Mr Speaker, apart from putting myself in the shoes of hon. Ministers, I also want to put myself in the shoes of the poor. Therefore, I want to openly declare today that when the union leaders demonstrate, I am pledging to demonstrate with them, even if I am not a civil servant.  I have done this before. I demonstrated from the town post office alone against the Chief Justice’s stay in office. I will walk with them, even if it means walking from here to Kapiri Mposhi or wherever. This is meant to show that, indeed, we are suffering. 

Mr Speaker, Zambia is not the same and things are very hard. Money is very hard to come by and I feel for the civil servants. I am appealing to the union leaders to invite me for that walk or demonstration. I will do it with love and without fear or favour. Therefore, I want to appeal to the unions not to be intimidated. When nurses did the same, they were fired. This is our country and we should not be afraid to express ourselves. I have always said that we should stand up for what is right. We are not going to allow a situation where our civil servants are turned into beggars.

Mr Speaker, with these few words, I appeal to the hon. Minister of Finance to relook into this situation and, indeed, I am pledging myself as one of the demonstrators and I will start from here.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu (Mbabala): Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to debate the 2015 Budget. Sir, I would like to begin from page 4 of the hon. Ministers Budget Address under issues related to domestic and international debt. I would like to think that it should worry us when the public sector begins to borrow more and more on the domestic market. The Government’s domestic debt, I think it is common knowledge now, deprives the private sector of money to borrow and invest. As we stand today, I think the Government’s domestic debt …

Mr Mufalali: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: … is chocking the private sector’s access to debt. This eventually translates into a reduction in the private sector’s capacity to create jobs. The more the public sector borrows, the less money for the private sector there is to borrow and eventually investment.

Ms Lubezhi: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: Sir, to me, that is the trouble that we must guard against. It is not something that we must continue to be proud of regardless of what the percentages are. I think it is logical and follows naturally, that the public sector, must as much as possible move away from the way the Government is borrowing at the moment. What is more worrying is that this borrowing, both domestic and international, is not resulting into any tangible results on the ground.

Mr Mufalali: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: Mr Speaker, there is the assumption that when we borrow, we are going to invest in public investments, such as roads so that we can jet the economy. Yes, those may be good measures to you. However, if these public investments do not make sense to the locals and the economy, they remain white elephants and are not worth borrowing for. Let me give an example of a project the hon. Minister referred to in the Budget Address. We were told about the Kariba North Bank Hydro Power Extension Project. How many people living on that route where the electricity passes from the Kariba North Bank are benefitting from the project? 

Hon. Opposition Members: Zero!

Mr Belemu: Sir, who is benefitting from the project in Itezhi-tezhi?

Hon. Opposition Members: Zero!

Mr Belemu: Sir, if you went to Mbabala, today, you would notice that the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) is prioritising electrifying bars and taverns instead of schools, health posts and related institutions. When you want to apply for supply for a health-related project or common service like education, they will always give you very abnormal rates, including demand that you help to put up transformers. I have never seen transformers being put up by those who get their taverns electrified. Is that the type of investment that we are asking for?

Sir, how are the communities in Itezhi-tezhi benefitting from the electricity generation projects? Logic demands that, where electricity is coming from, it should have been cheaper and readily available.

Hon. Opposition Members: Zero!

Mr Belemu: Sir, when the Kariba Dam was being built, people were displaced. We know that people suffered. The minimum that we expected was for those people to have electricity and proper housing.

Mr Nkombo: Free of charge.

Mr Belemu: Sir, at the very least, the people in that area should have had access to affordable electricity. They have suffered because of the investment that is there. Now, as long as you continue borrowing money so that we invest in electricity which no one is benefiting from and not seeing the value, it is a worthless investment for a number of us.

Mr Nkombo: All of us!

Mr Belemu: Sir, let me now talk about road infrastructure. Assuming that the hon. Minister consistently followed the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) the past three years the PF has been in power, some of the projects they started pronouncing in 2011 should have graduated. We needed to hear new projects now as opposed to the same …

Hon. Opposition Members: Zero!

Mr Belemu: … Bottom Road.

Hon. Opposition Members: Zero!

Mr Belemu: Sir, if the MTEF was followed the past three years, what would we have achieved?

Hon. Opposition Members: Zero!

Mr Ndalamei: It is a shame.

Mr Belemu: Sir, in the fourth year, which is 2015, we should have heard of completely new projects.

Mr Livune: That is right!

Mr Belemu: Sir, the talk about the Bottom Road, should not be restricted to only a small stretch. The Bottom Road goes all the way via Zimba. It does not end in Sinazongwe as people want to suppose it does. We needed to hear about new projects this year. At what stage are we going to tar and improve some major roads in the province?

Interruptions 

Mr Speaker: Order! There is no need for the noise.

Ms Kalima: Chase them away, Sir.

Mr Speaker: Let him debate. He is a representative. He has a constituency.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Speaker: These are not personal debates. They are representative.

May the hon. Member, continue.

Mr Belemu: Mr Speaker, by now, the citizenry of this country wanted to hear about new projects under the PF Government. Not the same things. We have kept hearing about the construction of the same universities the past three years.

Mr Sing’ombe: Paul Mushindo.

Mr Belemu: Sir, when they are asked, for example, about the Katunda/Lukulu Road, they should just go and cut a compact disc (CD) on which an answer will be recorded and played in the House. How is their curriculum vitae (point at Government Members) now looking like? It is becoming like a horror movie now.

Laughter

Mr Belemu: Sir, we want to hear about new projects in 2015.

Mr Livune: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: Sir, we want to see new projects. We want to see what has been done, for example, on the Bottom Road. We heard of it being mentioned by the hon. Minister of Finance and the President for the past three years.

Mr Livune: Hmmm!

Mr Belemu: Sir, when are we going to hear about another road?

Mr Mufalali: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: Sir, at what stage are going to move?

Mr Nkombo: They are fatigued.

Mr Belemu: Sir, how can we be hon. Members of Parliament for five years and keep talking about one road, the Bottom Road?

Mr Nkombo: And Paul Mushindo!

Mr Belemu: Sir, we should have been on leave for five years and spent one hour in those five years to talk about the Bottom Road. We can talk about the Bottom Road in one hour and it will be done.

Mr Livune: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: Sir, we have other roads that have economic value. Public infrastructure like roads must be of value.

Mr Sing’ombe: Yes!

Mr Belemu: Sir, we have roads that have economic value. For example, in the province where I come from, we have the Monze/Niko Road. Right now, there is a lot of trade that is going on there as a result of the beef that is coming from Namwala …

Ms Lubezhi: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: … in our region. There is also the Kalomo/Dundumwezi Road which leads you into the Kafue National Park. That is an important road because it leads to a major tourism facility.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: Sir, these people want to keep talking about the same roads. At what stage are we going to invest in roads that are going to bring economic value to our provinces? Logic tells me that if you want to invest money, you put it into projects that are likely to bring rewards which you can reap in future. Under the PF, there is no project that they will see to completion in their life time of five years.

Dr Kaingu: Hmmm!

Mr Belemu: Sir, what were they elected for if nothing will happen in five years?

Mr Nkombo: Chabwino ayende.

Mr Belemu: Sir, we will waste five years. As people have been saying, there is a place, which has become very popular, called Chabwino Ayende Chabe.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: Sir, I think it means something like, it is better that person just goes.

Mr Livune: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: Sir, we will not miss them.

Mr Livune: That is right.

Mr Mpundu: Question!

Laughter

Mr Nkombo: Who is it?

Mr Belemu: Mr Speaker, let me now turn to the tourism sector which is talked about on page 7. I am of the view that the hon. Minister of Finance should have interrogated this sector correctly. When you do a wrong analysis on a sector, it follows, therefore, that even the proposed solutions and consequently the budget that you come up with will be wrong. For the tourism sector, we are still using arrivals as a measure of success. The world has moved now to the actual value. What is the value of this 900 000 plus tourists that came? Mind you, of these 900 000, we are also talking about a trader who came from Tunduma and crossed into Zambia to sell potatoes on the Zambian side and went back.

Mr Mufalali: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: Sir, what value came to Zambia by somebody who brought potatoes for sale here? To the contrary, they took money out of the country. We want to continue analysing the sector based on arrivals. Countries have moved on. We must look at the actual value we are deriving from our visitors. 

Sir, we should also look at what elements or variables should be moved around so that the sector becomes viable. We need to be clear on what value we want to get out from our tourism sector. If we continue with our current way of doing things, I am sorry, there will be no value that this country will derive from the tourism sector. We want to use the arrivals of people who are carrying sweet potatoes, on their heads, to say that we have grown the tourism sector.

Laughter

Mr Belemu: Sir, that is not growing the sector.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: Sir, there are other indicators of success we should have been looking at. What is the value, for example,  …

Mr Speaker: Order!

Business was suspended from 1815 hours until 1830 hours

[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]

Mr Belemu: Mr Speaker, before business was suspended, I was underlining the fact that the tourism sector has been wrongly analysed in this Budget and, consequently, the Budget for the sector is also not correct.

Mr Mufalali: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: Mr Speaker, the elements that the hon. Minister wants to shift or play around with to improve the tourism sector will not bring any immediate gain because they are not the only elements which are critical at the moment. For example, we are being told …

Mr Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member, I am uncomfortable with your phrase ‘play around’. I know that it is a colloquial expression of some sort, but I do not think that we should have that on record. Withdraw and substitute it with something formal.

Hon. UPND Member: Monkeying around.

Mr Belemu: Mr Speaker, I withdraw that term. I will substitute it when I have thought of the formal equivalent.

Mr Speaker: Get the equivalent before you proceed.

Mr Belemu: Sir, the elements that the hon. Minister wants to shift around are not the correct ones for the tourism sector at the moment. For example, he wants to make us believe that once they improve infrastructure at the airports in Ndola and Livingstone then the value we get out of the tourism sector will improve. That is not entirely correct.

Ms Lubezhi: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: Mr Speaker, now that we have two years before elections, we can begin to tell the people what the United Party for National Development (UPND) will do once put in power. There is a cost structure of a sector and that is what should have been of more interest to the hon. Minister of Finance. What is the cost structure which is making our tourism product more expensive when compared to other countries in the region? I am not sure what they are trying to achieve here. I do not think that if we shifted these and – what was the word?

Hon. UPND Member: Monkeying around.

Mr Mwewa: You do not even know what you are talking about.

Mr Belemu: Sir, we need to be careful with the variables we decide to move around. There are certain things which are critical and should be of interest to the hon. Minister.

Mr Livune: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: Mr Speaker, how about the softer issues that affect this sector? We are yet to look at the Yellow Book, but I am sure that he should have emphasised the element of tourism promotion and marketing which is even more critical than what they are talking about.

Ms Lubezhi: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: Sir, we should have been interested to look at what image we are portraying about Zambia because tourism is a total package of people’s experience in this country. When people arrive at the airport or whichever border they enter from, what do they see?  We are saying that we are prioritising tourism but, meanwhile, inside our country, people are busy carrying coffins of their party leaders and butchering each other or fighting.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: Sir, what elements do we want to move around so that we get value out of our tourism? There are contradictions in this country. One moment, people are pronouncing each other dead and in the next one, they are saying that they are prioritising the tourism sector. Even if you improved the airport infrastructure, but tamper around with the peace and the total image of this country, which, at the moment, I am made to believe from the analysis going around, is poor, tourism will not improve. Travel alerts have been issued about Zambia.

Ms Lubezhi: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: Sir, when a travel alert has been issued against a country, it does not matter what airports you have, people will not just go there. It does not matter how many airports you build if your hotels are still expensive. That will not help you.

Mr Mufalali: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: Sir, there was talk of prioritising domestic tourism. There are certain things that you need to do to promote domestic tourism. I have not seen any of those in this particular Budget. If we are saying that we want to shift from internationally-dependent tourism to domestically-dependent tourism, there are certain things that you must do within the cost structure of the product, the image of the product and the sector itself. In this Budget, we do not see that. We are reverting back to the thinking that it is only international tourists that matter. Even for that, the definition is still flawed. It is not the correct one. 

Mr Mufalali: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: Mr Speaker, it is, therefore, my view that the hon. Minister needs to rethink about whether what he is proposing will bring value to this country.

Mr Speaker, allow me to talk about the money that is being borrowed which we are told is supposed to be for infrastructure development. At some point, there was talk of dams. We have not seen dams in the last three years. We did not see them in 2013 or 2014 and I am sure we will not see them in 2015. 

Mr Speaker, at some point, we were advised that there was money that was available for dams. I have waited and moved and spent time between my constituency and Choma, the provincial capital, to look at whether there was a possibility of a dam being constructed, but up to now there is no talk of a dam. So, what has happened to the money that was supposed to be for dams? 

Mr Speaker, we have been told for the last three years that there will be the rehabilitation of dip tanks. What has happened to the money for that exercise? All these things have remained on paper. The dip tanks that we have rehabilitated in Mbabala have been done under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and not under the moneys that we were being told about. So, the people of Mbabala have to bear the cost of borrowing money so that people elsewhere can benefit. To me, this is a wrong Budget until the people of Mbabala begin to see the value of borrowing money as it goes into dams, livestock development and other basics in the constituency. This is the only time that this Budget will be of value to them. As at now, this Budget is not of value to them. You can go and read it, recite it or teach children from grade one to grade 12 to recite it. For now, it adds no value to the people of Mbabala Parliamentary Constituency.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: Sir, if we have to pay for the money that is being borrowed, we have to know when we are going to put aside money for works on the Muyobe/Macha Road. Macha has an important Malaria research centre. The road that needs to be improved is only 17 km. At what stage are we going to invest in very basic infrastructure that we need in the livestock sector such as earth dams which a caterpillar can make in two days? We are not even talking about concrete dams. We have been made to believe that there was money allocated for that. So, where is that money?

Mr Mwale: By-elections.

Mr Belemu: Mr Speaker, we have been made to believe that there was money that was allocated for disease control. As we speak, diseases are ravaging Mbabala Parliamentary Constituency. In the middle of the year, we even had the African Swine Fever in animals which people are dependent upon. I do not want to talk about how they were paid or not compensated because that is also another story for another day. However, the problem still remains that we put money in this Budget which has no meaning to the people on the ground.

Interruptions

Mr Belemu: Mr Speaker, in the education sector, for example, pupils continue learning without aids. I look at the syllabus and I see an information and communication technology (ICT) component. However, how much money are we allocating to the education sector for ICT purposes? You want to examine children in ICT who have never seen a computer in their lifetime? Why do you not have a different syllabus for us and a different syllabus for the others who have seen computers? It does not make sense. You have been talking about doing this and that infrastructure development, but I want to confirm, today, that none of this infrastructure being talked about has ever benefited the people of Mbabala Parliamentary Constituency …

Hon. UPND Member: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: …and I am sure that that is true of so many other constituencies. Until that is done, this Budget is meaningless to many of us. It does not make sense for them to talk about paving township roads because we do not have townships. We have villages and homesteads.

Laughter
 
Mr Belemu: Mr Speaker, I need a road. The school needs a road. The depots where we take our crops need roads. The health centres need roads. However, you have put emphasis on township roads. Even the township roads that are being talked about, only 60 km will be paved. What is that? We want to see feeder roads. We want to see roads that lead to economically viable places.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 Mr Belemu: Mr Speaker, right now, we can produce milk, chickens and all kinds of things, but there are no roads that lead to these places. I want the hon. Minister of Finance to come back and tell us, for example, where the money for constructing dams is. If it is there, what has happened to it? How can money be in an account for years? We were made to believe that the Eurobond would benefit all of us. I do not even want to pronounce that word any more because it is a bad word which has no meaning to me. 

Laughter

Mr Belemu: Mr Speaker, I have not seen any single project that has been undertaken using the Eurobond, not even rural electrification projects. I have said here before that when we want to electrify our rural area even at our own cost using the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), the implementers demand so much money from us. However, when somebody who owns a small tavern wants to electrify it, ZESCO does it expressly. The CDF for 2014 has not been released for Choma District, and this is now October. Very soon, we will enter into the rainy season. At what stage are we going to utilise it? I think that this is a problem for us.

Mr Speaker, I want to conclude by saying that I have declared interest on other things like alcohol-related taxes and …

Laughter

Mr Belemu: … will not talk about them. However, the bottom line is that I want to see the people of Mbabala benefit from the Budget.

I thank you, Sir.

Interruptions 

Mr Speaker: Order!

You must have declared that in my absence.

Laughter

Dr Kaingu (Mwandi): Mr Speaker, thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this debate. 

Mr Speaker, it is pleasing that the one who presented the Budget is a nationalist, and he started his speech by looking at the motto: “One Zambia, One Nation.” This motto is fundamental to the unity of this country. It is important that the people in this House and outside there, especially our children, are taught why we have this motto.

Mr Speaker, before 1964, the nationalists went to London accompanied by Sir Mwanawina Lewanika with his entourage of course. At that time, Sir Mwanawina Lewanika was going there as the Head of Barotseland Protectorate, and the nationalists were going there to represent Northern Rhodesia. There were two territories. In London, Sir Mwanawina Lewanika was asked whether he wanted Barotseland to be part of Zambia when it got independence. It was at that meeting that Sir Mwanawina Lewanika agreed that, Barotseland would cease to be a protectorate and was going to be part of Northern Rhodesia. I am glad that a nationalist presented this Budget. That is the reason why we have the “One Zambia, One Nation” Motto. It is not Kaunda’s motto. Therefore, I urge this Government to fix what is happening in the Western Province …

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Kaingu: …so that the people of that province can participate in the celebration of the fifty years of Independence.

Mr Speaker, I also want to say this and declare interest because I was there in 1964. I am going to participate in the celebration of Independence …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Kaingu: …on behalf of Nalumino Mundia, Sipalo Munukayumbwa, Mungoni Liso, Mainza Chona, Peter Matoka and many others like Julia Chikamoneka. I am going to join you people and celebrate the fifty years of Independence. 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, however, I will not go to State House for the celebrations. I am going to celebrate it where it found me, in my constituency.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, authorise me to use metaphors to describe this Budget. When you look at this Budget, how do you describe it? It is like a beautiful girl who has the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Hon. Members: Eh?

Dr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, it is like a young man immaculately dressed, when he is actually a crook.

Mr Livune: Mr Speaker, Belinda nafwa.

Dr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, the Budget …

Mr Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member for Mwandi, I know that metaphors are available for communication, but some of them have certain implications from a public policy point of view as well as a purely moral point of view. I think that there is a certain position we have taken over the health issue you have referred to. I do not think that I need to go further than this. I have no doubt in my mind that I have fully communicated. I think that, as a society, we have taken a certain position vis-à-vis that question. I think that, as national leaders, we should be the last to be seen to be publicly frowning upon those less fortunate brothers and sisters that find themselves in that situation.

You may withdraw that statement, please.

Dr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, I thank you very much and I, indeed, withdraw the statement without reservations.

Mr Speaker, this Budget is like people who want to have a party, but do not have enough money. Therefore, they come up with a drink called punch.

Laughter 

Dr Kaingu: Sir, when you drink the punch, you enjoy the taste, but the consequences of the drink are really dangerous. It is very important to understand that. 

Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister did not talk about the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), which was supposed to be the principle of all our Budgets from 2002. The PRSP was meant to indicate the poverty levels in our country. We use the PRSP to come up with economic sectors for reducing poverty. Before 1991, we had only one sector and that was mining. However, when we were bailed out through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, we were told to create economic sectors and we came up with the sectors which we are proud of today, such as agriculture, commerce and industry, tourism, manufacturing and construction. 

Sir, if we examine the PRSP which has been posted on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank websites, it will show you that the poverty levels in Zambia have not reduced. On its own admission, it has said that the poverty levels in rural areas are around 60 per cent while in urban areas, the levels are at 23 per cent. Although the truth is contrary to this, but for arguments sake, if these are the actual figures, why then should the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) be the same for the urban and rural areas? 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Kaingu: Sir, why can we not have positive discrimination so that rural constituencies can be helped to reduce the poverty levels? 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Kaingu: Sir, it is the PRSP that helps us to now examine the macro parameters such as the gross domestic product (GDP).

Mr Speaker, by his own admission, the hon. Minister of Finance said that Zambia’s GDP, at 6 or 7 per cent, cannot be used to create a Budget which can deliver for social sectors like education and health. The hon. Minister told the people that we needed to grow the GDP to two digits, around 13 or 15 per cent. So, how have they been able to bring a Budget that is actually 6 per cent GDP? 

Mr Speaker, if we were to ask how much was released for the 2014 Budget, we will find that out of the K42 trillion budgeted, maybe, only K15 trillion or K17 trillion was released. This is the more reason hon. Ministers can stand here and say “ni uyu”. 

Laughter 

Dr Kaingu: Sir, all of them are accusing the hon. Minister of Finance of having failed to release funds. It is actually shameful because they do not even have respect for old men. How can they talk about him like that and he is seated there not able to defend himself? 

Laughter 

Dr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, it is very clear that there is a big problem for this Government. It has no money. 

Sir, I am going to analyse the parameters of doing business by firstly looking at the exchange rate. The exchange rate was supposed to be very low in this country considering that we have borrowed so much money in Eurobonds. That money was supposed to actually bring down the exchange rate. However, the exchange rate is still at K6. They have also said that we have receieved very high foreign direct investment (FDI). This too was supposed to bring down the exchange rate, but the rate is still very high. This tells me that actually their figures are not correct. 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Kaingu: Sir, let us look at the inflation rate. I will start by looking at the food basket which my colleagues have already debated on. A bag of mealie meal, if we are going to use the urban areas as the place for collecting the consumer price index, is K60. If we take mealie-meal, cooking and so on and so forth and load the food basket with these prices, are they sure the inflation rate will be a single digit? 

Hon. Opposition Members: No way!

Dr Kaingu: Sir, what if we have to go out to rural areas where a bag of mealie-meal is K150? Are they sure that the inflation rate will be a single digit? Where do they get their data from? 

Mr Speaker, I also want to talk about the wage freeze vis-à-vis the moratorium on employment. They keep saying that they are a pro-poor Government. Are they aware that there are very few Zambians who are in formal employment? If we have to take Lusaka as an example, with a population threatening 3,000,000, how many people are in formal employment? 

Mr Belemu: 250,000.

Dr Kaingu: Sir, someone says 250,000. Let us talk about those that are in informal employment. If we can argue, hypothetically, that the people, who are in employment, formal and informal, are 1,000,000, this means that 1,000,000 people are feeding 3,000,000. Worse still, they had the audacity to remove subsidies and at the same time lock the opportunities of salary increments. What are they doing to the people? 

Mr Mbulakulima: You are killing Zambians.

Dr Kaingu: Sir, when I was young I went to visit my uncle in Mansa via the Pedicle Road. At some point, there was this Kasai who was selling three bananas. He came to me and said “walashita banana”. I refused and he continuously asked me to buy the bananas, saying “walashita banana”.

Laughter 

Dr Kaingu: Sir, finally, I bought the bananas off him and do you know what he said to me? 

Hon. Opposition Members: No!

Dr Kaingu: Sir, he said to me “abantu bba Zambie balikwata vintu vinga? Vibbili, ukukengela nokutumpa”.

Laughter 

Dr Kaingu: Sir, up to now I do not know what he really meant. I will leave it up to the House to decipher what he meant. 

Laughter 

Mr Speaker: The problem I have with that metaphor is that you have used a language that we are not able to get. As you know, we ought to use English. So how do we get round this difficulty if you do not even understand what was communicated to you?

Dr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, I understand what he said, but do not know why he said it. 

Laughter 

Dr Kaingu: Sir, he wanted me to buy the bananas which I eventually did after much pestering. After I bought those bananas he said to me that the people of Zambia have two characteristics: Firstly, they are very clever and secondly, very foolish or stupid. 

Laughter 

Dr Kaingu: Sir, this House has a lot of people with big brains who, I am sure, are able to explain why that Kasai said what he said. 

Laughter 

Dr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, I want to look at the interest rates. 

Mr Mwale: The Budget was foolish.

Dr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister has reduced the interest rates by the Bank of Zambia to 12.5 per cent. However, this is not what is happening with the commercial banks. Commercial banks are still above 25 per cent making it so difficult for people to borrow. In any case, even if they were to lend they would not lend to Zambians. I suppose that the high turn-over of the FDI that you are seeing is actually that of the foreigners who come here to borrow from us. 

Mr Speaker, what I have come to know, having been in business for a long time, and being a good researcher for that matter, …

Mr Kapeya: Uko!

Dr Kaingu: Of course. Not uko, go to school. 

Laughter

Dr Kaingu: What I have known …

Mr Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member for Mwandi, just address me. Forget about those unfortunate running commentaries.  

Dr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, I know that the hon. Minister of Finance, who is very well schooled and who has been in business for a very long time, will agree with me that the interest rate and the inflation rate are usually very close to each other. This is because the people who borrow are the ones who do business anyway. So how can your interest rate be 28 per cent and the inflation rate at 8? It is not feasible. 

Sir, I know that bapongoshi, meaning my father in law …

Laughter 

Mr Speaker: Hon. Member for Mwandi, you are taking away a lot of precious time from your debate. You are shooting your own foot.  

Dr Kaingu: Sir, the inflation rate is at a single digit while interest rate is at double digits of 28 per cent. I do not think that it correct. It means that there is something wrong. We need to check with the Central Statistical Office (CSO) and find out where it is getting its data from. The interest rate cannot be that high while the inflation rate is that low. We need to look at these parameters.

Mr Speaker, finally, I will talk about the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). The CDF, which is a very minute component of our Budget, has been talked about a lot in this country. You do not know how paramount it is in rural constituencies like Mwandi. If it was not for the CDF, the Government would not have been visible in Mwandi for the last three years. 

Sir, of course I would like to thank the hon. Minister of Home Affairs for giving me the police post.

Laughter 

Dr Kaingu: That is the only thing that I can talk about.

Laughter
 
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Kaingu: Sir, I would like to say to you that this is very serious. If the Governmnet wants the national cake to reach the people in the rural areas in the fight against poverty then it should consider increasing the CDF. 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Kaingu: Sir, it should put money into the CDF so that we can do our own water reticulation systems and rural roads. If you go to my constituency you will see what I have done with my CDF allocation. I did not put up a police post because I believe that if people are educated and get good jobs then we would not really need the police. 

Laughter 

Dr Kaingu: Sir, that is why they were saying the policemen in Mwandi were operating under a tree.

Laughter 

Dr Kaingu: Sir, I decided to put money in schools. 

Sir, as I terminate my debate, I wish to state that I have noticed that the little development that goes to provinces always ends up at the headquarters of the provinces. In the province, everything ends up in Mongu. Mongu is not the only place in the Western Province.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Kaingu: Sir, every time development goes to Solwezi, Kasama or Mpika.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Laughter 

Dr Kaingu: Sir, we must take development to rural areas.

Sir, with those very few words, I thank you. 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

ADJOURNMENT 

The Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication, Chief Whip and Acting Leader of Government Business in the House (Mr Mukanga): Mr Speaker, I beg to move that the House do now adjourn.

Question put and agreed to. 

The House adjourned at 1904 hours until 1430 hours on Wednesday, 16th October, 2014.

__________