DAILY PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES FOR THE THIRD SESSION OF THE ELEVENTH ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 11th December, 2013

The House met at 1430 hours

[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]

NATIONAL ANTHEM

PRAYER

__________

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT

CO-HOSTING OF THE UNITED NATIONS WORLD TOURISM ORGANISATION GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN LIVINGSTONE 

The Minister of Tourism and Arts (Mrs Masebo): Mr Speaker, thank you for giving me this very rare and important opportunity to make a ministerial statement on the co-hosting of the 20th Session of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly which was held from 24th to 29th August, 2013, in the towns of Livingstone and Victoria Falls. 

Mr Speaker, there are a number of questions that were asked on the Floor of this House in this regard which I did not answer and I had indicated that they would be covered in the ministerial statement. I hope that those who asked specific questions will follow the ministerial statement in order to get answers.  

Mr Speaker, 2013 will always be remembered in history as the year when Zambia and Zimbabwe successfully hosted a World Tourism Organisation General Assembly, the first ever in Southern Africa. According to the UNWTO, this General Assembly was the well-attended since its inception with the record number of 147 member states participating. All Zambians should feel proud of this achievement. This distinct success could not have emerged without the support of …

Hon. Government Members interjected.

Mr Speaker: Order, on the right!

Mrs Masebo: … His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Michael Chilufya Sata, …

Mr Livune: Question!

Mrs Masebo: … the Government and the people of Zambia as well as the residents of Livingstone. 

Mr Speaker, my statement will have the following sections:

(a)    preparations for the UNWTO General Assembly;

(b)    funding of the UNWTO General Assembly;

(c)    opening ceremony of the UNWTO General Assembly;

(d)    deliberations and outcomes;

(e)    side events;

(f)    closing ceremony of the UNWTO General Assembly; and

(g)    key challenges that were encountered;

Sir, we will also look at benefits that accrued to Zambia for co-hosting this assembly, what my ministry is doing to build on the successes and then I will conclude. Let me also just mention that hon. Members who may want certain details can make reference to the documents that I am going to lay on the Table of this House. 

Mr Speaker, in the ministerial statement which I presented on 9th November, 2012, when I briefed this august House on the preparations for the co-hosting of the 20th Session of the UNWTO General Assembly, I did highlight on the various projects and activities which the Government was undertaking in order to prepare effectively. I am pleased to inform the House that the Government was able to undertake and complete infrastructure development projects in readiness for the hosting of the general assembly. I should also mention here that there were some projects which were dubbed legacy projects, for example, the market and the bus terminus in Livingstone. The works on such projects continued even after the UNWTO General Conference. The completed facilities which were ready for use during the hosting of the General Assembly were the Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airport, at which there was construction of new arrival and departure terminals, and Kenneth Kaunda International Airport.  

Sir, we had improvement of facilities at the Victoria Falls World Heritage Site, including the construction of an ablution block, erection of the steel fence, enhancement of the viewing barriers and walkways within the heritage site. We managed to improve the Mosi-o-Tunya National Park, which resulted in, among others, the construction of a new entry gate facility and information centre. We also managed to make improvements at the Victoria Falls Border Post involving the construction of a loading bay shelter, ablution block, taxi rank as well as refurbishment of the office block. There were improvements at the Kazungula Border Post involving the construction of a loading bay, shelter and ablution block, completion of the fencing and concrete paving of the truck bay. The construction of a concrete paved drive way was converted to a legacy project status.  

Sir, we managed to computerise the Victoria Falls, Kazungula and Katima Mulilo border posts. This means that all border posts are now connected electronically and this has facilitated efficiency. There was construction of two ablution blocks which are located at the city council premises and the Mukuni Park in the City of Livingstone. We completed the amphitheater and construction of additional buildings such as the restaurant and an open air stage at Maramba Cultural Village. As I indicated earlier, the inter-city bus station and the ultra modern market in the City of Livingstone are also legacy projects which are on-going. 

Mr Speaker, we had a face lift of the City of Livingstone involving repair and painting of buildings and  we thank the private sector which partnered very effectively with the Government to ensure that the whole city in terms of structures, both public and private, were painted on time. I also want to say that the street vendors were very helpful in that we managed to get them out of the main streets of Livingstone to ensure that we provided an environment which was safe for our guests.

Mr Speaker, apart from infrastructure improvement, the Government also focused on soft issues such as capacity and skill development. About 2,000 officers and community members were trained in different disciplines. The training that was conducted such as cooking, community policing, protocol, entertainment and exhibitions, hospitality and transport providers, tour guides, among others, aimed at addressing the skills gaps that were identified or required for the preparation of human resource in handling the historic event. 

Mr Speaker, later in my statement, I will highlight the numbers of people that were trained in the various disciplines, namely community outreach and social and health activities that were undertaken during the preparation period of the UNWTO General Conference.

Mr Speaker, to further enhance the capacity to manage the general assembly, various moveable and non-moveable assets such as vehicles, Information Technology (IT) equipment, office furniture, audio visual conference equipment, medical equipment and boats were procured by different implementing agencies which were used during the General Assembly. These assets have been retained by responsible ministries and institutions and will be used to improve operations in the various ministries and Government institutions. 

Funding to the UNWTO General-Assembly Activities

Mr Speaker, I would like to inform the House that the Government released funds for the preparations and co-hosting of the 20th Session of the UNWTO General Assembly.

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order! The two hon. Members who are consulting, could you, please, leave if you cannot hold yourselves. You know yourselves.

Continue, hon. Minister.

Mrs Masebo: Mr Speaker, I would like to inform the House that the Government released funds for the preparation and co-hosting of the 20th Session of the UNWTO General Assembly amounting to K70, 574,019, covering the years 2012 and 2013. 

In addition, the Treasury approved a supplementary budget of about K197, 384,770, released for capital projects which were undertaken by various Government ministries and institutions to enhance tourism attractions and tourism-related infrastructure.

Mr Speaker, for the benefit of this august House, let me present the summaries of the funding released for the activities, sub-divided into two categories: Operational Funds and Capital Project Funds. 

With regards to the operational funds, a total of K70, 574,019 was approved, as operational budget for all the committees. If you recall, we had about ten sub-committees which comprised the committee. Of the amount for the operations, K65, 627,158 was released. 

Mr Speaker, some of the notable operational funding that was done included capacity building skills, development and information dissemination exercise, hire of the services of the professional conference organiser, purchase of conference equipment, upgrading of equipment in the outside broadcasting van, hire of vehicles for delegates and sitting allowances for the various sub-committees, purchase of petrol, patrol speed boats and so on and so forth. 

Mr Speaker, institutions that received funds under operations budget included the Ministry of Tourism and Arts, Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ministry of Health, Zambia Police Force and Immigration Department. The total was K70, 574,019, as earlier indicated, of which only K65, 627,158 was released. The details of how much each particular ministry got will be laid on the Table of this House. 

Mr Speaker, the approved expenditure estimates for capital projects amounted to K157, 112,189. Out of this amount, K102, 598,203 was released. Some of the notable capital project funding that was done included the rehabilitation of very important persons (VIP) lodges at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport by Cabinet Office, at K2 million, construction of the Maramba Cultural Village by the Ministry of Tourism and Arts, at K4 million, construction of the temporal dome by the Ministry of Tourism and Arts, at K10 million, construction of an ultra-modern market by the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, at K26.4 million, construction of the inter-city bus terminus by the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, at K19,260,000 and rehabilitation of roads and building infrastructure by the Livingstone City Council (LCC) and Ministry of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications, at K46,110,000. 

Mr Speaker, the capital project funds were released to various institutions such as the National Heritage Conservation Commission (NHCC), Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA), Immigration Department, Livingstone Museum, Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), Cabinet Office, National Arts Council, Department of Culture, Meteorology Department, LCC, Department of Tourism, Department of Human Resource Tourism, Zambia Tourism Board and the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC). The total released was K102, 598,283. The details of how much a particular institution got will be laid on the Table of this House for interested hon. Members to go through. A detailed budget for both operational funding and capital projects will be laid on the Table at the end of my statement.

Mr Speaker, at the end of the general assembly, there were infrastructure projects, such as the intercity bus terminus and the new city market, that were incomplete and at different stages of completion. These projects will continue using the funds already released. 

Mr Speaker, let me also bring to light two unique aspects of the UNWTO General Assembly that was part of the trilateral agreement between Zambia, Zimbabwe and the UNWTO Secretariat. Both Governments were to engage a Professional Conference Organiser (PCO). Zambia contracted a South Africa firm called the Conference Management Company.  I will lay on the Table, for reference, the contract between the Government of the Republic of Zambia and the Conference Management Company. 

The other contract that my ministry entered into, which was a requirement for both governments, was the erection of a temporary structure. As you may be aware, Zambia did not have a structure that could house that kind of a number of people who came for the general assembly. Therefore, we had to make do with a temporary dome. The same thing happened with the Zimbabwean Government, although it contracted a different South African Company. 

Mr Speaker, Zambia contracted a company under the Ministry of Tourism and Arts called Gear House of South Africa. Again, I will lay on the Table this document for reference. I hope that the Chairperson of African Parliamentarians Network against Corruption (APNAC) is listening, even though he is not in the House, so that we move away from rumours and deal with real issues. 

Mr Livune: Question!

Mrs Masebo: Mr Speaker, the dome was mounted according to international standards and was well-appreciated by the UNWTO delegates. 

Sir, as expected of events of such magnitude, a number of irregularities were observed. However, the ministry took appropriate action. The actions taken by my ministry in this regard included requesting the Auditor-General’s Office to audit our works mid-stream, as opposed to waiting till the end of the event.  We also called in the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to investigate any possible malpractices that could have caused any lapses in the procurement process. Administrative actions were taken against officers found wanting.  

Mr Speaker, probably, one of the issues that could have arisen was the dome. The cost of the dome was about K10 million, which is quite a lot of money. There were issues of electrifying it and equipping it with microphones, for instance, to make the conference a success. In the contract that we finally signed, we found that the money we were going to pay would be too huge. If we had hired the equipment, eventually it would have had to go back, but the money the company was asking for was too much.  

Sir, we, therefore, had to make some urgent decisions which could have been the reason some people cried foul. For instance, a decision was taken, under my leadership, that the lighting of the dome would not be done by the contractor because we found that just putting up lights, which were not even as nice as the ones here, would have cost us ZR1.3 million. At that stage, we made the decision to ask the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) to do the lighting for us. I am happy to report to you that ZESCO did all the electrical works in the dome and the bill came to only K300 million.

Sir, a decision was also taken to buy the audio and visual equipment for the dome. The cost of hiring the equipment, which we were initially supposed to use in the dome, came to about K10 million. At that stage, after consultation with our counterparts across the border, we discovered that our bills in most of the services to be provided were always much higher. Therefore, I, as the hon. Minister, contrary to the earlier agreements, made the decision to procure the visual and audio equipment which only came to half the amount we were quoted. This equipment is now ours. Again, I will lay this document on the Table. 

Mr Speaker, the 20th Session of the UNWTO General Assembly was officially opened on Sunday, 25th August, 2013, in Victoria Falls Town, Zimbabwe. His Excellency the President of Zimbabwe, Mr Robert Mugabe, hosted the Opening Ceremony at the Victoria Hotel. The President of the Republic of Zambia, His Excellency, Mr Chilufya Sata, attended the event as co-host. 

Mr Speaker, after the official opening, deliberations followed. I wish to report to the House some key policy issues that were deliberated on. Firstly, the observation was that the tourism policies in member states are not harmonised at global, regional and country levels. In this regard, it was proposed that member states must start working together to ensure that regional and national policies support the growth of the sector. 

Mr Speaker: Hon. Minister, if you could slow down a bit. Some people are missing your points. 

Mrs Masebo: Thank you for your guidance, Sir. 

Mr Speaker, it was proposed that member states should work together to ensure that regional and national policies support the growth of the tourism sector and make it user-friendly to all sections of our society, including the physically challenged. 

The second issue was air-connectivity. The general concern was that the sector was not doing very well, particularly in Africa, due to poor air connectivity. It was, therefore, suggested that member states, in their respective divisional groupings, must review pieces of legislation that can promote good airline connectivity. In the same vein, it was identified that the lack of good infrastructure such as roads and airports, including network connectivity, was a major challenge inhibiting the growth of the tourism sector.

Mr Speaker, the other issue was visa facilitation. The issue of visa facilitation was extensively debated and the concerns were that there has been a challenge in obtaining visas to move from one country to another. As a consequence, the growth of the tourism sector has been stifled. It was recommended that member-states should promote effective Visa facilitation in order to promote increased tourist arrivals. 

Mr Speaker, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Chairperson and Malawian President, Dr Joyce Banda, attended the Ministerial Round Table held on 25th October, 2013, in Victoria Falls Town. She described the co-hosting of the UNWTO General Assembly as a regional achievement. She further said that the hosting of the UNWTO General Assembly was of particular importance because the SADC Region had identified tourism as a pillar for economic development and empowerment of the communities. 

Mr Speaker, the launch of the 2013 World Bank Report on Tourism in Africa entitled “Harnessing Tourism for Growth and Improved Livelihood” was also tabled. The document has policy recommendations aimed at mainstreaming tourism in national development policies and strategies. It was recommended that African member-states of the assembly must launch the report at national level. I am pleased to announce that Zambia launched the report on 13th November, 2013. During the launch, a panel discussion was held on how best to move the tourism industry beyond the UNWTO General Assembly. 

Mr Speaker, still at the general assembly, the host of the next UNWTO General Assembly was also discussed. The elections were held in Livingstone and Colombia was elected to host the 21st Session of the UNWTO General Assembly in 2015. This was after Colombia beat Cambodia in the election, which was held on 28th August, 2013, at the Zambezi Sun. 

Mr Speaker, we had various side events, exhibitions and entertainment. I would like to highlight some notable ones. His Honour the Vice-President welcomed the sunset boat cruise for heads of delegations. We had the First Ladies Gala Dinner whose theme was “a healthy nation is a wealthy nation.” We also had a welcoming luncheon by the hon. Minister of Tourism and Arts for all the delegates. We had a Destination Zambia promotional luncheon organised by the Zambia Tourism Board. 

In addition, Sir, Zambia was host to other functions such as the Libyan Night, which was organised by the Libyan Government. We had the Colombia Night, which was orgnised by the Colombian Government and the Kavango-Zambezi Trans-frontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) Luncheon and boat cruise, which was organised by KAZA Secretariat. We also had the Lusaka Task Force Agreement Luncheon, which was organised by the Task Force Secretariat from Nairobi and the Ministry of Tourism and Arts. 

Further, Sir, delegates participated in organised, technical and social tours to the Victoria Falls World Heritage Site, Bridge and Livingstone National Museum. The delegates also embarked on a historical tour of the City of Livingstone, the KAZA Tour of Machenje Fishing Lodge in Kazungula and Mopani Community School. 

Mr Speaker, delegates were also provided with an opportunity to enjoy tourism activities in form of optional tours, such as elephant back riding, lion walks, white water rafting, game drives, helicopter flights for aerial viewing of the Victoria Falls and the Mosi-O-Tunya National Park, tour of the reptile farm, tour of the David Livingstone Island, swimming at the Devil’s Pool, ride and dinner on the royal train and tour of the Mukuni Village, just to mention a few major ones. 

Mr Speaker, the Secretary-General of the UNWTO was also accorded an opportunity to see and officially open Mwandi Cultural Village, a project jointly funded by the Government and the UNWTO Sustainable Tourism Eliminating Programme (STEP). Further, the First Lady officiated at the hand-over ceremony and launch of the STEP Foundation Thank you Small Libraries at Dambwa Basic School. 

Mr Speaker, regarding entertainment and exhibition, about 500 artists participated at the general assembly. The House will be glad to know that the artists were selected from across the country and all the provinces were represented. This was in an effort to showcase Zambia’s national cultural heritage. The artists were drawn from various types of arts which included traditional and contemporary music and dance, traditional cuisine, film and visual and literary arts. Various forms of entertainment were conducted during the general assembly around the City of Livingstone with the main entertainment venue being Maramba Cultural Village. There were also performers from Angola, Botswana and Zimbabwe. 

Different sporting activities were also lined up in an effort to include the general public’s participation in the event. Sir, this conference was different because communities were included in most of the activities. 

Mr Speaker, several exhibitions were set up at Maramba Cultural Village, Livingstone National Museum, Falls Park and Protea Hotel Car Park. This was in addition to the existing crafts markets at Mukuni Park, Mukuni Village and Victoria Falls Heritage Site. The exhibitions provided an opportunity for the arts and crafts exhibitors to showcase their products and the delegates to buy Zambian produced curios and arts. 

Mr Speaker, while the creative industry did a good job in mobilising themselves to sell arts and crafts, the sub-sector did not perform to expectations, as the many traders that flocked to Livingstone in the hope of selling their products were unable to sell all their stocks due, in part, to the fact that the general assembly structure of meetings and programme was tight, providing little chance for the delegates to find time to frequent the exhibitions outside the meetings. The ministry is cognisant of the fact that there have been complaints by some traders who did not obtain a good return on their investments. 

This, however, was as a result of circumstances beyond the organising committee’s control. To this effect, the Secretary-General of the UNWTO commented on this matter and promised to ensure that the programme took this into account by allocating free time to delegates to shop around in future. 

Mr Speaker, it was also noted that many curio makers and sellers will require some basic training in quality control, marketing and pricing in order for them to be able to effectively attract customers. I would like to use this opportunity to appeal to the other sectors of the Government, both private and public, who shall host such conferences, in future, to ensure that their programme takes into account time for people to view and buy some of our curios. 

Mr Speaker, the Closing Ceremony for the 20th Session was hosted by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Michael Chilufya Sata, at Royal Livingstone Hotel, in Livingstone. His Excellency the President of Republic of Zimbabwe, Mr Robert Mugabe, attended the ceremony, as co-host. The closing speech by His Excellency, Mr Michael Chilufya Sata, will be laid on the Table for reference. A number of key points on the sector came out of His Excellency’s speech. As hon. Minister of Tourism and Arts, I also issued a statement at the occasion, which I will lay on the Table for reference. 

Sir, although the hosting of the 20th session of the UNWTO General Assembly was a success, it was not without its challenges, some of which will need direct intervention for the Government to resolve before undertaking future events. One such challenge is the inadequate capacity of infrastructure required to host meetings of such magnitude in the country. As has been mentioned before in this august House, the current capacity for conference venues in Livingstone can only take up to 400 delegates, if held in one place. This poses a challenge in attracting the hosting of big events such as this one, hence, my ministry’s hiring of the temporary structure to use for the plenary sessions of the general assembly.  

To mitigate this inadequacy, my ministry is currently wooing investors, working in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, to put up convention centres in Livingstone and, indeed, other cities in the country. This will consolidate the status of Zambia as an ideal destination for holding international meetings and events.

I am happy, Mr Speaker, to report to you that we are working well with one of the financing wings of the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and are in agreement that we need to attract brand hotels to set up hotels in a number of areas of our country. That is progressing very well and we hope that, by early 2014, we shall see big brand names coming into the country,

Sir, the other challenge is the lack of a national airline. The direct flight by Kenyan Airways and South African Airways alleviated this challenge, but a lasting solution is to have a national flag carrier. I am happy to note that, next year, 2014, the Government will fly the national carrier.

My ministry’s ability to organise a global event cannot be taken lightly, especially when it came to negotiating for the supply of goods and services and monitoring and evaluation. In some cases, the Government had a raw deal due to lack of technical capacity and, sometimes, sheer incompetence and dishonesty by some of our own officials. 

Mr Speaker, I am pleased to inform this august House that, in many cases, various agencies of the Government were able to timely prevent losses on the part of the Government in the entire preparations of the UNWTO General Assembly. I must state that good lessons in this regard have been achieved and will be avoided in future events and appropriate administration action taken.

Mr Speaker, allow me also to highlight some benefits which accrued to Zambia from this important event. The House may wish to know that there were benefits accrued to the nation in the immediate, medium and long-term period through enhanced economic activities in the tourism sector and its contribution to the national gross domestic product (GDP).

Increased Visibility, Spotlight and Media Focus on Zambia

Mr Speaker, the conference brought several international and domestic media houses that covered the event. This means that there was increased visibility, spotlight and media focus on Zambia, thus, complementing the nation’s promotion-making effort. To this end, Zambia has succeeded in establishing herself on the world map as a tourist destination of choice. The general assembly gave an opportunity to Zambia to showcase the country’s tourism endowments to a worldwide audience, and particularly our tourism icon, the Victoria Falls, a world heritage site and one of the seven natural wonders of the world. {mospagebreak}

During the run up to the event, the Zambia Tourism Board managed to create significant exposure of our tourism products through the print and electronic media, both locally and internationally, on channels such as the Cable News Network (CNN), British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Supersport and social media. Collaboration with the airlines brought in tour operators and journalists from the tourism-generating countries on familiarisation tours, to visit the destination and write stories about their experiences. 

Increase in Tourist Arrivals in Livingstone and the Country at large

We also saw, Mr Speaker, an increase in tourist arrivals in Livingstone and the country at large. The general assembly brought in delegates from 147 countries to the Victoria Falls area and Zambia attracted a significant portion of this traffic to Livingstone. Some of the delegates engaged in pre and post tour packages which took them to other parts of the country’s tourist attractions. These delegates will now act as the ambassadors and advocates through word of mouth recommendations to their friends on the destination which is one of the most reliable selling tools and thereby attract repeat visitors. 

Income Generation

Mr Speaker, the co-hosting of the UNWTO General Assembly brought increased hotel revenue, arts and crafts sells and economic activity. The increased number of tourist arrivals during and after the UNWTO General Assembly boosted earnings for the tourism sector and will increase the tourism sector contribution to the GDP.

In addition, Sir, the successful co-hosting of the assembly created a platform for hosting other future major local and international events as well as expanding our meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions in both the regional and international markets. This will lead to an increase in receipts as well as benefits to local communities to get involved in satellite business activities like handcrafts, gemstone and agro-business to mention but a few.

(a)    Employment Creation

Mr Speaker, the assembly brought about employment creation. It gave an opportunity for temporal and permanent employment for the residents of Livingstone, including others who came to Livingstone from other towns. Existing jobs were supported especially in the hospitality sub-sector where extra staff was required. Jobs were also created through construction and upgrading of the various roads and buildings. Some of the infrastructure works have resulted in the creation of permanent jobs not only to the people of Livingstone but the country at large. 

For instance, the newly-constructed international airport and bus terminus will definitely be a prospective venue for display and purchase of indigenous Zambian art works to both local and international visitors in the interior and exterior premises. In addition other business will be established within the airport and bus terminus as a way of service provision to travelers.

(b)    Promotion of Human Resources, Skills Development, Community Outreach, Social and Health Activities.

Mr Speaker, the conference required the provision of high quality services which called for upscaled and improved service delivery through enhanced human resources and skills training and included people in the transport sector, that is the taxi drivers, the industry staff, small scale entrepreneurs and public officers, such as police and immigration. This was done through a tailor made short and purpose-oriented courses. 

There was need to create awareness to the communities in Livingstone on the co-hosting of the general assembly. The communities in Livingstone also benefited from activities such as health matters, social events. 

Mr Speaker, in particular, we were able to train 149 tour guides at LIBES under the hospices of the Livingstone Museum, National Heritage Conservation Commission, and Zambia Wildlife Authority. The trained tour guides were deployed to different institutions to provide tour guide services during the general assembly.

Mr Speaker, we also managed to train 236 council police and selected members of the community in community policing, neighborhood security and these were issued with certificates on completion of the training programme, including giving each one of them cell phones and bicycles for use in tourism policing.

We trained 250 protocol officers and ushers who were trained by Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the public, the private sector including churches. 110 women were also trained by Green Wood Food Solutions and Sylva Catering in preparation of various African Cuisine and entrepreneurship skills. 

Mr Speaker, we trained sixty participants from various Government institutions such as Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), Immigration Department, Zambia Police and National Heritage and National Airports Corporation in Basic Customer Care.

There were frontline government officers from government departments who were trained in basic skills in foreign languages namely French, Arabic, Chinese and Spanish. Twenty were trained in French, twenty in Arabic, twenty-six in Spanish and sign language respectively.

Taxi drivers also received training in United Nations official languages. 254 hospitality staff from hotels, lodges and guest houses accredited to accommodate the delegates and some community members were also trained by the Hotel and Tourism Training Institute (HTTI). 250 local taxi drivers were trained in customer care. 

Mr Speaker, we had Press Club evening shows in different locations of Livingstone in the various wards which were undertaken to disseminate information about the assembly by the local infrastructure Publicity Sub-Committee of the Information Committee.

Workshops were held for lodge owners, managers and other staff, respectively, for the purpose of harmonising the work culture to enhance efficiency in the institutions.

Mr Speaker, prior to the General Assembly, the community had a chance to undergo free cervical cancer screening at Dambwa Basic and St. Raphael schools using the Mobile Hospital which was championed by the First Lady. This programme attracted thousands of people who were attended to not just for cervical cancer screening but general medical screenings.

Mr Speaker, we held various art and culture festivals just as a trial basis and also just to keep the town live. We did that three times on 24th June, 10th August to 23rd  August, which was a countdown. We also had choral competition, youth talent show, fashion show, beauty pageants, performing arts and film festivals. We also had various sporting activities, about eleven although the list is long, including Karate, Golf, Mr Tourism, Livingstone Community Squash, Wheel chair, Basket ball, just to mention a few.

Building on the Success of the General Assembly

Mr Speaker, there is little doubt that Zambia is now better known as tourism destination and more especially as a mice destination. The Ministry of Tourism and Arts will ride on the success of co-hosting to target platforms that promote meetings and incentives with the view to attracting other conference organisers to bring large conferences to Zambia.

Mr Speaker, the ministry will also enhance its collaboration with airlines to encourage more services into Zambia. Let me, at this stage, appeal to the various sector ministries, both in the public and private sector, that are organising future events to collaborate with us to ensure that we use whatever function we have in the country to market the country and create employment and awareness among our people. 

Sir, the consistent messages about Zambia’s tourism attributes that have been used through various channels such as radio, television, print and billboard locally prior, during and after the UNWTO General Assembly, will continue to be used to promote domestic tourism.

Mr Speaker, the lessons of Livingstone and the hosting of the UNWTO General Assembly, beyond the tourism sector, witnessed unprecedented levels of collaborative efforts between various ministries and sectors, both private and public, which delivered achievements such as road rehabilitation, street lighting and water reticulation in good time. We also witnessed a level of mobilisation of stakeholders such as street vendors, cross-border traders and the general citizenry who took ownership and identified themselves fully with the programme to host the UNWTO General Assembly, and made sacrifices and contributions which are still reaping benefits to date.

Sir, let me use this moment to thank the churches in Livingstone, who were with us throughout, and made everything possible for us using God’s mercy.

In conclusion, Mr Speaker, …

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Masebo: … let me state that the country successfully co-hosted the 20th Session of the UNWTO General Assembly. It even brought to the fore the critical issues needed to be addressed to improve the performance of the sector on the national, regional and global markets. Notable among them were:

(a)    the need to harmonise the policies at every level;

(b)    harmonisation of visa facilitation;

(c)    improvement of air connectivity - which in our case means promotion of a national flag carrier;

(d)    infrastructure development;

(e)    improved marketing strategies; and

(f)    developed and diversified tourism products.

Mr Speaker, I wish to emphasise that the greatest lesson learnt from the co-hosting of the 20th Session of the UNWTO General Assembly is the simple fact that if we believe in ourselves, as a people and as a nation, and if we also choose to work in collaboration with one another, we can achieve any goal that we set out to achieve.

Mr Speaker, in building on this foundation, let us work together, as a nation, to mainstream tourism in national development. Key to this will be the establishment of cultural industries which will give a unique identity to Zambian tourism and make it competitive globally.

Sir, I would like to end by thanking His Excellency the President, Mr Michael Chilufya Sata, all Government departments, the private sector, the co-operating partners, the critics on the Watchdog and the people of Zambia, in particular Livingstone, for the unwavering support my ministry received. This support is what made the 20th Session of the UNWTO General Assembly the most successful one to be hosted since its inception, as stated by the Secretary-General himself.

Mr Speaker, in addition to the documents already laid on the Table, I wish to submit more documents and more sources of information for the hon. Members of this august House to acquaint themselves with the UNWTO General Assembly Programme Brochure and guest list because there were questions arising as to which chiefs were invited. We have a local list of those who were invited. Those who were invited by the Government were a few selected hon. Ministers and hon. Members of Parliament and all former Heads of States, all Opposition Leaders and all former First Ladies. With regards to the chiefs, out of the 288 Chiefs, a small number from each of the provinces was invited. Some of them came and some did not. Maybe, this can be attributed to ineffective dissemination of information. However, I also want to refer you to the websites which are www.mota.gov.zm or www.zambiatourism.com and www.unwto.org for more information on the general assembly.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Masebo: Mr Speaker, I will lay all the papers on the Table of the House so that …

Mr Speaker: They will be received by the Clerks-at-the-Table.

Mrs Masebo: Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mrs Masebo: Laid the papers on the Table

Hon. Member: Shimyeni microphone!

Mr Livune: Forty-five minutes, yaba!

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

Mr L. J. Ngoma (Sinda): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister has talked about her expectation that, come 2014, there will be a national airline which will go a long way in the improvement of tourism in Zambia. May I find out where she draws her confidence from. What is the guarantee that the envisaged national airline will not just be one of those failed promises by the PF Government?

Mrs Masebo: Mr Speaker, I draw my confidence from all the researches that have been carried out by various experts in the sector. They say where you have air connectivity problems, you will not have enough tourists. As you are aware, recently, the British Airways cut its route to Zambia, hence, there is an impact on the number of tourists coming from that country to our country.

Sir, as regards whether this Government assurance is just a promissory note, I do not even need to tell you. I am sure we are all in agreement, both on the right and on the left, that our President is a working one. That is why he earned the name, “Man of Action”.

Mr Livune: Question!

Mrs Masebo: You will also agree that it is unprecedented that, in two years, there are a number of projects that the PF has implemented.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Masebo: Despite its problems, the PF is focused when it comes to projects.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Masebo: I am very sure that, come 2014, there will be a national airline because we have a President who is a man of action.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sing’ombe (Dundumwezi): Mr Speaker, may I find out from the hon. Minister whether she supports the Ministry of Home Affairs shifting the regional immigration offices from Livingstone where tourism activities are happening to Choma where there is literally nothing.

Mrs Masebo: Mr Speaker, the movement of the provincial headquarters from the corner of the province to the middle of the province makes sense in that it will be cheaper for all the districts around to get to the provincial headquarters. So, from an administrative and cost element, it is not only good for Livingstone and Choma, but it is also good for all the other districts. However, 
Livingstone continues to be a provincial tourist capital. So, it means that the offices that are key for the promotion of tourism will be based in Livingstone while others will be based in Choma.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mwiimbu: (Monze Central): Mr Speaker, I have heard the hon. Minister of Tourism and Arts informing the nation that she is very happy that the street vendors in Livingstone co-oporated with her ministry and the Government in ensuring that Livingstone remained clean in order to attract tourists. I just want to find out from her, whether that good move that took place in Livingstone will be replicated in Lusaka, which has now become the dirtiest capital city south of the Equator. Is she also considering that?

Mrs Masebo: Mr Speaker, some questions! Would it not be good if all the towns in Zambia were as clean as Livingstone? That should not even be a question, but a wish. All of us must wish for a clean country because it is only a clean country that can bring about good health, attract business investments as well as promote tourism. Having said that, I want to add that even those street vendors in Livingstone realised that for as long as they remained in the streets, no tourist would want to walk the streets of Livingstone. As you heard me articulate the programme, we had a tour of Livingstone City. Can you imagine a situation where you want to take a tourist for a tour of the city and it is so dirty? So, maybe, to answer the hon. Member, my wish is to have a clean country and not just Lusaka, but the whole Zambia.

I thank you, Sir.

Prof. Lungwangwa (Nalikwanda): Mr Speaker, may I begin with a preamble. How I wish the hon. Minister had put on a musisi during the opening ceremony of the UNWTO General Assembly. She could have mesmerised the world. I wish that was done to differentiate Zambia from Zimbabwe.

Sir, tourism depends on three critical factors. These are the natural capital of the country, the culture of the country and the leadership. From the lessons learnt from the hosting of the UNWTO General Assembly, how does the hon. Minister hope to institutionalise the sustainability and advancement of our tourism sector in the country?

Mrs Masebo: Mr Speaker, if the hon. Minister had bought me the musisi, I would have worn it.

Mr Speaker: Which, hon. minister?

Mrs Masebo: Oh, the Member of Parliament for Nalikwanda, Hon. Prof. Lungwangwa, the former hon. Minister. I would like to encourage those who know how to make musisi to do more so that we can market them as a product. However, I want to take a leaf from one former Minister, Hon. Mutati, who was gracious enough to admit, on the radio that, as a country, we did well and managed to put Zambia on the world map through the UNWTO General Assembly. However, he hastened to say that, as a country, we needed to ride on that event. That is still a challenge and so my ministry’s target for 2014 is to ensure that it capitalises on having successfully hosted the conference. That does not just require the Ministry of Tourism and Arts. It requires …

Ms Imenda: On a point of order, Sir.

Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Ms Imenda: Mr Speaker, is the hon. Minister in order to say that Hon. Prof. Lungwangwa should have bought her a musisi and not mention that she bought the first musisi which she wore in the last Parliament from me.

Laughter

Mr Speaker: The hon. Member for Nalikwanda meant one for that particular occasion.

Hon. Minister, you may continue.

Mrs Masebo: Mr Speaker, thank you. I think the hon. Member is advertising so that other hon. Members can buy her musisi because she makes very nice ones. 

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Let us allow the hon. Minister to respond so that we make progress. There will be no more points of order.

Mrs Masebo: Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Dr Kalila (Lukulu East): Mr Speaker, the competitiveness of our tourism sector will, to a large extent, depend on tax incentives that we offer to our tour operators. Now, I would like the hon. Minister to confirm whether some of the tax incentives that were given, specifically Value Added Tax (VAT), are about to be brought back and whether that will not wipe out the gains made from the UNWTO General Assembly by making our tourism expensive.

Mrs Masebo: Mr Speaker, let me just conclude the answer to the question that was asked before the point of order was raised. I was saying that, as a ministry, we will need to work with other important sectors that actually feed into tourism. For example, we will need to work with the Ministry of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and mention, but a few, and also the Parliamentary Committees and all the hon. Members of Parliament, both on your right and left. Believe me, this is one sector that can create employment in Zambia. However, we need to work hard, be focused, committed, collaborate and reduce the politics of always opposing simply because it is coming from the left or right.

Sir, this is the only sector, especially for hon. Members of Parliament coming from the rural areas, where we can create employment. So, hon. Member for Nalikwanda, that is our focus for 2014, but we will need everybody to work with us to make this a reality.

Mr Speaker, coming to the question by Hon. Dr Kalila, I want to say that the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry still has incentives, not just for agriculture and mining, but also for the tourism sector. Remember that the tourism sector has been earmarked as one of the sectors for job creation. So, there are still some incentives under the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry. We had a special incentive under the Ministry of Tourism and Arts, which was specifically meant to support the co-hosting of the UNWTO General Assembly, and thanks to the Ministry of Finance, that incentive went a long way. However, let me say that these are issues that we need to collectively begin engaging the Ministry of Finance on so that, come 2015, we can look for better and more advanced incentives in the sector if it has to grow. So, for this coming year, let us work hard on policies. I am happy to tell you that we have made good progress on policies and some of the Bills that will be coming on the Floor of this House. We have worked very hard to ensure that, in 2014, the policy framework and structures of our ministry will start being in place. Bearing in mind that this is a new ministry that was recreated, we will have all the necessary staffing. By working together, we can engage the Ministry of Finance on time. We need to work the way other sectors, for example, the Farmers’ Union, work. It always negotiates with the Ministry of Finance on time. Unlike our colleagues in other sectors, we, in the tourism sector, come with problems when the deed has already been done. That way, it becomes difficult to deal with the situation. So, my way of looking at things is that, yes, we need a lot of support from the Government to enable this sector to grow. Issues of tax incentives and other things are needed. However, let us work towards those, especially the Parliamentary Committees, the ministry and other stakeholders, both public and private sector, to ensure that we engage the Ministry of Finance on time.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mutale (Kwacha): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out from the hon. Minister, whether the ministry is engaging the missions abroad in advertising Zambia as a tourism destination. I say so with the hope that the ministry could have a desk specifically for that purpose. How aggressive is the ministry in advertising Zambia?

Mrs Masebo: Mr Speaker, that issue of using the missions abroad as a vehicle for advertising Zambia as a tourism destination was adequately debated on the Floor of this House. I want to state that we have not done well, as a ministry, in that regard. However, in 2014, we will be working very closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure that we do better and effectively use our foreign missions as regards advertising the country’s tourism.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Hamusonde (Nangoma): Mr Speaker, how many permanent jobs were created as a result of hosting the UNWTO General Conference?

Mrs Masebo: Mr Speaker, I think I indicated that there were 2,000 jobs created, if I have not got the figure wrong. I said we had permanent, semi-permanent and casual jobs, but a lot of activities took place in Livingstone.

Thank you, Sir.

Mr Bwalya (Lupososhi): Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Minister for that detailed ministerial statement. APNAC is an advocate and proponent of transparency and accountability. However, the rumours that were attributed to the chairperson of APNAC were as a result of a failure to disseminate information or the lack of it. How many of the officers that were being investigated by the ACC have been cleared by the commission?

Mrs Masebo: Mr Speaker, let me start by stating that Zambia is the only country where criminals are exalted and good people are demonised.

Hon. Opposition Members: Sure?

Mrs Masebo: Yes, by the people here in Zambia. As regards the rumours that the hon. Members is talking about, there was so much rumour mongering that it is unbelievable to think that people in the country can begin to work against themselves to fail from day one of the conference.

Mr Speaker, let me also say this using the Floor of this House. If people were kind to their own country, they would be lifting me on their backs for having saved this country a lot of resources.

Interruptions

Mrs Masebo: Instead, they were trying to make me look like I am the one who is a criminal, just to make the conference fail. It is very sad and we must get away from that. 

Sir, talking about the Chairperson of APNAC or, indeed, any other organisation, I think people have the right to question and call for tribunals, but let us learn to get facts because we run a transparent and open Government. What I would like is for people to come to my office and ask for information or documentation on the things they have heard. There is nothing to hide and the documents are there. 

Hon. Members are still free, even tomorrow, to still come to my office. They should not allow themselves to be used by people who are, for instance, in the hunting industry that want them to turn round the decisions that the Government makes on banning of hunting.

Hon. PF Members: Bebe.

Mrs Masebo: If they allow this to happen, they will be killing the person that is actually protecting the country and its money. So, please, the door is still open for hon. Members. They can ask me any question even on the Floor of this House. I saved this Government money that would have been lost during the UNWTO General Conference. 

Mr Speaker, as I said in my statement, for some operators in the tourism sector, it is either they are not qualified technically and, therefore, they cannot negotiate, but for others, they are just incompetent and some are just thieves. 

Now the question is being asked; who has been prosecuted for corruption as regards the UNWTO General Conference? That is not my job. That is the work of the ACC. The ACC is investigating and that is under a different arm of the Government. We need to let the commission do its job. I did my part. When I could see that things were not right, I asked the auditors to come and check so that we did not wait until the end of the year when it was too late. 

Sir, we have a problem in this country and the fight against corruption cannot be won unless we forget which political party one belongs to and work together because we are confusing ourselves. Hon. Members in this House are not even talking about the people who are stealing. They talk about people who are not stealing and tarnish the names of innocent people. It is very sad.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Interruptions 

Mrs Mazoka (Pemba): Mr Speaker, of the money used to host the UNWTO General Conference, how much of it came from the co-operating partners and UNWTO itself?

Mrs Masebo: Mr Speaker, I can safely say that 99 per cent of the resources came from the Government of the Republic of Zambia. According to part of the conditions of the UNWTO General Assembly, we were also supposed to pay some of the staff in terms of accommodation for those delegates to come. 

Thank you, Sir.

Dr Musokotwane (Liuwa): Mr Speaker, Zambian tourism has not thrived very much because it is expensive. Even when you are in Livingstone, the hotels across the border are far cheaper than those on the Zambian side. Following this conference, can we not conclude that, in fact, the Government, on one hand, is trying to market tourism but, on the other hand, by imposing taxes such as the Value Added Tax (VAT) and enforcing the minimum wage, it is actually undoing the very thing that we want to promote?

Mrs Masebo: Mr Speaker, my answer would be yes and no. No, because I think the hon. Member of Parliament is supposed to advocate for equal pay for equal work. Therefore, he should not even talk about the minimum wage issue because in this industry there are people who work, and yet they get a slave’s wage. So setting a minimum wage would actually be the right way for us to go as politicians and people who have been elected to serve and protect the people. 

However, what this Government is doing in ensuring that the minimum wage does not destroy industries is to be sector specific. This means that those in the tourism industry should be able to negotiate according to the sector. Those in other sectors, for example, the farming community will also do their own negotiations. 

Sir, obviously, it is a worldwide-known fact that taxes reduce one’s profit. I, however, think it is also important for people to note that this is one sector where people will always tell us that they are not making money, especially those doing hunting. They will say that they are not making money but they will literaly even pay people to almost kill you to get what they want by continuing with their hunting. Therefore, you ask the question; why this big fight? 

Mr Speaker, it is was on the Floor of this House that I asked people why they were crying about the Board for the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) and not talking about the Zambia National Tourism Board (ZNTB), which I had equally delayed to appoint. It was because of vested interest. There is a lot of vested interest in this sector and I want hon. Members of Parliament to take keen interest in understanding this sector so that they can help their country to preserve wildlife and get money from it. 

Sir, this is a sector where people do not pay tax. If you go and check the records, you will see that most of the companies that are in the wildlife sector have been declaring zero profits. I told this House last time that I was shocked to find out that for a lion we are charging US$5,000 but the people in this sector are getting US$50,000 for the same lion.

Interruptions

Mrs Masebo: Somebody says that even US$100,000. So, we need to be very careful as Parliamentarians so as to ensure that we protect and defend our country and all the people in it, both the investors and local people. We need to balance the scale.

Thank you, Sir. 

Mr Mooya (Moomba): Mr Speaker, may I have a guarantee that the Legacy projects will be completed and will not be abandoned forever.

Mrs Masebo: Mr Speaker, I would advise the hon. Member not to use words like ‘guarantee’ because when we say guarantee, are we guaranteeing that there will be a national airline in 2014? There are many factors that come into play, but I want to say that these Legacy projects will, indeed, be finished because the money has been released. However, for some of the simple projects like toilets we did in preparation for the UNWTO conference, money was released in full but what happened? The workmanship was poor because it was beyond me.

 Nonetheless, the Government is sure and willing to complete these projects because we are walking the talk by releasing the resources but our relatives whom we have engaged to do these jobs might just disappoint us.

Sir, it is not easy. Remember that even if this is a PF Government, it is a Zambian Government. It does not matter whether you are on the left or the right side of the House because, at the end of the day, the people working in these ministries and in the private sector are your and my brothers. They come from your and my home. It is our culture, as Zambians, to want to steal and abuse office. So, those who try to fight the scourge become the bad ones and the thieves become the good ones.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Masebo: Sir, people can even get fired because of somebody lying that somebody has stolen. Remember that even our systems, be it the Zambia Police Force, the ACC or the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) are made up of people who come from our homes. Sometimes, those things do not even work. So, we need to work together in the fight against corruption. That is the only way we are going to end it. When there is an issue of corruption on the right or on the left, do not politicise it. Let us come together and say that Hon. Mwiimbu has stolen. Can we make sure that, together, we prosecute him.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Speaker: The last question from the hon. Member for Luena.

Mr Mwale: Well done, Masebo! 

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mr Mwale: Show us the thieves, Masebo.

Mr Speaker: Let us make progress.

Ms Imenda (Luena): Mr Speaker, there was a question earlier on advertising our tourism through our missions abroad. I would like to go further to ask about advertising on channels like Aljazeera and the BBC. Have we made any efforts towards that?

Mr Speaker: Let us have a crisp response from the hon. Minister.

Laughter

Mr Musukwa: Ali pa Floor Silvia.

Mr Mutale: Mwachimutendeka fye.

Mrs Masebo: Mr Speaker, I do not know whether the hon. Member has not seen the advertisements on the CNN. It was one of the best advertisements Zambia has ever produced. I will give the hon. Member a video so that She can show it in the Bulozi land.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Musukwa: Eboma!
_________

QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

NALIONWA HIGH SCHOOL

216. Mr Miyutu (Kalabo Central) asked the Minister of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education:

(a)    whether the Government had any plans to construct additional classrooms, teachers’ houses and a science laboratory at Nalionwa High School in Kalabo Central Parliamentary Constituency; and 

(b)    what measures the Government had taken to improve the teaching of science subjects at the school.

The Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education (Mr Mabumba): Mr Speaker, I wish to inform the House that we have schools such as Nalionwa, which were established in 2000, without adequate school infrastructure befitting secondary school level. Of course, the Government has plans to upgrade these secondary schools by putting up the entire necessary infrastructure in a phased approach.

 Sir, like we have said on the Floor of this House, in 2014, using community mode, the Government intends to upgrade some basic schools into day secondary schools. Consequent to that direction, the hon. Member for Kalabo Central can take advantage of this upgrading programme to lobby for the inclusion of Nalionwa High School.

Mr Speaker, the Government has taken measures to improve the teaching of science at Nalionwa High School by procuring relevant teaching and learning materials. The school has just recently been given a mobile laboratory. In addition, the school has four qualified science teachers. Further to that, we have one science teacher who is on a fast track training programme with the University of Zambia (UNZA).

I thank you, Sir.
    
Mr Miyutu: Mr Speaker, I feel that the question has not been answered because this is a high school that does not need upgrading. The question was when the Government would build classrooms and staff houses for the teachers. So, there is no need for upgrading because what we know is that it is a high school, but it does not have relevant structures.  It does not need to be put …

Mr Speaker: You have made your point.

Mr Miyutu: … or included on the programme of upgrading. 

Mr Mabumba: Mr Speaker, I want to repeat what I said for my hon. Colleague to get me correctly. I said that these were schools which were upgraded. In fact, this school shares facilities with a primary school, which was a consequence of upgrading to a secondary school. 

Sir, what we are saying, as a Government, is that we have plans to put up additional infrastructure at this school. What I meant by upgrading, if the hon. Member did not get me clearly, is that we have this investment opportunity which is coming in 2014 and he can take advantage by lobbying the Provincial Education Officer (PEO) and the District Education Board Secretary (DEBS). In essence, if Kalabo is going to have, for example, one school slot, that money can be taken to Nalionwa High school to cater for additional infrastructure like teachers’ houses. That is what I meant. There is money that has been provided in the Budget and it is up to you to lobby so that your request is included.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Mutelo (Lukulu West): Now that he has lobbied to the hon. Minister …    

Mr Belemu laughed.

Mr Mutelo: … will the hon. Minister not just direct the PEO so that this school, which is well known to the hon. Minister, is upgraded?

Mr Mabumba: Mr Speaker, I do not think that it would be fair to the people of Kalabo and the entire Western Province for the ministry to give such directive. We have said that this upgrading programme should go through some consultative process. This is why we are requesting the hon. Members of Parliament to engage their PEOs as well as DEBS so that they can consult and, at the end of the day, come up with one agreed approach in terms of which school. So, hon. Member, you are at liberty to consult the PEO and the DEBS and once the consensus is reached, and the list comes, we will not change it as a ministry.

Mr Ndalamei (Sikongo): Mr Speaker, this answer has become an anthem whenever someone asks about a school. Hon. Minister, is the money in the Budget enough to build even three schools in each district?

Mr Mabumba: Mr Speaker, the money may not be enough, but what we have said is that 220 basic schools will be upgraded. For me, that is a significant number. If you can upgrade 220 schools in one year, it is quite significant. We have said that this is going to be done in a phased approach. I am sure that as we go on, as many basic schools as possible will be upgraded.

I thank you, Sir.
    
Mr Mufalali (Senanga): Mr Speaker, may I find out from the hon. Minister whether the ministry has a deliberate policy to ensure that each school that is called a high school has a science laboratory.

Mr Mabumba: Mr Speaker, the Government has a deliberate policy. In fact, it is a pre-requisite by the Examinations Council of Zambia (ECZ) that each school has a laboratory before it can be given an Examination Centre Number. However, as hon. Members of Parliament are aware, of course, not all the schools that we are calling secondary schools have laboratories and this is why around June and July, the hon. Minister, Dr John Phiri, launched the distribution of mobile laboratories to all the ten provinces of this country. We are of the view that instead of waiting for the ministry to build permanent laboratory structures, we can have a short-term measure which can help our pupils, hence the mobile laboratories whose distribution has, so far, been launched. Some of these laboratories are already in the provinces. 

I thank you, Sir.{mospagebreak}

MODERN BUS STATION IN KATETE DISTRICT

217. Mr Phiri (Mkaika) asked the Minister of Local Government and Housing:

(a)    whether the Government had any plans to construct a modern bus station in Katete District, and if so, when the project would commence; and 

(b)    what the estimated cost of the project was.

The Deputy Minister of Local Government and Housing (Mr Kufuna): Mr Speaker, the Government, through the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, has plans to construct a modern bus station in Katete District. However, it should be noted that this is a high capital project and, at the moment, funds are not readily available. The Katete District Council is expected to design and prepare priced Bill of Quantities (BoQ) of the proposed modern bus station which will, then, be forwarded to the ministry for funding.

Mr Speaker, upon completion of the above task, the estimated cost of the project will then be known.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Speaker: Order!

The Clerk will now read the order of the day. Oh sorry, hon. Member for Mkaika may ask a follow up question. There is an elephant tusk here.

Laughter

Mr Phiri: Mr Speaker, I would like to find out what has changed about the programme to build this modern bus station because during the campaigns, the people of Mkaika were promised that the monies were available for the construction of the bus station.

Hon. Government Members: Kaili twali lusa.

Mr Speaker: Order!

Mr Kufuna: Mr Speaker, we were not campaigning. What I am saying is that if there is a need for a bus station, the council can do a BoQ, then later, it can forward it to the ministry for funding.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mbewe (Chadiza): Mr Speaker, the people of Katete, Chadiza and Mpika, and I emphasise Mpika, because there is nobody to talk for them, … 

Laughter

Mr Mbewe: Mr Speaker, has the Government got any deliberate policy to build modern bus stations in all the districts in Zambia?

Mr Kufuna: Mr Speaker, the Government has a policy to build bus stations throughout the country.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr L. J. Ngoma (Sinda): Mr Speaker, I was in Katete when the hon. Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Local Government and Housing was live on Mphangwe Radio telling the people of Katete that money had been secured and released for the construction of a modern bus station. Why did he see it fit to mislead the people of Katete because he is now talking about a BoQ and other things? Why did he have to do such a thing?

Mr Kufuna: Mr Speaker, I think the hon. Member did not hear me properly.

Hon. Opposition Member: Aah!

Mr Kufuna: What I said when I was in Katete was that the Government had released money for the construction of a market, and we had released K1 billion, which is now K1 million.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Hamusonde (Nangoma): Mr Speaker, may I find out from the hon. Minister why the Ministry of Local Government and Housing allows call boys to control the bus stations?

Mr Kufuna: Mr Speaker, we have not allowed call boys to control the bus stations. The ones who will be controlling bus stations will be bus stations boards.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

__________

BILLS

SECOND READING

THE PROPERTY TRANSFER TAX (Amendment) BILL, 2013

The Minister of Finance (Mr Chikwanda): Mr Speaker, I beg to move that the Bill be now read a second time.

Mr Speaker, the Bill before this House is principally seeking to increase the Property Transfer Tax from 5 per cent to 10 per cent. This revision is aimed at increasing the share of revenue collected from property transfer tax in order to finance many national development programmes. This tax hike is able to provide an important sustainable source of revenue, particularly given the economic development that the country is undergoing.

Mr Speaker, the Bill is also intended to exempt the Millennium Challenge Account Zambia from paying property transfer tax.

Mr Speaker, earlier this year, this House passed the Millennium Challenge Compact Act No. 6 of 2013. This Act provides for the exemption of the Millennium Challenge Account Zambia from paying transfer tax. The amendments being proposed are straightforward and I recommend the Bill to the House.

Mr Speaker, I beg to move.

Mr Mbulakulima (Chembe): Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to debate the Property Transfer Tax (Amendment) Bill.

Mr Speaker, let me begin by stating that the Property Transfer Tax (Amendment) Bill was referred to the Committee on Economic Affairs, Energy and Labour for detailed consideration. The Bill seeks to amend the Property Transfer Tax Act Cap. 340 of the Laws of Zambia so as to raise the rate from 5 to 10 per cent and to add the Millennium Challenge Account Zambia to the list of organisations that are exempted from paying property transfer tax.

Mr Speaker, to make the Property Transfer Tax Act consistent with the Millennium Challenge Compact Account No. 6 of 2013, your Committee fully supports this part of the Bill.

Mr Chairperson, property is defined in the Principlal Act, as amended in 2012, as any land in the Republic of Zambia, any share issued by a company incorporated in the Republic or a mining right. The rate of the transfer of mining rights is already at 10 per cent. Therefore, it does not form part of my debate. Shares of a company listed on the Lusaka Stock Exchange (LUSE) are exempted from property transfer tax. Therefore, this change will only apply to shares of companies that are not listed. My debate will, therefore, be on property, as it relates to land.

Mr Speaker, the raising of the rate of property transfer tax is meant to raise additional revenue for the 2014 Budget. According to the Budget Speech, the estimated amount to be raised is K100 million. Your Committee, while appreciating the need to raise enough revenue for various development projects, is of the opinion that the 100 per cent increment is too steep. This is not to mention the high frequency of changes. The last adjustment from 3 to 5 per cent was in 2010, though it was effected in 2011.

Sir, there are also a number of possible effects of this increment. Firstly, the price of land properties is likely to go up. This means that the burden will …

Interruptions 

Mr Speaker: Order on the right!

Mr Mbulakulima: … be passed on to the ordinary Zambians and the effect on the sellers will be insignificant. Secondly, the property market in Zambia is not yet developed. However, it is showing signs of developing at a fairly good rate. Therefore, what are needed are policy measures that will accelerate and consolidate the development taking place. Thirdly, Zambia has to compete for the same investors for large-scale projects, including housing. The increase is likely to discourage investment as investors still have to pay their Corporate Taxes at the end of the day. If investors are not encouraged, how does the Government intend to deal with the 1,500,000 housing units deficit that the nation faces today?

Sir, for purposes of give and take, your Committee urges the hon. Minister of Finance to reduce the proposed increment to 7.5 per cent.

Mr Speaker, the House may wish to know that even this would be high when compared with those existing in the region.

Sir, the argument that other countries have Capital Gains Tax in addition to Property Transfer Tax, therefore, their combined effect is more than the 10 per cent, is weak. We need to treat the absence of Capital Gain Tax as our competitive edge over other countries.

Mr Speaker, there were some very progressive suggestions that were posited by stakeholders aimed at minimising the impact of increases of the rate of Property Transfer Tax. One such proposal is to introduce a two-tier system in which properties can be differentiated either as commercial, residential or by location, that is whether located within or outside the municipality. Different rates would then apply accordingly.

Mr Speaker, the other proposal is to introduce a graduated system. This can either be incremental, that is, the rate increases as the value of property goes up or decreasing in which the rate reduces as the rate of property decreases.

Sir, the Government will have to carry out studies on which system can best work in Zambia. Your Committee recognises the limitations of the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) in terms of capacity to effectively implement such systems. The Government should, as the studies on which system should be adopted are being carried out, also work out plans of enhancing the capacity of the ZRA.

Mr Speaker, subject to the above, your Committee recommends that the House passes the Property Transfer Tax (Amendment) Bill.

Sir, let me end my debate on the issue of protracted land property transactions. There are many Zambians whose land transactions will not be completed when the increment comes into effect. Some delays will be caused by factors beyond the control of buyers and sellers. Such factors include delays in approving survey diagrams and processing of titles at the Ministry of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection.

Mr Speaker, although on paper, Property Transfer Tax is supposed to be borne by sellers, the hardworking buyers will be ultimately made to shoulder the burden. Here, we are talking about public service workers that may have bought properties from companies that offer credit schemes.

Your Committee, therefore, urges the Ministry of Finance to take into account the impact of the proposal on such people.

Mr Speaker, I wish to thank you and the Clerk for the guidance and administrative support rendered to your Committee. I further wish to thank all witnesses that submitted on the Bill.

Lastly, I thank members of the Committee for their commitment to duty.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Chikwanda: Mr Speaker, I wish to thank the Committee on Economic Affairs, Energy and Labour, and hon. Members for supporting the Bill.

Sir, I also wish to take note of the observations made by the Committee as well as issues raised by hon. Members of Parliament. I will take this opportunity to respond to some of them. 

Mr Speaker, property under the Property Transfer Tax Act is not confined to houses and land. Under this Act, property also includes any share issued by a company incorporated in Zambia. As for buildings and mining rights, it is imperative that the proposed amendments are appreciated in this context.

Sir, I have taken note of the proposal by your Committee to introduce a tier system in order to differentiate between high and low value properties. 

Mr Speaker, since the Property Transfer Tax is chargeable on the value of the property transferred, the tax has an in-built progressivity mechanism such that lower value properties attract less amounts in tax while properties with higher value attract higher amounts in tax. This is, in a way, comparable to the two-tier system which the Committee has recommended.

Sir, concern was also raised that the proposed Property Transfer Tax rate is relatively higher compared to Property Transfer Tax rates charged in the region. It should be noted that in addition to charging tax on the transfer of property, other countries also charge Capital Gains Tax. Therefore, Property Transfer Tax comparisons within the region may be skewed when all factors are not taken into account.

Mr Speaker, regarding the concerns expressed with regard to property transactions, I would like to clarify that there are provisions under the Act to deal with issues of reasonable delay in the taxation of property relating to transfers.

Sir, there is nothing draconian about this Bill and I, therefore, recommend it to the House.

Mr Speaker, I beg to move.

Question put and agreed to and the Bill read a second time.

Committed to a committee of the whole House.

Committee on Thursday, 12th December, 2013.

THE VALUE ADDED TAX (Amendment) BILL, 2013

Mr Chikwanda: Mr Speaker, I beg to move that the Bill be now read a second time.

Sir, the Bill before this House is seeking to revise the definition of commercial building in order to clarify that only property used for aboard purposes will qualify for exemption from Value Added Tax (VAT) at the point of sale.

Mr Speaker, the Bill also seeks to empower the Commissioner-General to provide a charge on land until taxes are paid. These amendments are all meant to up-scale enforcement tools so as to increase revenue generated from VAT.

Mr Speaker, the Bill further provides for the recovery of taxes owed in tax types before a value-added tax (VAT) fund can be paid to a taxpayer who is eligible for a refund. The Bill also seeks to amend the Value-added Tax (VAT) Act to provide for the payment of an assessed tax within the period of review. This Bill is straight forward and I recommend it to the House.

Mr Speaker, I beg to move.

Mr Hamududu (Bwengwa): Mr Speaker, your Committee had the privilege of reviewing the Value-Added Tax Amendment Bill No. 10 of 2013 and invited stakeholders who raised concerns. Allow me to highlight two main concerns. 

Sir, firstly, your Committee notes that Clause 56 seeks to amend the Act by introducing a new section 24(a) so as to empower the Commissioner-General to place a caveat on land for the purposes of security in the recovery of taxes. Your Committee is of the view that the amendment, in its current, form gives the impression that the Commissioner-General can curtail the operations of a business whose tax may be due. While it is a growing concern, this will not be in line with the general principles of taxation which require that tools used in trading should not be curtailed in the process of collecting tax revenue. 

Mr Speaker, in light of this, your Committee recommends that this provision be clearly couched so as to allay such fears. Secondly, one of the witnesses that appeared before your Committee was concerned that the Government had issued Statutory Instrument (SI) No. 97 that affected VAT on tourism. Your Committee notes that there is a lot of misunderstanding surrounding the SI 97 and its VAT implications. It, therefore, urges the Government to clarify the implications of this SI and sensitise the stakeholders on the same beyond 1st January, 2014.

Sir, we are aware that tourism is one of the key sectors identified in the diversification process. In this regard, the Government should provide deliberate measures targeted at growing this sector. 

I wish to conclude by thanking you and the witnesses that appeared before your Committee for the invaluable input and, indeed, the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly for the secretarial services.

I thank you, Sir. 

Mr Chikwanda: Mr Speaker, I wish to thank the Committee on Estimates and hon. Members for supporting the Bill. I also wish to take note of the observations made by the Committee as well as issues that have been raised by hon. Members of Parliament. May I take this opportunity to respond to just a few of them.

Sir, given the unique scenic beauty, the vibrant cultural heritage of our country is endowed with and the unprecedented investments in infrastructure development, I wish to allay fears that the VAT measure we have proposed will make Zambia an uncompetitive tourism destination. 

Mr Speaker, our stance on VAT is to expand the revenue base so that we entrench equity in the taxation of the supply of all goods and services to enhance resource mobilisation. The proposal to empower the Commissioner General to issue a notice to place a caveat on land for purposes of security or VAT is not new. These powers conferred on the Commissioner General already exist under the Income Tax Act, in addition to other enforcement tools, to ensure the payment of taxes depending on circumstances prevailing. Therefore, the concerns that this amendment has the potential to curtail the business operations must be viewed in the proper context. 

Sir, I beg to move. 

Business was suspended from 1615 hours until 1630 hours. 

[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]

Question put and agreed to and the Bill read a second time.

Committed to the Committee of the whole House.

Committee on Thursday, 12th December, 2013.

THE CUSTOMS AND EXCISE (AMENDMENT) BILL

Mr Chikwanda: Mr Speaker, I beg to move that the Bill be now read a second time.

Mr Speaker, the Bill before this House is seeking to revise the rates of customs and excise duty payable on certain products and to harmonise and simplify customs procedures in order to align them with the accepted international standards. 

Sir, in line with the Government’s policy objective of consolidating broad-based growth, the Bill before this House is seeking to increase excise duty on airtime to 15 per cent from 10 per cent, remove customs duty on crude oil, replace ad-valorem excise duty rates on specified petroleum products with specific excise duty rates and revise customs and export duty rates payable on selected mineral products with specific excise duty rates and revise customs and excise duty rates payable on selected mineral products.

Mr Speaker, the Bill is straightforward and I recommend it to the House.

Sir, I beg to move.

Mr Hamududu: Mr Speaker, your Committee had a privilege of reviewing the Customs and Excise (Amendment) Bill, N.A.B. No. 11 of 2013 and invited stakeholders who raised respective concerns. Allow me, therefore, to highlight some of the areas of concern. 

Sir, the main concern raised is that Clause 15 that seeks to amend the eighth schedule of the Act so as to increase excise duty on airtime from 10 per cent to 50 per cent and was not received well. Your Committee is of the view that this provision will increase the cost of communication, especially by the poor people. In view of the foregoing, your Committee strongly urges the Government to withdraw the proposed amendment.

Mr Speaker, the second concern is that the Government intends to increase excise duty on clear beer from 40 per cent to 60 per cent. Although this will apply to both imported and locally produced beer, the price of imported beer is generally lower. This means that the provision to increase excise duty on clear beer will negatively affect the local beer industry more. In the light of this, your Committee recommends that the Government works out practical measures to reduce the cost of doing business in our country so that the Zambian products are priced competitively in the region.

Sir, I wish to conclude by thanking all the witnesses who appeared before your Committee for their valuable input and wish to thank you for affording your Committee an opportunity to consider the Bill. Lastly, but not the least, allow me to thank the Office of the Clerk of National Assembly and her staff for the services rendered during the deliberations of your Committee.

I thank you, Sir. 

Mr Chikwanda: Mr Speaker, I wish to thank the Committee on Estimates and hon. Members for supporting the Bill. All the observations that have been made in good faith are taken into account. May I take this opportunity to respond to some of them. 

Mr Speaker, I have followed, with earnest attention, and duly noted the legitimate concerns raised by your Committee, particularly, regarding the proposal to increase excise duty on airtime to 15 per cent from 10 per cent. There is no doubt that telecommunications, through mobile phones, has become a growing means of doing business and a necessity in our daily lives. We are faced with intractable challenges to garner sufficient resources to move our development agenda forward. In the face of declining donor assistance, Zambia’s development prospects and sustainability can only rely on internal dynamics and excise duty on airtime is an effective means of mobilising domestic resources to finance many developmental programmes for the benefit of all of us in the country. 

Sir, given the narrow fiscal space the Treasury has to contend with coupled with the ever increasing developmental demands, we are constrained to give any concessions on this matter in 2014. However, as we work together to consolidate our efforts to generate more resources in the medium term, we shall be amenable to reviewing the measure. 

Sir, regarding the removal of customs duty on crude oil, it should be noted that fuel prices in Zambia have not been very stable due to, among other reasons, the exchange rate and the volatility of the fuel prices on the international market. The removal of customs duty on crude oil is, therefore, in pursuance of Government’s decision to keep the price of fuel at a reasonable level and cushion against the effects of the removal of subsidies on fuel. This measure is augmented by a proposal to introduce specific exercise duty rates on petrol, diesel and other petroleum gases.

Mr Speaker, I have also taken note of the concerns raised by your Committee and the stakeholders regarding the measure that will return excise duty on clear beer from the suspended rate of 40 per cent to the substantive rate of 60 per cent. The PF Government remains committed to enhancing a conducive investment environment in which all business thrives. It is for this reason that we continue to offer fiscal incentives to eligible investments in priority sectors in multi-facility economic zones (MFEZ), industrial parks and rural areas. We are, therefore, taken aback to hear of threats to cut production and halt planned new investments by one of the companies in the beer sub-sector on account of the measure to revise the excise duty rate on clear beer. This measure is not intended to cause any harm to the clear beer sub-sector, but part of the measures to streamline all tax incentives.

Sir, I wish to mention that coming up with tax measures for 2014, the Government had to cautiously balance the imperative to enhance tax relief and the dictates of the national developmental needs. In this regard, all the revenue measures are well intended to raise enough resources domestically in order to finance our stock of development programmes. It is a very delicate operation.

Sir, the amendment being proposed is reasonable and intended to enhance our domestic revenue and I, therefore, have no hesitation in recommending it to the House.

Mr Speaker, I beg to move.

Question put and agreed to and the Bill read a second time. 

Committed to a Committee of the whole House.

Committee on Thursday, 12th December, 2013.

THE ZAMBIA DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (Amendment) BILL, 2013

Mr Chikwanda: Mr Speaker, I beg to move that the Bill be now read a second time. 

Mr Speaker, the Bill before this House is principally seeking to:

(a)    restrict tax incentives to eligible investors whose business premises will be located in an MFEZ, industrial park or in the rural area; and

(b)    obligate an investor who has failed to meet their employment obligation to pay the taxes for goods where incentives were accessed or accrued. 
Mr Speaker, the location of investors who are accessing incentives in an MFEZ, industrial park or rural area will enhance enforcement audits, particularly with regard to ensuring that investors meet their pledges and adhere to the stipulated investment guidelines. The measure is further intended to enhance targeting of granting of tax incentives to eligible investors. The proposed amendments also aim to ensure that there are claw-back provisions where an investor violates the provisions under which incentives were granted. 

Sir, the amendments before this House are proposed in line with the Government’s objective to rationalise tax incentives and to support the development of MFEZs, industrial parks and the rural areas.

Mr Speaker, this Bill is straightforward and I, therefore, have no hesitation in recommending it to the House. 

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mbulakulima: Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to debate the Bill that is before the House, the Zambia Development Agency (Amendment) Bill.

Sir, your Committee on Economic Affairs, Energy and Labour was tasked by this august House to scrutinise the Bill in detail. Your Committee carried out the task with the assistance of a number of stakeholders that submitted on the Bill.

Mr Speaker, there are two principal reasons that have been advanced to justify the introduction of the Bill. The first is to streamline the granting of tax incentives to investors who, in the process, are anticipated to simplify the administration of the incentives. The second is to place an obligation on an investor who fails to fulfill investment pledges such as employment creation and training and to pay the taxes that were initially waived.

Mr Speaker, let me briefly comment on each of the two reasons. Streamlining of the process of granting tax incentives is expected, among others, to produce the following outcomes:

(a)    the administration of tax incentives will be simplified and will, therefore, be less costly. This will entail freeing up resources and applying them on other developmental needs; and 

(b)    MFEZs and industrial parks are likely to become more attractive to investors since tax incentives will be available. This will also encourage the establishment of more economic zones and industrial parks, particularly by the private sector. 

However, Sir, there is also a downside. The proposed legislation is discriminatory and is likely to promote uneven development. Under the current regime, as long as an investor pledges to invest US$5,000, that investor is eligible for tax incentives regardless of the location of the business. 

Mr Speaker, under the proposed regime, tax incentives will only apply in relation to a priority sector or product, in an MFEZ or industrial park, and a rural enterprise. Although, rural enterprise may provide some comfort to hon. Members as the majority of our constituencies are located in rural areas, this has further complications. One key element in the definition of a rural area, where these rural enterprises are located, is that such an area should not be a municipality. This raises questions on how to attract investments in most provincial capitals and upcoming towns such as Mazabuka, Kapiri Mposhi, Milenge and others.

Sir, your Committee was informed that in our model of MFEZs and industrial parks, products manufactured in these areas are allowed on the local market. The proposed legislation is highly likely to distort market conditions as it will promote unfair trading competition. For example, there would be one market for a product which is produced by two companies, one located in an economic zone or industrial park and enjoying tax incentives and the other located outside an economic zone or industrial park and, therefore, not enjoying tax incentives.

Mr Speaker, your Committee is of the strong view that the unintended consequences are too significant. The hon. Minister of Finance is strongly urged to retain the current tax incentives regime as it is more inclusive and can cause fewer distortions.

Sir, the introduction of measures that will make investors that fail to fulfill investment pledges pay accrued taxes is welcome. The Committee is in support of this particular amendment. However, we would like to advise as follows: firstly, the monitoring and evaluation function at the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) should be strengthened. This provision can effectively be enforced with strong monitoring and evaluation capabilities. Secondly, decisions will have to be made in certain instances whether to reinstate tax incentives to companies that may initially have failed to fulfill investment pledges. In order to guard against favouritism and corrupt practices, your Committee urges the hon. Minister to ensure that such decisions are subjected to the scrutiny of an inter-ministerial body that should comprise, among others, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC).

Mr Speaker, subject to the above, your Committee urges this august House to pass the Bill.

Sir, on behalf of the Committee, I wish to thank you and the Clerk of the National Assembly for the guidance and administrative support rendered. I further thank all stakeholders that submitted on the Bill.

I thank you, Sir.

Dr Kaingu (Mwandi): Mr Speaker, as I support the increments on our taxes, as the hon. Member of Parliament for Mwandi, I am worried about the micro-economic factors of our economy. The hon. Minister has not explained to us why, all of a sudden, we have this generic increment on taxes. Even though your Committee has recommended to him to make adjustments, he seems to be rigid. I am wondering why we have these Committees because their role seems not be noticed of by the hon. Minister. 

Mr Speaker, the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) Government was mindful about the increments on taxes. Yes, there was appetite for us to increase the taxes, but we were mindful that if we did, Zambia would be a very expensive country to live in. However, despite giving the hon. Minister the threshold of borrowing up to K35 billion, he still has the appetite to consume from the ordinary people.

Sir, I would like the hon. Minister to explain to us whether the economy is still growing at 7 per cent and what has happened to micro-economic factors which were the drivers of our economy. 

Mr Speaker, those are the issues that I wanted to talk about.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Chikwanda: Mr Speaker, again, it is my duty to thank the Committee on Economic Affairs, Energy and Labour and, indeed, the hon. Members for the support of the Bill. Their views are noted and will always be taken into account as we go further.

Mr Speaker, the purpose of the tax incentives is to relieve investors of set-up costs, direct investment towards high growth sectors and redistribute positive spillover effects by targeting certain areas of investment, individual buildings and selected premises through the declaration of areas and buildings such as MFEZs or industrial parks, as provided for under the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) Act.

The MFEZ and Industrial Parks Scheme were initiated as part of our country’s industrialisation strategy. In order to achieve the intended goal of this policy, there is a need for the fiscal regime to be strategically designed to promote MFEZs and industrial parks. 

Sir, the need to bridge the rural-urban divide is a theme that has been embraced by previous governments. The lack of infrastructure and poor communication systems have always been seen as the major barriers to this objective. However, with the acceleration of the road development projects and the various milestones that have been achieved in terms of telecommunications and rural electrification, it is this Government’s desire to enhance existing mechanisms for incentives in far-flung areas which are rich in natural endowments, and yet lag behind in infrastructure development, hence the bias to grant tax incentives to rural business enterprises. 

Sir, I have taken note of the concerns about the proposed amendments affecting those who already made investments on the basis of the current tax incentives structure. However, I wish to clarify and assure this House that the changes proposed will not affect any existing credible investment already enjoying incentives. The measures are applicable to new investments that have not yet accessed the tax incentives that are being withdrawn. Therefore, the apprehension over the distortions that may be caused in the economy due to the granting of the incentives to specified areas should not arise. 

Mr Speaker, in the spirit of the country’s ambitious development agenda, there is a need, now more than ever, to protect our tax base from abuse by unscrupulous investors, both local and foreign, who have remained unaccountable to the Government for the tax privileges that have been accorded to them. 

Sir, I have further noted the Committee’s recommendation for the Government to undertake a comprehensive study on measures to improve the investments climate in the country. I would like to inform the House that the measures proposed in the Bill are the outcome of several studies conducted in 2013 on the tax incentive regime in Zambia. 

Mr Speaker, the recommendations from the studies are many and cannot be implemented in one breath. As such, the Government has decided to implement them in a phased manner in order to enable affected sectors to gradually adapt to the changes proposed and avoid disrupting the stable investment environment obtaining in our country today. 

Mr Speaker, let me comment on the incentives that we have lavishly awarded to dubious investors, in the past, who have not yielded any benefits for this country and which, in the end, has remained a laughing stoke. We, therefore, want to do away with those incentives which were so lavish and restrict the remaining ones to investors who are operating in the MFEZS, industrial parks and rural areas. I think that it is only fair to the people of this country that we really do not just jump at every illusory investment opportunity of half a million and we lavish them with investments. I think that we cannot continue along that route. 

Hon. Dr Kaingu wondered whether the economy is still growing at 7 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). The problem with our economy is that we are not adequately quantifying what goes on in the economy. The informal sector is much larger than the formal sector. So, the GDP of Zambia is a lot bigger than we give in the official statistics. However, we are refining the quantification processes under the Central Statistical Office (CSO) and I think that, in future, it is possible for us to come to grips with the actual size of the Zambian economy. At the moment, it is very much understated due to inadequacies in our governmental system to grapple with all the necessary and requisite information that we need to determine the size of the economy. 

You only need to look at the way the streets of Lusaka are inundated with all kinds of motor vehicles and massive buildings all over. I think that this is replicated all over the country albeit on a smaller scale. The economy is moving at a brisk pace. I think that the PF Government, in the two years, has transformed the country. 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chikwanda: The major reason the PF Government has transformed this country in two years is that it has a leader who attaches due undivided primacy to national interest. In the past, people put greater primacy on personal agenda and then simply tucked it as an obscure appendix. 

Laughter 

Mr Chikwanda: However, now we have …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chikwanda: … a leader who gives undivided loyalty to the national agenda and this is why the country is growing. 

Sir, it is a pity though that in another year or so, our friends on your left, may not even have a platform. Therefore, it will take a lot of ingenuity, Hon. Dr Kaingu, for the people in the Opposition to find a veritable platform. We have a vested interest in having a very virile Opposition because that is good for democracy. 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chikwanda: Sir, we do not want to take the people of Zambia for granted. We need checks on the enormous powers that we have. Therefore, we have a vested interest in seeing a lively Opposition, but I am afraid that at the rate we are moving, we may not offer you a very lavish platform. 

Laughter 

Mr Chikwanda:  Mr Speaker, I am eternally indebted to the hon. Members for the unanimous support of this Bill. 

I beg to move. 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Question put and agreed to and the Bill read a second time.

Committed to a committee of the whole House.

Committee on Thursday, 12th December, 2013. 

THE INCOME TAX (Amendment) BILL, 2013

Mr Chikwanda: Mr Speaker, the Bill before the House seeks to increase the exempt portion of paying Pay as You Earn from K 2,400 to K 3,000 per month so as to ensure that decent wages are paid to workers, especially the lowly paid. This is in line with the PF Government’s policy of putting more money in people’s pockets …

Mr Kalaba: Hear, hear!

Mr Chikwanda: … to afford them decent salaries that are reflective of the average living cost in the country.

Mr Speaker, the Bill also seeks to reduce the Withholding Tax rate to 10 per cent from 15 per cent on rental income and to make it a final tax in order to ease administration in the collection of tax on rental income and also to enhance the incomes of the people so that they have higher purchasing power in the process helping the cause of economic growth.

Sir, the tax incentives accessed through the ZDA are overly generous and not well targeted. 

Sir, the Bill, therefore, further proposes streamlining the tax incentive system under the Zambia Development Agency Act by using a targeted approach. This approach specifically confines the tax incentives to rural enterprises and those operating in the MFEZs or industrial parks. These will enhance enforcement mechanisms to curb any abuse which, so far, have been quite fragrant. The amendments being proposed do not lend themselves to any controversy and I am persuaded, beyond doubt, that the House will support this Bill.

Mr Speaker, I beg to move.

Mr Hamududu: Mr Speaker, the national anthem is good and accepted. 

Your Committee had a privilege of reviewing the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, National Assembly Bill, No.13 of the 2013 and invited stakeholders to give their input. 

Sir, the amendments are, by and large, supported and popular as revealed in your Committees report and are available to the hon. Members. However, there is one concern. The main concern raised was that Clause 14 seeks to restrict the claiming on Improvement Allowance of 100 per cent on buildings to business enterprises operating in a priority sector or in respect of the priority product in the MFEZs or industrial park declared under the Zambia Development Agency Act of 2006. Your Committee is concerned that the proposed amendment will adversely affect the apparent momentum currently being observed in the construction sector. 

Sir, in light of the above, your Committee strongly recommends that the proposed amendment be reviewed to include buildings operating in economically, depressed areas. 

Sir, I wish to conclude by thanking all the witnesses that appeared before your Committee for their very valuable input and also wish to thank you, Sir, for affording your Committee an opportunity to consider the Bill.

Last, but not the least, allow me to thank the Office of the Clerk for its invaluable secretarial services rendered to the Committee.

I thank you Sir.

Mr Chikwanda: Mr Speaker, I thank the Committee and, indeed, the hon. Members for the support to this Bill. I take this opportunity respond to just a few of the concerns raised.

Mr Speaker, when the Zambia Development Act framework came into being, one of the incentives granted to eligible investors was Improvement Allowance at 100 per cent. This meant that, if a company altered or made improvements to their commercial or industrial building the expense was deductable in the year the expense was incurred at a full cost instead of a period of over ten years.

Sir, in the spirit of targeting incentives to businesses operating in a MFEZS, industrial parks, rural areas, this incentive will now be restricted to eligible companies in the MFEZ, industrial park and rural areas.

Mr Speaker the amendment is reasonable, straightforward and I enlist the support of the House for this Bill.

Mr Speaker, I beg to move.

Question put and agreed to and the Bill read a second time.

Committed to a committee of the Whole House.

Committee on Thursday, 12th December, 2013.

____________________{mospagebreak}

COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY

[THE DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES in the
Chair]

Vote 88 – (Muchinga Province – K 44,628,942), Vote 90 – (Lusaka Province – K 71,735,283), Vote 910 – (Copperbelt Province – K 86,543,109), Vote 92 – (Central Province – K 71,183,670), Vote 93 – (Northern Province – K 88,641,594), Vote 94 – (Western Province – K 71,469,364), Vote 95 (Eastern Province – K 78,182,138), Vote 96 – (Luapula Province – K 70,266,728), Vote 97 – (North-Western Province – K 72,498,449) and Vote 98 – (Southern Province – K 95,327,161)

(Consideration resumed)

Mr L. J. Ngoma (Sinda): Mr Chairperson, thank you. Before adjournment yesterday I was indicating the under development occasioned by the Patriotic Front (PF) Administration in the Eastern Province. It was at that point when I was reminded that the Great East Road is their baby. I am also reminded of a certain couple named Mr and Mrs Phiri who were happily married. On the sidelines, there happened to live a Mr Wynter Chishimba. This Mr Chishimba was envious of  Mr and Mrs Phiri’s marriage. Due to his envy, he started sweet talking Mrs Phiri and she filed for divorce and it was granted. Immediately, Mr Chishimba married Mrs Phiri. At that time, she was eight months pregnant.

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!

Mr L. J. Ngoma: One month into the marriage with Mr Wynter Chishimba, she gave birth to a baby boy and Mr Chishimba was very happy to have a child …

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!

Mr L. J. Ngoma: … and named him ‘Junior’. So, that is what is happening to the PF.

Mr Chipungu: Hear, hear!

Mr L. J. Ngoma: Mr Chairperson, on behalf of Sinda and the Eastern Province as a whole, I will always call a spade a spade and never call it a big spoon or a folk because, at the moment, there is a lot of underdevelopment in the Eastern Province. When development is in reverse gear in my province, you do not expect me to stand here to eulogise the PF. 

Sir, yesterday, I was saying that the high turn-over of Permanent Secretaries in the Eastern Province is of great concern. The question is: Why should we have four different Permanent Secretaries in the two years that the PF has been in power? This high turn-over is an enemy to developmental stability because each controlling officer comes with a different approach to management. Unless you tell me that all the three previous controlling officers were failures, I will not understand the frequent turn-over.

Mr Chairperson, the mere fact that these Permanent Secretaries have been transferred in the same capacity just goes to shows that reshuffling has got nothing to do with under performance or failure. If they were underperforming, they would have either been demoted or relieved of their duties. Therefore, our appeal to the appointing authority, as Easterners, is that we want stability in our province to promote development.

Mr Mbewe: Yes!

Mr L. J. Ngoma: Mr Chairperson, the much-talked about upgrading of township roads to bituminous standards, in most districts, is just a mere song by the PF Administration. At the moment, roads in Nyimba, Sinda, Katete, Chadiza, Vubwi, Mambwe and Lundazi have not received the bituminous upgrade. So, one wonders what the PF is talking about in terms of development.

Mr Ng’onga: Question!

Laughter

Mr L. J. Ngoma: Sir, since time is not on my side, allow me to talk about one very important issue, which has to do with the upgrading of Chipata and Petauke councils into city and municipality councils respectively. Just before the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) left power, Chipata Municipal Council was on the verge of being elevated to city status and Petauke District Council was to become a municipality. Due to the underdevelopment and hatred of the people of the Eastern Province by the PF Government, these councils have still not been elevated.

Mr Chairperson, during the Chipata Central By-election, His Excellency the President of this Republic, Mr Michael Chilufya Sata, is on record as having told the people the Eastern Province that Chipata would only attain city status if they voted for the PF Government. The question that begs an answer is: Why should the Government blackmail the people of the Eastern Province? Why does it want to take development based on a political spectacle? Development should not follow that route. Development should follow simply because we are Zambians and that we expect it from the PF Administration.

So, Mr Chairperson, stop behaving, …

Hon. Government Members: Aah! Question!

Mr L. J. Ngoma: I beg your pardon, the PF should stop behaving in such a manner …

The Deputy Chairperson: It was definitely a slip of the tongue.

Laughter

Mr Mbewe: Bwezapo apo!

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

Laughter

Mr L. J. Ngoma: Mr Chairperson, I can go on and on, but the message from the people of the Eastern Province is loud and clear and that is, time of reckoning is coming. For the PF Members, if they think that they have done much for the Eastern Province, 2016 is just around the corner and they will be able to see how the people of the Eastern Province will react.

With these few words, Mr Chairperson, I thank you.

Mr Lufuma (Kabompo West): Mr Chairperson, thank you very much …

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Sing’ombe: Survivor!

Mr Lufuma: … for giving me an opportunity to present my maiden speech, oh sorry …

Laughter

Mr Lufuma: Sir, I would like to join His Honour the Vice-President and other Members of Parliament in paying special tribute to Nelson Mandela, a gallant son of Africa, icon, selfless person, who, after twenty-seven of incarceration, came out preaching reconciliation and forgiveness. This is very rear and for that, we would like to thank the people of South Africa and my condolences go to the family, South Africa, the Rainbow Country, to Africa and the world at large. I am sure he will be remembered, especially that he actually stuck to his promise after coming out of prison that he would only rule for five years. This is a rear quality in most African leaders and something which they should emulate.

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

Allow the hon. Member to debate.

Mr Lufuma: Sir, may I also join other Members of Parliament in mourning Dr Chikusi, …

Hon. Members: Chikusu!

Mr Lufuma: … sorry, Hon. Dr Chikusu. I used to know a Mr Chikusi so I am always mixing up the names. My condolences go to his family.

Sir, may I also warmly welcome and congratulate the latest Member to Parliament, Dr Chilufya, who won the Parliamentary Seat in Mansa.

Mr Lufuma: Mr Chairperson, I would like to …

Mr Belemu: Congratulate yourself!

Mr Lufuma: Mr Chairperson, I am being reminded to congratulate myself.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lufuma: I would like to congratulate myself for a second term within a first term. Thank you very much.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lufuma: Sir, actually, I would like to join most Members of Parliament in bemoaning the lack of development in most of our regions. I heard, from the Northern Province, Hon. Mutati bemoaned the lack of development in the province. Just recently, the hon. Members from the Eastern Province, the Western Province and the North-Western Province and the Southern complained about the lack of development in their provinces as well. So, one really wonders if every region is complaining about lack of development, and especially the rural areas, where is the development going? This is a very critical question to the PF Executive. You have to answer why everybody is crying about development. It means that there is no development in a lot of these areas. 

Mr Chairperson, so, the PF Government should seriously consider designing a strategy to ensure that each and every region gets a share in the national cake, the resources that are being generated in this country equally. This is because what seems to come out is that there is a lot of unequal distribution of the resources that are availed in our economy today.

Mr Chairperson, having said that, let me now say one or two words about the provincial administration in the North-Western Province. Although we have, so far, had three hon. Deputy Ministers shuffled, we appreciate the working relationship that exists between the hon. Members of Parliament and the provincial administration. However, we would like to seriously point out that we are lacking in planning, management and co-ordination of a lot of these developmental projects in the province. We would like to urge the provincial administration to take some time off and host a planning meeting where we can exchange views and prioritise our projects in the province. Maybe, the hon. Members of Parliament and the hon. Deputy Minister for the North-Western Province could kindly take note of this because, most times, we have seen how priorities are misplaced. These misplaced priorities are in form of allocations to the roads. There is a need to allocate resources depending on which roads should be worked on first and which ones should be done last.

Sir, if you recall, the Solwezi/Chingola Road was on the priority list, but was never put in the Link Zambia 8,000 km Road Project until a lot of complaints were laid bare by the hon. Members of Parliament. I think it would have been prudent for us to have met and prioritised accordingly.

Mr Chairperson, the other thing that I would like to talk about is that after having approved the Budget, it would be necessary for the Government to compile a regional budget outlining all projects in the North-Western Province so that it becomes very easy for hon. Members of Parliament and members of the public to follow up and offer supervision. It would also be very easy for the provincial administration to be able to give progress reports so that all hon. Members of Parliament and the public know how and what is happening in the provinces pertaining to which projects are being implemented and which ones are not.

Sir, we note that despite the Link Zambia 8,000 km Road Project, none of our roads have been put on the priority list. As far as we know, questions to hon. Ministers have not yielded progressive answers. The hon. Ministers have not given us any indication as to when the Kaoma/Lukulu, Watopa/Mumbezhi, Mumbwa/Kasempa, Manyinga/Mwinilunga/Jimbe and Kaoma/Kasempa roads will be worked on. There is no indication when these roads will actually be upgraded to bituminous standard. All we hear is that feasibility studies are being carried out. We fear that the five years of the PF being in power might yield nothing but feasibility studies. The people of the North-Western Province want actual projects and not feasibility studies. So, I want to urge the PF Government to hasten up these feasibility studies so that we can see action on the ground.

Hon. UPND Member: Hear, hear!

Mr Lufuma: Mr Chairperson, we have noted, with dismay, that in the North-Western Province, as usual, there is no single district which has had the opportunity to have its township roads upgraded. All we hear is an upgrade here and there, especially in the urban regions. This is worrying the people of the North-Western Province because, for example, in Kabompo District, we were promised 15km of a bituminous road and yet only 5.6km have been planned for. Unfortunately, this has not been done to date. None of the districts in the North-Western Province has had these roads done. 

Mr Chairperson, the Link Zambia 8,000 Road Project is a good initiative. However, it is very important that feeder roads be infused into this programme. The feeder roads provide market access which is needed in order to improve agriculture development. Agriculture development provides employment and reduces poverty in areas where it is practiced. So, that is an area that should urgently be looked at by this Government. However, in doing so, the Rural Roads Unit (RRU) needs to be capacitated. At the moment, it has dilapidated equipment and does not have the capacity in terms of human resource. As a result, seeing as it is a small unit, it is unable to adequately provide for rural feeder roads in most provinces, especially the North-Western Province. So, there are a number of roads throughout the districts that have not been worked on at all.

Sir, may I quickly go to hydro-power. In 2008, the Government of the Republic of Zambia procured a loan to a tune of US$75.5 million and, in particular, US$33 million was given by the International Development Association (IDA). US$17 was for the purpose of rural electrification and US$16 million went to the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) for the sake of intensifying the grid. The rural electrification component was supposed to be used to construct mini-hydro power stations in Kabompo, Chikata, Chavuma, Kasanjiku in Mwinilunga and Zengamina in Ikeleng’i. None of these projects has been carried out and the grid in the North-Western Province has not progressed at all. Since this was a loan, we would like the Government to account for this money. Where is the money since these projects are not progressing? All we hear is that there are feasibility studies being carried out, and yet there is nothing on the ground. Therefore, it is important that this is done as quickly as possible.

Mr Chairperson, the mining sector provides us with the potential to develop this country. Unfortunately, this Government is not giving the sector the necessary attention. In this case, I am talking about the oil resources in the North-Western Province. Whereas we have exploited the copper in the North-Western Province, we have not adequately addressed the resource exploitation of the oil fields that exist in that area. The governments in most countries in the region have deliberately promoted investment in this area so as to bring it to a standard where private investment can take over and take advantage of these mines. Unless that happens, these resources will not be exploited and, therefore, they will not add value to this country. What we need is investment that adds value and that which will go into developing this country and contributing to poverty alleviation.

Hon. UPND Member: Hear, hear!

Mr Lufuma: Sir, the North-Western Province provides this opportunity. So, the PF Government should take it up and ensure that investment goes into the province for the sake of this country.

Mr Chairperson, I thank you.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Musokotwane (Liuwa): Mr Chairperson, I want to thank the hon. Members from the Western Province who selected me to be one of the speakers for the province this afternoon. As I listened to the previous speakers, I got hold of a very interesting terminology that was used here. We were told that ‘pakwakana ubunga, tapaba nsoni’.

The Deputy Chairperson: Meaning?

Dr Musokotwane: Mr Chairperson, this means that when you are sharing food with others, like when you are eating together from the same plate, you must eat as quickly as possible.

Laughter

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Hon. PF Members: Question!

Dr Musokotwane: This is because if do you do not eat quickly enough, others will eat more and finish the food.

Mr Kapeya: On a point of order, Sir.

The Deputy Chairperson: A point of order is raised.

Mr Kapeya: Mr Chairperson, is the hon. Member of Parliament for Liuwa in order to misinterpret the terminology of other people’s language in the manner he has just done? I need your ruling.

The Deputy Chairperson: The ruling is that the interpretation by Hon. Dr Musokotwane reflects his understanding of that particular adage.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Musokotwane: Mr Chairperson, if you listened carefully to a number of debates, I think the cry is that those who are sharing the resources of this country are ‘eating’ very quickly and, therefore, more than others. This is why we hear complaints. Hon. Members from the North-Western and Luapula provinces who stood up to speak were all saying that their provinces are not getting enough funding. Even though everybody suspects that Muchinga Province is getting the lion’s share, people from certain parts of the province say that they are being ignored. 

Mr Chairperson, as people from the Western Province, we also strongly feel that we are being neglected and I will provide the evidence to prove that. First of all, in 2011, there were mobile phone network towers that were planned to be constructed all over the country and the designs were made on the basis of coverage. Places where there was no coverage would receive more towers than those that already had coverage.

However, Mr Chairperson, the moment our colleagues came to power, they changed the formula. They decided to construct these towers on the basis of chiefdoms, as if chiefdoms coincide with coverage. Arising from that, the towers that were planned to be constructed in Mwandi, Liuwa, Kaoma Central, Mitete, Sikongo and Lukulu have all not been constructed. Not a single one of them has been constructed, and yet these are parts of the country where the network is very poor.

Secondly, Mr Chairperson, in 2011, there were a number of high schools which were under construction. From the time the PF came to power, the construction of these high schools has stalled, in line with the PF policy of neglecting the Western Province. These high schools include Libonda, Sikongo, Nakanya in Nalikwanda, Mitete, Mayukwayukwa, which is almost complete, but there is no water, and Lukulu. It is almost two and half years of the PF reign, but all school projects are stagnant. What other evidence of neglect would we want?

Mr Chairperson, the works on the Kaoma/Lukulu Road remain undone. The Kalabo/Sikongo Road, to add on to the Mongu/Kalabo Road so that we have a western corridor, has not been constructed. As I speak, there are the north/south, east/west and eastern corridors. It is the western side into Angola which remains undone. What other evidence of neglect do we want?

Mr Chairperson, why is there so much neglect? We suspect this is because, in the eyes of the PF, the Western Province does not matter. This is even evident by the number of hon. Cabinet Ministers from the Western Province in the PF Government. Contrary to the past where there were three or four hon. Cabinet Ministers from the province, this time, there is only one, and yet there are hon. Members of Parliament from the Western Province who are serving this Government. 

Sir, what is so difficult about picking two or three of them to become full hon. Cabinet Ministers? How can we have the burden of the Western Province being carried by just one person? The fact that we only have one hon. Cabinet Minister when there are others from the province who can be elevated to Cabinet position, to us, this just shows that in the eyes of the PF, the Western Province does not matter.

Mr Chairperson, the Western Province, today, is the poorest in the country. This is ironic because the first school ever to be constructed in Zambia was in the Western Province in 1895 there about. For many years, the Western Province was one of the pillars of intellectual capacity in this country. This is not so today. 

The province has substantial natural resources. Some of the best timber in this country is from the Western Province. The province, perhaps, other than Luapula and the North-Western provinces, has the largest number of water resources in the country. It has fish, wildlife, fertile soils, rich grazing lands, but is still the poorest province. 

Sir, the problem is that communication in the province is extremely difficult. This is a province which has very sandy soils. There is nowhere in the Western Province where one can drive without requiring a four wheel drive vehicle which is, by design, very expensive. Elsewhere, you can drive for 15 to 20 km in a pickup or even a car. In the Western Province, it is impossible. 

Therefore, Mr Chairperson, internal trade in the province is very difficult. Kalabo and Lukulu are neighbours with just 100 km apart, but driving between the two districts can even take ten hours. This lack of transport and communication within the province has pushed it backwards in terms of development. This is the very reason it is difficult to get investors in the province. It is even difficult to retain teachers and doctors because of the hardships of transport in the Western Province. There is hardly any serious factory or farm that we can talk about in the Western Province because of lack of transport and communication.

Mr Chairperson …

Mr Mbewe: On a point of order, Sir.

The Deputy Chairperson: A point of order is raised.

Mr Mbewe: Mr Chairperson, I rise on a very serious point of order. We are talking about provinces now and some provincial hon. Ministers are around. I can see my provincial hon. Minister smiling there, but others are not here. In the same vein, in this House, I have learnt that when we are debating provinces, provincial Permanent Secretaries (PSs) sit in the corners just behind the hon. Ministers. This country has ten provinces, but I can only see two PSs. Where are the rest? Are they in order not to be here so that we can share our concerns with them? I need your serious ruling.

Interruptions 

The Deputy Chairperson: Order! 

I have not solicited any advice from either my right or my left. Be that as it may, the ruling is that we have a quorum and, therefore, business continues. With regard to those who are strangers, I have no ruling to make on people who are strangers to this House. Perhaps, by way of advice, when we will be going into individual Heads, for example, Head 88, Muchinga Province, that is when those strangers will come here. So, please, take that into account. 

Hon. Dr Musokotwane, may you, please, continue.

Dr Musokotwane: Mr Chairperson, I was talking about the importance of roads in the Western Province. The people of the Western Province fondly remember the efforts made under the late President Mwanawasa, SC., towards repairing the Mongu/Lusaka Road. They remember him very fondly for repairing the Livingstone/Sesheke and the Mongu/Senanga roads. They also remember President Rupiah Banda (R. B) for the Mongu/Kalabo Road.

Mr Mwale: Hear, hear!

Dr Musokotwane: They remember fondly President R. B for the Sesheke/Senanga Road.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Musokotwane: Mr Chairperson, I get surprised when PF colleagues stand up and tell us to thank them for working on the Mongu/Kalabo Road. It was not long ago when some hon. Members stood on the Floor of this House to condemn this road. I can even give you their names, but for today, I will not. 

The Deputy Chairperson: You do not have to because, if it is true, they know themselves.

Laughter

Dr Musokotwane: Yes, they know themselves. In any case, you have heard, here, that under the PF, every province is complaining. The Eastern, North-Western and Central provinces are all complaining. What is the Western Province to the PF for it to have been kind enough to give it such a magnificent road? What is the Western Province?

Hon. Opposition Member: It is nothing!

Dr Musokotwane: Mr Chairperson, let me say that the more the PF party wants to take credit for things that it has not done, the more the people of the Western Province will say that is yamangulunga.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Chairperson: What does that mean?

Dr Musokotwane: Mr Chairperson, mangulunga means nice stories which are actually false.

Hon. Opposition Member: Hear, hear!

Dr Musokotwane: Mr Chairperson, having said that, we are ready to give thanks to the PF if it does tangible things for the Western Province. Let it not take credit that is not due to it. However, if brings about new developments, we are ready to thank it. For example, my brothers from Lukulu have bemoaned the poor state of the Kaoma/Lukulu, the Kasempa/Kaoma and the Luampa/Sesheke roads and access roads in the Liuwa National Park which inhibit tourism from thriving. If you do these things and create jobs, we will come and say well-done and thank you very much but, please, do not take credit for things that you have not done. You will just annoy the people because they are knowledgeable about these things.

Hon. Government Members: Okay.

Laughter

Dr Musokotwane: Mr Chairperson, in addition to this, I want to remind the Government of the development promises that it made during the campaigns in 2011. I want to invite hon. Members to look at The Post newspaper of 22nd May, 2011. Some of the promises the PF made were as follows:
(a)    to put a bridge across the Zambezi River to enable people cross from Senanga to Shang’ombo; 
(b)    to turn the Barotse Flood Plain into a food basket for Zambia;  and
(c)    to construct a secondary school in every chiefdom and parish.
Mr Chairperson, I am just reminding the PF. These are the promises which it made. If it honours them, the people of the Western Province will say thank you.

Mr Chairperson, as I go towards the end of my debate, I must say, like I have done before on the Floor of this House, that there is hunger in the province. We were hoping that the agricultural system would improve much more than it did last year. However, as we speak, having consulted my colleagues here, fertiliser and seed has not arrived in the Western Province and yet this is 10th December. What do you expect to happen next year? There will be hunger. 

Mr Chairperson, if the colleagues on your right are really interested in ending poverty in the Western Province, the simplest thing that they can do is make sure that fertiliser and seed are delivered. In the absence of that, there will be hunger.

Mr Chairperson, I also want to say that for most of the young people graduating from high schools and colleges in the Western Province, I can almost assure you that, maybe, 98 per cent of those who have to get jobs have to migrate out of the province. They have to go Lusaka, Copperbelt and the North-Western provinces. What we want from this Government is a situation whereby industries are created in the province. This Government spoke so much about cashew nuts, fine, but can we see some action going on. The Government speaks so much about timber, fine, but can we see factories utilising this precious timber. Can we see factories being established.

Mr Chairperson, we hear about fish and cattle, but can we see tangible measures to ensure that industries come to the Western Province. When the Government does that, the people of the Western Province will thank it. If does not do that, the Western Province will see the PF as the party of mangulunga.

I thank you, Mr Chairperson.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mtolo (Chipata Central): Mr Chairperson, first of all, let me join my colleagues in welcoming the new hon. Member of Parliament for Mansa, Dr Chilufya. We welcome you to the House. He looks humble and I hope that he continues to be so.

Hon. Opposition Member: He is masquerading as …

Hon. Opposition Member: He is a witchdoctor.

Mr Mtolo: Mr Chairperson, secondly, allow me to also extend my condolences to the families of some of the very dear departed colleagues, for example, Hon. Dr Chikusu. We have lost a very good member of the party and, indeed, a very solid Zambian. May I also pay my condolences to the family, the people of South Africa and, indeed, the entire world on the loss of President Mandela. 

Mr Chairperson, it is with a very heavy heart that I will talk about Hon. Mulusa, who I think the House will dearly miss on account of the nullification of his seat and not death. The fact that his seat was nullified yesterday is a very big loss to the House and, indeed, the nation. Undoubtedly, both sides will realise that we have lost an intelligent hon. Member of the House who had a very clear position and very high integrity.

Hon. Government Member: Question!

Mr Mtolo: Finally, on the salutations, may I congratulate Hon. Lufuma who went past this dangerous net that the PF has put …

Hon. Government Member: Question!

Mr Mtolo: … for all of us.

Interruptions

Mr Mtolo: Sir, in beginning my presentation, let me say that we, the people of the Eastern Province, are a very hardworking.

Mr L. J Ngoma: Yes!

Mr Mwale: Zoona!

Mr Mtolo: Mr Chairperson, the House knows that the Eastern Province is rich in agriculture. Agriculture requires hardworking and dedicated people, and that is what we are. May the House also know that the Eastern Province is endowed with tourism attractions. We could all be aware that one of the best national parks in the world, the South Luangwa National Park, has sanctuary in the Eastern Province. 

Mr Chairperson, there is also something in the Eastern Province that should interest the hon. Minister of Mines, Energy and Water Development. As much as we do not have big mines in the Eastern Province, the province is very rich in terms of precious stones. It is important that the hon. Minister of Mines, Energy and Water Development looks at Lundazi, Nyimba and  Chipata where we have precious stones. The House would also want to know that a long time ago, on the way to South Luangwa National Park, there was a gold mine at a place called Mpoma and those are issues which we need to look at. We do not need helicopters to fly over the area in order to tell us that there is gold there. The history is there. So, I am requesting the hon. Minister of Mines, Energy and Water Development to come to Chipata so that we can take him where the gold mines used to be.

Mr Chairperson, may I now talk about particular issues. The first one is the railway line. I know that my two colleagues who talked about the province also talked about the Chipata/Mchinji Railway Line. This issue should be a very big source of embarrassment to all of us in this House. Let us not make this railway line a white elephant. We just need to pump in a little more money to complete the project. If that railway line is connected to the main grid, the amount of money that Zambia will save on moving the huge quantity of grain that is produced in the Eastern Province will be enormous and it could go towards other uses. There is a lot of traffic on the Great East Road because these second-hand vehicles which used to enter the country through Tanzania are now entering through Mwami Border Post. If the railway line was in place, we could just be transporting the vehicles through it and the many lives of the young men we are losing could be prevented. We are losing the lives of the young men who drive these purchased vehicles from the port into the country through accidents. I just gave two examples. I would like to appeal to the hon. Minister of Finance to revisit this issue because the hon. Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications said that there is a budget line in the Yellow Book for that issue, but there is actually nothing. I would like the hon. Minister of Finance and my hon. Minister of the Eastern Province to revisit this issue. We should work together and make sure that the completion of that railway line is brought to reality.

Mr Chairperson, I will quickly move on to agro production. For us in the Eastern Province, the removal of subsidies is actually a disincentive. As I indicated earlier, we do not have good roads like the ones which have been built in Solwezi or wherever there is a mine, but what we …

Mr Pande: There is no road there.

Mr Mtolo: Thank you for that correction.

Mr Chairperson, we do not have that interest which is generated where there is a mine because agriculture is taken for granted. However, I would like to remind the House that the day that the people of the Eastern Province will be discouraged from producing because of this lack of subsidy support, we are going to have a very serious problem in this country. I think that the hon. Minister of Finance, again, should take an interest here. The issue of late releases of inputs is another source of worry to us. To date, the availability of seed is a problem in the province. I can see that the hon. Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock is here. Let me also hasten to say that that there is a very senior PF cadre in the province who is threatening farmers in the province by saying that if they are not members of the PF, they will not receive fertiliser.

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!

Mr Mtolo: Mr Chairperson, this PF cadre should be checked and spoken to. If you want his name, I can give it to you after I am through with my debate. It is wrong for that cadre to be doing what he is doing. He knows what I am talking about and I know that he is listening. He is a keen listener. Stop what you are doing, you cadre.

Laughter

Mr Mtolo: Mr Chairperson, as I am still on the issue of agriculture, I would like to talk about swine fever briefly. We were told, in this House, that farmers, here, in Lusaka, whose animals were affected by swine fever were to be compensated. In the mean time, in the Eastern Province …

Interruptions 

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

Hon. Members, consult less loudly, please. I am interested in following the debate on swine fever.

Mr Mtolo: Mr Chairperson, I thank you. 

Mr Chairperson, I was saying that, in Lusaka, when there is an outbreak of swine fever, pigs are slaughtered and the farmers are compensated. Why should that not happen in the Eastern Province? Is it in order that the hon. Minister of Finance …

Mr Livune: On a point of order, Sir.

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

A point of order is raised.

Mr Livune: Mr Chairperson, is my brother, who was debating so well on the Floor, in order to address the cadre instead of addressing you in this House?

I need your serious ruling.

Laughter

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

He was actually addressing me. The only problem was that there was a slip of the tongue.

Laughter

Mr Mtolo: Mr Chairperson, I thank you.

Mr Chairperson, I was saying that we should not have double standards on the issue of swine fever. In the Eastern Province, we would like to have all those pigs affected by the swine fever slaughtered and the only compensation we can have is replacement of the entire stock of pigs instead of money. Therefore, let us look at this issue in a very serious way. As long as you have so many pigs suffering from swine fever 600 km away from Lusaka, the issue of swine fever will never end in Lusaka. So, let us look at this issue in a better way.

Mr Chairperson, let me quickly move to health. On health, I have been a champion here talking about equipment in the hospitals. We are having many premature deaths which can be avoided. These deaths are happening because of a lack of equipment to save lives in hospitals. I think that I will not talk more on this, especially that the hon. Minister of Health is not even listening to me. He is busy talking to Hon. Chenda.

Mr Chairperson, I will move to tourism. In the Eastern Province, as I said earlier, we are a sanctuary to the South Luangwa National Park.

Prof. Luo: On a point of order, Sir.

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

A point of order is raised.

Prof. Luo: Mr Chairperson, I want to thank you for giving me this rare opportunity to raise a point of order. As you know, it is not one of my habits to raise points of order.

Mr Chairperson, is Hon. Mtolo in order to come to this August House and confuse the Zambian people without doing his home work? Let me guide this House properly. If you have swine fever in a nearby country, even if you did all that is possible within Zambia, the disease cannot be prevented. Until the people of the Eastern Province stop these bad habits of crossing into Malawi and back into Zambia, the swine fever cannot be contained. I really need your serious ruling because the people of the Eastern Province, among who Hon. Mtolo belongs, cross the border into Malawi and get married in the night and come back into Zambia  in the morning.

I need your serious ruling.

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

The serious ruling is that since you know the problem, you have adequately addressed your point of order.

Mr Mtolo: Mr Chairperson, I thank you. 

Mr Chairperson, I was saying that in the Eastern Province, the issue of tourism is genuine and serious. It should be looked at by the hon. Minister of Tourism and Arts. We have many traditional ceremonies which attract international clients, but beyond that, we also have rock paintings by Bushmen which can be developed for very useful purposes. However, no one is taking care of those things. 

Our Bushmen paintings in Chipata at Katombora are being ripped off from the rocks by tourists who are getting the samples as souvenirs. On a very serious note, I think we need to protect these areas. These Bushmen paintings can be used for very good purposes in our economy.

Mr Chairperson, allow me to talk about what the people of the Eastern Province feel about the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs. To us, this is one ministry which His Honour the President should consider scrapping off …

Laughter

Mr Mtolo: … and turn it into a more useful ministry called the Ministry of Rural Development because that is what we need.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mtolo: The hon. Ministers can continue in this new ministry. It is nothing personal, but we feel the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs is a complete misplacement in a country which is poverty stricken like Zambia. The hon. Minister should add the voice of bringing development to rural areas other than masquerading with chiefs and creating havoc.

Laughter

Mr Mtolo: Mr Chairperson, may I quickly talk about roads. We have a number of roads in the …

Prof. Luo: On a point of order, Sir.

The Deputy Chairperson: A point of order is raised.

Prof. Luo: Mr Chairperson, is this hon. Member who is debating in order to …

Interruptions 

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

Prof. Luo: … bring me in his debate and, in fact, even use unparliamentary language by making reference to masquerading?

I seek your serious ruling on this one.

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

The serious ruling is that the hon. Member debating was not in order to drag you into his debate and worse still use the word ‘masquerading’, which is unparliamentary. So, to that extent, he was out of order, but he may continue though.

Mr Mtolo: Mr Chairperson, I would like to advise the hon. Deputy Minister for the Eastern Province that the road from Lundazi to Chama needs to be upgraded to bituminous standard. The road from Chama South to Chasefu Constituency also needs to be upgraded. 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Interruptions 

The Deputy Chairperson: Order! Order!

Mr Mtolo: The road in Sinda from Nyanje to Kagoro needs to be worked on.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mtolo: The road from Katete to Chadiza is actually under the Link Zambia 8,000 km Road Project and we feel that nothing is happening. May the hon. Minister take note of that and ensure that this road is worked on.

Mr Chairperson, let me quickly go to airstrips …

Rev. Lt-Gen. Shikapwasha: On a point of order, Sir.

The Deputy Chairperson: A point of order is raised.

Lt-Gen. Shikapwasha: Mr Chairperson, I desperately need to be guided by this House. Is it in order for the House to allow one hon. Member of Parliament to raise two points of order on the same debater? 

I seek your direction. 

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

Unfortunately, your point of order has not been raised contemporaneously, but be that as it may, the hon. Member was allowed to raise that point of order because the hon. Member debating dragged her into his debate unnecessarily.

Laughter

Interruptions

Mr Mtolo: Mr Chairperson, I ended by saying that the road from Katete to Chadiza, which is under the Link Zambia 8,000 km Road Project, needs to be worked on as nothing is happening.

Sir, let me quickly go to airstrips. The Lundazi, Katete and Nyimba airstrips should be looked at very quickly before we have a problem there. I hope that the hon. Minister is taking note of this.

Mr Livune: Amvela!

Mr Mtolo: May I also talk about dams. We have had a number of dams washed away in the Eastern Province. May the hon. Minister help us by making sure that the dams, which were washed away, are looked at. 

Sir, on secondary schools, I would like to say that funds which were promised on the Floor of this House for a 1 x 3 classroom block at Chipata Day Secondary School have not been released. To date, nothing is happening.

Hon. Opposition Members: Where is the money?

Mr Mtolo: Sir, there is no evidence, whatsoever, that there are works being carried out at Lundazi Secondary School. 

Sir, may I also talk about the issue of youths. The youths in the Eastern Province have not received any money from the Youth Empowerment Fund. What I hear is that the hon. Minister of Finance said that the province would not be funded this year. I think this is something on which the hon. Minister could use his discretion to help our youths in the province.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mtolo: Mr Chairperson, let me end by talking about the issue of the RRU in the province. During a Provincial Development Co-ordinating Committee (PDCC) meeting, the Deputy Minister for the Eastern Province, Hon. Sichone, promised us to make sure that the RRU funds would be equally disbursed in each constituency. This is a reminder to him that this has not happened. At the moment, we do not know how the roads are being worked on by the RRU. There should be equity in the way this is done. This is very neatly attached to the issue of the Zambia National Service (ZNS) equipment. The equipment should not be in one area, but be spread across all constituencies so that we also benefit. 

I thank you, Sir.

The Deputy Chairperson: Any further debate? Mr Mumba.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear! Luapula power!

Mr Mumba (Mambilima): Mr Chairperson, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the debate on Head 96, Luapula Province.

Mr Chairperson, first of all, I would like to thank the provincial team, the hon. Minister, the PS, together with the Deputy Permanent Secretary for the hard work that they have put in during the course of 2013. We hope that they will continue with the same spirit in 2014 and thereafter.

Sir, looking at the budget for 2014 for this province, I note the commendable allocation to out the growers scheme, there is an allocation of K200, 000. This is commendable because I know that this will go a long way in alleviating poverty amongst the people, especially in our area, Mwense District, where this scheme is being carried out.

Mr Chairperson, under Programme 6030, Activity 002 −Tourism Promotions −  K170,000, I would like part of this money to go towards putting up visible and attractive billboards to advertise various stone age sites in the province. I also note under the same programme Activity 018 − Tourism Infrastructure − K780,000 that this amount will go towards infrastructure development.

Sir, in Mambilima Constituency, there are three important tourists sites. There is Mumbuluma Falls, which I visited three weeks ago. I was happy to find that the ministry had, at least, put up something in terms of shelter. There is nothing for Mambilima Rapids that we can brag about as constituents. There is also Kabulungene Rock engravings. So, I would like part of this money to go towards putting up something, especially at Kabulungene Rock Engravings in Mambilima Constituency.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mumba: Sir, the provincial office should also work hand-in-hand with the RDA and RRU so that the roads leading to these historic sites are accessible.

Mr Chairperson, information dissemination is a problem in our province. The Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) offices in various districts in the province are not well equipped. When you look at the personnel and the equipment, it is a sad story. So, we would like to have ZANIS offices that are well equipped in terms of equipment as well as personnel.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hammer! Hammer!

Mr Mumba: Sir, under the RRU

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

Business was suspended from 1815 hours until 1830 hours.

[THE DEPUTY OF COMMITTEES  in
 the Chair]

Mr Mumba: Mr Chairperson, before business was suspended, I was on the RRU. Luapula Province has been given an amount of K20, 795,195 for 2014. My proposal is that this money should be decentralised to districts, and if possible, constituency level because we have not seen much from the RRU in the past few years. It seems like it is overwhelmed by work …

Mr Mwila: Hear, hear!

Mr Mumba: … and most of the feeder roads are not graded. 

Mr Mpundu: Hear, hear!

Mr  Mwila: What is the provincial administration doing?

Laughter

Mr Mumba: Mr Chairperson, on the Forestry Department, there is an allocation under Programme 6023, Activity 002 –Community Awareness Campaigns − K8,000. I do not think that this amount will go a long way in creating awareness amongst the people in the province because it is too minimal. 

Interruptions

Mr Mumba: We hope that this amount will be increased in the coming year because if there is awareness amongst the people, then, even the deforestation will reduce. 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mumba: Mr Chairperson, under the Water Affairs Department, Programme 6074, there is a total allocation of K491,445 for the sinking of boreholes in the province. This is commendable as the people of Luapula need an adequate supply of clean water.

Mr Mwila: Hear, hear!{mospagebreak}

Mr Mumba: However, I would rather we think of going by way of water schemes in areas where there are large populations. For example, villages like Kashiba, Lukwesa and Mulundu, where there are large numbers of people, need proper water schemes where the water is treated in order for us to avoid cholera outbreaks in the province.

Sir, under Head 96/35 under Civil Aviation Department, Programme 6013 Management of Air Fields, I note, with delight, that most of the airstrips in the province will be looked after in terms of bush clearing, but Mambilima Airstrip, which is in my constituency, was left out. There is a big airstrip in Mambilima which should also be included in the 2015 Budget. 

Mr Chairperson, under the Sports Department, Head 95/46, I appeal to the responsible department to ensure that Kaole Stadium, which is the biggest stadium in Luapula Province, is upgraded to a standard where we can one day hold international games while waiting for …

Mr  Mwila: Hear, hear! We need a new stadium.

Mr Mumba: … a new stadium like the ones we have in the Copperbelt and Lusaka.

Sir, under District Administration, Under Programme 6074 − K203,000, this amount is meant for upgrading of canals in the province. However, I note that there is no provision for the construction of new canals. There are areas where people have been crying for canals for a long time. An example is the area between Kashiba and Lukwesa. I hope that when coming up with the 2015 Budget, the provincial administration office will consider not only the existing canals, but also consider creating new canals where need be.

Mr Chairperson, under fisheries, there is an allocation of K10.8 million to help revamp the fishing industry in Luapula Province. This is commendable and the people of Luapula are thankful because this has been a main source of income for them. However, at the moment, fish is depleted in all the lakes and rivers in the province.

Sir, lastly, I would like to talk about the major problem that we have in Luapula Province which is the low voltage of power. Luapula is almost at the tail end of the distribution network.

Mr Mwila: Hammer!

Mr Mumba: Mr Chairperson, I would like to urge the Ministry of Mines, Energy and Water Development, together with ZESCO, to ensure that the Pensulo Programme up to the Northern Province increases in pace so that we, as Luapula, can start talking about development because without electricity, nothing will happen.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwila: Hear, hear! Bwekeshapo 

Mr Mumba: Mr Chairperson, there are other major projects that are online. There is the Kabwelume/Kumbwika between Kawambwa and Mporokoso District along Kalungwishi River. There is potential to generate about 400 MW along Kalungwishi River, but it seems that the works are not progressing. The would-be developers are ready to move in, but it seems there are delays. We would want this project to take off because there will be job creation and more power generated to feed into the national grid. 

Sir, I have another proposal for Mambilima. Feasibility studies have already been conducted and there is potential to generate about 800 MW in Mambilima Constituency.

Mr Mpundu: Hear, hear!

Mr Mumba: I would like this project to take off as soon as possible because a potential developer is ready. The Ministry of Mines, Energy and Water Development should work with ZESCO to ensure that this project takes off in order for us to create jobs for our people and produce enough power to feed the main network.

Mr Mwila interjected.

Mr Mumba: Mr Chairperson, there is also Mumbwetuta Hydro Power Project which is also not moving at the rate we would want it to. There is also the upgrade of Musonda Water Falls Power Generating Plant from 5 MW to 10 MW. The upgrading project has taken too long.

Mr Mpundu: Hear, hear!

Mr Mumba: We would like ZESCO to speed up the process of upgrading this plant. 

Sir, with these few words …

Mr  Mwila: Mununshi 

Mr Mumba: … I thank you.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Laughter 

The Deputy Chairperson: Any further debate? I note that except for Lusaka Province, all other provinces have debated sufficiently. Any further debate for Lusaka Province? 

Interruptions 

The Deputy Chairperson: We now move to Provincial Deputy Ministers.

The Deputy Minister for Muchinga Province (Col. Chanda): Mr Chairperson, before I proceed with my debate to solicit support from hon. Members of Parliament on the budget for Muchinga, …

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

Col. Chanda: … Province, allow me to preface my debate by joining the rest of the House in offering my utmost heartfelt condolences to the family of the late Hon. Dr Patrick Chikusu whom we put to rest last week.

Sir, on behalf of Muchinga Province, please, also allow me to further place on record our profound sense of loss on the demise of the first black President of the Republic of South Africa, Madiba, whom we are still mourning.

Sir, Muchinga Province is a Cinderella province in the Republic of Zambia. It is the youngest of the ten provinces and naturally, …

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

The Deputy Chairperson: Order! The Minister is winding up.

Col. Chanda: Mr Speaker, being a young province, we are naturally bound to have the teething problems that go with being a new born. It is at this stage that I would like to thank His Excellency the President, Mr Michael Chilufya Sata, for the wisdom and magnanimity that he has shown by giving us a province.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Chairperson: Order! As you continue, do not use the word, “Cinderella”. It is unparliamentary. I felt it necessary to remind you. 

You can continue.

Col. Chanda: Mr Chairperson, as people of Muchinga, we are very grateful to His Excellency the President for obvious reasons. The contribution that the people of Muchinga Province, Chinsali in particular, made to the liberation of this great country cannot go without mention. The best way to repay the people of Muchinga was to declare this great land as a province because at the time it was part of Northern Province, it was very difficult to develop this particular part of Zambia. 

Sir, I have heard a lot of lamentation and condemnation from the various Members that have spoken on the Floor of this House about the perceived favours that we are receiving as a province. These are badly misplaced. Unless they have got an agenda or those pronouncements are made for a particular purpose, then, we will judge accordingly. If you look at the Budget, you will find that Muchinga Province has the lowest allocation of K44,628,942. For example, when I was perusing the Yellow Book, I noted that Southern Province has an allocation of K95,327,161.  So, between the two provinces, which one has the highest allocation? Some of the people that are speaking the loudest are from provinces that have been allocated more money than Muchinga Province. This cannot be a disparity that is done intentionally for the purpose of disadvantaging another section of the community. 

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

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: Order! Let us allow the hon. Minister to respond.

Mr Mwiimbu: But he should follow procedures.

The Deputy Chairperson: Order! Just take your seat. All of you were given an opportunity to debate and, now, it is the opportunity for our colleagues on the right to respond. Therefore, we will call for patience so that we can make progress. 

Points of order are granted at the discretion of the Presiding Officer and so, bear that in mind. If I have not given you the point of order, it does not mean that I have not heard you. It could be that I am still considering whether to grant the point of order or not. 

Continue, hon. Minister.

Hon. Government Member: Hear, hear!

Col. Chanda: Mr Chairperson, Chinsali which has been declared the capital town of Muchinga Province is an eyesore. I first went to Chinsali in 1958 when I went to pay homage to the late Lenshina.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Col. Chanda: Mr Chairperson, if you had to compare the state it was in, in 1958, and how it is now, you can shed tears. 

Interruptions

Col. Chanda: Mr Chairperson, the amount of negligence that the previous administration subjected the people of Chinsali to is unacceptable.

Hon. Government Members: Yes.

Col. Chanda: It is totally unacceptable and this is the more reason I must salute His Excellency the President for taking this bold step …

Hon. Government Member: Amen.

Col. Chanda: … of declaring Muchinga a province and for drawing up a developmental agenda for the district so that it can come in line with the rest of the provincial headquarters.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Col. Chanda: Mr Chairperson, I have been to Choma, Livingstone and all the other provincial headquarters in the country. If I took any one of the debaters from the other side to Chinsali, they would shed tears.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Col. Chanda: Mr Chairperson, the last time I went there, I had to sleep in a 4 by 4 quarter and I had to use water that was boiled on a brazier to bath.

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

Col. Chanda: Mr Chairperson, when the hon. Opposition Members are debating about the developmental projects in Chinsali, it is as though this Government has poured all the resources there and that, all of a sudden, it is now a paradise.  That is far from the truth.

Hon. Government Members: Yes.

Col. Chanda: Mr Chairperson, these are national leaders and they must debate facts. Political expediency cannot do when we are talking about issues of development.

Hon. Government Members: Yes.

Col. Chanda: Mr Chairperson, if they had been to Chinsali, probably, they would have debated in a different manner. I invite those who would be interested to go to Chinsali. However, they would have to give me two days notice because I would have to find a tent for them to sleep in.

Laughter

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Col. Chanda: Mr Chairperson, they would only understand the backwardness that we are talking about if they went there.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Col. Chanda: Mr Chairperson, the construction of the Robert Makasa University was a project that was started by the MMD Government. It was not started by the PF Government. 

Hon. Government Member: In fact, it was started by UNIP.

Col. Chanda: I am even reminded that it was started by the United National Independence Party (UNIP) Government.

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: Order! Order!

Just address the Chairperson. 

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: Allow the hon. Member to debate. He is the Deputy Minister for Muchinga Province.

Col. Chanda: Mr Chairperson, the construction of Paul Mushindo University is the initiative of the PF Government …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Col. Chanda: … and we are so proud of it. We will not apologise for constructing Paul Mushindo University in Chinsali.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Col. Chanda: Mr Chairperson, if I may ask, what is wrong with having two universities in one town?

Interruptions

Col. Chanda: Is Chinsali not part of Zambia?

Interruptions

Col. Chanda: Mr Chairperson, is the university not going to receive students from the Southern Province?

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Col. Chanda: Mr Chairperson, is it not going to receive students from the Western Province?

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: Order! Order!

Col. Chanda: So, what is wrong with putting up those two universities in Chinsali?

Mr Ng’onga: There is nothing wrong.
 
Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

Col. Chanda: Mr Chairperson, as I said earlier, we are national leaders. We should not bring in parties and politics in matters of development. 

Mr Chairperson, there has been a lot of sing-song about the Bottom Road in the Southern Province. The MMD Government tried to work on that road, but nothing much was done. However, since the PF Government intends to bring development, which is national in character, it has started working on that road.
 
Rev. Lt-Gen Shikapwasha: On a point of order, Sir.

The Deputy Chairperson: A point of order is raised. 

Rev. Lt-Gen Shikapwasha: Mr Chairperson, the hon. Deputy Minister, who is debating, is representing Muchinga Province. Is he order to debate the Southern Province which has its own hon. Deputy Minister?

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

Rev. Lt-Gen Shikapwasha: What will the hon. Deputy Minister for Southern Province debate if the hon. Deputy Minister for Muchinga Province is debating the Southern Province? 

I need your ruling, Sir. 

Hon. Government Members: Aah!

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: Order, please! Let us have order. 

This terrible manner of debating which is being exhibited now is undesirable as it is dishonourable. Hon. Members of Parliament are not allowed to debate while seated. I know the hon. Members who specialise in debating while seated. Even without looking, I can name them. Let us desist from that. 

Coming to the point of order, you will note, no doubt, that when some hon. Members of Parliament from other provinces were debating, they dragged Muchinga Province into their debate. Therefore, the hon. Deputy Minister representing Muchinga Province is in order to respond. Continue.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Col. Chanda: Mr Chairperson, I thank you for your protection. That is precisely the point I was trying to make.  

Mr Mwiimbu: On a point of order, Sir. 

The Deputy Chairperson: A point of order is raised. 

Mr Mwiimbu: Mr Chairperson, I need your serious ruling on the hon. Deputy Minister who is on the Floor representing Muchinga Province and casting aspersions on issues pertaining to the Southern Province. Will it be procedural, for the hon. Deputy Minister for the Southern Province to respond to the hon. Deputy Minister for Muchinga Province in answer to the issues he is raising if the issues are coming from the Government? Will it be procedural for Hon. Munkombwe to start refuting what Hon. Col. Chanda is saying and start raising issues against Muchinga Province? Will it be procedural to proceed this way on the Floor of this House? 

The Deputy Chairperson: The ruling I made earlier is very clear. 

Some hon. Members from the North-Western Province, for instance, dragged in Muchinga Province into their debate. The debate was to the effect that wealth is being taken to Muchinga Province. I also recall that an hon. Member from the Northern Province also lamented that Northern Province is not receiving a fair share of the national cake because Muchinga Province is getting the lion’s share. 

By the same token, some hon. Members from the Southern Province also debated along those lines. It is now the opportunity for the hon. Provincial Minister, representing Muchinga Province, to answer. 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Chairperson: I think that in all fairness, he must be allowed to respond. 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Chairperson: This is the problem we run into. Once you drag other people into your debate, expect a response at an appropriate time. I think that we must be patient enough to listen to what he has to say because a debate is an exchange of facts. You have given your facts and the person who is responsible for that particular province also has facts and it is only fair that he is given a chance to put his facts for everybody to see. 

So, the ruling is that he is in order except that he must not spend all his time on that because the Provincial Minister for that particular province will also have a bite at responding to specific contributions. 

Hon. Col. Chanda may continue. 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Col. Chanda: Mr Chairperson, I thank you most sincerely. 

Sir, the onerous task that I have before the House is to draw parallels because it was insinuated in this House that this Government is spending all the resources on Muchinga Province, which is not true, and I have to find a way to justify it.  

The debates by Hon. Dr E. Lungu and Hon. Sichula were very informative. The points that were raised are the core of most of the developmental agenda that we have as a province. Issues of sanitation and water reticulation are matters that we are giving priority in our development in the various areas. 

Mr Chairperson, we have no infrastructure to speak about in the province and we are starting something almost from zero. The hon. Members will have to bear with the administration that, as we progress, we have a very limited resource envelope.

Mr M. H. Malama: Yes.

Col. Chanda: This being the case, it is not possible to develop all the seven districts and satisfy them in terms of development at the same rate. This will be a phased development so to speak.

Mr Chairperson, we have challenges in the province. The road infrastructure is in a terribly deplorable state. I think you can bear me witness, especially those who have driven on the Chinsali/Nakonde Road. There are accidents everyday, even as you drive from Mpika going towards Nakonde it is a common sight to find trucks that are laden with goods meant for the country that have overturned because of the poor state of the road. It is not that it is all honey in the province.

Mr Chairperson, this Government has been very fair in its distribution of resources regardless of where you come from.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Col. Chanda: I do not want to make comparisons because I have been guided, but suffice it to say that, at the moment, as a responsible Government, Muchinga Province will get a share. The other provinces that are also entitled to development must bear with us and must respect that view.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Col. Chanda: Mr Chairperson, I have with me a summary of a typical example that illustrates the fairness in the distribution of resources by the Government in distributing the resources. Muchinga Province budget is 44 million plus a percentage of 5.9 per cent, Lusaka has got 9.5 per cent, the Southern Province has 12.7 per cent of the budget.

Mr Mwila: Finshi balelanda nomba.

Col. Chanda: The Western Province has 9.5 per cent,

Mr Mufalali: Oh! No.

Col. Chanda: The North-Western Province has 9.6 per cent, Copperbelt 11 per cent, Luapula Province 9 per cent. So, the question of saying that the budget or the national cake is not equitably distributed is neither here nor there.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Col. Chanda: It is not possible. This Government is very responsible.

Mr Ng’onga: Hear, hear!

Col. Chanda: We have shared the cake equally. We have even denied our own children. We have decided to give the larger chunk of the cake to other areas so that we balance up development.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Col. Chanda: Please, allow us also, as a new province, to get a bit of that share because we want to bring the province on a par with the rest of the provinces.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Col. Chanda: We have lagged behind and, therefore, to catch up, there must be extra resources that must be ploughed into the province. Hon. Namugala, the hon. Member of Parliament for Mafinga spoke very well. I was very impressed and the issues she raised were very mature and pertinent. The only advice I can give to my sister is that, on Monday, we are having a PDCC and we have officially invited everyone so that we can discuss and, probably, have our concerns also listened to so that we harmonise the issue of how best to equitably share the national cake in the province.

Mr Chairperson, with those few words, it is my humble request that hon. Members should be kind to Muchinga Province and bear with us. Take time, when we rise, to visit the province so that you see the amount of suffering that we have to go through. Kindly support our budget so that we start moving in tandem with the rest of the country.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Minister for Copperbelt Province (Mr Mwenya): Mr Chairperson, thank you for giving me this opportunity to debate and conclude budget matters on the Copperbelt Province.

Sir, the mission statement for the province is:

 “To effectively and efficiently promote and co-ordinate sustainable development in the province in order to ensure quality and timely service delivery to the community in a transparent, accountable and equitable manner. 

Mr Chairperson, from the outset, I wish to express my gratitude to the Government for the tremendous support given to my province by way of infrastructure development which, in turn, will not only enhance economic development, but will also go a long way in the creation of employment. This fulfils the objectives outlined in the PF Manifesto on which we were elected.

Sir, arising from the contribution by my three colleagues from the Copperbelt, Hon. Chungu of Luanshya, Hon. Chishimba of Kamfinsa and Hon. Mutale of Kwacha Parliamentary constituencies, I wish to highlight the following points.

Mr Chairperson, with regard to feeder roads, which seemed to be the most spoken about issue, I wish to say that the RRU is mandated to work on feeder roads throughout the province. I am mindful of the concerns expressed by my colleagues on the unit’s inability to fully meet their demands. This could be attributed to a number of factors.

Sir, firstly, the demand for this service has far outstretched the budgetary provision. This has, therefore, necessitated concentration on a few roads, especially in the three rural-based districts. However, the unit has done a number of works in the other districts and a case in point is Chingola. I wish to inform the hon. Members that the work plan covering the entire province has been drawn and efforts will, in due time, be made to cover many other roads. It is also noted that good feeder roads are a must. In this regard, I wish to appeal to the Ministry of Finance to consider increasing the allocation to feeder roads.

Mr Chairperson, as regards the plan and equipment, I wish to state that the small number of equipment coupled with the lack of spare parts has adversely affected the delivery of services.

Sir, the release of funds has also become a perennial problem. Funds are released at the end of the year and this coincides with the onset of rains which makes the operations not only difficult, but also expensive. Much of the time, the jobs have to be repeated. For instance, the bulk of the 2012 and 2013 releases were made in December.

Mr Chairperson, despite the above challenges, many feeder roads have been worked on and I want to take this opportunity to appeal to the Ministry of Finance to consider releasing funds before the onset of the rainy season.

Sir, with regard to trunk roads, I would like to say that the works on the roads under the Road Development Agency (RDA) have continued to proceed smoothly and the notable ones that are being worked on are the Ndola/Kitwe, Kitwe/Chingola, Sabina/Mufulira, Kalulushi/Lufwanyama roads and the works are quite impressive.

Mr Chairperson, many urban roads have also been worked on under the auspices of the Ministry of Local Government and Housing.

Mr Chairperson, my area of concern relates to the roads I will make reference to. These need to be attended to without any further delay on account of the economic benefits to be derived from them.

Sir, with the construction of the Pedicle Road, the increased flow of traffic to Mokambo justifies the reconstruction of the Ndola/Mufulira Road. Once this road is constructed, it will spread the flow of traffic and will contribute to the lifespan of a few roads that have been reconstructed. 

Mr Chairperson, there is an urgent need to reconstruct the Ndola/Mufulira Road in view of the diversion of traffic via Ndola. The road which was worked on under the MMD was badly and poorly supervised and, so, it should be redone. This Government is committed to repairing that road. We are hopeful that, very soon, the road will be reconstructed.

Sir, although the Luansobe/Mpongwe Road was recently worked on by the MMD, it has, again, developed a lot of portholes and needs to be reworked on on account of economic benefits. Over and above, beyond road reconstruction, it is equally urgent that a number of bridges be constructed. These include the Mufuchani and the Matiya bridges in Kitwe and Mpongwe respectively.

Mr Chairperson, regarding Rural and Urban Water and Sanitation Programme, the St. Mary’s Dam in Lufwanyama District and the Masaiti Dam were constructed at a total cost of K298,000. The dams are used for agriculture and domestic purposes. A total of twenty-five boreholes in Lufwanyama, Masaiti and Mpongwe were also rehabilitated. An additional thirty-five boreholes are yet to be sunk in each of the three urban districts of Mufulira, Luanshya and Chililabombwe under the programme supported by the Ministry of Local Government and Housing. Under the Urban Water and Sanitation Programme, a number of projects have been completed in the three water utility companies in the province.

Mr Chairperson, on youth development, I am happy to report that the youths in the province appreciate the Government’s efforts. The outcome is most encouraging with more than thirty-nine groups participating this year.

The hon. Member of Parliament for Kwacha Parliamentary Constituency raised the issue of deforestation. I want to mention here that the province continues to participate in the bid to curb deforestation. The Forestry Department has put up one large-scale nursery which is expected to raise 1,500 assorted seedlings annually for planting in communities and forestry plantation areas. The research to find alternative energy sources such as charcoal briquettes is underway.

Sir, on education, I am happy to report that twenty-two basic schools will be turned into secondary schools thereby alleviating the current shortages. These areas have already been identified.

Mr Chairperson, on health services, tremendous progress has been made in the construction and rehabilitation of health infrastructure, with the aim of bringing service delivery closer to the people. The province has forty-eight health posts of which twenty are functional and the rest are under construction. From the 650 health posts that will soon be constructed across the country, the Copperbelt will be a beneficiary of about eighty health posts. Each constituency on the Copperbelt will benefit from this development.

Sir, lastly, the total expenditure in the 2014 Budget is K86,543,114 split into K47 million and K39 million for personal emoluments and non personal emoluments, respectively. The details of the budget are contained in the Yellow Book and that has been distributed to all.

Mr Chairperson, I thank you.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Minister for Western Province (Ms Limata): Mr Chairperson, thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to respond to some of the issues which were raised by the hon. Members of Parliament from the Western Province. I will start by addressing Hon. Miyutu’s concerns. He mentioned that the troops deployed at the borders by the Government must be removed. He also talked about development in the Western Province. The Western Province is the only province that has received nine new districts.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Limata: Therefore, development will go to all those new districts. The roads, hospitals, schools and houses for the staff in the Public Service will be built by the Government. So, we are supposed to thank the PF Government for what it has done for the people of the Western Province.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Limata: Hon. Miyutu also talked about the Kalabo/Mongu, Katunda/Lukulu and Kalabo/ Mapungu roads. The Government is going to do its best to rehabilitate these roads in the Western Province. My sister, Hon Imenda, also talked about the same roads and the Sesheke/Senanga and feeder roads. All of us from the Western Province are crying for the same thing − development in the province. The hon. Members’ cry is also my cry.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Limata: The hon. Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications is looking into the issue of road rehabilitation in the province. We are going to work hand-in-hand with him so that we can develop the Western Province together.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Limata: I understand the hon. Members’ concerns. Somebody mentioned that the Western Province is the poorest province in the country. It is true, but that was the case in the past. Today, we must change the face of the Western Province.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Limata: My appeal to hon. Members of Parliament from the Western Province is for us to work together to develop the province and change its face. If we quarrel and talk about what does not exist, development will not come to our province.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Limata: Hon. Dr Musokotwane mentioned the secondary schools in Libonda and Sikongo. I appeal to my fellow hon. Members of Parliament …

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

(Debate adjourned)

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HOUSE RESUMED

[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]

(Progress reported)

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MOTION 

ADJOURNMENT

The Minister of Home Affairs and Acting Leader of Government Business in the House (Mr E. C. Lungu): Mr Speaker, I beg to move that the House do now adjourn.

Question put and agreed to.

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The House adjourned at 1917 hours until 1430 hours on Thursday, 12th December, 2013.