Wednesday, 19th October, 2016

The House met at 1430 hours

[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]

NATIONAL ANTHEM

PRAYER

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ANNOUNCEMENTS BY MR SPEAKER

ACTING LEADER OF GOVERNMENT BUSINESS IN THE HOUSE

Mr Speaker: I wish to inform the House that in the absence of Her Honour the Vice-President, who is attending to other Government business, the hon. Chief Whip, Mr Richard Musukwa, MP, has been appointed Acting Leader of Government Business in the House, from today, Wednesday, 19th October, 2016, until further notice.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

ACTIVITIES TO COMMEMORATE ZAMBIA’S 52ND INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY

Mr Speaker: As part of the activities to celebrate Zambia’s 52nd Independence Anniversary, the Ministry of Youth and Sport is organising sporting events. The National Assembly of Zambia has joined the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Child Development in celebrating the 2016 Independence Anniversary.  In this regard, football and netball matches will be played between the diplomats accredited to Zambia and hon. Members of Parliament.

The matches will be played on Friday, 21st October, 2016, at 1400 hours at the Olympic Youth Development Centre (OYDC). Hon. Members from both the football and netball teams are urged to take these games earnestly. The training programme has already been communicated to the captains of both teams. I urge the captains for the football and netball teams to adequately prepare the players for this important encounter.

I thank you.

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MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS

ELEPHANTIASIS AND MASS DRUG ADMINISTRATION IN ZAMBIA

The Minister of Health (Dr Chilufya): Mr Speaker, thank you once more for granting me the opportunity to present a ministerial statement on the lymphatic filariasis mass drug administration campaign for 2016, which is currently being implemented in eighty-five endemic districts of Zambia.

Mr Speaker, I wish to inform the House and the nation that the Government is currently undertaking the second mass drug administration for lymphatic filariasis, a disease commonly referred to as elephantiasis. As the House may recall, this exercise commenced last year and will continue until 2020. The programme is supposed to run for five years in order to achieve the desired result, which is to eliminate elephantiasis.

Mr Speaker, this year, my ministry is implementing the campaign again in all the eighty-five endemic districts, as per attached list that I shall distribute. The exercise will take place from 10th October, 2016, to 31st October, 2016, for five days in each district. This follows the successful campaign which was conducted in 2015, in which 10.8 million people living in endemic districts received preventive chemotherapy.

Mr Speaker, the drugs being distributed, albendazole and diethylcarbamazine (DEC), have proved effective in the control and elimination of the disease. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), these drugs should be administered yearly to all eligible members of the population for five years in order to eliminate lymphatic filariasis.

Mr Speaker, lymphatic filariasis or elephantiasis, as it is commonly known, is one of the seven neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that are currently endemic in Zambia. The others are: schistosomiasis (bilharzia); human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness); soil transmitted helminths; trachoma, leprosy; and cysticercosis.

Mr Speaker, NTDs cause marked disability in the people affected, thereby reducing their productivity, and perpetuating poverty. They are common in communities which lack good water and sanitation facilities, particularly the rural districts of Zambia.

Mr Speaker, elephantiasis is transmitted from one person to the other when a mosquito infected with the filarial parasite bites a person who is not infected. The parasite then enters the uninfected person and affects the lymphatic system. This infection may take up to twenty years to manifest. When it does, the disability it causes, which involves mainly the swelling of the limbs, genitals and sometimes breasts in our womenfolk, can be irreversible.

Mr Speaker, lymphatic filariasis affects over 25 million people worldwide. Currently, over 1 billion people globally are at risk of contracting the disease, as they live in endemic areas. In Zambia, about 11 million people live in districts that are endemic to this disease and, are therefore, at risk of contracting it if nothing is done to prevent it. The survey that was conducted in the country in 2003 and 2011 revealed that certain districts such as Kalabo in the Western Province had a prevalence rate as high as 53 per cent. This provided an important background to the Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Programme in Zambia which started at a nationwide scale in 2015.
Mr Speaker, I wish to inform the House that lymphatic filariasis can be prevented using the mentioned drugs. This, however, requires repeated treatment rounds in order to eliminate it as seen in countries like Malawi.

Mr Speaker, as I conclude, I would like to encourage all eligible individuals living in the districts in which the campaign is being conducted to participate fully and seek clarification from the district medical offices, provincial medical offices or the Ministry of Health, if need be.

I thank you, Sir.

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

Mr Muchima (Ikeleng’i): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister mentioned that eleven districts have been affected by this disease. However, he only named one, which is Kalabo. Which other districts have been affected? What measures is he putting in place to sensitise citizens about this deadly disease?

Mr Speaker: Order!

Hon. Members, remember you are only allowed one question at a time or per person.

Dr Chilufya: Mr Speaker, I would like to clarify to the hon. Member that my statement read that 11 million people in Zambia are at risk of contracting elephantiasis. The preventive chemotherapy is being implemented in the eighty-five districts that are on the list that I wanted to distribute to the Members. However, with Mr Speaker’s permission, I will read the list, district by district.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Speaker: Order!

My guidance is that, please, circulate that list to all hon. Members.

Mr Ng’onga (Kaputa): Mr Speaker, when a campaign against measles is conducted, a lot of money is pumped into it and many officers get involved in it. Hence, measles campaigns are usually effective. What measures are in place to ensure that places like Kaputa get the information on elephantiasis? How will a person in the remotest part of Kaputa know that there is vaccination or drug distribution for elephantiasis this week?

Dr Chilufya: Mr Speaker, our teams in the provinces have embarked on a robust health promotion programme disseminating information to the public on the importance of the chemoprophylaxis programme that is taking place. Kaputa is one of the districts where this programme is being implemented. I would like to assure the hon. Member of Parliament that the team on the ground from the district health office is working closely with community leaders to ensure that this information is disseminated.
I thank you, Sir.

Mr Kufakwandi (Sesheke Central): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister mentioned that the disease can take up to twenty years to manifest from the time a person is bitten by an infected mosquito. Is it possible to detect it in a patient during that time?

Dr Chilufya: Mr Speaker, this disease may be asymptomatic or may have symptoms, depending on the stage of infection. However, it is possible, through blood smears, to pick out the phelaria on microscopy on blood collected in the night because the filaria circulates in the blood nocturnally. So, it is possible to detect it through a thick blood smear.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Chisopa (Mkushi South): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister mentioned that the programme started in 2015 and that about 11 million people are at risk of contracting elephantiasis. From the eighty-five districts where this programme is being implemented, can the hon. Minister give us the number of people who have been diagnosed with the disease so far.

Dr Chilufya: Mr Speaker, through the prevalence survey that was conducted between 2003 and 2011, data was produced that indicated that the prevalence rate in a number of districts was very high and in some districts, it was as high as 53 per cent. This survey looked at the blood samples that were taken. I do not have the data at hand on how many people were clinical or have been diagnosed. However, I can confidently tell the hon. Member that in addressing the numbers of people who are at risk, we have given medicines to 10.8 million people. We will be available to give specific statistics on the numbers of people who have been diagnosed with active elephantiasis at another stage, if so requested.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mecha (Chifunabuli): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister mentioned that elephantiasis is transmissible via a vector. In the measures that are being taken, he has not indicated whether there is any intention to eradicate the vector. If we do not eradicate the vector, we should forget about eradicating the disease.

Dr Chilufya: Mr Speaker, vector control is a measure that has succeeded in helping reduce the disease burden. However, it is important to note that when an infected mosquito bites a human being and infects him/her with the larvae, the microfilaria has to develop to an effective stage within the mosquito for it to infect the victim. Therefore, vector control alone is inadequate. We must eliminate the disease from the pool of infected people. That is why we are giving chemoprophylaxis. However, I must hasten to state that Zambia runs an integrated vector control programme against mosquitoes because mosquitoes are a host for various infections in Zambia. Mosquitoes transmit malaria and other infectious diseases such as the Zika virus. So, the integrated vector control is targeted at mosquitoes. We are doing indoor residual spraying. At the moment, the Indoor Residual Spraying Programme has commenced in some districts. It will spill over into more districts by the end of October. We are carrying out larviciding measures as part of vector control against mosquitoes in some districts. We are also encouraging people to protect themselves against mosquito bites by using mosquito nets. The Ministry of Health has embarked upon an Integrated Vector Control Programme not only targeted at preventing and eliminating elephantiasis, but also other diseases that are transmitted by mosquitoes.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Lufuma (Kabompo): Mr Speaker, is there any programme to inoculate hon. Members of Parliament for this deadly disease?

Laughter

Dr Chilufya: Mr Speaker, I would have thought the hon. Member of Parliament would be more worried about his constituents.

Laughter

Dr Chilufya: Sir, nonetheless, we usually give the chemoprophylaxis in childhood so that we prevent this condition from progressing or becoming clinical later on in life. We give chemoprophylaxis way below the age of the hon. Member of Parliament.

I thank you, Sir.

Laughter

Mr Speaker: That is a bottom line.

Laughter

Ms Kasune (Keembe): Mr Speaker, what has been the response from the communities? Have they been receptive? Have there been any challenges? If so, how can the ministry overcome them?

Dr Chilufya: Mr Speaker, the response has been overwhelming, notwithstanding the minor side effects that albendazole and DEC may cause such as dizziness. We are getting very good feedback from the communities and the numbers are there to show. The campaign, which commenced last year, covered 10.8 million people. That shows how good the response has been.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

STATUS OF THE PREPARATION OF THE SEVENTH NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN (7NDP) 2017-2021

The Minister of National Development and Planning (Mr Mulusa): Mr Speaker, I thank this august House for according me an opportunity to share with the nation the status of the development of the Seventh National Development Plan which will run from 2017 to 2021. The re-emergence of long and medium-term planning in Zambia from 2002 to date, has witnessed significant strides towards co-ordinated development planning processes. This can be evidenced by the production and implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) from 2002 to 2004, the Transitional National Development Plan (TNDP) from 2002 to 2005, the Vision 2030, the Fifth National Development Plan (FNDP), which ran from 2006 to 2010, the Sixth National Development Plan as well as the Revised Sixth National Development Plan  which is ending this year.

Mr Speaker, these planning instruments have been providing a platform for a co-ordinated and systematic approach in undertaking national development. It is worth noting that the implementation of the PRSP was aimed at reducing the high levels of poverty that were pervasive in the economy, especially after the privatisation process. Despite the implementation of this national development instrument and subsequent plans, poverty levels and inequality have remained high at 60 per cent and 0.65 respectively in the midst of impressive economic growth rates that have been posted over the past decade. This negative trend justifies the need to have a holistic approach to tackling development in an integrated manner using a bottom-up approach, whilst ensuring that we put in place appropriate economic governance reforms and instruments aimed at prompting inclusive growth and sustainable development. This is the approach we have taken in developing the Seventh National Development Plan which puts us on a higher level to succeed than in previous plans.

Mr Speaker, amidst all situations, the Government remains resolute in adhering to long and medium-term development planning processes. In this regard, the Government shall continue to be guided by the National Vision 2030 as a framework for achieving long-term national development goals. In keeping with the principle of good governance and entrenching ownership of development plans, our planning processes involve a wide consultation of key stakeholders who include co-operating partners, Government institutions, civil society and faith-based organisations. The academia, private sector, traditional leaders and the general public will also be included. The planning process uses mainly the bottom-up approach. The top-down approach is also applied with a view to harmonising the plan with regional and global development benchmarks.

Mr Speaker, the bottom-up approach entails consultations that start at district level, through the District Development Co-ordinating Committees (DDCCs), then, proceed to the Provincial Development Co-ordinating Committees (PDCCs) and, subsequently, reaching the sector advisory groups. The major focus of the bottom-up approach is the identification of growth areas in the districts, obtaining the key recommendations that would stimulate economic growth and poverty reduction in the country and ensure ownership of the plan by the people. The views and recommendations from the district and provincial consultations are synthesised with those of the sector advisory groups to constitute the draft plan. As we implement the Seventh National Development Plan, it is our duty to ensure that all advisory groups, including the National Development Co-ordinating Committee (NDCC), are not only active, but also repositioned as institutions for accelerating the implementation of development programmes to be contained in the plan.

Mr Speaker, the top-down approach entails consultations that start with a National Steering Committee (NSC) through to the Sector Advisory Groups (SAGs), which comprise co-operating partners, civil society and other stakeholders, down to other specialised organisations and associations. These consultations define the macro-economic parameters from the global level to the country specific issues to determine the level of the gross domestic product (GDP), financing framework, level of debt contraction and private sector participation. In addition, other indicators such as inflation rates, interest rate targets and exchange rates and per capita income targets are also defined over the five-year period of the plan. These parameters are shared with lower level structures with a view to ensuring that objectives and strategies are harmonised at various levels.

Mr Speaker, during the Official Opening of the First Session of the Twelfth National Assembly, His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, announced that the Government’s focus for the next five years will be premised on the developmental milestones in the Seventh National Development Plan whose focus will be to achieve a resilient and diversified economy. There has been significant progress made in the preparation of the Seventh National Development Plan and efforts are being made to synchronise strategic interventions in economic diversification and create resilience in the economy. The Zero draft document has been prepared and is currently being edited in readiness for validation. Planners from all sectors are meeting to jointly review the programmes and projects contained in the draft document and how these contribute to meeting the strategic focus.

Sir, it is also worth mentioning that attempts are being made to mainstream national, regional and international initiatives in the plan such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the African Union Agenda 2063 and the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) under the auspices of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Issues of gender, disability and climate change will also be mainstreamed in the planning process.

Sir, the plan is expected to meet key developmental outcomes such as reducing poverty, vulnerability, development inequalities, improving governance, environment, enhancing human development and directly take measures to enhance economic diversification. These outcomes are expected to meet key criteria for Zambia to graduate from being a least-developed country to a prosperous middle-income country. Zambia has, so far, met one criterion regarding the income graduation threshold by having a per capita Gross National Income (GNI) of US$1,327 against the threshold of US$1,242. However, the country is below the graduation threshold on human assets index and economic vulnerability. Zambia is required to meet 25.2 points or reduce the economic vulnerability index by 13.6 points.

Mr Speaker, the Seventh National Development Plan will contain specific policies, programmes and projects predominantly targeted at economic diversification and job creation and, subsequently, poverty reduction which will enable Zambia to make great strides towards graduating from a least-developed country.

Mr Speaker, in the Seventh National Development Plan, we shall endeavour to reduce the paradox of high poverty levels against a rich resource country. It still remains inconceivable that Zambia is endowed with mineral resources, wildlife, rivers, rich soils, flora and fauna, yet the economy is characterised by low industrialisation, low beneficiation from our rich natural resources and a scenario of weak diversification and high levels of unemployment, resulting in persistently high levels of poverty.

Mr Speaker, there is a need to stimulate the contribution of sectors where we have a comparative advantage in our GDP such as agriculture, mining and tourism with a view to accelerating growth and development.

Mr Speaker, as regards the relocation of the capital city that is being debated at the moment, it is a matter that will have to undergo serious consideration and should be taken as part of long-term developmental consideration which will require consensus amongst stakeholders.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

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

Mr Nkombo (Mazabuka Central): Mr Speaker, I followed the hon. Minister’s statement very carefully. He mentioned that planning begins with the District Development Co-ordinating Committees (DDCCs), the Provincial Development Co-ordinating Committees (PDCCs), the Sector Advisory Groups up to the National Co-ordinating Group.

Mr Speaker, I would like to find out whether the Government has intentions of devolving power and putting decentralisation at the centre of all the activities in the Seventh National Development Plan so that every citizen can participate, as envisaged by the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Mr Mulusa: Mr Speaker, there is a Chinese saying that goes, “a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step.” The decision to take the bottom-up approach where we allow for consultation and source initiatives right from the bottom is meant partly to give ownership of the plans to the people. It is the right step in the right direction and the next step will be to actualise our desire to decentralise as promised in the past.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mrs Chinyama (Kafue): Mr Speaker, I would like to find out whether this House will have an opportunity to interrogate this document and, possibly, make an input. I heard from the hon. Minister that this document is almost getting validated.

Mr Mulusa: Mr Speaker, the interrogation of the document has already passed, as it was discussed at district and provincial levels, and input was made through the suggestions and consultations that took place. We would like to believe that although the hon. Member is new to this House, the previous hon. Member of Parliament participated in the process at district level.  Therefore, further consultations at this stage may not take place. However, a copy of the document will be given to hon. Members and, if they feel that there are contentious issues that need to be changed, they are at liberty to move a Private Member’s Motion in that direction.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Mukata (Chilanga): Mr Speaker, one of the major challenges in planning and implementation is the weakness imbedded in monitoring and evaluation to track progress, risk plans and weak statistical platforms. What are you doing to strengthen the monitoring and evaluation mechanisms and when are you going to upgrade the Central Statistics Office (CSO) to a bureau so that it can give robust statistical information?

Mr Mulusa: Mr Speaker, the hon. Member will remember that when I used to sit on the other side of the divide, I moved a Motion requesting exactly what he has spoken about. It was implemented and resulted into the creation of the Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Project Implementation and Monitoring. This was done in order to achieve the same goal that he has talked about. The President went further and established the Ministry of National Development Planning in which one of the divisions is that of monitoring and evaluation headed by a Permanent Secretary. So, the Government has already done what the hon. Member is talking about. His concerns have been addressed.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Mbulakulima (Milenge): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister has mentioned that the last National Economic Strategy Planning was based on the bottom- up approach. He also referred to the fact that, at least, about 6 per cent growth in the gross domestic product (GDP) was recorded although the trickledown effect at the lower level was not as expected.

Mr Speaker, under the new bottom-up arrangement, what is the envisaged GDP growth and how will it sit with wealth distribution among the poor?

Mr Mulusa: Mr Speaker, the GDP growth figure is dynamic at the moment given the volatility in both the global and domestic economy. So, the figure I give you today could be revised tomorrow. However, the hon. Minister of Finance will issue a statement tomorrow in which he will talk about the GDP figure which is projected between 3.5 and 5 per cent.

Mr Speaker, let me take this opportunity to cover the part of the question by Hon. Mukata relating to the strengthening of the Central Statistical Office (CSO) and turning it into a bureau.

At the moment, there are consultations with the World Bank for support to strengthen the CSO. If the recommendations are that it be turned into a bureau, we shall go ahead with that. However, if the recommendation is that it continues, albeit with some strengthened capacity, we shall go by that.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Dr Kalila (Lukulu East): Mr Speaker, from what I have gathered from the hon. Minister’s statement, it would appear that the main thrust of the Seventh National Development Plan will be a resilient and diversified economy. In the recent past, I have heard that the key sector in this regard will be agriculture. The hon. Minister will notice that from as far back as the 1970s, especially from 1973 onwards, successive governments have talked about diversifying the economy without success. Would he care to tell me what steps he, as the hon. Minister responsible for planning, will take to ensure that this time around, the diversification takes place and whether he has bothered to look into the reasons we have not been successful in this crusade.

Mr Mulusa: Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for that inspiring and loaded question. Let me start with the last part of the question on what made the previous plans not to succeed. The reason is simple. We operated in silos. So, one sector did not know what was happening in the other sector. His Excellency the President, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, has guided that his Government takes an integrated multi-sectorial approach in development planning. This means that there is absolutely no way the Ministry of Works and Supply will go on with the Link 8,000 km Road Project without consulting the Ministries of Agriculture, Tourism and Arts, and Mines and Minerals Development. So, the steps that we have taken in the Seventh National Development Plan include mapping the resources of Zambia.

 Sir, in short, we identified the areas that are good for agriculture and which crops can be grown in specific areas. We also looked at the rainfall patterns and identified the parts of Zambia that receive a lot of rainfall and what should be grown in those areas. Further, we looked at tourism and have mapped the construction of the roads. We discovered that roads have been constructed in areas that do not support agriculture or tourism growth. So, we started by mapping where agriculture, tourism and mining should be promoted and, then, we have superimposed where the roads must be. So, you will not see any haphazard construction of roads in the term of this Government. What you will see are roads that speak back to the diversification of the economy.
 
I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Kamboni (Kalomo Central): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister mentioned that Zambia is abundantly rich in terms of natural resources. However, it has failed to use these resources to benefit the Zambian citizens. Every project that I have heard of since I came here requires the acquisition of a loan and consultation with the World Bank. Why is it difficult for Zambia, which has invested so much in intellectual property, to use its own natural resources to benefit the country? We cannot be talking of development or shifting Lusaka to another place when we have no money and have to rely on borrowing. I want my question to be answered very carefully. Why are we failing to use our resources to develop the country without borrowing?
 
Mr Mulusa: Mr Speaker, I will answer that question very carefully.

Laughter

Mr Mulusa: Mr Speaker, what has brought about the lack of development is the over politicising of everything in this country.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mulusa: Mr Speaker, the constituents sent the hon. Members to Parliament to deliberate on their aspirations but, when they get here, they start boycotting the meetings.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear! 

Mr Mulusa: However, they make sure …

Interruptions

Mr Mulusa: … that they key in their cards to earn an allowance before they walk out. 

Mr Speaker: Hon. Minister, just a moment.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order! Order!

Hon. Minister, you are at liberty to make the statement you made of over politicisation of the development process, but you should only end there. We cannot go further and begin debating ourselves .

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Just a moment. Also, the hon. Member was very specific when he referred to development without borrowing. That was the kernel of his question. If you could focus on that, I think we will make progress.

Interruptions

Mr Mulusa: I am guided, Sir.

The other challenge has been the poor policy formulation capabilities. In the past, policies were never premised on the actual challenges that our nation is faced with. As a result, the solutions that were crafted to try to address whatever challenges did not go in the direction of achieving the desired goals. The other challenge has just been the poor entrepreneurship culture in our country. We, as Zambians, do not have the initiative to take up the opportunities that are there in our country. That is the reason the majority of the people in the markets are foreigners.

Mr Speaker, as regards the issue of borrowing, it is one of the options in terms of financing development projects. In fact, long-term development can never be achieved through the collection of taxes. However, I agree with the hon. Member that when we borrow, it is prudent that we use the proceeds of the borrowings to create reproductive capacity. So, we need to share and walk together into the future that we desire using initiatives that will help our country. Let us put our heads together, move Motions and advise each other. We are a listening Government. Therefore, we shall listen to you.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mwiimbu (Monze Central): Mr Speaker, can the hon. Minister confirm that all the previous governments, apart from the Government he is currently serving in, had no proper planning and that it was haphazard. It is only in the current Government where there is proper planning and not in the governments of His Excellencies Mr Rupiah Bwezani Banda and Mr Michael Sata. Could he confirm that.

Mr Mulusa: Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to educate my elder brother on governance.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mulusa: Mr Speaker, governance is a continuous process.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mulusa: It is like a relay. When you are waiting for the other person to pass on the baton, you watch his steps, see his timing, learn from his performance and make sure you do not repeat the mistakes that he/she made. For us to be where we are means that the previous governments did the best that they could do. However, as human beings, we are not perfect. Our role at the moment is to pick up the threads and create that golden thread that will take us to another level.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Kabanda (Serenje): Mr Speaker, firstly, I wish to commend the Patriotic Front Government, ...

Hon. Opposition Members: Ah, iwe!

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Kabanda: ... for implementing the Decentralisation, ...

Hon. Government Member: Bazakuchosa nchito ba Mutati, ka.
Mr Kabanda: ... Policy which the previous governments failed to implement. This is a candid decision that has been taken. However, I would like the hon. Minister to clarify one issue regarding the new reporting structures at district level. I would like to know who will be chairing the District Development Co-ordinating Committee (DDCC).

Mr Mulusa: Mr Speaker, I would like to return to the House on another day with an appropriate answer to that question. I do not have the answer at the moment, and I am not in the habit of guessing.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Speaker: That is commendable.

Mr Chali (Nchanga): Mr Speaker, as we implement the Seventh National Development Plan, what is the projection regarding the performance of the Kwacha?

Mr Mulusa: Mr Speaker, my role as Minister of National Development and Planning is to make long-term plans while the role of the Ministry of Finance is to implement those plans in both the short and medium terms. Together with the Bank of Zambia (BoZ), the Ministry of Finance will put in place fundamentals that will determine the exchange rate in the short and medium term. So, the answer to that question is somewhat out of my competence. Therefore, I will leave it to my colleague, the hon. Minister of Finance who, obviously, has been in consultation with BoZ to provide a more informed answer.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Chibanda (Mufulira): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister has said that the Seventh National Development Plan is almost polished. He also talked about shifting the capital city. Is he in a position to tell us what premises are being looked at or which area the capital city of Zambia will be shifted to?

Mr Mulusa: Mr Speaker, I never talked about shifting the capital city, but the wide consultations that this initiative will have to undergo. My ministry is actually calling for debate around this issue. You will agree with me that at the moment, Lusaka has reached its capacity in terms of the population. There are a lot of inconveniences on the roads. For instance, if one leaves the National Assembly Motel thirty minutes before the National Assembly Sitting begins, he/she will most likely reach Parliament Buildings late. These are some of the indications that doing business in Lusaka has become expensive. Therefore, there is a need to talk about what should be done going forward. We need to talk about whether or not we should simply expand Lusaka in various directions or open up a completely new capital city. So, I am calling for debate and ideas regarding this issue.

I thank you, Sir.

Ms Katuta (Chienge): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister talked about coming up with a new capital city as a way of decongesting Lusaka City. I believe that is a long-term project. Why can the Government not think of developing the Lusaka South Multi-facility Economic Zone (MFEZ) and turning it into a city? I think that the Government can do that (looking at hon. UPND Members).

I wish to find out why – I beg your pardon …

Mr Speaker: Hon. Member, do not respond to hon. Members who debate while seated. Just ignore them.

Laughter

Ms Katuta: Mr Speaker, I thank you for protecting me. Looking at the congestion on most of the city roads, it would be a good idea for the Government to develop the Lusaka South MFEZ. So, instead of waiting for Kafue City to be planned, why can the Government not look into that?

Mr Mulusa: Mr Speaker, having called for ideas and debate concerning this matter, I wish to take that as one of the ideas.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Member: Hear, hear!

Mr Jamba (Mwembezhi): Mr Speaker, when His Excellency the President officially opened this Meeting of Parliament, he made some policy pronouncements. In response to a question by one of the hon. Members, the hon. Minister said that this issue was debated in the last Parliament. Were your plans given to the President or do they include the policy changes?

Mr Mulusa: Mr Speaker, democratic governments such as ours have a consultative process. So, there is collective ownership of the plans. However, this is guided by the unifying theme of the President who is in office. So, the unifying theme of the President’s campaign was continuity with change and a multi-sectoral integrated development plan in the way things must be done. He also called on Zambians to be smart and all of us seated here to apply smart thinking so that we can serve our people better.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Mung’andu (Chama South): Mr Speaker, in his preamble, the hon. Minister explained that he would use the bottom-up approach. My understanding of participatory planning is that you involve the people whose lives you intend to change. However, have measures been put in place in the formulation of the Seventh National Development Plan to ensure that ordinary Zambians are empowered? I ask because we all know that our economy is mostly in foreign hands. Therefore, as we take the multi-sectoral approach, are we putting in place measures for citizens, who in real terms may not have the economic power, to participate in most of the developmental programmes?

Mr Mulusa: Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for that insightful question. Yes, we are putting in place strategies that will give ordinary Zambians opportunities to participate in the economic activities that underpin the gross domestic product (GDP) and ensure that those activities are actualised. If you have observed, most of the products and services that we consume in Zambia are imported. That has resulted in low levels of industrialisation. As a result, there are high unemployment and poverty levels. So, this ministry and others are taking stock of all the products and services that we consume in Zambia to try to re-align the measures that we put in place in order to empower the Zambians. These measures include programmes such as those for the Citizens’ Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) and Development Bank of Zambia (DBZ) to ensure that they craft their financial products in order to capacitate Zambians to own the means of production of the goods and services that they consume. That is one measure we are putting in place.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Ng’ambi (Chifubu): Mr Speaker, firstly, I wish to commend the hon. Minister for the elaborate statement. However, I would like him to highlight some of the successes that were derived from the Sixth National Development Plan, bearing in mind that planning is not only key, but also strategic to the reduction of poverty.

Mr Mulusa: Sir, the Sixth National Development Plan includes the movement towards realigning infrastructure provision to speak to economic diversification. That is why we heard quite a lot of talk from both late President Sata, may his soul rest in peace, and President Edgar Chagwa Lungu relating to the promotion of infrastructure such as the Bottom Road. The reason was that we wanted to promote infrastructure development in the tourism sector on our side of the Zambezi River to compete with the developed side in Zimbabwe.

Mr Speaker, the realignment also includes redefining the promotion of agriculture so as to make sure that we diversify crop production and the production is actually premised on areas where the soils and weather conditions promote the growth of those crops. So, there was fine-tuning of activities in our previous national plans in order to attain higher levels of results.

I thank you, Sir.

Dr Malama (Kanchibiya): Mr Speaker, does the Government have intentions of decentralising the national planning unit from district down to ward level?

Mr Mulusa: Mr Speaker, when the Government comes up with an initiative, it does not restrict itself to a particular level of governance. Therefore, I would encourage all hon. Members of Parliament to take a cue from that important question and ensure that before they start consulting at district level, they actually go down to the ward level to find out about certain Government programmes. Thereafter, they can come to the constituency, amalgamate all the views at district level before passing the information onto the provincial administration. So, while the Government has gone down to the district, I would urge all hon. Members to go down to the wards before they can engage the Government at district level.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Kopulande (Chembe): Mr Speaker, are there any specific sector programmes in the Sixth National Development Plan that the hon. Minister can call successful? Further, which sector objectives were not achieved in this plan and are there any components of the Sixth National Development Plan that he intends to carry forward into the Seventh National Development Plan?

Mr Speaker: I appreciate that this is a complex subject, but the rules still require an hon. Member to pose only one question.

Mr Mulusa: Sir, the sectors that have always been targeted by our national development plans, even before the sixth one, are mining, agriculture, tourism and manufacturing. Mining can be considered to have expanded although the country has not derived the desired benefits from it. The development of the mines in the North-Western Province all happened during the Fifth and Sixth National Development Plans. What we need to do now in the Seventh National Development Plan is fine-tune the strategies for beneficiation.

Mr Speaker, we have also scored quite some successes in agriculture. We have had bumper harvests from year to year, but what we now need to do is promote the growth of the agro-industry so that we start adding value to some of our cash crops which are exported and then imported back in the form of finished products.

Therefore, Mr Speaker, the Seventh National Development Plan is a continuous process. Every area will be carried forward. Some areas will be carried forward for purposes of fine-tuning and others to achieve whatever was not achieved in the previous plans.

I thank you, Sir.

Ms Tambatamba (Kasempa): Mr Speaker, in every plan, there are risks that are likely to be encountered during their the implementation. Having heard all the many concerns that have been raised, it is obvious that in the past, we have had risks that would have derailed some of our objectives. In view of this, what risk management processes or mechanisms have been put in place to ensure that the Seventh National Development Plan is not derailed?

Mr Mulusa: Sir, Hon. Tambatamba is right about the existence of risks that may actually derail a plan. There are several risks that have been encountered by both this Government and, as we have learnt, previous governments. Some of these risks are financially related, whereby sources of financing dried up because the economic cycle may not have supported the projected income to be able to meet our obligations as we implement projects. Further, when we have not implemented projects in a sequence, we have met risks that do not seem to give an optimist view of the State’s capacity to undertake projects.
Mr Speaker, as regards the mitigation mechanisms that we have put in place, we have taken the integrated multi-sectoral development approach that we spoke about earlier. We are also sequencing the projects in such a way that they subsidise each other. In short, for road construction, we shall start with economic roads and end with social roads. When it comes to risk mitigation factors on the financing side, we are employing a wider range of procurement options. In addition to procuring using our own resources from budgetary allocations, we are now also undertaking the contractor-financed option of procurement as well as the public-private partnership (PPP) procurement option which would not require the Government to spend any money. So, those are some of the things we are doing to fine-tune the roll-out of development.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

_____________

BILL

FIRST READING

THE ZAMBIA INSITUTE FOR TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY STUDIES BILL, 2016

The Minister of Justice (Lubinda): Mr Speaker, I beg to present a Bill entitled the Zambia Institute for Tourism and Hospitality Studies Bill, 2016. The objects of this Bill are to:

(a) establish the Zambia Institute for Tourism and Hospitality Studies and provide for its functions;

(b) constitute the Council of the Zambia Institute for Tourism and Hospitality Studies and provide for its functions;

(c) provide for the development of human resources in the tourism sector through academic and professional development, skills training, research and consultancy; and

(d) provide for matters connected with, or incidental to, the foregoing.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Speaker: The Bill stands referred to the Committee on Lands, Environment and Tourism. The Committee is required to submit its report on the Bill to the House by Tuesday, 8th November, 2016. Hon. Members who wish to make submissions on the Bill are free to do so within the programme of work of the Committee.

Thank you.

_____________
MOTIONS

ACCELERATE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Mr Lufuma (Kabompo): Mr Speaker, I beg to move a Motion that this House urges the Government to accelerate the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Mr Speaker: Is the Motion seconded?

Mr Kunda (Muchinga): Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.

Mr Lufuma: Mr Speaker, Agenda 2030 on the Attainment of United Nations Sustainable Development was adopted by the United Nations (UN) on 25th September, 2015, to drive the global efforts to end poverty and place the planet on a sustainable development course over the next fifteen years. The new programme builds on the results, lessons learnt and experiences of implementing the millennium development goals (MDGs) which were set by the UN as the development agenda from 2000 to 2015. As the House may be aware, the SDGs are designed to address the following development issues:

(a) end poverty in all forms everywhere;

(b) end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture;

(c) ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages;

(d) ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all;

(e) achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls;

(f) ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all;

(g) ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and clean energy for all;

(h) promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all;

(i) build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation;

(j) reduce inequality within and among countries;
(k) make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable;

(l) ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns;

(m) take urgent action to combat climate and its impacts;

(n) conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development;

(o) protect, restore and promote the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss;

(p) promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels; and

(q) strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development.

Mr Speaker, as can be seen from the foregoing, the SDGs constitute an interlinked framework, fusing together economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, including provisions to mobilise the resources required to support implementation. Through the various actions taken so far, it can be stated that the Zambian Government, as a member of the UN, has committed to this new global agenda on behalf of its people.

Furthermore, Mr Speaker, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) reminds member Parliaments in paragraph 45 of Agenda 2030 by recalling that, “the essential role of Parliaments is through their enactment of legislation and adoption of budget and their role in ensuring accountability for the effective implementation of our commitments”, and in paragraph 79 which states the role of Parliaments in supporting the regular and inclusive reviews of progress at the country level.

Sir, the declaration of the 4th World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments adopted on 2nd September, 2015, provides further guidance to Parliaments on the implementation of the New Global Agenda. The Zambian Parliament, therefore, urges the Government to translate the global SDGs into a national plan for sustainable development with its own country-specific goals that are time bound and with targets.

Mr Speaker, in light of the foregoing, the Members of Parliament of the National Assembly of Zambia adopted a framework of collaboration with the Zambian Government to complement the UN SDGs through a ten point plan as follows:

(a) propose to complete the construction of all constituency offices by 2030 and increase the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) by a negotiated percentage as a means of reducing poverty at grassroots level from the current 60 per cent to the national target of 30 per cent.

(b) reduce child mortality to the UN target of sixty-three deaths per 1,000 live births;

(c) reduce maternal mortality in childbearing to the UN target of 162 deaths per 100,000 live births;

(d) lessen the destruction of forest land to not more than 100,000 hectares per year through the cutting down of trees for charcoal and find alternative forms of energy;

(e) urge the Ministry of Finance to work closely with partners such as China, the United States of America (USA), the European Union (EU), and others to invest more in the country;

(f) work with Zambian missions abroad in China, the USA, the EU, Russia and others to encourage investors such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to come to Zambia to provide loans to the Zambian farmers and vulnerable groups at low interest rates;

(g) join initiatives like the “One Belt,One Road” initiated by China which is a partnership economic zone to promote economic trade among developing countries and the Forum for China Africa Corporation (FOCAC) specifically for trade relations between China and Africa.

(h) review the existing Committee structure and all internal processes to effectively and coherently mainstream all relevant goals through Parliament by holding regular hearings with the civil society organisations, the private sector and constituents at large;

(i) request the Government to table a report on the implementation of the SDGS with statistics from the Central Statistical Office (CSO) for a thorough review by Parliament and review all national progress reports presented by the Government to the UN as part of the global review progress of the High-Level Forum on Sustainable Development; and

(j) urge the Government, through the UN agencies in the country, to sensitise the citizens of Zambia by the end of 2016, with assistance of the media, civil society organisations, schools, universities, colleges and constituencies at large through public debate on the relevance of the SDGs to the development of Zambia.

Mr Speaker, it is often stated that it is true that the Executive governs. As such, and in order to bring to fruition the SDGs, the Government bears the direct responsibility to bring this about. It is in light of this that I appeal to the House be united in urging the Government to implement the UN SDGs.

Sir, the House may also wish to know that the SDGs are important for the following reasons:

(a) the global goals help individuals, organisations and governments worldwide to agree on the direction to take. Essentially, this means focusing on what really matters and on social mobilisation which helps the world to fight poverty;

(b) they create peer pressure because with the adoption of the MDGs, political leaders have publicly and privately been questioned on the steps they will take to end extreme poverty;

(c) they create networks of expertise, knowledge and practice, which revolve around sustainable development challenges and, when these bold goals are set, those communities of knowledge and practice come together to recommend practical pathways to achieving results ; and

Mr Livune: Hear, hear!

Mr Lufuma: Mr Speaker, further,

(d) SDGs mobilise stakeholder networks, community leaders, politicians, Government ministries, the scientific community, leading non-governmental organisations (NGOs), religious groups, international organisations, donor organisations and foundations.

Therefore, these are motivated to come together for a common purpose. This kind of multi-stakeholder process, Sir, is essential for tackling the complex challenges of sustainable development and fighting against poverty, hunger, disease and ignorance.

Sir, this is an important and straightforward Motion which, I am certain, will find support from both sides of the House.

 Mr Speaker, I beg to move.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

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

Mr Kunda: Now, Sir.

Mr Kunda: Mr Speaker, let me begin by thanking you for giving me the opportunity to second this important Private Member’s Motion moved by the Member of Parliament for Kabompo West Constituency, Hon. Ambrose Lufuma.
Sir, allow me to commend the mover on the manner in which he has moved this non-controversial Motion.

 Mr Livune: Hear, hear!

Mr Kunda: Mr Speaker, the House will appreciate that the ultimate aspiration of the seventeen sustainable development goals (SDGs) adopted in September, 2015, is to create a just and prosperous world, where all people realise their rights and live with dignity and hope. However, it is agreed by all countries that the SDGs will now benefit the majority of the people that are wallowing in poverty if concrete steps are not put in place to translate the goals into action. This responsibility rests with our Government whose responsibility is to implement the development agenda. This is what forms the gist of this Motion, that the Government needs to develop appropriate policies and mobilise resources for financing long-term investments.

Mr Speaker, the millennium development goals (MDGs), which came to an end in 2015, did not manage to lift all the people out of poverty, as too many people were left behind. Oxfam, in its report entitled “An Economy for the 1 Per Cent”, dated 18th January, 2016, argues that the gap between the rich and poor is reaching new extremes. It cited a Credit Suisse source which recently revealed that the richest 1 per cent have now accumulated more wealth than the rest of the world’s population put together. The report also shows that the wealth owned by the bottom half of humanity has fallen by a trillion dollars in the past five years. This is clear evidence that today, we live in a world whose levels of inequality we may not have seen for over a century and Zambia is not an exception.

Sir, the House may also wish to note that as a country, represented by the Head of State, we committed ourselves, as enshrined in the SDGs, to the principle that every person, including the poorest and most marginalised, should reap the benefits of the global prosperity and freedom and that no one should be left behind. It, therefore, follows that this is a non-controversial Motion that should receive support from both sides of the House.

Mr Speaker, the House may remember that during the United Nations (UN) Summit on the Post-2015 Development Agenda in New York, United States of America (USA), on 26th September, 2015, His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, …

Mr Livune: Question!

Laughter

Mr Kunda: … delivered a statement in which he said that Zambia would give primacy to the  implementation of the SDGs as a means to stimulate its development trajectory that takes into account all the three pillars of sustainable development.

Sir, I am aware that the country is currently involved in a number of consultations with various stakeholders with a view to putting into context the fundamental provisions agreed upon by member States, as it develops its Seventh National Development Plan. The development of the Seventh National Development Plan will give the country greater latitude to effectively domesticate the various provisions of Agenda, 2030.         

Mr Speaker, it, therefore, follows that the Government should translate these positive statements into concrete actions and ensure that no one is left behind. Accelerating the implementation of the SDGs will require a mix of financial resources, technological development and transfer, capacity building, inclusive and equitable globalisation and trade, regional integration, and the creation of a national enabling environment required to implement the new sustainable development agenda, particularly in developing countries.

Specifically, actions to be undertaken should include:

(a) adopting policies to advance equitable human rights-based sustainable development. In this regard, I hope that the Seventh National Development Plan will be launched soon;

(b) mobilising resources for sustainable development financing from domestic and external sources which should include both public and private flows. This should begin with the Budget for the 2017 Financial Year that the hon. Minister of Finance will present; and

(c) developing the implementation capacity at national level. National administrative and technical capacities have long been identified as key drivers for sustainable development while a lack of capacity as a major bottleneck for not having achieved the MDGs.

Mr Speaker, let me end by urging the Government to work closely with the Zambian Parliament. As people’s representatives, it is in our interest to see people in our constituencies lifted out of poverty. The successful implementation of the SDGs will require a lot of political will. The Government will need to back the implementation of these goals with public spending and wider policies that lower the barriers facing the poor, disadvantaged girls, the disabled and those living in rural areas and urban informal settlements.

Mr Speaker, I beg to second.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Interruptions

Mr Speaker: Order!

The consultation on my left is rather loud.

Mr Kunda: I beg to second. 

Dr Kalila (Lukulu East): Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to make a few comments on this important Motion brought to the Floor of the House by my two colleagues, the hon. Member for Kabompo and the hon. Member for Muchinga. There is no doubt that the sustainable development goals (SDGs) are an important framework which all hon. Members of Parliament ought to know about in detail and support.

Mr Speaker, last week, an hon. Member on this side of the House made a statement on the Floor to the effect that from the time the Patriotic Front (PF) Government came into power, he had observed that the levels of hunger had increased. If you recall, the reaction from my colleagues on your right was swift. In fact, one of them castigated him by reminding him that his statement was not true, that the economy had grown and that he should learn to appreciate.

Mr Speaker, I have brought this up because, as you know, Sustainable Development Goal No. 2 relates to hunger.

Mr Livune: Hear, hear!

Dr Kalila: A few days later, the International Food and Research Institute released the Global Hunger Index, which ranked our country as the third most hungry in the world. I was very embarrassed to read this report. This is the more reason we must take a keen interest in the SDGs.

Sir, the goals are party-blind. They do not speak to a particular political party, but to all of us. As my two colleagues have pointed out, the fact of the matter is that we should take a lead in urging our colleagues who are in the driving seat of development for our people to accelerate the implementation of the framework.

Mr Speaker, as Members of Parliament, the issues that we espouse when we visit our constituencies such as hunger, poverty, education, health, environmental sustainability and climate change are exactly what is contained in the SDGs.  It, therefore, goes without saying that it is our responsibility to continue to urge those who are in the driving seat to accelerate this development framework to which Zambia is a party.

Sir, my standing here is merely to augment what my colleagues have stated on the Floor of this House. I know that as hon. Members of Parliament, we have a role to play in these development goals. Firstly, it is our duty to promote them. It is our duty to use the SDGs to hold accountable our colleagues whose mandate is to ensure that there is development everywhere in our country. It is also our duty, as hon. Members of Parliament, to use the SDGs to evaluate the efficacy of the programmes that are in the seventeen SDGs.

Mr Speaker, it is important to point out that unlike the MDGs, which were only eight, the SDGs are seventeen, making implementation a little bit more stringent. We heard from colleagues that we still have a lot of unfinished business with the eight MDGs mostly as a result of implementation and financing challenges. The question is: If we failed to implement eight development goals, how are we going to implement seventeen development goals that have more than 100 indicators?

Mr Speaker, I would like to bring to the attention of my colleagues the challenge I see with the seventeen SDGs. Apart from the stringency in implementation, the goals place more premiums on nations to try to achieve them. The targets are onerous and will require a lot of commitment, political will and policy changes from member countries. 

What I heard this afternoon about the Seventh National Development Plan being in the offing is commendable. What is important to me is the fact that it is being aligned with the SDGs and the Agenda 2063, which is an agenda of the African Union (AU). This means that there is an attempt to domesticate this international development framework through our own home-grown policy modification which is in the offing at the moment. I hope that this is not lip service, which is a disease in this country. I hope that it will be brought before us eventually so that we can evaluate it and ensure that what we have been told is what is going to happen.

Mr Speaker, the other challenge that I foresee with the SDGs relates to their financing. If we failed to finance eight goals, how are we going to finance seventeen goals? These goals have been broadened to include, as much as possible, all the sectors of human endeavour. Considering the way we budget in this country, which I have never agreed with, the SDGs are just going to be a pipe dream for this country. Why do I say that?  Firstly, we have heard from the chief planner, so to speak, that we are going to pursue an integrated approach to our planning, meaning that we are going to do as much as possible. However, we know that our resource basket is very small. We should change the way we budget by concentrating on what we do best over a period of time before we shift to another sector. This idea of having a three-year Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) with very little resources is achieving nothing. In this regard, I hope that those who are in the position to look at this issue will make amends. I am constrained to say more before I see the Budget. Perhaps, I will be able to comment further when I finally receive the Budget on the Floor of this House, although I have been expecting it sooner rather than later.

Mr Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this effort that has been made by our colleagues. Let us urge the Government to accelerate the implementation and domestication of the SDGs. I also urge hon. Members to take an interest in reading extensively about the goals, especially that all of us here have, at least, a Grade 12 Certificate. I know ...

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Dr Kalila: ... that we can do justice to this very important subject. Somebody said, “Question!” when I said we have Grade 12 Certificates. Maybe, there are others who do not have, in which case ...

Mr Speaker: Order!

Do not worry about your neighbour here.  That is my challenge.

Laughter

Dr Kalila: Mr Speaker, without wasting much time, I have noticed that there are other colleagues who want to contribute on this Motion. Therefore, I would like to end by saying I support this noble effort which is bipartisan.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Bwalya (Lupososhi): Mr Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the Motion on the Floor of the House that is urging the Government to accelerate the implementation and domestication of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Sir, indeed, we are part and parcel of the international community. As such, we belong to the global village within which we collaborate with various institutions and international organisations, and the United Nations (UN) is one of them. As members of the UN, we subscribe to its objectives and aspirations. The implementation of the seventeen SDGs requires concerted effort. The Government of the Republic of Zambia is cognisant of the fact that we need to ensure that we approach the implementation of the SDGs using the multi-sectoral approach as stipulated ...

Mr Speaker: Order!

Business was suspended from 1615 hours until 1630 hours.

[MADAM FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair]

Mr Bwalya: Madam Speaker, before business was suspended, I was saying that Zambia is part and parcel of the UN and that we subscribe to its aspirations.

Madam Speaker, in his address to this House, His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, stated that we need to approach issues using the multi-sectoral approach and the SDGs are no exception. The Government has been working hard to meet all the by incorporating them in all the sector ministries. It is also true that all the issues that are stipulated in the SDGs were part and parcel of the Bill of Rights, which was presented to the Zambian people through the Referendum. However, because some of our colleagues decided not to support it, it has now become difficult to attend to a number of things that they ...

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Bwalya: ... are pushing for.

Madam Speaker, the rate at which we are attending to the SDGs is clear. I do not know whether we should improve our pace.

Hon. Opposition Members: Ah!
Mr Bwalya: I will demonstrate how the SDGs are being tackled by the Government.

Madam Speaker, with regard to Sustainable Development Goal No. 3 which reads: “Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages.” This is being done under the Ministry of Health. This will ensure that we provide health services and bring them closer to the doorsteps of the Zambian people. The House may know that the construction of the 650 health posts is an effort towards attaining Sustainable Development Goal No. 3.

Madam Speaker, Sustainable Development Goal No. 6 will ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. His Excellency the President has spoken about this and has even gone further to propose the creation of a Ministry of Water and Sanitation. This, again, is aimed at ensuring that the SDG is given prominence in the implementation. The pace is very clear. We need to follow the laid-down legal framework and create what is proposed. Very soon, this House will be engaged in the creation of the ministry with the sole-responsibility of ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation.

Madam Speaker, the Government is equally attending to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal No. 9. This is because we are yet to deliberate on the creation of the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure as proposed by His Excellency the President. The aim of Sustainable Development Goal No. 9 is to build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation.

Madam Speaker, His Excellency the President recognises the importance of the SDGs. Therefore, I do not see why we should urge the Government to accelerate their implementation when this is being done at the pace stipulated by the Constitution of Zambia. We cannot have a ministry responsible for infrastructure without it being approved in this House.  I was hoping that perhaps, our colleagues would withdraw this Motion and wait until the ministries have been created so that some of the development goals can be attended to.

Madam Speaker, industrialisation was one of the subjects in the President’s Speech. The President talked about ensuring that we anchor our economy on diversification and industrialisation. So, the implementation of the seventeen SDGs is underway and it is being done efficiently and effectively. We all know that it is not possible for us to implement to all of them at the same pace. This is because the international economic landscape, which Zambia is a part of, is unstable. On the local scene, revenue collection is not as good as everyone would want it to be. Consequently, our resource envelope is not good enough for us to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs. It is, therefore, my hope and prayer that we take our time. This Motion that is urging us to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs is knocking at a door which is already open. These are the things that we are already doing. We know that every sector ministry is involved in ensuring that the goals are not only domesticated, but also implemented. Of course, they must be commensurate with our resource envelope which all of us want to ensure is be better than it is today.

Madam Speaker, Sustainable Development Goal No. 2 is aimed at ending hunger, achieving food security, improving nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture. Agriculture can only be sustained if we electrify the rural areas and attend to the feeder roads. All that money must come from the National Treasury. Like I said earlier, Zambia is part of the global economy. So, it is equally under pressure due to climate change.

Madam Speaker, in conclusion, I strongly feel that if our colleagues supported us in the Referendum, it could have been the ideal …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Bwalya: … platform and avenue for them to advance this agenda. It could have assisted us domesticate the SDGs. Constitutionally, as Members of Parliament, we are now playing an additional role of approving international agreements, protocols and any other charters that may come our way. The Bill of Rights (BORs) would have made life easy for all of us because it would have been enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Zambia.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Nkombo (Mazabuka Central): Madam Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to debate this Motion that I think is extremely innocent and deserves the support of every Member of this House.

Madam Speaker, the word, “accelerate” is directly related to rave counts. It is called Raves per Minute (RPM) and I see no hazard in agreeing that the development of anything be accelerated, as a beginning point.

Mr Sing’ombe: Hear, hear!

Mr Nkombo: Madam Speaker, there is neither misdemeanor nor harm in simply saying, if our destination is Livingstone and it takes four hours to get there, we must attempt to get there in three-and-a-half hours. This is what this Motion is seeking to do. We have a paradigm shift now.

Madam Speaker, coming to the substantive Motion, let me thank the mover, Hon. Lufuma, Member of Parliament for Kabompo and the seconder, Hon. Kunda, Member of Parliament for Muchinga for moving the Motion. This actually goes to show that this Motion is apolitical and only serves to meet the interests and aspirations of the people we represent. 

Madam Speaker, to change my rave count now, let me state that we are stemming off the millennium development goals (MDGS). It would have been nice if the Government had given us an appraisal or update on how well we performed on the MDGs because it had some specific targets or timelines. I am sure the Executive Wing of the Government is fully aware of where we are in terms of the implantation of the eight MDGs. 

Madam Speaker, the sustainable development goals (SDGs) also address the same paradox of a wealthily endowed country like Zambia with extremely poor citizens. It speaks to the biblical teaching that in the midst of plenty, a fool starves. We have everything that we need for us to meet the SDGs.

Madam, allow me to say one or two things that will relate to what I think are the external factors that are probably slowing down the achievement of the SDGs that are within our reach and the internal factors. There are things that we can collectively do in order to get rid of the extreme poverty.

Madam, the external factors relate to the global village. We know how the effects of climate change has devastated this part of the world; how industrialisation has contributed towards the destruction of the ozone layer; and how the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNCCC) has attempted, since the Kyoto Protocol, to ensure that we arrive at some equity in reducing greenhouse gases. Those are the issues that the SDGs are speaking to in relation to environmental sustainability.

 Madam Speaker, although this is slightly out of our ambit, it is something that we can work towards as part of the group of the seventy-seven countries most affected by the effects of greenhouse emissions and climate change which result in extreme heat or, in certain cases, above normal rainfall which causes floods and, ultimately, damages crops, resulting in starvation. This is the only thing that we can do, as a country, to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs.

Madam Speaker, if, however, one argues that because the Referendum failed, we must resign ourselves to the fact that our people’s lives must not improve, then, that requires a forensic check to see whether or not we are on the same page because regardless of what one’s position is, we are here for a common purpose, which is to uplift the living standard of the common person on the street.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Nkombo: To continue blaming the failure of the Referendum on a certain group of people also requires a forensic check because it is totally incorrect. The Referendum had a threshold which was not met. It had to meet more than 50 per cent of eligible voters and not registered voters. However, that is an argument for another day. I just wanted to put into perspective the fact that the enhanced Bill of Rights must be the reason and the sole reason the Patriotic Front (PF) must succumb to the acceleration of the attainment of the SDGs because they are for the greater good.

Madam, coming to our local situation, I will relate it directly to the issue of environmental sustainability because I want to set that aside and come to other issues, inter alia, hunger, disease and poverty.

Madam Speaker, we have a problem of sustaining our environment simply because we have not been innovative enough to actualise the realisation of alternative sources of energy and still, by and large, depend on fossil fuel or in simple terms, firewood or charcoal which is a contributor to deforestation and has an adverse effect on how much rain we receive. You know that Zambia, especially the southern part of it, has been rapidly desertified. Among the things we can do to mitigate against the effects of desertification is ensure that we plant trees.

Madam Speaker, I recall that in the 2006/2011 Session of Parliament, there was a female Minister of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources who was passionate about replanting trees. I am sure that the Chair knows who I am referring to.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order!

 Hon. Member, you will not bring the Chair into your debate. Keep the Chair out of your debate.

You may continue.

Laughter

Mr Nkombo: Madam Speaker, there was an hon. Minister who was so passionate about replanting trees that every time Parliament adjourned sine die, she would invite hon. Members to her ministry to collect a thousand plants for their constituencies. To me, that is accelerating the sustainability of the SDGs. It has nothing to do with who voted when. That is a fact.

I am gratified that the immediate past debater said that the mover is actually knocking on an open do. To me, it sounds like a contradiction. How can a door be open, yet you are not welcoming people to go through it? All it requires is for a foot to be put down a bit and accelerate the attainment of the goals apolitically. I hope that this issue will not be politicised today because it is at the heart and soul of why we are here. This is the lifeblood of why we are gathered here.

Madam Speaker, during the reign of the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD), there was also a Minister in whose term of office it was strange to see street kids.

Mr Sing’ombe: I know her. It is the same person.

Mr Nkombo: I want to buttress it with one argument that my colleague from Bweengwa made that the poverty levels have worsened. That is a fact.

Madam, I wish the hon. Minister of Finance was here to hear what I am about to say. All these issues are at the heart of austerity. They sit at the heart of prudence. Last year around October, the Budget performance under the PF was 20 per cent and there is no argument about it. Now, we are going through the hard realities of life where the Auditor-General’s Report is telling us that colossal amounts of money were either embezzled, went missing or were misapplied.

 I am now addressing the attainment of the SDGs. We have to ensure that we put our hands where our mouths are. Additionally, an hon. Minister has a large role to play.

Madam, you know as much as I do that during last year’s Budget presentation, the then hon.  Minister of Finance made a projection of 8 to 9 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth, which was impressive. Speaking for myself, I was somewhat impressed. However, shortly after that, we were told that the Budget had performed at 20 per cent. What happened to the 80 per cent?

So, how do we achieve the SDGs? That same money which went missing could have gone a long way in acquiring the food security pack which addresses the issue of extreme poverty. It could have gone a long way in improving the administration of the Social Cash Transfer Scheme. These are programmes that directly attack poverty. Surprisingly, someone talked about the Referendum instead.

Mr Mulusa: On a point of order, Madam.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Nkombo: There is a complete disconnect between Referendum and poverty.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member, order!

A point of order is raised.  

Mr Mulusa: Madam Speaker, two serious economic allegations that have been made without laying any evidence on the Table or explaining them. Firstly, that the economy performed to the extent of only 20 per cent and, secondly, that money went missing.

Madam Speaker, I need your serious ruling on the two allegations that have not been substantiated.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: My ruling is that if we are going to issue statements, we need to substantiate them. To the extent that the two statements have not been substantiated, I request the hon. Member to withdraw them unless he can substantiate them. That is my ruling.
 
Continue, Hon. Nkombo but, please, take my ruling into account.

Mr Nkombo: I treasure your counsel, Madam Speaker. Withdrawing what I just said is extremely difficult because I am parroting what the hon. Minister of Finance, who is the former hon. Member for Lunte, said here on the Floor of this House, and the Hansard is there for anyone to consult. However, for the benefit of your authority, I will rephrase it by saying that the Budget underperformed. At the time, the former hon. Member of Parliament for Lunte spoke with authority that the Budget had underperformed.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member, please, take a seat.

Mr Nkombo: So, I withdraw the …

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order! Order!

I have made a ruling, hon. Member for Mazabuka Central. The ruling is that unless you can substantiate the two statements that you have made, you have to withdraw them. Are you ready to withdraw them or are you going to substantiate them?

Mr Nkombo: Madam Speaker, I withdraw the 20 per cent underperformance and I may need time to check the Auditor-General’s Report exactly what the findings of the Auditor-General’s Office were on last year’s Budget.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member, order!

You only have two choices, to substantiate or withdraw.

Mr Nkombo: Madam Speaker, thank you, once again, for your counsel. I have difficulty withdrawing the two statements. Therefore, I will terminate my speech and thank you most sincerely for giving me the opportunity to debate. However, given time, I can come back and substantiate, at least, the financial irregularities contained in the Auditor-General’s Report.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

The Minister of Agriculture (Ms Siliya): Madam Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity to contribute to debate on this Motion.

Madam Speaker, while I appreciate the mover and seconder of this Motion, let me state, from the outset, that I agree with the immediate past speaker, Hon. Gary Nkombo, not to politicise this matter. Secondly, I do not support this Motion because I believe it is unnecessary. Let me begin with the argument that was given by one of the speakers about Zambia being third on the Global Hunger Index. The report that was referred to was produced by the International Food Policy Research Institute and it is a 2016 edition. I am actually expected to launch this report next week.

Madam Speaker, however, the position of the Government on this index is that it actually has loopholes. We believe that one of the loopholes is in the manner in which the data was collected. I think the index is based on three variables, namely undernourishment, nutrition and infant mortality rate. I believe that the speaker, Dr Kalila, who once served as Minister in the Government, would attest to the fact that mortality rates have improved in this country.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear! 

Ms Siliya: I believe that nutrition has also improved in this country. We know that when data on undernourishment is being gathered for the index report, the variable that is used is food distribution. However, there is a paradox here. Zambia is the only country in the region that has so much food currently. So, how can it be the third hungriest country in the world?

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Siliya: I think that that is not correct. This is why we think there are loopholes in the variable being used. The study and collection of data does not take into consideration the actual consumption in this country. This is because, currently, we do not have reports of people dying of hunger in this country.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Siliya: Madam Speaker, whenever people are faced with challenges of food, the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) under the Vice-President’s Office responds promptly. So, much as we appreciate what the index is saying, it does not mean that we, as the Government, cannot be responsible enough to work with them and identify some of the loopholes that we are seeing in the index because we believe it is skewed. It does not reflect the consumption levels in the country. Yes, there is a lot of food being distributed in the country and some people might have more while others have less, but nobody is dying of hunger in this country.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Siliya: Madam Speaker, thirdly, I wish to reiterate that there are no politics on this matter. This is because, we, on the right side of the House, have been on rave mode since 11th August, 2016. In spite of the frustrations of the Constitutional Court, we arrived in our offices running, that is, in acceleration mode. That is why we feel there is no need for this Motion. I believe that when we are talking about social and economic development, we cannot restrict ourselves to just the hunger index. We have to look at the aggregate economic variables. That is why I repeated on Friday, for the benefit of my hon. Colleague who moved the Motion, that the people of Zambia are eating, dressing, driving and schooling better than they were twenty years ago.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Siliya: I know that the right side is accelerating. However, I do not know about the left side.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Siliya: Madam Speaker, even my constituency is not as it was twenty years ago …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!
Ms Siliya: … unless people have no eyes to see and ears to hear. That is why I reiterate that this Motion is not necessary because, we, on the right side, are already in acceleration. One of the reasons I say so is that we believe in national planning. As can be seen from the development of the Seventh National Development Plan and the creation of the Ministry of National Development and Planning, there is co-ordination and harmony in the Government. There are no silos. We have one vision and, hopefully, our colleagues on the left can also share this vision.

Madam, the Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for the Sustainable Development Goal No. 2. I have also said that we are going to review the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) so that we ensure that our people do not go hungry. I thought it was important not to blow one index report out of context when the variables can be disputed and does not take into consideration all the necessary data in the country, especially that relating to consumption. Nobody is dying of hunger in this country.

With those few words, I just wish to say that we do not support the Motion.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Government Members: Hear! Hear!

The Minister for Luapula Province (Mr Chilangwa): Madam Speaker, I wish to add the voice of the people of Luapula and Kawambwa to the debate on the Motion on the Floor of this House, which I do not support. The people of Luapula Province and Kawambwa do not support this Motion because it is misplaced, misconceived and mischievous. It has not been brought here in good faith.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chilangwa: Madam Speaker, I further wish to take Hon. Lazarous Bwalya Chungu’s submissions as mine. If the mover of this Motion really cared about the acceleration of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), he should have been in the forefront to support the enhanced Bill of Rights in the past Elections.

Hon. Government Member: Hear, hear!

Mr Chilangwa: Madam Speaker, the hon. Minister of Finance will present the National Budget very soon. From the statement by the hon. Minister responsible for economic planning, we can see that the Seventh National Development Plan is in the pipeline. If the Motion was not ill-conceived, the hon. Member would have waited for the submissions of hon. Ministers of Finance and National Development and Planning in this House and then interrogate their submissions. Thereafter, he would have raised this Motion.

Without wasting much time, I would like to say that this Motion was wrongly brought before the House.

I thank you, Madam.

The Minister of National Development and Planning (Mr Mulusa): Madam Speaker, before the House, is a Private Member’s Motion on Accelerating the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) raised by the Member of Parliament for Kabompo Parliamentary Constituency, Hon. Lufuma.

The Motion is specifically urging the Government to accelerate the implementation of the United Nations SDGs which are supposed to run from the beginning of this year to 2030. These are the successor arrangement to the millennium development goals (MDGs).

Madam Speaker, the Government remains resolute in adhering to long and medium-term development planning instruments. The Government shall, therefore, continue to be guided by the Vision 2030 as a framework for achieving national development goals, in particular, inclusive growth and development. During the Official Opening of the First Session of the Twelfth National Assembly, His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, announced that the Government’s focus for the next five years would be premised on the developmental milestones in line with the Seventh National Development Plan whose focus will be to achieve a diversified, resilient and inclusive economy.

Madam Speaker, the preparation of the Seventh National Development Plan has mainstreamed national, regional and international initiatives. The programmes and strategies of the Seventh National Development Plan have taken into account international initiatives such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063 and the Istanbul Programme of Action for Least Developed Countries.

Madam Speaker, in respect of the Motion, the Government would like to assure this august House that the implementation of the UNSDGs will be aligned to the country’s development agenda. To accelerate the implementation of the goals, the Seventh National Development Plan will be translated into the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and eventually into the annual budgets. That is an indication of acceleration. This will strengthen development co-ordination and set a clear and systematic approach in accelerating the implementation of not only the SDGs, but also other initiatives that the country is a party to. It will further enhance the implementation of the long and medium-term plans, as these will be fully aligned to the MTEFs and annual budgets.

Madam Speaker, let me thank the mover of the Motion for his concern for the accelerated implementation of the UNSDGs. However, I would like to urge him in future, to conduct some research by visiting implementing ministries so as to avoid falling into a trap of couching a Motion in a manner that is like knocking on an open door.

Madam Speaker, as part of the process of mainstreaming the implementation of SDGs, the Government signed a partnership framework with the United Nations (UN) through which strategic and sector specific interventions will be undertaken on the various SDGs. The UN and Government of Zambia partnership framework is part of the initiatives along with the mainstreaming process of the SDGs in the Seventh National Development Plan aimed at accelerating the implementation of the SDGs.

Madam Speaker, if the mover of the Motion had raised a Motion, which gave strategies to be implemented in addition to what we are already implementing, to accelerate the application of the goals, maybe, we would have supported the Motion.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lufuma: Madam Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity, yet again, to wind up debate on sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Madam Speaker, the SDGs are being adopted by the entire world and used to deliver development to the people. It is surprising that you are saying we are knocking on an open door. I hear some dissenting views that they cannot, therefore, accept or support this Motion because they are already doing what the Motion is urging them to do. On the contrary, if the Governemnt is already on a path to doing this, this gives it the opportunity to accelerate even more. I do not think we are moving at 100 per cent. We want 100 per cent acceleration so that we can deliver development. Therefore, I would like to urge every hon. Member of this House to support this innocent Motion.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lufuma: Madam Speaker, this is an apolitical Motion. I am sure hon. Members will find it in their heart to support it. Nevertheless, may I take this opportunity to thank all the hon. Members of Parliament who debated this Motion. These are Hon. Dr Kalila, Hon. Chungu, Hon. Nkombo, Hon. Dora Siliya of Petauke Parliamentary Constituency, Hon. Nixon Chilangwa, Minister for Luapula Province and, finally, Hon. Mulusa, the Minister of National Development and Planning.

Madam Speaker, I ask the hon. Members to support this apolitical Motion.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Oppositions Members called for a division.

Question that this House urges the Government to accelerate the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals put and the House voted.

Ayes – (38)

Mr Bulaya
Mr Chaatila
Mr Chikote
Mrs Chonya
Mr Fungulwe
Mr Kabanda
Dr Kalila
Mr Kamboni
Ms Kasanda
Mr Kasonso
Ms Kasune
Mr Kintu
Princess Kucheka
Mr Kunda
Mr Kundoti
Mr Lihefu
Mr Livune
Mr Lufuma
Mr Lumayi
Mr Machila
Mr Mbangweta
Mr Michelo
Mr Mubika
Mr Mulunda
Mr S. Mulusa
Ms Mulyata
Ms Mwashingwele
Mr Mwewa
Mr Mwiinga
Mr Mwiimbu
Mr Nanjuwa
Mr Ndalamei
Mr Sialubalo
Mr Sing’ombe
Gen. Sitwala
Ms Subulwa
Mr Syakalima
Ms Tambatamba

Tellers for Ayes:

Mr Kunda
Mr Sikazwe

Noes – (75)

Mr W. Banda
Mr Bwalya
Mr Chabi
Mr Chali
Mr Chama
Dr Chanda
Mr Chansa
Mr Chibanda
Mr Chilangwa
Dr Chilufya
Mr Chisopa
Mr Chiteme
Mr Chitotela
Mr Chungu
Dr Hamukale
Mr Hamusonde
Mr Imbuwa
Mrs Jere
Mr Kabamba
Mr Kabanda
Mr Kafwaya
Ms Kalima
Mr Kalobo
Mr Kampyongo
Ms Kapata
Mr Kapita
Mr Kasandwe
Mr Katambo
Mr Kaziya
Mr Kopulande
Mr Lusambo
Mr Mabumba
Dr Malama
Mr A. B. Malama
Mr Mawere
Mr Mbulakulima
Mr Mecha
Mr Miti
Mr Mubukwanu
Mr Mukosa
Mr Mulenga
Mrs Mulenga
Mr L. Mulusa
Mr D. Mumba
Mr Mundubile
Mr Mung’andu
Mr Munkonge
Mr Musonda
Mr Musukwa
Mr Mutale
Mr Mwamba
Mrs Mwansa
Princess Mwape
Mr Ng’ambi
Mr Ng’onga
Mr Nkhuwa
Mr Nyirenda
Ms Phiri
Mr P. Phiri
Mr Sampa
Mr Sichalwe
Mr Sichone
Mr Sikazwe
Ms Siliya
Mr Simbao
Mr Simfukwe
Mrs Simukoko
Mr Siwale
Mr Siwanzi
Mr L. Tembo
Mr M. K. Tembo
Mr S. Tembo
Dr Wanchinga
Mr Yaluma
Mr C. Zulu.

Tellers for Noes:

Mr Simbao
Mr Sing’ombe

Abstention – (01)

Question accordingly negatived.

MOTION OF THANKS

(Debate resumed)

Mr Chansa (Chimbamilonga): Madam Speaker, before the House was adjourned last week, I was about to congratulate the former Secretary-General of the Patriotic Front (PF) now Minister of Defence. In addition, I am grateful to Hon. Dr Chishimba Kambwili who took time to support my campaign in my constituency.

Mr Ng’onga: Hear, hear!

Mr Chansa: Madam Speaker, the men, women and youths of Chimbamilonga woke up early in the morning to cast their vote which made me sail through. Therefore, I am grateful to them for their support and I assure them that since I am here to represent their interests, I will work hard to deliver development to them I will not, at anytime, disappoint them by abandoning Parliamentary Business by walking out in protest or otherwise.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chansa: Madam Speaker, let me now thank my wife, Idah, my children and my entire family for their consistent support towards my political career and during campaigns. Idah, you are such a supportive wife that I would not have achieved much if I did not marry you.

Laughter

Mr Chansa: God bless you, my beautiful queen.

Mr Sikazwe: Ema MP, aya.

Interruptions

Mr Chansa: Madam Speaker, the noble people of Chimbamilonga, whom I represent, are grateful to His Excellency the President and the PF for the projects …

Interruptions

Madam Speaker: Order, hon. Members!

Mr Chansa: … that have been implemented in the last five years, namely:
 
(i) the creation of Nsama District and Nsama Boarding School whose construction is almost complete;

(ii) upgrading of Kampinda, Munwa and Nsumbu primary schools to day secondary schools;

(iii) upgrading of eight community schools to primary schools;

(iv) the Lake Tanganyika Development Project; and

(v) the introduction of a Government boat between Mpulungu and Nsumbu, which has helped to eliminate water transport accidents which used to claim a lot of lives.

However, Madam Speaker, the boat was improvised when there was an increase in water accidents, as it was meant for fishing. In this vein, we wish to request the Government to procure a modern transport vessel to promote both local and foreign tourists. All these, are among the many developmental projects initiated and implemented by the PF Government in just five years.

Madam Speaker, the people of Chimbamilonga are grateful for whatever development the Government takes to their area, that is why they voted for the PF to do …

Mr Livune: Question!

Mr Chansa: … more work in the next five years and have more works to show in 2021.

Madam Speaker, the aspirations of my people are still high. That is why they have sent me back to this august House under the PF ticket to pursue works on the Mporokoso/Nsama/Nsumbu/Kaputa Road which was gravelled in 1983. Since then, it has not been worked on. So, travelling on it is a nightmare. This road has already been designed and tendered and contracts awarded

Madam Speaker, the people of Chimbamilonga were expecting the same road to be tarred at the beginning of 2016. This is now October and the road has not yet been worked on. Once this road has been worked on, it will give life to the Kasaba Bay Integrated Development Project and promote tourism in the Nsumbu and Mweru-wantipa national parks and boost hunting activities in the adjacent Tondwa and Kaputa game management areas (GMAs) among other benefits.

Mr Bwalya: Hear, hear!

Mr Chansa: The people of Chimbamilonga are ready to pay toll fees if that is what it will take to have a road in that region.

Madam Speaker, the lack of a district hospital in my constituency entails that patients have to be referred to Kaputa, Mporokoso or Mbala hospitals. This has resulted in some patients dying on the way to the hospital. As if that were not enough, the contractor who was awarded the contract to construct health posts in Chimbamilonga has not made any progress. So, the Ministry of Health should step in as a matter of urgency. The Government is requested to construct a district hospital to reduce referrals.

Madam Speaker, the once dependable source of protein, Lake Mweru-wantipa, is drying up and there are no efforts to save it. Human activities have rendered the canal from Kalungwishi River joining Lake Mweru-wantipa dried up and closed. Mukubwe, Munkonge, Kamusenga, Mwawe and Choma rivers, which used to flow into the lake, have had their bank closed, resulting in the lake drying up even faster.

Madam Speaker, I appeal to this hardworking Government to consider dredging canals and opening closed river banks to allow water to flow into the lake. This will enable the lake to be restocked with fish and continue providing a livelihood for our people.

Madam Speaker, one of the progressive pronouncements made by His Excellency the President during the campaigns was the creation of Nsumbu District. This will help to speed up development in Tabwaland, as Nsama District is too vast and any funding to it is like a drop in the ocean, considering the high levels of poverty. My people are always praying for President Lungu and his family because he has given them hope that the once neglected Tabwaland can now develop fast under his visionary leadership when another district is created.

Madam Speaker, land has already been identified in Nsumbu for the construction of infrastructure. Youths are waiting to get jobs once the construction begins. 

Madam Speaker, allow me to debate the President’s Speech. On Friday, 30th September, 2016, His Excellency the President opened …

Laughter

Mr Chansa: … the First Session of the Twelfth National Assembly with the theme, “Building an Integrated Multisectoral Approach to development that Enhances Inclusiveness in Development without Leaving Anyone Behind”.

Madam Speaker, the President managed to inspire confidence in the people through a well-thought-out and articulated speech, as he took the nation step by step through his development agenda which leaves no one behind.

Madam Speaker, President Lungu wants the agriculture, fisheries and livestock sectors to be the focus of the development in other sectors. The people of Chimbamilonga welcome the idea of diversification into agriculture, as farming and fishing are the main sources of livelihood in my constituency. This will be successful because of the fertile soils and good rainfall patterns, while Lake Tanganyika and Mweru-wantipa will provide a good platform for initiatives in fisheries development. This will ultimately contribute to the growth of the gross domestic product (GDP). Therefore, it will be a good idea for the Diversification Programme to start from Chimbamilonga.

Madam Speaker, youth unemployment is a cancer that we should fight with a concerted effort. The President and the PF Government have given themselves a target to create 1 million jobs for youths in the next five years. This is a good target which he should be commended for.

Madam Speaker, for the youths of Chimbamilonga and other rural areas in the country to benefit from the recruitment in the Defence Forces and the Ministry of Home Affairs, the recruitment should be conducted at district level.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chansa: This will ensure that each district in Zambia is represented at every pass-out parade. There are many youths who have completed school, yet they cannot afford to go to college or even travel to the provincial centres where there is a recruitment programme due to a lack of funds.

 Madam Speaker, increased economic activities, coupled with the growth in population have subjected the nation to unbearable load-shedding. This has further brought about what His Excellency the President referred to as “energy poverty”. I was relieved when the President informed the nation that the Government had prioritised investment in the energy sector, culminating in the reduction of load-shedding from eight hours to four hours. The PF Government should be commended for this great achievement.

Mr Livune: Question!

Mr Chansa: Madam, the House may wish to know that Chimbamilonga hosts the Kapisha Hydro Geo-thermal Plant, which was handed over to the Government by the Italians in 1988. My predecessor, Hon. Brian Sikazwe, used to talk about this plant, but the then Government did not acknowledge it. If this plant was revamped, it would help to reduce the much-talked about load- shedding.

Madam Speaker, the establishment of the Tourism Development and Investment Corporation (TDIC) as a subsidiary of the Industrial Developed Corporation (IDC) to serve as a special purpose vehicle for public investment in tourism is a welcome idea. This will now develop the Northern Circuit in general and Kasaba Bay in particular, which has remained unattended to for a long time. There is a need to complete the Kasaba Bay Airport and the Mbala/Kasaba Bay/Nsumbu Road.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Chansa: Once completed, it will promote tourism investment in the area and provide access to Nsumbu National Park, which has a lot of potential for recreation sites and activities such as mountain climbing, fishing, swimming, angling, boat cruise, game viewing, sandy dunes and water sports to mention, but a few.

Madam Speaker, allow me to kunkuludi my debate on the speech …

Laughter

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Laughter

Mr Chansa: … by commending His Excellency the President for introducing performance-based contracts for senior Government officers. This will bring about efficiency, accuracy and value for money, and a sense of responsibility, thereby increasing output.

Madam Speaker, further, the handling of disciplinary matters in the Civil Service will be decentralised to district level. This will enable senior Government officers to handle disciplinary cases like absenteeism, drinking on duty, late coming, insubordination to mention, but a few, instead of referring them to Cabinet Office. This will help instill discipline in the Civil Service.

For instance, Madam, District Commissioners, council secretaries and Permanent Secretaries can be empowered to handle disciplinary issues at district, provincial and ministerial levels and only serious matters or cases of appeal can be handled centrally. By so doing, the Civil Service will be transformed because no civil servant will hide behind the Government red tape. As a result, all civil servants who are on performance-based contracts will have no one, but themselves to blame when they are shown the door for non-performance.

 Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 Madam Speaker, let me end here.

 Hon. Government Members: Hammer!

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Hon. Members: Hear! Hear!

Laughter

Ms Mwashingwele (Katuba): Madam Speaker, I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to deliver my maiden speech for the first time-ever in this august House.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!
 
Ms Mwashingwele: Madam, I thank the Almighty God who gave me the strength, courage and wisdom to face such a vicious campaign and nerve-racking election of 11th August, 2016.

Madam Speaker, allow me to thank the United Party for National Development (UPND) leadership, …

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 Ms Mwashingwele: … led by our able leader, Mr Hakainde Hichilema and his Running Mate, Mr Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba, the secretariat led by Hon. Stephen Katuka, …

 Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Mwashingwele: … the National Trustee, Mr Collins Maoma, the National Women Mobilisation Team led by Mrs Patricia Nawa, the Provincial team led by Mr Chifita, the district team led by Mr Lloyd Kayeka, the constituency team, ward officials and all the branches for adopting me as the candidate for Katuba Parliamentary Constituency on the UPND ticket.

 Mr Livune: Hear, hear!

Ms Mwashingwele: Madam, I shall always be indebted to them individually and collectively.

Madam Speaker, my special thanks go to the people of Katuba who spoke loudly in demanding for change of leadership by turning up in large numbers to cast their vote in the August, 11th 2016, General Elections. It was not by accident that the people of Katuba voted for the UPND at all levels of the election.

 Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 Ms Mwashingwele: Madam, this is an indication of the aspirations and values of the people. We believe in self-sustenance through agriculture. The policies on agriculture in the last five years have never favoured the small-scale farmers. The people of Katuba firmly believed that it is only the UPND that could bring back agriculture policies that could …

 Hon. UPND Members: Hear! Hear!

Ms Mwashingwele: … restore our lost pride in that area. In short, we are an agriculture community and we find pride in it.

Madam, Speaker, the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) and the e-Voucher System have failed us lamentably because most of our farmers were left out. The 2015/16 farming season failed lamentably. As a result, the Food Reserve Agency (FRA), that is supposed to safeguard our stocks in case of a poor rainfall season, do not have sufficient stocks. As much as it may be argued in other quarters that we have enough reserves in this country, we all know that when a peasant farmer does not sell to the FRA, then, there is a problem in the country.
 Mr Mwiimbu: Hear! Hear!

Ms Mwashingwele: Madam Speaker, for those who may not know where Katuba Constituency is, I wish to tell them that Katuba is the first rural constituency on the Northern end of Lusaka, sharing boundaries with Mandevu on the eastern and Matero on the western end. We also share boundaries with Chongwe, Chilanga, Mwembeshi, Nangoma, Keembe and Chisamba.

Madam, despite Katuba Constituency being so close to Lusaka, the people of Katuba were resolved for change of leadership …

 Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 Ms Mwashingwele: … because, as some parts of the country were proudly pointing at what the Government had done for them, Katuba has literally nothing to sonta at. Whilst the surrounding constituencies have had their roads rehabilitated, among other things, Katuba is still lamenting the ungraded and untarred roads.

 Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Mwashingwele: Madam Speaker, allow me to outline other areas that need urgent attention across the constituency. The need for clean drinking water must be addressed as quickly as possible. In some parts of the constituency, people and their livestock still drink from the same streams. Wards like Kabile, Muchenje and Chilochabalenje are the worst hit. We all know that clean drinking water is a human basic need. As such, this issue needs to be addressed with the urgency it deserves.

Madam Speaker, health facilities in Katuba Constituency leave much to be desired. We still have to go to Chipata and Matero clinics to have an X-ray taken. Kayosha and Mungule clinics, which are congested everyday, lack adequate personnel and drugs. Services such as Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) are still a problem in Katuba. There is only one centre to service the more than 5,000 adults who need this service, with the exception of adolescents and children. As a country, we know that ART is free. This means that people should be able to access it without hindrance or distance.

Katuba needs a fully-fledged hospital because human life is lost due to the long distances to the nearest health facilities with sub-standard facilities. In health, time is always of the essence. Lives are lost because it has become very expensive to get into Lusaka, what with the recent hikes in fuel prices of over 30 per cent. We lose mothers and babies because of poor maternity facilities in Katuba.

Madam Speaker, education is another area that is still a challenge in Katuba Constituency. We have thirty-eight primary schools against one proper secondary school known as Moomba. Kamaila and Shifwankula are up-coming secondary schools. Besides accommodating day scholars, Moomba Secondary School is also a boarding school. The sad part is that the only secondary school is full of pupils, both in boarding and day school, from Lusaka.

I would like the District Education Board Secretary (DEBS) of Chibombo to revisit the selection system that disadvantages our children in Katuba from getting a secondary education. The local people helped to meet the 25 per cent social obligation in constructing the secondary school by drawing water and molding blocks. However, due to the technicality of high school fees, the locals cannot be accommodated. With the current Government, education is no longer a human right, but a commodity going to the highest bidder.
Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Hon. PF Members: Question!

Ms Mwashingwele: Madam Speaker, the selection system must change to favour the locals.

Mr Livune: Dununa reverse!

Ms Mwashingwele: One Zambia, One Nation means that we must all have a share of the national cake. We cannot have other people eating our share.

Hon. PF Members: Question!

Ms Mwashingwele: Madam Speaker, the road network and bridges across streams is another area of concern in Katuba. Mungule Road that passes right next to Chieftainess Mungule’s Palace is now just a cloud of dust.

The Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) Government promised to tar this road and join it to the Landless Road at Keembe Institute of Agriculture. However, this was not done. Under the current Government, two contractors were assigned by the Road Development Agency (RDA), but nothing tangible is happening. The rains are around the corner and will only make the road worse than it is. 

Mr Livune: Hear, hear!

Ms Mwashingwele: Lukata, Chikumbi, Shifwankula, Chombela, Kayosha and Kapopola roads, to mention but a few, all need grading to usable levels during the rainy season.

Madam Speaker, the RDA promised to build the Shandyongo Bridge, connecting Chipeso and Namayani, across Chunga River in Muchenje Ward and Chunga Bridge, connecting Chunga and Matero in Chunga Ward, across Chunga Stream. It is now three years and nothing has been done.

Hon. UPND Members: Shame!

Ms Mwashingwele: Through the respective ministry, I would like to remind the RDA to honour their obligation, as these two bridges have major developmental implications in Katuba Constituency.

Mr Livune: Hear, hear!

Ms Mwashingwele: Madam Speaker, we all know that Zambia is a youthful nation. Katuba, however, is one of the constituencies in which most of youths are not well taken care of. They drop out of school too early and have nothing to do afterwards. As a result, we have so much going wrong amongst our youth. They either drink too much beer or smoke unnecessary drugs. If the Government has a heart for the youth, it should see to it that they are given priority, especially in the Seventh National Development Plan. Only then can we say that Zambia is a youthful nation.

Madam Speaker, the womenfolk in Katuba are the major producers of food. If ever people came to Katuba, especially the hon. Members of this House, they would realise that most households are supported by women. We would like to see the Women Development Fund put to proper use and allocated to all constituencies across the nation so that women can be supported and encouraged in their effort to sustain good health.

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my campaign team led by Mr Fanwell Chingoma and Madam Wendy Chisankama and the ward councillors for the gallant fight that they put up to see to it that Katuba had a UPND Member of Parliament and councillor.

Mr Sikazwe: Question!

Ms Mwashingwele: Madam Speaker, it is not easy to beat a sitting Member of Parliament in an election. However, I am glad to say that it was worth the effort.

 Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Mwashingwele: I wish to promise the people of Katuba that I will be there for them, to support them and to defend their rights and the Constitution of Zambia.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Ms Mwashingwele: I would also like to thank my family in a very special way for their unrelenting support. Sometimes, we choose different paths because that is where our hearts lie. None of them have gone into politics, but they understood my need to serve the people differently.

Finally, I wish to congratulate you and all the hon. Members of this House, both elected and nominated. I pray to God that we shall serve the Zambian people without being partisan.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lumayi (Chavuma): Madam Speaker, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to debate the Motion on the Floor of the House. Today is a great day in my political career.

Mr Livune: Hear, hear!

Mr Lumayi: I stand here amid great men and women in this august House, the National Assembly of Zambia, to give my maiden speech and comment on the President’s Speech, which he gave on the Official Opening of the First Session of the Twelfth National Assembly. 
Madam Speaker, I would be failing in my duties if I did not thank my great party, the United Party for National Development (UPND), and its entire leadership, from the national management to the ward levels, for sponsoring my candidature.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lumayi: I would like to thank the business community in Chavuma, fellow businessmen in the North-Western Province and the young people. In great measure, I would like to thank the great son of the soil, our party President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema …

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lumayi: …whose leadership will culminate into hope for many Zambians in pure democracy, rule of law, recognition of human rights …

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order!

Mr Lumayi: … and a vision to redeem Zambia economically.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order, hon. Member!

Business was suspended from 1815 hours until 1830 hours.

[MADAM FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair]

Mr Lumayi: Madam Speaker, when business was suspended, I was saying that the youths and men and women of Chavuma worked tirelessly to campaign for me and the party from the first day of the campaign to the official announcement of the election results where I was declared the winner. To the people of Chavuma Constituency, I say thank you very much for your great effort and I will never disappoint you. I am not going to be a traitor to the UPND like others were.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lumayi: I am not going to be like Mr Kafwaya ...

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Lumayi: I am not going to be like Mr Siamunene ...

Interruptions

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member, do not refer to people who are not here to defend themselves. Please, bear that in mind as you debate.

You may continue.

Mr Lumayi: Madam Speaker, I promise all the people who supported me and who made sure that my political career was sustained from 1998 when I first joined the UPND in Grade 12.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lumayi: I will put in the best in return.

Madam Speaker, I have a legacy of hard work. I am also accommodative and development-minded. These attributes will add value to my political career and those for the generations to come.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lumayi: Madam Speaker, as I stand here today, I have every hope that I will fit well in the shoes of my predecessor, Hon. Kenneth Konga, whose contributions to development of Chavuma Constituency in many sectors, will be remembered by all. To the Almighty God, Jehovah, my prayer is that he will give me wisdom and good health as I lead the great people of Chavuma for the next five years. I promise that I will be with my constituency in hard times and in favourable seasons as I discharge my duties in taking the much-desired development to Chavuma.

Madam Speaker, Chavuma Constituency is an economic destination, as can be seen from the volume of traffic going to the border with Angola, Chingi. When properly co-ordinated, the economic activities at the border will bring the much-needed revenue to our country. Chingi Border Post houses the police, the Immigration Department, a health post, a paramilitary post and the army, yet the area has got no communication network. In my tenure of office, as Member of Parliament, I will lobby for a communication tower to be erected in that important area in order to facilitate communication and enhance national security.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lumayi: Madam Speaker, the people of Lingundu are faced with a lot of medical challenges, as they do not have a health facility in their area. The people of Chilonga Mission, Kainda, Kahokola and Masombo have to cover long distances to seek medical attention at Lukolo Mission Hospital. I will do my best to ensure that, at least, one clinic is constructed at Kahokola to ease the suffering of the people. It is my duty to ensure that the people of Likoma Nyambingila and Masombo also receive a clinic as they are cut off from the rest of Chavuma during the rainy season, as they get affected by floods.

Madam Speaker, Chavuma West Bank produces a lot of rice which can be exported to our neighbouring countries. The same applies to Lingundu, Lukolo, Kambuya, Nyakutemba, Nyatanda, Nguvu and other places in the area. There are a number of challenges that my people are faced with, starting from a lack of grain storage facilities to a mart for their produce. I wish to take this opportunity to call upon my colleagues in the Ministry of Agriculture to take serious interest in these areas to address the challenges that rice farmers are faced with.

The people of Chavuma West Bank, especially the farmers, have difficulty acquiring farming inputs from the central business district of Chavuma, which is 70 km to 100 km away. They have to cross the Zambezi River to get to the Chavuma Central Business District. The hon. Minister of Agriculture should consider putting up, at least, two fertiliser depots, one in Lukolo to cater for the people of Lingundu, Libuku and other areas and the other one in Nyatanda to cater for the people of Likoma, Nyambingila, Nguvu and Masombo. The two fertiliser depots will ease the problem of the farmers on a yearly basis.

Madam Speaker, development is only recognised and respected when people are able to see it and directly benefit from it. The Government should not just give promissory notes during campaigns.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lumayi: Much of Chavuma, particularly the west bank, has a serious challenge of communication network. May I take this opportunity to ask the hon. Minister of Communication and Transport to take the lead in installing communication towers in order for our people to be connected to the rest of the country.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lumayi: Madam Speaker, the road network in Chavuma Township is pathetic. Chavuma Constituency was allocated funds for township roads, but to date, no road has been worked on. The monies, which were meant for roads in Chavuma, should be released in order to ease the transportation of goods and services in the district. The late President Michael Sata made a pronouncement for the roads in Chavuma to be worked on and money was allocated for this. However, from the time of his demise, we do not know where this money has been channelled, as it has not been seen in Chavuma.

Madam Speaker, Chavuma Constituency lacks proper social amenities. The youth need resource centres to deter them from bad vices like drug abuse, illicit sex, to mention but a few. They also need the much-talked about empowerment funds to make them productive and contribute to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The west bank is endowed with rich and huge mineral deposits which need to be extracted and put to good use. We need to invest heavily in this sector because it has a multiplier effect on the country’s economy.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lumayi: Madam Speaker, there is a lot of cattle in Chavuma, especially in the west bank which can help feed the nation if well harnessed. To promote high productivity in this sector, the Ministry of Livestock should construct more dip tanks or install spray races, at least, in each village to contain livestock diseases.

Madam Speaker, at the moment, the people of Chavuma do not feel like they are part of Zambia because they have been denied a fair share of the national cake. In Chavuma, there is no development to talk about.

Interruptions

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order, on both sides of the House!

You may continue, hon. Member.

Mr Lumayi: Madam Speaker, a survey was conducted to put up a hydropower station on the Zambezi River but, since the demise of the Late President Mr Michael Chilufya Sata, the project has died a natural death.

Mr Ngulube: Question!

Interruptions

Mr Lumayi: Madam Speaker, Chavuma Constituency happens to be one of the three oldest districts in the country, but it has no gazetted chief. This problem has been there for a long time. However, you might be interested to know that Chavuma Constituency has seven sub-chiefs. Going by the new Constitution, the Government, through the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs, working together with my office and the local people, should seriously consider working out a mechanism to gazette, at least, two chiefs in the area. I will see to it that Chavuma has, at least, one recognised gazetted chief.

Madam Speaker, allow me to touch on the President’s Speech. The President’s Speech has not given any hope to the people in Zambia in anyway.

Interruptions

Mr Lumayi: Madam Speaker, the speech did not indicate how people’s lives will be improved in the next five years. I see so many misplaced priorities which will make the lives of the ordinary man and woman on the streets more miserable. For example, it does not give hope to the farmers in the country. I expected to hear the President talk about measures that are going to be put in place to reduce the price of fertiliser and mealie meal. We expected to hear things such as free education in Zambia and a free and independent Judiciary.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lumayi: Madam Speaker, I also expected the President to touch on issues that will be taken into consideration in order to reduce the cost of faming inputs such as fertiliser and increase the Fertiliser Input Support Programme (FISP) pack from the current four bags to, at least, eight bags per farmer. If such measures were put in place, they would reduce the prices of mealie meal, which is the staple food, in the long run.  The President did not say anything about the pending job losses in the mines due to the ‘vololity’ of the local currency.

Hon. Government Members: ‘Vololity’!

Laughter

Mr Lumayi: Madam Speaker, I also expected the President to talk about the concrete measures that the Government will put in place to end the victimisation and casualisation of the Zambian workers.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lumayi: Madam, page 3, paragraph 132 of the speech says:

“In addition to the existing lines, my Administration has prioritised the construction of 388.8 km of line from Chipata to connect to the TAZARA at Serenje via Petauke and the 202 km railway spur from Nseluka along the TAZARA to Mpulungu.”

Madam Speaker, it is disheartening to note that the Chingola/Jimbe Railway Line Project, which is being spearheaded by Mr Enock Kavindele, was not mentioned.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lumayi: We expected this project to help transport copper from the mines in the North-Western Province. The people of the North-Western Province and I wonder why Mr Enoch Kavindele, keeps singing a song which will not bring hope to the people of the North-Western despite all this.

Interruptions

Mr Lumayi: Madam Speaker, the people of the North-Western Province and the country would like this project completed, as it will ease the transportation of copper and other heavy cargo, thus relieving pressure off T5 Chingola/Solwezi Road which has now become a thorn in the flesh of the people of the North-Western Province. The economical dividends of this project in comparison with the Selauke/Petauke/Serenje Railway Project cannot be overemphasised.

Madam Speaker, there is a need to improve the education system in the country and Chavuma in particular, in the area of infrastructure and other related programmes. Chavuma is faced with a challenge of inadequate examination centres, as most of the centres are temporary. Schools such as Moses Muneta, Chavuma Boarding, Nyatanda and Kalombo are all waiting for the construction of laboratories and strong rooms for them to be approved as permanent examination centres. I am, therefore, appealing to the hon. Minister of General Education to look into this matter with the urgency it deserves.

Interruptions

Mr Lumayi: Madam Speaker, the system being used in the selection and recruitment of teachers is horrible and needs to be reviewed. The local education authorities will always recruit local teachers for deployment in the district. Surprisingly, when the final list is drawn, the names of local teachers do not appear on the list, as they are replaced with names of people from other areas. This must come to an end.

In conclusion, Madam Speaker, I expect your office to be fair and impartial in the manner in which you preside over the business of this august House.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Lumayi: All the hon. Members should be treated equally regardless of their political affiliation.

Madam Speaker: Order!

You do not drag the Chair into your debate. Stick to what you have to say.

You may continue.

Mr Lumayi: Having said that, I, therefore, wish to assure your Office of my full co-operation during my tenure of office as hon. Member of Parliament for Chavuma.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Phiri (Mkaika): Madam Speaker, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to deliver my maiden speech.

Let me join my friends in congratulating His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, ...

Mr Livune: Question!

Mr Phiri: ... Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, ...

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: ... and Her Honour the Vice-President, Mrs Inonge Mutukwa Wina, on their victory in the just-ended General Elections.

Let me also congratulate you, Madam and your Colleague, and Mr Speaker on your election to your respective positions.

May I also congratulate my fellow hon. Members of Parliament on their victory in their respective constituencies.

May I also congratulate my President, Hon. Felix Mutati, ...

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: ... on his appointment ...

Hon. UPND Member: Ah, aulula!

Mr Phiri: ... as Minister of Finance.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: I have no doubt that he will perform to the expectation of the Zambian people and His Excellency the President, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu.

Madam Speaker, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) leadership at all levels for the support rendered to me during the campaigns. It was not easy to win the just-ended election due to the numerous difficulties the party went through prior to the 2016 General Elections. I am grateful for the guidance and leadership that was provided up to the time we partnered with the Patriotic Front (PF) in the last General Elections.
 
Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Livune: Question! 

Mr Phiri: This partnership was beneficial economically to all of us because it helped the country to save colossal sums of money by avoiding a re-run.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: As the MMD, the mother of democracy, we were committed to ensuring that under the new Constitution, we would have a one-touch election to secure victory in the first round so that we give the President and the people of Zambia a straight five-year mandate …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: … away from politicking so that we can focus on national development.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: I am, therefore, grateful to the MMD for the support rendered to His Excellency, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, and …

Mr Livune: Question!

Mr Phiri: … many of my colleagues who participated in the just-ended Election.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear! Hammer, hammer!

Mr Phiri: Madam Speaker, I must also say that we, as members of the MMD, are proud …

Mr Mwiimbu: How many are you?

Mr Phiri: … because during the difficult times, – there are many of us –  …

Laughter

Mr Phiri: … we demonstrated our commitment to intra-party democracy in the interest of our continued provision of a template that would help to see other political parties conduct their affairs in a democratic manner …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Livune: Question!

Mr Phiri: … that will subsequently have a positive impact in terms of ensuring democracy at all levels. As the MMD, we have shown our commitment as demonstrated by the leadership of Hon. Felix Chipota Mutati, who was democratically elected at a convention in Kabwe.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: Furthermore, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD), that has announced that it is going to hold a convention this December.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: Madam Speaker, I also wish to congratulate the PF that has announced that it will also hold a convention by 2017.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: In a similar vein, the National Restoration Party (NAREP) has also announced that it will hold a convention within the shortest possible time.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear! UPND!

Mr Phiri: Let me also appeal to my colleagues in the UPND, …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: … not to shy away from learning from what the MMD is doing …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: … to promote democracy in this country.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: This is because all political parties that came after the 1991 democratic dispensation are products of the MMD, including the PF, whose first President was our National Secretary.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: We are encouraged to see that our democratic tenets are beginning to be adhered to in the above-mentioned political parties.

Ms Siliya: Apart from one.

Mr Phiri: In the same vein, I hope that our colleagues from the UPND …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: … will also see the need to hold a convention.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: Madam Speaker, conventions are very important in any democratic dispensation because they symbolise a progressive step to make sure that we do not end up producing dictators …
Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: … in our political parties as we seek to govern this country.

Interruptions

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order!
Let us have order in the House. Hon. Member for Mkaika Parliamentary Constituency, please, sit down.

Mr Phiri resumed his seat.

Madam First Deputy Speaker: I know that after a long day of sitting, it becomes difficult to remain quiet all the time. However, even as you are urging the hon. Member on the Floor to debate, do so in an orderly manner. I understand it has been a long day, but let us be orderly, hon. Members.

Hon. Member for Mkaika Parliamentary Constituency, you may continue.

Laughter

Mr Phiri: Where was I?

Laughter

Mr Phiri: Madam Speaker, I was saying that conventions are very important in a democratic dispensation because they symbolise a progressive step to making sure that we do not end up producing dictators in our political parties as we seek to govern this country.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: Madam Speaker, instead, we must begin to demonstrate that the leaders we choose in our political parties are accountable to the members. We also expect the same levels of accountability to be exhibited if they are elected to higher offices.

Mr Mwiimbu: Like our president?

Mr Phiri: Yes!

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Laughter

Mr Phiri: Madam Speaker, I am extremely pleased to be back in this House, especially on the MMD ticket. I want to thank the people of Mkaika Parliamentary Constituency for trusting me to represent them up to 2021. I wish to state that as the MMD, we had a good message for the people. That is why I am here.

Madam Speaker, I wish to remind, ...

Mr Mwiimbu: You beat the PF?

Mr Phiri: ... the House that I went into the campaigns with nothing, but came out victorious. I owe the people of Mkaika Parliamentary Constituency a lot. I promise to work for them and take development to them by working with the Government of the day.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: Madam Speaker, the message from the people of Katete and Mkaika in particular is that they will continue to work with the PF Government as long as it remains relevant to their interests.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: Madam Speaker, may I commend the Patriotic Front Government, under the leadership of His Excellency the President, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, for ensuring that the constituency receives a number of developmental projects. Some of the developmental projects include the construction of the dam. This has reduced the water challenges at the town centre and the surrounding areas. Now we can proudly say that we are able to access water twenty-four hours a day. The people of Mkaika are happy with the development in the entire township. However, there is still a challenge of water in the outlying areas of the constituency. During this period of the year, people in my constituency ‘drink water with animals’, a thing which I know the PF Government will ...

Mr Mwiimbu: Drinking water with animals?

Laughter

Mr Phiri: ... address. The water problem is more pronounced in Chimutende, Chilongamabwe Mkaika and Matunda wards. The immediate solution that the PF Government can employ to this problem is to rehabilitate the existing dams in the constituency. That way, animals can have their own source of drinking water.

Madam Speaker, water is life. Without it, there can be no life. Due to the importance we attach to water, we wanted to use half of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to drill more boreholes in the constituency so as to lessen the water problems. However, on a positive note, I wish to commend His Excellency the President for introducing a Ministry of Water and Sanitation. This is a good move. Previously, there was confusion between the Ministries of Energy and Water Development, and the Ministry of Local Government and Housing regarding which ministry handles boreholes or dams.

Madam Speaker, in the health sector, my constituency was allocated four out of the 650 health posts countrywide. From these, three are complete and operational. However, there is still a need for more health posts in the area to achieve the Government policy of ensuring that there is a health post or health centre in a 4 km to 5 km radius.

Furthermore, due to the ever-growing population in Katete, there is a need for a district hospital to help decongest St. Francis Mission Hospital, which is also a referral hospital. This is the only referral hospital in Katete and its surrounding areas. As a result, there is overcrowding. I, therefore, wish to inform the hon. Minister of Health, and I think he is listening, that Katete needs a district hospital.

Madam Speaker, as you are aware, education plays an important role in national development. However, Katete District only has five secondary schools, which are not enough. We wish to appeal to the Ministry of General Education to build more secondary schools so that the youth can complete their Grade 12 and proceed to tertiary education. May I also appeal to the Ministry of General Education to consider electrifying Chisale Day Secondary School to enable it to carry out its duties effectively. The pronouncement by the Government to construct a university in Katete has cheered the residents of Katete who are anxiously waiting to see the start of this important project.

Mr Madam Speaker, almost 90 per cent of the people in Katete are farmers. Farming is what enables them to take their children to school. However, we wish to appeal to the Government to also consider Katete as it embarks on the industrialisation of this country so that crops such as cotton, maize and soya beans can be … (Mr Phiri paused)

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Laughter

Mr Phiri: Madam Speaker, I was saying that we need industries that will add value to cash crops like cotton, soya beans and tobacco. This will create employment for youths and add to the 1 million jobs pronounced by the President.

Mr Livune: Question!

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: Madam Speaker, I commend the PF Government for its good agriculture policy. Last year, farmers did not have difficulties selling their produce because most of it was bought by the private sector. This reduced pressure on the Treasury because previously, it was only the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) that bought all our produce, thereby putting pressure on the Treasury.

Furthermore, we wish to appeal to the hon. Minister of Agriculture to also look into the marketing challenges of tobacco and cotton.

Madam Speaker, I wish to commend the Government for resurfacing the Great East Road, which is also one of its notable achievements.

Mr Livune: Question!

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: However, out of the 15 km of roads that were supposed to be upgraded to bituminous standard in Mkaika, only about 7 km have been worked on. Some feeder roads also need to be worked on. These include Vulamkoko/Mnyamanzi, Chimtende/Lupande, Chimtende/Kankhande, Chinkombe and Mtetezi, just to mention a few. Some crossing points like Mnyamanzi in Vulamkoko Ward also need to be worked on. I am, therefore, appealing to the hon. Minister of Works and Supply to also look into the uncompleted projects in Katete.

Madam Speaker, there is also a need for a modern bus station and market in Katete. Currently, buses and other vehicles park along the road, thereby inconveniencing other road users. Once these facilities have been put in place, the lives of our people in Katete will be secured.

Madam Speaker, the Social Cash Transfer Programme has helped many people in my constituency. However, many aged men and women still claim that they have been left out of the programme. Our appeal to the hon. Minister of Community Development and Social Welfare is that this is taken into consideration so that those who have been left out, especially after the pronouncement by the President that the amount of social cash transfer will be increased, are included in the programme, thereby reducing the poverty levels in the area.

Mr Livune: Question!

Mr Phiri: As I conclude, Madam Speaker, let me thank the President of the Republic of Zambia …

Mr Livune: Question!

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: … for his visionary speech.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: Those of us, Members from rural constituencies, …

Mr Kabanda: Quality!

Mr Phiri: … should support all the things he talked about in his speech like increasing the amount of the social cash transfer, diversification and industrialisation ...

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: … so that we take this country to greater heights.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: Lastly, let me thank my campaign team in Katete, colleagues and all those who came through for me. May I also state that it is possible to have a violence free election as we are one people despite being affiliated to different political parties.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Phiri: May I thank most sincerely the MMD President, Hon. Felix Mutati, …

Mr Mwiimbu: How about Mumba?

Mr Phiri: … for the support throughout the campaign period. Finally, let me also thank my friends, supporters, family and most importantly, my sons and daughters for the invaluable support.

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Chinyama: (Kafue): Madam Speaker, I wish to thank you for giving me the opportunity to deliver my maiden speech on the Floor of this august House. In so doing, I will touch on some aspects of the President’s Address to the House which was made on 30th September, 2016.

Madam Speaker, allow me to start by thanking the Almighty God whose enduring mercies and divine providence brought us all to this House.

Mr Livune: Hear, hear!

Mrs Chinyama: Madam, let me start by acknowledging the support I received from the various people that made it possible for me to stand here today as Member of Parliament for Kafue Constituency. Among them are my beloved party president, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, …

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Chinyama: … and party officials at various levels. I would like to particularly thank the former Members of Parliament for Kafue and other hon. Members of Parliament from various constituencies, both past and serving, for their encouragement and support. I would like to extend my utmost thanks to my campaign manager, Mr Michael Msidi, my chief campaigner, Mr Victor Chilufya Bupe, and the entire campaign team. My gratitude also goes to members of my family who have always been there for me in all my endeavours. My husband, Mr Casewell Chinyama, is an epitome of men who support women advancement ...

Mr Livune: Hear, hear!

Mrs Chinyama: … and I will forever cherish him for that.

Madam Speaker, I also wish to pay special tribute to my deceased parents, Mr Aaron Muleya Chonya, who once served as hon. Member of Parliament for Pemba Constituency and was also a great source of inspiration to me, and my mother, Mrs Dora Mutolo Chonya, who was a beacon of humility and service to the less privileged. I would also like to sincerely thank the people of Kafue who gave me the honour to serve them in this noble position. It is my prayer that their cry for a female representative in so many years since the tenure of Ms Bathsheba Ngandu, the first female hon. Member of Parliament in the Fourth National Assembly, will yield the anticipated results.

 Madam, allow me to congratulate my colleagues in our party of unity and love, the United Party for National Development (UPND), …

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Chinyama: … on putting up a spirited fight and winning the August, 11th 2016 Elections against our colleagues who seem to have had unlimited resources to finance their campaigns. Let me also congratulate you, Madam Speaker, together with the Speaker and the Second Deputy Speaker, on your election to this House. It is my sincere hope and prayer that you will afford us sufficient latitude and democratic space to execute our mandate as Members of Parliament regardless of our political affiliation …

 Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Chinyama: … because this is what the Zambians wished for when they voted for multi-partism in 1991. Our role in this House is to provide meaningful checks and balances and we may not be able to do this if we cannot freely express ourselves and be allowed to enjoy the privileges and immunities that come with discharging our duties and responsibilities.

Madam, having had the privilege of serving with you and the Hon. Mr Speaker, in the National Constitutional Conference (NCC), I have no doubt about your capabilities, impartiality and integrity of discharging your duties effectively.

 Madam Speaker, before I proceed with my speech, I wish to register, on behalf of the people of Kafue and, indeed, on my behalf, our sadness arising from the continued incarceration of my predecessor, Mr Obvious Mwaliteta.

 Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 Mrs Chinyama: Madam, regardless of the grounds the law enforcement agencies have come up with for his incarceration …

 Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order!

Take your seat. You are bringing into your debate an issue that has already been decided upon. The issues of persons who have matters before the courts of law cannot be debated in this House. Please, bear that in mind.

You may continue.

 Mrs Chinyama: Madam Speaker, I wish to thank you for your guidance. However, let me point out that the treatment to which the Opposition has been subjected is unimaginable in a country purported to be a Christian nation.

 Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear! 

Mrs Chinyama: Madam, we have witnessed arbitrary arrests, a breach of the rule of law, intimidation and other forms of inhuman treatment which are uncalled for and have no place in a democracy.

 Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 Mrs Chinyama: Madam Speaker, because of the earlier guidance, I wish to leave out what I initially wanted to say. That notwithstanding, the people of Kafue were resolute in choosing leaders from the party of their choice, the UPND, from the local Government level up to the Presidential level.

 Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Chinyama: Madam Speaker, this is an indication that in the last five years, the Patriotic Front (PF) Government failed lamentably to address the needs and challenges the people of Kafue were faced with. I, therefore, hope that the PF Government will be magnanimous enough to acknowledge the voice of the people of Kafue which was expressed through the ballot and begin to seriously meet their expectations that were born out of the many promises that they made not only to the people of Kafue, but also the Zambian citizenry at large.

 Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mrs Chinyama: Madam Speaker, as their chosen representative, I am ready to work with any people-centered and development-oriented Government for the sake of the people of Kafue who put their trust and voted for me to facilitate development on their behalf.

Madam, historically, Kafue was an industrial hub, hosting many industries, including the defunct Kafue Textiles of Zambia, Bata Tannery, Kafue Chemicals, Nkwazi Manufacturing Company, to mention but a few. These industries provided employment to the local people of Kafue. However, today, ...

Madam First Deputy Speaker: Order!

_________

ADJOURNMENT

Acting Leader of Government Business in the House and Chief Whip (Mr Musukwa): Madam Speaker, I beg to move that the House do now adjourn.

Question put and agreed to.

______

The House adjourned at 1916 hours until 1430 hours on Thursday, 20th October, 2016.