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Debates - Wednesday 25th September, 2013
DAILY PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES FOR THE THIRD SESSION OF THE ELEVENTH ASSEMBLY
Wednesday 25th September, 2013
The House met at 1430 hours
[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]
NATIONAL ANTHEM
PRAYER
________________
ANNOUCEMENT BY MR SPEAKER
COMPOSITION OF SESSIONAL COMMITTEES
Mr Speaker: Hon. Members, in accordance with the provisions of Standing Order No. 131, The Standing Orders Committee has appointed the following Members to serve on various Sessional Committees for the Third Session of the Eleventh National Assembly:
Committee on Privileges, Absences and Support Services (08)
The Hon. Deputy Speaker (Chairperson)
The hon. Minister of Justice, Mr W. Kabimba, SC., MP
The hon. Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication and Chief Whip, Mr Y. D. Mukanga, MP
Mr J. J. Mwiimbu, MP
Mr D. Mwila, MP
Mr G. G. Nkombo, MP
Professor G. Lungwangwa, MP
Ms C. Namugala, MP
Reforms and Modernisation Committee (10)
The hon. Minister of Finance, Mr A. B. Chikwanda, MP
The hon. Minister of Justice, Mr W. Kabimba, SC., MP
The hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing, Hon. E. Kabanshi, MP
The hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees of the Whole House, Mr C. K Banda, SC., MP
Mr L. J. Ngoma, MP
Mr I. K. Banda, MP
Mr L. C. Bwalya, MP
Ms M. Lubezhi, MP
Mr P. Mucheleka, MP
Mr S. Katuka, MP
Committee on Government Assurances (08)
Mr L. A. Lufuma, MP
Mr S. Chisanga, MP
Mr M. Ndalamei, MP
Mr J. Zimba, MP
Mr R. L. Mpundu, MP
Mrs M. G. Imenda, MP
Mr M. Habeenzu, MP
Mr L. Evans, MP
Committee on Delegated Legislation (08)
Mr C. Mweetwa, MP
Ms M. Lubezhi, MP
Mr I. K. Banda, MP
Mr A. Sichula, MP
Mr B. Mutale, MP
Mr A. D. Mbewe, MP
Mr M. Mutelo, MP
Mr H. I. Mwanza, MP
Committee on Estimates (08)
Mr H. H. Hamududu, MP
Mr E. M. Sing’ombe, MP
Dr E. Kazonga, MP
Mr L. Chabala, MP
Mr G. Lubinda, MP
Mr R. L. Mpundu, MP
Mr L. Mulusa, MP
Mr L. A. Lufuma, MP
Committee of Local Governance, Housing and Chiefs’ Affairs (08)
Mr B. Hamusonde, MP
Mr M. Ndalamei, MP
Mrs M. C. Mazoka, MP
Mr H. S. Chansa, MP
Mr M. Chishimba, MP
Mr L. J. Ngoma, MP
Mr A. D. Mbewe, MP
Mr G. Lubinda, MP
Committee on Economic Affairs, Energy and Labour (08)
Mr C. W. Kakoma, MP
Ms V. Kalima, MP
Dr S. Musokotwane, MP
Mr K. K. Hamudulu, MP
Mr A. Sichula, MP
Mr M. Mbulakulima, MP
Mr L. Evans, MP
Mr V. Lombaya, MP
Committee on Communications, Transport, Works and Supply (08)
Mr K. Simbao, MP
Mr W. Banda, MP
Mr V. M. Mooya, MP
Mrs A. M. Chungu, MP
Mr L. Chabala, MP
Mr O. C. Mulomba, MP
Mr M. Chishimba, MP
Mr K. Konga, MP
The other Committees will be announced tomorrow.
After I have completed announcing the composition of all the Committees and the Public Accounts Committee has been approved by this House, if any hon. Member finds that they do not belong to any Committee, they should immediately notify the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly.
I thank you.
___________
QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER
ELECTIRIFICATION OF MILENGE DISTRICT
26. Mr Mbulakulima (Chembe) asked the Minister of Mines, Energy and Water Development:
(a) whether the electrification of Milenge District by the Rural Electrification Authority was on schedule;
(b) if not, what the cause of the delay was; and
(c) when the project was expected to be completed.
The Deputy Minister of Mines, Energy and Water Development (Mr Zulu): Mr Speaker, the electrification of Milenge District is on schedule and being implemented in two phases. The Rural Electrification Authority (REA) has already commenced Phase One under the 2013 Grid Extension Project. This project involves the construction of a 25km 33kv overhead line from an existing line at Musaila in Samfya District. The line will run parallel to Tuta Road and the targeted beneficiaries are Nkunga, Mulisha and Musaba basic schools.
Sir, Phase One of the project is expected to be completed by August, 2014, while Phase Two is expected to be completed by 2015.
I thank you, Mr Speaker.
ELECTRIFICATION OF CHEMBE CONSTITUENCY
27. Mr Mbulakulima asked the Minister of Mines, Energy and Water Development:
(a) whether the Government had any plans to connect electricity from Chembe to Itemba and Lwela in Chembe Parliamentary Constituency; and
(b) whether the Government had any plans to electrify other areas in Senior Chief Milambo’s Chiefdom, and if so, what the plans were.
Mr Zulu: Mr Speaker, the Government, through REA, is currently developing the Five-Year Roll-out Plan (FYRP). This implementation plan will cover projects drawn from the Rural Electrification Master Plan (REMP) and some areas that were not captured in the master plan. The plan is expected to be finalised by the end of 2013, after which the Government, through REA, will advise on when Itemba and Lwela areas in Chembe Constituency will be electrified.
Sir, the Government is committed to electrifying rural areas. That is why REA was created. However, due to limited funds, REA will consider electrifying areas in Senior Chief Milambo’s area using solar home systems. I would like to mention that 480 solar systems are already in Luapula Province awaiting distribution.
Thank you, Sir.
Mr Mbulakulima: Hon. Minister, …
Mr Mweetwa: On a point of order, Sir.
Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised.
Mr Mweetwa: Thank you, Sir, for the opportunity to raise this point of order. I apologise to the hon. Member who was on the Floor for interrupting his debate. I rise on what I believe to be a very important point of order, bordering on national interest.
Mr Speaker, my interest is on the Access to Information Bill. The struggle for media reforms and access to information in this country has spanned more than twenty years. On diverse dates, but within the Second Session of this National Assembly, the hon. Minister of Information and Broadcasting came to assure the House and the nation that the Bill would be tabled during that session. At the close of the session, we were assured that the Bill would be presented during this sitting. Further, the new hon. Minister of Information and Broadcasting undertook, as one of his first commitments after being sworn-in, to present the Bill to this House promptly, as it was undergoing final touches before the Cabinet could approve it. However, yesterday, the Permanent Secretary of the same ministry told the nation that the Bill could not be brought to this House because it was in conflict with other pieces of legislation. In the past, that Bill has been brought before this House and went up to the Second Reading stage, but was later withdrawn, hence the concerns by members of the public. Is the hon. Minister in order to remain mute, instead of coming to this House to guide the nation as to when the Bill will be presented?
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, Hear!
Mr Speaker: My ruling is that, I will give an opportunity to the hon. Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services to issue a statement on the subject in the course of next week.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, Hear!
Mr Mbulakulima: Hon. Minister, coming from the East, you know that when people talk of food, they are talking of Nshima, and that when we talk about electrification, we are talking about the National Grid. Solar energy is neither here nor there. Is Senior Chief Milambo’s area captured in the FYRP you talked about?
The Minister of Mines, Energy and Water Development (Mr Yaluma): Mr Speaker, the FYRP covers Chief Milambo’s area. We are giving some tentative solutions while we wait for the rolling out of the National Electricity Grid to the area stipulated in the plan. We will remove the solar systems and connect to the National Grid afterwards.
I thank you, Mr Speaker.{mospagebreak}
RUFUNSA BOREHOLES
28. Mr Chipungu (Rufunsa) asked the Minister of Local Government and Housing:
(a) what the number of functional boreholes in Rufunsa was;
(b) whether the Government had any plans of drilling more boreholes in the district in order to alleviate water problems; and
(c) if so, when drilling works would commence.
The Deputy Minister of Local Government and Housing (Mr Kufuna): Mr Speaker, Rufunsa District has fifty-five functional boreholes.
Mr Speaker, the Government intends to drill 4,000 boreholes nationwide under the Sixth National Development Plan (SNDP), between 2013 and 2016. Rufunsa District is among the rural districts that will benefit from this plan.
Mr Speaker, drilling works for fifteen boreholes will commence on 30th September, 2013, as the contracts have been signed under the 2013 Work Plan and Budget.
I thank you, Sir.
Mr Chipungu: Mr Speaker, of the 4,000 boreholes planned, how many will be drilled in Rufunsa District?
Mr Kufuna: Mr Speaker, the 4,000 boreholes I mentioned will be drilled between 2013 and 2016. I cannot say how many boreholes have been planned to be drilled in Rufunsa next year or the other year.
I thank you, Sir.
Mr Mbewe (Chadiza): Mr Speaker, in Rufunsa and Chadiza, the boreholes will be welcome. However, the Government has demanded that K1,500 be paid to the council before the boreholes can be drilled, and villagers are finding it very difficult to come up with this money. Is there a plan to abolish this requirement so that these boreholes are drilled free of charge?
The Minister of Local Government and Housing (Mrs Kabanshi): Mr Speaker, the K1,500 is a contribution from the community. As a Government, we do not want to promote the culture of giving the people free things. The communities have to contribute a bit of money. However, if they cannot afford it, it can be waived.
I thank you, Sir.
Hon. Members: Hear, hear!
Dr Kazonga (Vubwi): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister has talked about a plan to sink 4,000 boreholes between 2013 and 2016. Is the ministry considering coming up with a plan on how the boreholes will be spread over that period?
Mrs Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, the SNDP has just been revised. Therefore, the plan for distributing the boreholes throughout the country will be made available as the days go by.
I thank you, Sir.
Mr Hamusonde (Nangoma): Mr Speaker, will the boreholes be given to every constituency?
Mrs Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, I think, I answered that question when I said that the SNDP has just been revised. Therefore, the Government will come up with a distribution plan and hon. Members will be informed.
I thank you, Sir.
Mr Muchima (Ikeleng’i): Mr Speaker, Hon. Mbewe put it very clearly that people in the villages are unable to raise K1,500, and the hon. Minister said that the contribution can be waived. Can the hon. Minister tell us, clearly, what will be done because we represent very poor people who cannot afford that amount. Hon. Minister, could you, please, tell us your position.
Mrs Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, the contribution from the community has been made in most of the projects being undertaken by the Government. Therefore, the technocrats in my ministry will go to the villages and assess the ability of the people to pay. Those who will be deemed incapable are the ones whose contribution will be waived.
I thank you, Sir.
Mr Ndalamei (Sikongo): Mr Speaker, can we use the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to pay for communities that cannot afford the K1,500?
Mrs Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, that suggestion is also welcome.
I thank you, Sir.
Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!
Mr Chisanga (Mkushi South): Mr Speaker, may the hon. Minister come out more clearly, rather than make a blanket statement on this matter.
Interruptions
Mr Speaker: Order!
Repeat your question, hon. Member for Mkushi South.
Mr Chisanga: Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister has made an open statement on the 4,000 boreholes to be drilled countrywide. Could she tell us how many boreholes will be drilled, per year, rather than only say that boreholes will be drilled from 2013 to 2016.
Mrs Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, I think that I have already answered that question. I said that the schedule will be brought to this House. Therefore, hon. Members have to wait for that schedule.
I thank you, Sir.
Mr I. Banda (Lumezi): Mr Speaker, I would like the hon. Minister to come out clearly on the K1,500 contribution. In my constituency, the community already contributes raw materials, such as bricks, river sand and building sand, for making a drainage mechanism where the borehole will be drilled. Will the K1,500 be written off so that people can only contribute in form of raw materials?
Mrs Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, that is the contribution we are talking about, as the Government. Even when we build things like clinics, the communities usually make contributions in the form of sand and bricks. Therefore, for the boreholes, the contribution in the form of sand and bricks is welcome.
I thank you, Sir.
Mr Muntanga (Kalomo Central): Mr Speaker, I seek proper clarification from the hon. Minister. What we know …
Interruptions
Mr Speaker: Order!
Mr Muntanga: … is that the K1,500 is a condition that initially needed to be met only under Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) projects, but the Government applied it when it sunk all the other boreholes. Is the hon. Minister now saying that a condition introduced for DANIDA projects will now apply to every borehole that is sunk by the councils? Is that the new arrangement?
Mrs Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, that arrangement is not new. It has always been there whenever Government projects have been implemented. In some areas where boreholes have been drilled, the people have paid towards that activity. That is how they have been contributing.
I thank, you, Sir.
Ms Namugala (Mafinga): Mr Speaker, access to water and sanitation is a real challenge for our people in rural areas. Can the hon. Minister give us an estimate of the number of boreholes required, at least, in the medium term, especially in the rural areas.
Mrs Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, the Government plans to sink 4,000 boreholes between 2013 and 2016. Beyond that, I think that we will come up with another plan.
I thank you, Sir.
Mrs Mazoka (Pemba): Mr Speaker, our people cannot afford the K1,500. I come from a rural constituency and my people have failed to raise that amount of money. Therefore, I ask the Government to waive it so that our people can have clean and safe water.
Mrs Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, I do not know why the hon. Members of Parliament want me to generalise this situation. The situations are different from one constituency to another. Pemba Parliamentary Constituency is very different from mine. In fact, the people in my constituency are more vulnerable than those in yours. Those in your constituency can afford to contribute some of those things.
Interruptions
Mrs Kabanshi: What we are saying is that the villages will be assessed and the areas where people will not afford to pay the K1,500 will be exempted. That issue is clear and everybody should be able to understand it.
I thank you, Sir.
Dr Kalila (Lukulu East): Mr Speaker, I thank you for realising that we are tackling an important aspect, particularly for us, hon. Members of Parliament from the rural areas and, therefore, giving it a bit more time. I would like to join my colleagues representing rural constituencies who have cried out that our people cannot afford the fees. That is my position. Further, in accordance with the CDF guidelines, most local authorities have stopped us from using the CDF to pay for boreholes, yet the hon. Minister has indicated that we are free to do so. Is she considering sending out a circular to local authorities so that it is put in black and white that we can use part of the CDF to pay the K1,500?
Mrs Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, I have already indicated that the situations will be assessed and a report written. If there will be any application to use the CDF, it will be sent to my ministry and I will approve it, if necessary. However, if not, then, we will not approve because we cannot generalise these things.
I thank you, Sir.
Mr Lufuma (Kabompo West): Mr Speaker, I heard the hon. Minister say that materials, in the form of sand and stones, are welcome as a contribution to projects. Are they a substitute for the K1,500? Can the hon. Minister be categorical.
Mrs Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, I think that I have already answered that question. I said that sand and bricks were welcome. We always do that in Government projects, especially when building hospitals, clinics and schools. When there is no monetary contribution from the citizens, they always do something in kind. They can either take part in the building or contribute sand and bricks. That is what I said.
I thank you, Sir.
CATTLE RE-STOCKING IN RUFUNSA
29. Mr Chipungu asked the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock:
(a) when the Government would undertake a cattle re-stocking exercise in Rufunsa District; and
(b) what the estimated cost of the exercise was.
The Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock (Mr Kazabu): Mr Speaker, the Government will stock and re-stock Rufunsa District with cattle and goats by creating a breeding centre in the district. The construction of the centre is at a tender stage and the projection of the ministry is that works will be completed in 2014. The centre will be stocked with goats and cattle in 2014 while the stocking of farms will begin in 2015.
Sir, in the 2013 Budget, K400,000 was allocated to infrastructure development. Further funding will be required in 2014 to complete the construction of infrastructure and purchase breeding stocks of cattle and goats.
I thank you, Sir.
Mr Chipungu: Mr Speaker, has the location of the centre already been identified? If so, where is it?
Mr Kazabu: Mr Speaker, the site has already been identified, but I want to be honest in my response to that question …
Mr Mwamba entered the Assembly Chamber.
Hon. Opposition Members: GBM! Hear, hear! Ema presidents aba!
Ms Kalima: Abakali bakali!
Mr Speaker: Please, continue, hon. Minister.
Mr Kazabu: Mr Speaker, the site has already been identified. I have not visited it, but some officers at the ministry have. It is a pity that the hon. Member, perhaps, was not invited on one of the visits that the officers made.
I thank you, Sir.
Mr Pande (Kasempa): Mr Speaker, according to the hon. Minister’s response, the Government has done some ground work. Could he indicate the number of cattle and goats that have been earmarked for Rufunsa and how many farmers will benefit from the exercise.
Mr Kazabu: Mr Speaker, in terms of the initial breeding stock, our plan is to put forty Boran cows and 200 Boer goats at the new breeding centre. In terms of the number of farmers who will benefit from the project, the only answer I can give is that the re-stocking and stocking will be an on-going exercise. However, at this stage, it would be a bit premature for me to give a specific number. However, suffice it to say that most of our farmers in that area will benefit.
I thank you, Sir.
Dr Kazonga: Mr Speaker, has the K400,000 earmarked for the project in this year’s budget already been released by the Ministry of Finance?
Mr Kazabu: Mr Speaker, yes it has. However, let me add that we will need to top up on the K400,000.
I thank you, Sir.
Mr Hamusonde (Nangoma): Mr Speaker, where will the Government get the animals for re-stocking?
Mr Kazabu: Mr Speaker, we will buy the animals from wherever they will be available.
Laughter
I thank you, Sir.
Mr Speaker: I think that we cannot take the debate further than that. Otherwise, we will start transacting business from the Floor of the House.
Laughter
BADEA WATER PROJECT
30. Mr Mumba (Mambilima) asked the Minister of Local Government and Housing:
(a) when the implementation of the Badea Water Project in Kawambwa and Mansa districts would resume; and
(b) why the project had stalled for many years.
The Deputy Minister of Local Government and Housing (Mr N. Banda): The Ministry of Local Government and Housing has concluded negotiations with the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) and will, by 30th September, 2013, submit the contract to the Ministerial Procurement Committee (MPC) for approval. After that, the draft contract will be submitted to BADEA and the Attorney-General for approval. The contract is expected to be signed in October, 2013.
Mr Speaker, the project stalled due to a disagreement between the Government and BADEA on the shareholding technicality of the lowest evaluated bidder. However, BADEA gave the ministry approval to negotiate with the lowest bidder on 27th May, 2013. The project also delayed because the scope of works was changed to include the intake works, which were not in the initial appraisal document. After several discussions with BADEA, it was resolved that the intake works for both Mansa and Kawambwa be financed by the Government while the rest of the works, including the water treatment plant, transmission and distribution mains and storage facilities, be financed by BADEA.
I thank you, Sir.{mospagebreak}
LINKING OF CHONGWE TO KABWE
31. Mr Muteteka (Chisamba) asked the Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications:
(a) whether there were any plans to link the Great East Road in Chongwe area to Kabwe District, via Chipembi, under the Link Zambia 8,000 Project; and
(b) if so, when the project would commence.
The Deputy Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications (Mr M. H. Malama): Mr Speaker, the Government has no immediate plans to link the Great East Road in Chongwe District to Kabwe District, via Chipembi, under the Link Zambia 8,000 Project.
I thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Muteteka: Mr Speaker, when he launched the Link Zambia 8,000 Project, His Excellency the President mentioned that the road would pass through Chipembi. That is why I have asked this question. I would like specifics. What are the specifics in the ministry? Was that a fake promise or …
Laughter
Mr Speaker: Hon. Member, please find a suitable substitute for that word.
Mr M. H. Malama: Mr Speaker, I hope that the hon. Member got it clearly. Even if it was mentioned by His Excellency the President, for now, the Government has no immediate plans …
Interruptions
Mr M. H. Malama: We may look at that after the Link 8,000 Project because road construction is an on-going project. It is not the type of project that we can do in one year or five years.
I thank you, Sir.
Mr Habeenzu (Chikankata): Mr Speaker, does the hon. Deputy Minister’s answer mean that all roads that were mentioned by His Excellency the President will not be worked on? Were the promises fake?
Hon. Government Member: Aah!
Mr Speaker: Hon. Member, I have just guided your colleague on the inappropriateness of that expression.
Mr Habeenzu: Mr Speaker, I withdraw the word ‘fake’ and replace it with ‘joke’.
Hon. Opposition Member: They are jostling.
Laughter
Mr Speaker: Continue, hon. Minister.
The Minister of Labour and Social Security (Mr Shamenda) (on behalf of the Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications (Mr Mukanga): Mr Speaker, when we say that there are no immediate plans, we do not mean that what was referred to in His Excellency the President’s Address will not be done. However, I would like to add that we will review the programme because it cuts across 8,000km, which is quite a long distance. We shall look at how the project develops and give the specifics. For now, we were specifically answering the question on whether there were immediate plans.
I thank, you Mr Speaker.
Mr Muntanga: Mr Speaker, since there are no immediate plans, under what plans …
Mr Nkombo: On a point of order, Sir.
Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised.
Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, I rise with a heavy heart on this point of order on the acting hon. Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications.
Sir, we all know that, before capital projects commence, there are detailed feasibility studies that are done on specific roads to be repaired. Is the hon. Minister in order to answer by saying the Government will look at the Link Zambia 8,000 Project and see if there will be a balance before it comes back to the hon. Member of Parliament for Chisamba to tell him whether it will work on that road or not? Is he in order to answer in that manner?
Mr Speaker: As the discussion on this point continues, please, hon. Minister, bear that in mind and respond accordingly.
Mr Muntanga: Mr Speaker, under which plans does that road fall, if not the immediate ones? The Government is now tarring the road joining the Great East Road from the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport area all the way to Chisamba, which is the nearest point to the road that the hon. Member for Chisamba has referred to.
Mr Shamenda: Mr Speaker, to clarify the first point, I did not talk about looking for some resources from the Link Zambia 8,000 Project. I was referring to the routes. There are various road infrastructure projects that have got to be undertaken and, when we launched the Link Zambia 8,000 Project, it did not mean that feasibility studies had been carried out on all of them. Neither did it mean that we were at the stage at which we could award contracts. There could be some variations in the process as the project is implemented. So, to specifically answer the question by the hon. Member of Parliament for Kalomo Central, we will look at the route and be able to give you a specific answer without dodging.
I thank you, Sir.
Ms Kalima (Kasenengwa): Mr Speaker, does the hon. Minister mean that the roads under the Link Africa …
Laughter
Ms Kalima: … Link Zambia 8,000 are not known? Is that what he is telling this House?
Mr Shamenda: Mr Speaker, the information relating to the project was provided to all hon. Members of Parliament and is available at the ministry. That is why I said that we would go and look at the areas and the routes. Where possible, …
Mr Nkombo: We can re-route.
Mr Shamenda: … the project might be re-routed, …
Laughter
Mr Shamenda: … if it is discovered that it will be to the advantage of the people who are near Chisamba and, maybe, even Kalomo Central.
I thank you, Sir.
Laughter
OPENING OF KANAKANTAPA RURAL HEALTH CENTRE AND KASOSOLO CLINIC
32. Mr Muteteka asked the Minister of Community Development, Mother and Child Health when Kanakantapa Rural Health Centre and Kasosolo Clinic in Chisamba Parliamentary Constituency, whose construction had been completed, would be opened to the public.
The Deputy Minister of Community Development, Mother and Child Health (Ms Kapata): Mr Speaker, the Kanakantapa Rural Health Centre was officially handed over to the district by Plan International on Thursday, 12th September, 2013. The health staff for the facility have been mobilised and all necessary arrangements have been put in place. The facility will be ready to be opened to the public by 30th September, 2013. Currently, there is no power supply for the staff houses, but this is being looked into.
Sir, Kasosolo Clinic has been completed. However, it has not yet been handed over to the district. Once it is officially handed over, all necessary measures will be put in place to have it opened as soon as possible. Currently, health workers are being mobilised to be assigned to the clinic.
I thank you, Sir.
Dr Kazonga: Mr Speaker, what is delaying the handing over of Kasosolo Clinic so that the people in that area can have access to health services?
Ms Kapata: Mr Speaker, nothing is delaying the process. We are just waiting for the official hand-over and, then, the clinic will be operational.
I thank you, Sir.
Mr Habeenzu: Mr Speaker, when will the houses at Kasosolo Clinic be electrified?
Ms Kapata: Mr Speaker, in the bonus answer that I gave to the hon. Member who asked this question, I said that the houses have not yet been electrified and that the issue is being looked into. That means that we are going to have them electrified as soon as possible.
I thank you, Sir.
BENEFITS OF HOSTING THE UNITED NATIONS WORLD TOURISM ORGANISTATION GENERAL ASSEMBLY
33. Mr Kapyanga (Kabwe Central) asked the Minister of Tourism and Art:
(a) how the people of Kabwe Central Parliamentary Constituency benefited from the hosting of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly; and
(b) what measures had been taken to ensure accountability of the monetary gains realised by public institutions from the hosting of the UNWTO General Assembly.
The Minister of Tourism and Art (Mrs Masebo): Mr Speaker, I will present a comprehensive ministerial statement on the successful co-hosting of the UNWTO General Assembly, in which the benefits of the hosting at the community, national and international levels, over the long, medium and short-term periods, will be highlighted.
Mr Speaker, in answering the hon. Member of Parliament for Kabwe Central Constituency, I wish to state that the UNWTO-GA was classified as a successful event. By implication, although the event was held in Livingstone, the national character it assumed entailed that the opportunity to participate was availed to all provinces of the country. It must be appreciated, however, that not all community members from all constituencies in the country could participate. However, my ministry went countrywide to identify artisans, arts and cultural groups to exhibit their crafts at various exhibition centres in Livingstone town.
Sir, artist and cultural groups were auditioned and performed at cultural festivals held before and during the event. Further, the Government spent resources on procuring costumes for the cultural groups, met the expenses related to lodging and meals and paid the fees for their performances. Individuals and groups were selected to represent the Central Province. Some groups were also trained in various skills. The skills empowerment will have a trickle-down effect on other communities that may not have participated.
Mr Speaker, in Zambia, tourism is mainly private-sector-driven. There are very few fee-paying public institutions. Public revenue is mainly in the form of national park entry fees, in the case of the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA), the view fees to view the National Heritage Conservation Commission (NHCC) sites and museum fees.
Sir, the revenue collected during the UNWTO-GA will not be accounted for in any way other than through end-of-year financial statements, which are, then, audited. I hope that hon. Members will bear with me and allow me to come to the House, hopefully next week, with a comprehensive statement of the co-hosting of the UNWTO-GA and what could be considered as benefits and challenges.
I thank you, Sir.
Mr Kapyanga: Mr Speaker, during the UNWTO-GA, there were concerns raised on the handling of tender processes by the ministry. It was noted that some tender procedures were flouted. What measures have been put in place to bring the erring civil servants who flouted the tender procedures to book?
Mrs Masebo: Mr Speaker, that is a very good question. If may be allowed, I would like to bring a comprehensive ministerial statement in which all these issues will be articulated. I will also bring documentation, which I will lay on the Table of the House so that we do not have to wait for the end of the year to deal with some of these issues.
I thank you, Sir.
NAMPUNDWE MINE
34. Mr Ng’onga (Kaputa) asked the Minister of Mines, Energy and Water Development:
(a) what minerals were mined at Nampundwe Mine;
(b) what the uses of the minerals were; and
(c) whether the Government had any intentions to facilitate the expansion of the mine.
The Deputy Minister of Mines, Energy and Water Development (Mr Musukwa): Mr Speaker, the mineral mined at Nampundwe Mine is pyrite.
Sir, pyrite is used to generate heat in the conventional smelters for melting copper concentrates. In this process, pyrite produces sulphur which, in turn, is used to manufacture sulphuric acid. It can also be used in the production of explosives, disinfectants, medicines, dyes and matches. In short, pyrite produces heat in a toxaemic process in the melting of copper concentrates.
Mr Speaker, Nampundwe Mine is a privately-owned entity. It is an extension or integrated business unit (IBU) of Konkola Copper Mine (KCM). As such, the Government has no direct control of the expansion programme of the company. As the Government, we would like to see the operations of Nampundwe Mine, like any other mine, continue to be viable to ensure that our people’s jobs are guaranteed.
I thank you, Mr Speaker.
UPGRADE OF NAMPUNDWE ROAD
35. Mr Ng’onga asked the Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication when the road to Nampundwe Mine would be upgraded to a bituminous standard.
Mr M. H. Malama: Mr Speaker, the road to Nampundwe Mine will be upgraded to a bituminous standard after the finalisation of the feasibility study and construction will be undertaken in 2015, when funds are allocated to the Road Sector Annual Work Plan (RSAWP).
I thank you, Mr Speaker.
Dr Kazonga: Mr Speaker, when is the feasibility study scheduled to be completed?
Mr M. H. Malama: Mr Speaker, by the end of 2013.
I thank you, Sir.
Mr Chisanga: Mr Speaker, in the event that there are no funds allocated to that sector in 2015, what will happen?
Mr M. H. Malama: Mr Speaker, we said that these programmes are coming in phases and, when we say that we will work on the road by 2015, it means that funds will be allocated to that project. That is what we will do.
I thank you, Mr Speaker.
___________{mospagebreak}
MOTIONS
MOTION OF THANKS
Mr Nkombo (Mazabuka Central): Sir, I thank you for allowing me to make a few comments on the President’s Speech to this House last Friday.
Mr Speaker, to begin with, I want to join His Excellency the President in expressing sorrow and grief at the untimely death of our brother and friend, Hon. Kennedy Sakeni, former Members of Parliament for Mansa Central, who was buried in Chifunabuli. May his soul rest in peace. In the same vein, please, allow me the liberty to also render posthumous respect to one of our former Member of Parliament, Mr Barnabas Chella, who was killed in cold blood at his farm in Kitwe by a group of known people who, I believe, are now in police custody. The culprits are believed to belong to a named political party.
Mr Mushanga: Question!
Hon. Opposition Members: Shame!
Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, it is said that, for anyone to appreciate light, they must be subjected to darkness. At this stage, I want to thank the Patriotic Front (PF) for showing us, as a country, the darkness because we now appreciate the light. Let me explain what I mean by that. We have heard many Speeches by various Presidents. At least, during my time as a Member of Parliament, I have listened to three Presidents: the late Dr Mwanawasa, SC., Mr Rupiah Banda and the current President, His Excellency, Mr Michael Sata.
Sir, it is true that Presidents’ Speeches are plans or promissory notes. It is also believed that every finishing line is the beginning of a new race. So, my belief is that the Speeches the President makes, year by year, must be interconnected. I tried to search through the three Speeches that I have here, from 2011, through 2012, to the latest one for 2013, to establish linkages because the development agenda does not have a finishing line.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Nkombo: Sir, there are many disconnections that I have established in this year’s Speech. The only thing that may have been good about the President’s Speech was his posturing, in which he got A+.
Mr Mwale: Hear, hear!
Mr Nkombo: Outside that, his Speech was muzzled with hypocrisy, and I will show you that when I deal with what he said vis-a-vis what is on the ground. The Speech was ambiguous and full of controversies and contradictions.
Sir, before making reference to his 2011 Speech, which was, to many Zambians, a breath of fresh air, because he had just assumed the highest position in the land, moving to the promises he made in 2012 and, now, what we are supposed to experience next year, the President went quickly into telling us how we would be celebrating the Golden Jubilee. He forgot to tell us what had been achieved.
Mr Speaker, our colleagues on the right came into power in 2011 and put everything into perspective. However, they have not told us their achievements in 2012 and this year. Those who wrote the Speech for the President did not do him a favour because he demonstrated the disconnection between what they have been doing between 2011 and this moment. I will make references to these three documents that I have.
Sir, His Excellency the President called the theme of the Golden Jubilee, “Commemorating God’s Favour of Zambia’s Fifty Years of Independence for Continued Peace, Unity, Democracy, Patriotism and Prosperity.” Let us stop pretending because none of these tenets exist in this country. There is absolutely no peace in this country.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Nkombo: I invite those of you who see peace in this country to go to the opticians and buy spectacles so that you can see that there is absolutely no social stability in this country. I can catalogue many incidents that compel me to say that there is absolutely no peace in Zambia. It is just that Zambians are docile people.
Mr Mpundu: Question!
Mr Nkombo: Zambians’ docility is one God-given gift that we have. If Zambians were not like they are, today, there would have been no peace in this country. In Kampasa, people were killed while, in Ndola, a person was shot by a police officer. It is as a result of the docility of Zambians that, when Mr Hakainde Hichilema went to pay a courtesy call on the Paramount Chief of the Bemba people, he was nearly lynched by people believed to belong to some political party. That, to me, does not denote peace.
Mr Mwale interjected.
Mr Nkombo: Sir, His Excellency the President talked about unity, but what unity is there, apart from the fact that we sit in the same Chamber with our colleagues there? I think that the blood that runs in them and that which runs in us has been diluted so much by irresponsible Speeches, some of which I will quote, coming from the lowest enclave of the political party that is in the Government to the highest.
The first statement is, “There are people without surnames.” This hate-speech, tantamount to calling somebody a son of something I cannot mention in this House, came from the person occupying the highest office of the land.
Hon. Opposition Members: Shame!
Mr Nkombo: He has demonised two people in this country, and I sought permission to mention their names in this House. The first one is Mr Hakainde Hichilema while the other is a noble priest, a man of God, Father Frank Bwalya.
Mr Kampyongo: On a point of order, Sir.
Interruptions
Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised.
Mr Nkombo: Sir, the other statement that I am going to quote here …
Mr Speaker: Order!
Let us have order. A point of order has been raised.
Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, I thank you for allowing me to rise on this point of order. First and foremost, I do not think that it is right for an hon. Member of Parliament to describe this country as not being at peace.
Hon. Opposition Members: Aah! What is your point of order?
Mr Kampyongo: Secondly, the hon. Member …
Interruptions
Mr Speaker: Order!
Hon. Minister, hold on. Please, resume your seat.
Hon. Members, please, I do not need any help. I do not need your help at all. I might just request you to leave the Chamber.
Hon. Minister, you may continue.
Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, being a senior hon. Member of Parliament, the hon. Member for Mazabuka Central knows only too well that it is the norm, in this House, not to debate people who are not here to defend themselves. Is he, therefore, in order to continue debating in an alarming style?
Secondly, is he in order to name individuals who are not here to defend themselves? I seek your serious ruling, Sir.
Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Speaker: Order!
The first limb of the point of order is not really a point of order, but a point of debate. As we all know, both sides of the divide will be given the opportunity to debate. Therefore, as your colleagues debate – and this is for both sides – take notes quietly, but effectively. There is no need for running commentaries. An opportunity will come for you to stand up and be counted. To assure you, this debate will take three good weeks, beginning yesterday.
The second aspect of the point of order, however, is relevant. The hon. Member for Mazabuka Central intimated that he sought the permission of the affected people to mention their names. That does not change our position in this House. Our position is not dependant on consent. We simply proscribe debating individuals who are not here. Whether you have consent or not is immaterial. They should not be referred to.
You may proceed, Hon. Nkombo.
Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, I thank you for your counsel, which I highly value.
Sir, a leader of a political party called the United Party for National Development (UPND) was harassed in Kasama, Northern Province, in my country. That is what should be understood well. I talked about irresponsible statements like asking an hon. Minister how his fight with another hon. Minister was going. That is irresponsible. We heard this not too long ago.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, we also heard how an hon. Minister said that the leader of this particular political party does not understand the culture of the Northern Province and, therefore, was not free to go there. That is outrageous. Meanwhile, someone wants to tell me that there is unity in the country? Abbwe! On the stone!
Mr Speaker, ever since coming to power, the Patriotic Front (PF) has mutilated democracy to exponential levels. That is why I called the President’s Speech a bundle of hypocrisy.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Nkombo: Our colleagues on your right, Sir, have damaged the reputation of this country in terms of democratic governance.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Nkombo: Everything in the PF is out of control, and I wish to demonstrate. In the name of democracy, peace has been threatened exponentially in this country. That is a fact.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Nkombo: Law and order has been disturbed exponentially. Go and see what the PF did in town yesterday. They took over the business district of Lusaka City. They are already in power, but are so hang up on thinking that they are still in the Opposition.
Laughter
Mr Nkombo: Ladies and gentlemen, you are now in power.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Nkombo: I want to take my hat off to the hon. Minister of ‘Games’, …
Laughter
Mr Nkombo: … for the wise counsel, not only to the PF, but to all of us. He said that, if we are not careful in the way we conduct ourselves, and peace completely degenerates in the PF, it will spill over to some of us who are innocent.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Nkombo: That is a fact.
Mr Speaker, police brutality on innocent citizens has escalated exponentially under the PF. The hon. Minister of Home Affairs and his Deputy make the President appear hypocritical. He sits at State House while they are busy manipulating the police to prevent people from assembling, yet this is an inherent human right and freedom.
Sir, ever since these people came into power, we have not enjoyed our God-given freedom to assemble. Meanwhile, the President came and sat where you are and said that there is democracy in this country. Democracy kuli? Where?
Laughter
Mr Nkombo: Colleagues, you have suppressed us enough.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Nkombo: I want you to know that people can only be suppressed for a certain period of time.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Nkombo: There comes a time when they will lift their arm and take you on.
Mr Speaker, before the last session adjourned, I said that, as a man lives, so shall he die.
Mr M. H. Malama: On a point of order, Sir.
Mr Nkombo: If you live by the sword, you will die by the sword.
Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised.
Mr M. H. Malama: Mr Speaker, I rise on very important points of order.
Hon. Opposition Members: How many do you have?
Ms Kalima: Points of order?
Mr Speaker: Order!
Mr M. H. Malama: Mr Speaker, is the hon. Member in order to continue debating from his neighbour’s microphone? Is he really in order? I need your serious ruling.
Laughter
Mr Speaker: Hon. Member for Mazabuka Central, please, use your own microphone.
Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, I am sorry. I am using my uncle, Hon. Muntanga’s microphone. He will bequeath it to me when he is gone.
Mr Livune: You can inherit it.
Mr Nkombo: Sir, I shall not be deterred by the points of order.
Sir, I was saying that, as a man lives, so shall he die. It is also true that what goes around comes around. Those who were saying, while in the PF, that we should defend ourselves when attacked have, today, found themselves defending themselves.
Laughter
Mr Nkombo: The PF cadres have risen and are holding all the hon. Gentlemen and Ladies to ransom because they have failed to provide jobs.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Nkombo: These fellows who are parading in town without clothes on, and going to State House standing on police vehicles would not waste time chanting slogans to remove one of their own if they had jobs. This is a sign of disenchantment. Whether we like it or not, we must face the facts. If we are not careful, we will come to the verge of cascading into a failed State.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Nkombo: Since the PF Government came into power, everything has been out of control. Nothing seems to be normal. There is bickering, if not with leaders of other political parties, it is among themselves.
Mr Livune: Fighting amongst themselves.
Mr Nkombo: There is no confidentiality to give us the confidence that we are being governed by an organised group of people.
Mr Mwale: Organised crimes.
Laughter
Mr Nkombo: A week before the Head of State was to deliver his Speech – I am trying to deal with the issue of hypocrisy – he said that the PF or his intelligence system had infiltrated the UPND. To me, infiltration is a clandestine and dangerous act. What if one of us suddenly drops dead from one thing or another? Obviously, we will say that it is because the PF has infiltrated us. That is a contradiction of the President’s Speech vis-a-vis the unity and democracy that the President talked about.
Sir, may I now talk about the socio-economic affairs referred to in the President’s Speech and show the disconnection between the recent Speech and the previous ones in the last five minutes of my debate.
Sir, in 2011, the President’s Speech gave us hope on page 31 because he said that he would build on the Social Cash Transfer Scheme (SCTS) and the Food Security Pack (FSP) that the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) had left in place. However, in 2012, there was a gap. He did not talk about the SCTS at all. So, we do not know if anybody has graduated from the programme or not. In 2013, the President indicated that the Government would establish a system that would assist in the socio-economic empowerment of women and youths, the same youths who are busy chanting slogans against the PF Secretary-General (SG). These people need to be attended to. That is why they are rising against you. Our fear, now, is that, once they are through with you, they will come for us because you have promoted anarchy …
Laughter
Mr Nkombo: … in this country. Unfortunately, we do not know them by name the way you do. Some of them, as they are in the forefront of chanting slogans of disenchantment, are being promoted within the rank and file of their party. You know them.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Nkombo: So, I would like the PF Government to take leadership, Sir, and stop the hypocrisy. Sit with your cadres and tell them that you just won because Zambians did you the favour of putting you into office, and that the favour can easily be withdrawn.
Hon. Opposition Members: Yes!
Mr Nkombo: You will go into the Guinness Book of Records as the Government that lasted the shortest time in Zambia.
Ms Kalima: Two years!
Mr Nkombo: You have ruined the peace that was left by Dr Kenneth Kaunda; the late Dr Fredrick Chiluba, may his soul rest in peace; the late Dr Levy Mwanawasa, SC., may his soul rest in peace, and the gallant Mr Rupiah Banda.
Hon. MMD Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Nkombo: There is nothing greater than peace. People can stay hungry for as long as there is peace. Do not tamper with peace.
Mr Speaker, I want to take this moment to congratulate Hon. Chinga Miyutu on seeing, and he did not even need the spectacles that I have prescribed for my colleagues to buy and see the ills that are prevailing in this country. Congratulations, dear brother.
Mr Miyutu: Thank you.
Hon. Opposition Members: And Mwila!
Mr Nkombo: I want to make it clear, Sir, that, for me, to associate, in governance terms, with PF is impossible. I would rather be a free man in the grave than a living puppet. I would rather be a free person in the grave than be part of what is going on under the PF Government.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Nkombo: Twapenga! We have suffered under the PF Government.
Hon. Government Members: Question!
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Nkombo: That is a fact. I would rather be a free person dead in a grave, ‘tinali nawo, tinali nawo’, than work with the PF.
Laughter
Mr Speaker: Hon. Member, please, use English, the official language.
Mr Nkombo: ‘Tinali nawo’ is a song that people sing at funerals to say that they were with the deceased while on earth.
Mr Speaker: We will take too much time if you continue vacillating between English and vernacular languages.
Mr Nkombo: I think, that is the general feeling for most of us. The fact that we laugh together is fine, but I would rather be a free man in my tomb than join the PF.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Nkombo: Sir, I need to say, very quickly, that there is a budget overrun in this country. The Executive should not deny this because today is 25th September, 2013, but these colleagues of mine have abrogated the Budget Law that we passed under your Chairmanship because they have dished out the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to selected constituencies only.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Nkombo: To this day, the people of Mazabuka Central Constituency have not got their share of the CDF, and we are coming to the end of the Budget Cycle. At what stage do these people think that my people should get their CDF? Some of them have already depleted their CDF. Tomorrow, someone will stand and say that there were no projects initiated in my constituency, when it is also true that the Head of State, in another act of hypocrisy, has gone to by-elections and said that if people did not vote for the PF, they would not see development in their constituency.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Ms Kapata: Nomba tatulekana!
Interruptions
Mr Nkombo: Only a person who is bankrupt of wisdom can, actually, ululate such a statement.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Nkombo: I have seen unprecedented levels of bankruptcy of wisdom in this particular House at this particular moment. The Budget Law has been abrogated this far. What is the rationale for certain constituencies being given their CDF while others are not? Please, explain to me. It is unacceptable. This is the definition of failure.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Nkombo: Truth has no disguise. The PF has failed. I think, sometimes, that the President …
Interruptions
Mr Speaker: Let us have order!
Mr Nkombo: ... may mean well, although I doubt. However, these colleagues of mine on your right have exacerbated his failures.
Laughter
Mr Nkombo: In Lusaka, as I conclude, PF cadres have been grabbing land from innocent Zambians. We have been seeing this on television, Sir. I am sure that you have been watching television. Law and order has degenerated under the PF. The next thing is kuya bebele.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Nkombo: You will be going.
Mr Speaker: Meaning?
Mr Nkombo: These people will be leaving office.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Speaker: Order!
The hon. Member’s time has expired.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!{mospagebreak}
Dr Kaingu (Mwandi): Mr Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity to also contribute to the debate on the President’s Speech.
Sir, you know that I am a humble man.
Laughter
Mr Speaker: Nobody has questioned that.
Laughter
Dr Kaingu: I have no evil intentions, this time around.
Sir, allow me to welcome our colleagues who have just joined us; those who have won the by-elections, particularly those on our side.
Mr Speaker, allow me, also, on behalf of my president, to congratulate Hon. Chipungu on winning his petition case in the Supreme Court.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Dr Kaingu: I think that, this time around, the Supreme Court has heard what my President said.
Sir, let me also thank the people of Zambia for showing confidence in the Opposition. We are now seeing that the notorious idea of continuing with the unnecessary by-elections that have consumed our resources is coming to an end.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Dr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, I can even see fear in some of the hon. Members of Parliament who have left their rightful parties to go and squat on your right.
Sir, the President, in his State-of-the-Nation-Address, again, lost an opportunity to address salient issues like security, violence, the Constitution-making process and, indeed, what is happening to our people in the Western Province.
Mr Speaker, we have seen for ourselves that, from the time it came into power, the PF Government has not known peace because of several promises that have been made to our people, which has created an atmosphere of exaggerated levels of expectation, which the party is now failing to rectify.
Sir, if the President was sincere in addressing violence in this country, he would have condemned what happened outside this House on that Friday when he addressed the nation. What the members of his political party were doing outside was appalling. We know very well that, when he addressed violence, the President was not sincere. If you are not aware of what happened on Friday, cadres belonging to the party called Paya Farmer (PF), came and besieged the Parliament grounds.
Mr Speaker, the violence that we have witnessed from the time the PF came into power is unprecedented. Leaders of opposition political parties can no longer visit chiefs. Early this year, my president, Dr Nevers Mumba, a humble man of God, …
Hon. MMD Members: Hear, hear!
Dr Kaingu: … went to the Copperbelt to visit a junior chief, not even a paramount chief, and he, together with his group, was arrested after that visit.
Sir, we have also seen cadres go around Lusaka grabbing farms from widows and widowers, which they share amongst themselves. These PF cadres are incited by their leaders to do what they do.
Mr Speaker, if the President really wanted to denounce or renounce the violence in this country, he should have referred to what happened to President Hichilema in the Northern Province. President Hichilema, a humble man …
Mr Lungu entered the Assembly Chamber.
Ms Kalima: The Minister of Home Affairs is here.
Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!
Dr Kaingu: … a leader of a political party, wanted to pay a courtesy call on a respected paramount chief – and there are only four paramount chiefs in this country – but the cadres of the political party in power harassed and beat him and the people he was with. I do not know where the fear they have is coming from. There is fear and insecurity in this country. What is happening to the people of the Western Province is shameful. However, I would like the Government to know that no gun in the whole world has ever won a war. If guns could win wars, then, the people of South Africa would not have been free. The people of Namibia and South Sudan would not have been free too. I think that it is important that the Government engages the people of the Western Province to solve the very important problem of the Barotse Agreement because it is real.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Kampyongo: On a point of Order, Sir.
Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised.
Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, I rise on a very serious point of order. All of us, here, have a copy of the President’s Speech. Is the hon. Member on the Floor, who is in the wonderland of debate, in order to continue bringing matters that are not reflected in the President’s Speech?
Hon. Opposition Members interjected.
Mr Speaker: Order!
Mr Kampyongo: Sir, secondly, is he in order to go against your earlier ruling of not debating people who are not in this Chamber, including their royal highnesses?
I need your serious ruling, Sir.
Mr Speaker: I will begin with the latter. I think, it is clear that we are not permitted to debate individuals. Those of you who have not taken the Floor yet should, please, bear that in mind, so that we avoid these points of order. Bear in mind that our rules and practices do not permit us to debate individuals. You can debate the events and issues, but not the individuals.
As regards the latitude that is available for debate, the practice is equally settled that the President’s Address does highlight themes, and I emphasise, ‘themes’, and it is on the basis of those themes that every hon. Member of Parliament is at liberty to debate. It is not for me to begin circumscribing the boundaries of events. If that were so, it would make it extremely difficult for all of us to debate. This is not a comprehension exercise on the Speech. It is a debate.
Please, continue, Hon. Dr Kaingu.
Dr Kaingu: Sir, thank you for your guidance. As I leave the issue of violence, because I am not a violent man, I ask the party in power to know that, where peace has failed, like in Zimbabwe, Kenya, the Ivory Coast, Egypt and, of course, the Western Province, it is only anarchy that comes in.
Mr Speaker, the Constitution-making process, which the President alluded to, is worrying all of us, especially looking at the manner in which I saw him speak about the current Constitution. The President seems to have an insatiable appetite to maintain the current Constitution. His body language demonstrated that he is not in a hurry to enact a new one. I will not be surprised if we hold the 2016 General Elections using the current Constitution.
Sir, in its two years in power, the PF …
Interruptions
Dr Kaingu: … has tried to erase the economic and social achievements of the MMD. That is what all the time has been spent on. I am not surprised with this because the Ruling Party was very clear, when it was campaigning, that it would be in Government for only ninety days.
Laughter
Dr Kaingu: Now, we can see the fatigue.
Laughter
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Dr Kaingu: The President has told us to put this Government on its toes because it is fatigued. Our colleagues never believed that they would go beyond ninety days in power. If they had the chance, they would have run away from …
Ms Kapata walked out of the Debate Chamber.
Hon. Opposition Members: They are running away.
Dr Kaingu: They are tired.
Interruptions
Mr Speaker: Order!
Interruptions
Mr Speaker: Order!
Dr Kaingu: Sir, although the same economic environmental factors existed during both the MMD and PF reigns, the MMD managed to subsidise both consumption and production. However, we now see that our colleagues on that side have failed to do that. They even claim that the country’s present gross domestic product (GDP) is 7.1 per cent and that the inflation rate has even gone lower. If that is the case, why have they failed to subsidise production and consumption?
Sir, I want my dear colleagues in the Government to understand that the subsidies they have removed have made business very difficult for mini-bus and taxi drivers today. They are even failing to achieve their target cashings. The PF should not expect to receive a favour in the 2016 elections from such citizens.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Speaker: Order!
Business was suspended from 1615 hours until 1630 hours.
[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]
Dr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, before business was suspended, I was thanking my party, the MMD, for the resilience it has shown in the last two years against all vices aimed at driving it into extinction.
Sir, as the MMD, there were many projects and programmes that we left in place. We left more than fifty schools, thirty-three district hospitals, many clinics and roads under construction. I want you to note that we have now turned our colleagues into commissioning officers, …
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Dr Kaingu: ... starting with their President, who is an ungrateful rider, …
Laughter
Dr Kaingu: … to the hon. Ministers. They are all just commissioning our projects.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Dr Kaingu: They go to commission Paul Mushindo University and say they have constructed it. They have also commissioned Shang’ombo Hospital and claim to have constructed it. These are commissioning officers.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Dr Kaingu: I want my colleagues in this House and the people of Zambia out there to, please, know that current hon. Ministers are simply commissioning officers.
Hon. Opposition Ministers: Hear, hear!
Dr Kaingu: The President has told these people to go out there and explain the successes of the PF Government, but the hon. Ministers have failed to explain the successes because, conceptually, they do not understand the Government’s projects. Just this afternoon, we saw how the acting hon. Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications fumbled in explaining the Link Zambia 8,000 Project.
Mr Speaker: Hon. Member, …
Dr Kaingu: Sir?
Laughter
Mr Speaker: I do not think that is an appropriate way to debate.
Dr Kaingu: Mr Speaker, I apologise. I really do not want to disturb the work of our commissioning officers.
Laughter
Dr Kaingu: They are not in their offices. Even if you went there to check, you would not find them. You can see that they are not in the House because they have gone to commission our projects and programmes.
Laughter
Dr Kaingu: Sir, with those very few words, as the Vice-President of a mighty party, …
Hon. MMD Members: Hear, hear!
Dr Kaingu: … I do not have to exhaust all my minutes.
I thank you for giving me the opportunity to debate the Motion.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!{mospagebreak}
Mr Mutelo (Lukulu West): Mr Speaker, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to add my voice to the debate on the Motion on the Floor. Having listened to and gone through the written version of the President’s Speech, I will restrict myself to pages 1 and 4.
Sir, parliamentary work takes precedence in everything that we do as a nation. Death also takes precedence in everything. I know that we have observed a minute of silence for Hon. Sakeni but, since this is my time, I will take one minute from my time, …
Laughter
Mr Mutelo: … and observe it in totality in honour of bo Sakeni. In rural areas, we esteem respect for the dead very highly. Death is death. You may differ in principle, one way or the other, but death is death. My minute starts now.
Laughter
Mr Mutelo stood in silence for one minute.
Interruptions
Mr Mutelo: May Hon. Sakeni’s soul rest in peace.
Hon. Members: Hear, hear!
Laughter
Mr Mutelo: You may laugh, here, but death is death and, when it strikes and you are involved, it is not a laughing matter.
Mr Speaker, on page 4, I quote His Excellency the President:
“Let me take this opportunity to congratulate all the new hon. Members of Parliament who have since joined the House. I also thank the electorate who participated in the by-elections. I, however, regret to note that some by-elections were characterised by violence. I wish to emphasise the need for self-restraint and tolerance before, during and after elections so as to enable our democracy to flourish.”
Mr Speaker, the regret is not only on by-elections. The President’s Speech for 2012 also contained words like ‘violence’. It is not only during by-elections, but ever since the PF came into power that there has been violence. It started with people being beaten whilst praying in church and it is getting worse. This is a sign of mismanagement. When there is a leadership crisis, you have chaos ...
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mutelo: … and confusion. The people on your right do not trust one another, yet they are the ones in the driving seat. You have a situation in which an hon. Minister will say one thing and the hon. Deputy Minister of the same ministry will say another.
Laughter
Mr Mutelo: Leadership crisis.
Laughter
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, may they take heed of this advice. When there is a leadership crisis, you have anarchy. We beg our colleagues on your right to demonstrate leadership. When there is a leadership crisis, you have chaos and tension in the nation and, when there is tension in the nation, it will breed violence and spill over to innocent citizens, who trusted our colleagues with the power to lead this nation for five years.
Sir, on page 39 of his 2011 Speech, his very first Speech, the President said that his Government would deliver a new Constitution within ninety days. However, he has not delivered on that promise. Hence, the Zambian people are busy reading between the lines and finding our colleagues not worthy of being believed. It will even be very hard for the people of Zambia to believe the truth and half-truths that our colleagues will be telling. Their Barotseland Agreement issue was a significant topic of their campaign. They said that they would resolve it. However, to this day, there has not been any dialogue on the matter.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, they blamed the MMD Government when it arrested people and did whatever it did, and were the first to say that the behaviour was inhuman. Today, the PF is doing the same thing. Actually, it is even worse. It is bundling people at Mwembeshi. His Excellency the President mentioned that he is reluctant to listen to the demands of the Lozi activists. Why has the Barotse issue, which was a big campaign tool for the PF, become less of a priority? The PF has a leadership crisis and a lack of trust among its members, too. If there is no trust amongst its members, who will trust them?
Hon. Opposition Members: Yes!
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, if they cannot trust their own SG, who will trust them?
Laughter
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, it is no wonder that, whenever there is a by-election, the people of Zambia are voting for the Opposition. They now know that they made a mistake in putting the PF in power.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, if the PF was to leave office, today, we want it to leave this nation the way it found it. Let it leave this nation in peace, …
Hon. Opposition Members: Yes!
Mr Mutelo: … not in pieces. Colleagues, if you have failed to rule, leave this nation in peace.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, it should have been the Opposition attacking the Ruling Party, but its members are busy attacking each other.
Laughter
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, let them come back to …
Ms Imenda: Reality!
Laughter
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, when there is no peace in the nation, whatever you built will be destroyed. We do not want that. Neither do Zambians. They wanted to turn this nation into a one-party State, through petitions and by-elections. However, that has failed.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, they now want to bring anarchy so that, when there is total confusion, they can declare a state of emergency and continue ruling illegally …
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mutelo: … because they will say that, “Zambia is not at peace. Not until Zambia is at peace, shall we hold elections.” We do not want that.
Hon. Opposition Members: No!
Mr Mutelo: We do not want that. Let Zambia remain Zambia.
Mr Speaker, the President congratulated the newly-elected hon. Members. May I, also, congratulate those who have come here for the very first time. Hon. Mtolo, you have come here for the second time. Congratulations to you, too.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, let me also congratulate my neighbour, Hon. Chinga Miyutu, on having read through the lines.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Speaker, allow me to also congratulate a young man, whose seat got nullified in the High Court and the Supreme Court. However, people still demonstrated that the nullification of his victory was not in order. He was first elected on 20th September, 2011. On 23rd April, 2013, he won a mini by-election in a newspaper. His seat was nullified in a newspaper on 9th August, 2013. He won that election, too.
Laughter
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, congratulations to that young man.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, once beaten, twice shy.
Hon. Opposition Members: Who is that young man?
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, congratulations to that young man.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, because of that young man, the wind turned in this country, and that change will continue spreading and making Zambians realise the mistake they made in voting for the PF in 2011.
Mr Speaker, if there is a leadership crisis, there will be leadership chaos.
Mr Livune: On a point of order, Sir.
Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised.
Mr Livune: Mr Speaker, I sincerely apologise to my colleague who is debating so well on the Floor of this House. However, is he in order to continue talking about ‘a young man’ whom he is congratulating, without informing this House and Zambia at large that the young man he has been talking about is himself?
Laughter
Mr Speaker: Order!
He is entitled to practice modesty. That is his prerogative.
You may continue, Hon. Mutelo.
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, the rule of the House is that there should be no mentioning of names.
Laughter
Mr Speaker: Order!
I have already ruled.
Laughter
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, if that young man is Mr Misheck Mutelo, hon. Member for Lukulu West, then, yes, congratulations to him.
Laughter
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, I was saying that, when there is a leadership crisis, you will have leadership chaos and there will be tension in the nation. We do not want that. There is tension in Barotseland or the Western Province. Now, there is also tension in ku Lubemba.
Interruptions
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, there is tension all over. We do not want that. There is also tension because of land grabbing, the Constitution-making process and the controversy over the Acting Chief Justice.
Laughter
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, now we even have a Budget overrun because of the by-election in the constituency of that young man I talked about. That by-election, possibly, gobbled K7.7 billion from the Government coffers. What for? Where is the Katunda Road?
Laughter
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, where is the Katunda Road? Why did the Government not put the money it spent on the by-election into constructing the Katunda-Lukulu Road?
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, the Government removed some subsidies in the name of developing the rural areas. However, where is the Katunda Road?
Laughter
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, the Government took Compound D fertiliser to Lukulu, and I appreciate that very much. However, where is the seed? How do you supply fertiliser without seed? Can you plant fertiliser?
Laughter
Mr Mutelo: Mr Speaker, I would like to urge my colleagues on your right to learn to trust one another. Once they do that, we, on your left, may trust them and, then, Zambians will trust them as well.
Laughter
Mr Mutelo: However, if they cannot trust one another, we will not trust them, too. Zambians have lost trust in the people on your right. If they want to prove it, let them cause another by-election today.
Hon. Opposition Members: Let us go!
Mr Mutelo: The best thing they should do, if at all they can, is put their house in order. As long as their house is not in order, it portends doom!
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear! You are doomed!
Laughter
Mr Mutelo: You may take this as a joke or a serious matter because the junior hon. Ministers will start surrendering their flags, as one of them has already demonstrated.
Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!
Laughter
Mr Mutelo: One of your own has already done that, and I congratulate him on reading between the lines.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mutelo: How can an hon. Minister say something just to be contradicted by his junior? You cannot live like that. You should come back to reality. You are now in leadership. Stop being confused.
Laughter
Hon. Opposition Members: They are at sea.
Mr Mutelo: If you cannot trust one another, it is better for all of you to resign.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mutelo: However, since you have started one by one, that is the right way to go.
Laughter
Mr Mutelo: For the sake of progress, we need the leaders in the driving seat …
Mr Livune: To resign.
Mr Mutelo: … to be united, if, at all, they will manage. However, at the pace they are going, they are finished.
I thank you, Sir.
Laughter
Mr Miyanda (Mapatizya): Mr Speaker, I thank you for according me this opportunity to contribute to the Motion on the Floor of this House.
Sir, I might sound like I am anti-PF in my debate because I am about to say the truth. Please, do not blame me. Blame the truth.
Laughter
Interruptions
Mr Miyanda: Mr Speaker, as I sat here on Friday, I anticipated to hear the President inform this House and the country at large that the decision to remove maize and fuel subsidies was not of the Government’s own making, but an instruction by our former colonial masters, the British. Though he did not mention it, it was the British who directed the Government to do so. According to the magazine that was put in our pigeonholes, The Farmers Gazette of November 2012, on page 43, the British Committee on Foreign Aid had made it clear that Zambia must remove maize and fuel subsidies. You are just implementing what the colonial masters told you.
Hon. Opposition Members: Shame!
Mr Miyanda: That is what I expected the President to say. He was supposed to inform us that, even if Zambians were going through difficulties, it was not the Government’s wish that mattered, but the word of the Britons.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Miyanda: Mr Speaker, on the same page of the magazine, the committee went on to say:
“The abolition could deliver free secondary education to 300,000 children, build fifty new high schools and recruit 10,000 teachers.”
Sir, this is what we wish to see. You have successfully removed the subsidies on instruction from the British. Now, what you need to do is build the fifty new high schools. We are not saying that you should rehabilitate or complete, but that you should build new schools. The British also said that you should employ 10,000 teachers from the money that you will be saving from the same exercise.
Mr Speaker, as I sat here, yesterday, I decided not to get offended. One speaker wondered whether we did not have eyes to see the development that was taking place in the country. Well, we do not live in the sky to see what is down here. We are not eagles. However, when development is concentrated in one region, certainly, we will not be able to know what you are doing.
Mr Sing’ombe interjected.
Mr Miyanda: Therefore, Mr Speaker, to the people in rural Zambia, especially Mapatizya, the Address by His Excellency the President, was a no-hope Speech. There is no hope for these people.
Sir, musicians have all along sang about love. Now, however, they have decided to target all of us in this House. They call us ‘anyandule’. I do not like it when they call us nyandules, cockroaches.
Laughter{mospagebreak}
Mr Miyanda: Another song about all of us has just come out. It was composed by a young man from Sefula in Mongu. I cannot mention it in this House, but we all know the song. It says, buhata, bufi, wenye, bubeji, lies and other translations of the word. It is not good that people …
Mr Speaker: Order!
Hon. Member, I think that you have ceased being coherent because the material that you are referring to is not before us and not everybody is as ardent as you are in following the works of artistes. So, in terms of relevance, please, bear in mind that you are dealing with a very serious subject and accord it the seriousness that it deserves. You have very precious time at your disposal to debate.
Please, proceed.
Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Miyanda: Mr Speaker, thank you for your guidance. What I mean is, and many people in rural areas, especially Mapatizya, agree with what I am saying that there are no schools that have been constructed in any rural constituency except, maybe, in Muchinga and other provinces. There are no dip-tanks that have been constructed in any constituency, especially in rural areas, yet animals are dying. Therefore, when musicians sing, this is what they mean.
Sir, according to the Speech by His Excellency the President, the dip-tanks will be constructed in the next two years, but we are saying that animals are dying currently. We have been told by His Excellency the President that we have an hon. Minister who is doing very well. I am at pains to understand why animals are dying while he is doing very well.
Laughter
Mr Miyanda: Mr Speaker, every animal that dies currently translates into a loss of between K4,000 and K6,000. Yes, the hon. Minister might be doing very well by driving along the roads while animals are dying.
Sir, on page 11 of the Speech, His Excellency the President talked about the 650 health posts. There is not even one foundation in Kalomo, Mapatizya, Dundumwezi and Katombola. That is why we are saying that these things are not there. We have been told, in the Speech, that it will take another two years, meanwhile people are sick and dying. We all ask ourselves how long it takes to sign a contract. It is important that the Government moves fast, if it can.
Mr Speaker, the other issue on page 32 of the Speech was that of roads. Take, for instance, the Link Zambia 8,000 Project. We are not in that project. There is nothing there for us and that is why I say that there is no hope. If you go through the Link Zambia 8,000 Project, you will see that we have to wait for another five years because it is in phases. I ask myself how long we will have to drive on those bad roads.
Sir, I agree with one speaker, who said that, if those who had last been to Zambia four years ago came, today, they would agree that things had changed. Things have changed in some regions, but in our regions, things are getting worse. Three years ago, one could drive from Kalomo to the Mapatizya Parliamentary Constituency Office in less than one hour thirty minutes because the road was good then. Now, the same distance takes four hours to cover. How do you explain driving for four hours to cover a distance of 60km? That is how bad it is. Things may have changed for the better for our friends, for some of us on the other side, they remain bad.
Mr Speaker, I am against violence, but not when it is in self-defence.
Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Miyanda: I actually call it intelligence to defend yourself …
Mr Livune: That is right.
Mr Miyanda: It is not fair that, in this country, even surnames and middle names have to be scrutinised. People want to know which region names belong to, and that is why we are getting into all this unnecessary confrontation.
Mr Speaker, it is important for our friends on the right not to be so blinded by patriotism that they fail to face reality. The PF must accept where it is not doing a good job. We will wait for you until 2016 because we, Zambians, have given you the mandate to govern us until then. We have one father, who is the Head of State, and one mother, who is Zambia.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Miyanda: Mr Speaker, the people in rural areas are suffering. I once put a question to His Honour the Vice-President and he told me not to worry because things would pick up, but I am starting to worry because that is not happening. The cost of transportation is beyond reach for most of us while farmers are not being paid for their maize.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Miyanda: There was a Government assurance, according to the President, that the names of all those who had not been paid would be forwarded to him and that he would have them paid the following day. It might have been a joke. He might not have meant it, but our farmers are suffering. For most, it has been two months since they delivered their crop to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA), but they have not been paid.
Mr Speaker, in the mining sector, it is from Mapatizya that you get the amethyst that everyone is talking about, but there is no road leading there. There are so many directions one can use to go to Mapatizya. It is bad that this country is making money out of that constituency while people there remain poor. Let us share our resources fairly.
I thank you, Mr Speaker.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Muchima (Ikeleng’i): Mr Speaker, I thank you for giving me this chance to debate the President’s Speech. May I also join those mourning my friend, Mr Kennedy Sakeni. I have some shared history with Mr Sakeni, from the long period we were civil servants.
Hon. MMD Members: Where?
Mr Muchima: In the Government of the Republic of Zambia.
Laughter
Mr Speaker: Order!
Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, it is sad to lose such a gallant officer, who contributed so much to this nation. He is one man who was wise, kept his head up and obeyed no boundaries, unlike what we see in many other people. We wish him well wherever he is as all of us are destined for that place.
Mr Speaker, may I also take this opportunity to congratulate my colleagues who have joined us in this Parliament. It is different for Hon. Mtolo, who is a baby-come-back …
Laughter
Mr Muchima: … after some temptations, as it happened even in the Bible. I congratulate the rest of you on winning and representing the people of Zambia adequately.
Mr Speaker, when I referred to the President’s Speech, I was gratified by what the President said on page 2. He said:
“... to address many social and economic challenges facing the Zambian people so as to restore their dignity and past glory.”
Mr Speaker, that makes very good reading. He went on to say:
“The citizens of this land not only deserve better lives, but are entitled to better lives.”
Mr Speaker, the Head of State is like a village headman, who is supposed to be in his right state of mind, but is that true on the ground? The answer is no. We are witnessing discrimination of the highest degree in this country.
Hon. MMD Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Muchima: He confirmed this when he said that there was a lot of development. He said that 16,000 jobs had been created and, when people disputed his statement, he said that it depended on where one came from. That was a clear confirmation.
Hon. MMD Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, however, as President of a country, …
Hon. MMD Members: You do not speak like that.
Mr Muchima: … you are leader of the whole nation, including the dull and poor ones as well as those in the Opposition.
Mr Speaker, even in the Bible, it is said that Jesus came for sinners, not for the righteous. Today, the righteous are my colleagues on the right. On this side (left), we are the sinners. He is supposed to mobilise and bring us together. To the contrary, the Opposition side is a dark corner and the Government side is a bright corner, which is not good for democracy. This country requires a legacy. It requires to be built, and we need to build on from where the others left. All of us are taking over from where the gallant people in the United National Independence Party (UNIP) left. We need Zambia to become a better place. It will be wrong to ignore the good things that were there and bring in formulae that are putting people in distress. It is sad for this country to go back to the Cha Cha Cha days, when people were busy stoning each other even in the face of the good motto, ‘One Zambia, One Nation’, which was realised through inter-marriages and was supposed to bring us together.
Mr Speaker, it is sad to hear leaders say ‘ifwe’ or ‘kumwesu,’ meaning, ‘we’ or ‘our area’. That is wrong. Zambia is for all of us and we should stand above that and be united. Let us lead this country as a united nation and be admired by other countries. This is a country that does not look at one’s colour. We have a Vice-President who is white and Hon. Muchima who is a different tribe. You should bring these different people together and other countries will admire us. If we do that, God will give us blessings.
Mr Speaker, today, there is discrimination in this country. Look at the way the North-Western Province has been segregated. You are creating boundaries among the people of Zambia. Not all hon. Ministers are bad as it is being perceived. Some of you are good, except that the shepherd is driving you somewhere you cannot see things properly. The grazing field is in one direction, but the shepherd is taking you in a different direction. You should know who the captain of the ship is.
Laughter
Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, this nation has struggled to liberate other countries. It is now time to build our country. We need to leave a legacy and prepare a good place for our children to live in. We need a better place to live in. We also need love. We do not want a situation in which one can wake up one day and find that the SG of a party is even forgetting where the gate is. Instead of the Main Gate, he used the back entrance.
Laughter
Mr Speaker: Order!
I do not think that it is fair to single out the hon. Minister of Justice and make him the subject of debate.
You may continue.
Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, I am concerned about the Speech.
Mrs Kawandami: On a point of order, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised.
Mrs Kawandami: Mr Speaker, I have never risen on a point order in this House. This is my first, and it is a very serious one. Is Hon. Muchima, who is on the Floor, in order to speak against all of us, this side yet, a few months ago, he was here with us …
Interruptions
Mr Speaker: Order!
Let the hon. Member speak.
Mrs Kawandami: … and was even praising the President. Is he in order to somersault in that embarrassing manner?
I need your serous ruling, Mr Speaker.
Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Speaker: Order!
I stated, earlier, that colleagues on the right will also have an opportunity to debate. I do not want to dwell on the other obvious issue about changes that take place in the House. I am afraid, it is part of parliamentary democracy. People move from the left to the right and vice-versa and, as they move, they revise opinions and positions.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Speaker: Whether that is credible or not, it is not for me to say, but it is a fact of our corporate life. I do not think that I can penalise anybody for moving in this kind of pendulum because you are permitted to do so.
The hon. Member may continue.
Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, I thank you for protecting me. In politics, there is neither permanent enemy nor permanent friend. I was invited, but later discharged. I am now in my rightful place.
Laughter
Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, I am worried about the kind of route we are taking this country on. We are supposed to build on what Presidents Kaunda; Chiluba, may his soul rest in peace; Mwanawasa, SC., may his soul rest in peace; and Banda left. The coin there is peace. You should have love. Let us forget our personal differences and move forward, as a nation. Every country around Zambia admires us, but we are distorting ourselves. Yesterday, it was with the MMD and, today, it is within the PF. This is causing us shame in the eyes of outsiders. We used to have Presidents visiting this country for the Zambia International Trade Fair (ZITF) and the Zambia Agricultural and Commercial Show (ZACS), but only one President has visited since the PF Government came into power. What is happening? Do we still have friends?
Mr Speaker, this also reminds me of my need to talk about tourism. We went on rampage talking about tourism. Do we need to be reminded about the need to clean Livingstone by hosting the United Nations World Tourism Organisation General Assembly (UNWTO-GA)? Have we forgotten about the Kalambo Falls in Mbala and the source of the Zambezi River in Ikeleng’i, Mwinilunga, where I come from? In this Speech, we are supposed to concentrate on the issues that could affect us or improve our livelihood. We need to concentrate on issues that could attract tourism without being reminded. Why should we put all the resources in one corner, where they are being abused? We should wake up and look at what resources we can exploit that can give us a higher gross domestic product (GDP), although there are very few people, here, who can even understand the GDP I am talking about.
Laughter
Mr Muchima: Sir, we need a strong country. We do not need to depend on others. Why should we clean our country when visitors come and neglect it when they go back to their countries? We have talked about the source of the Zambezi River, which is in Ikeleng’i, where I come from. However, if you go there, you will find that it is a sorry sight. I invite the SG, who is being chased here and there, to go and see where his kings are so that he can improve that road, instead of just being tortured left, right and centre.
Hon. Opposition Members: Aleisa!
Mr Muchima: I am saying so because that is the right place where he can seek refuge.
Mr Speaker: Hon. Member, sit down.
You have precious time at your disposal. You are not permitted to debate an hon. Member or, indeed, any other person outside the precincts of the House. I have said this repeatedly. We are wasting time on my reminding you about the obvious.
You may continue.
Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, I take note of that. Unfortunately, this cousinship dwells too much in some of us.
Mr Speaker, tourism is essential to this country because it is a renewable resource, as compared to copper, which is not. The North-Western Province is, currently, one that we should sing about in the morning, afternoon, evening and as we drink. In this Speech, it is omitted, yet all the resources that are adding to the GDP come from that side. What could have happened? All the big mines, including Kalumbila, which will soon be operational and will be the biggest in Africa and the fifth biggest in the world, are in that province. The population in that province has also increased. Kabompo District, where my brother who replaced me is, is the only one that was recognised. We have seen the creation of districts all over the country, but not in the North-Western Province. What is happening with that province? What did we do, Hon. Mwanza and Hon. Kabinga Pande? What did we do to deserve this?
Mr Mwanza: We need to know.
Mr Muchima: Mulamu, what did we do?
Laughter
Mr Speaker: Hon. Member for Ikeleng’i, sit down, again, unfortunately.
Please, try to debate in a manner that is consistent with our practice. I am saying this for the third time. I have powers to curtail debate altogether. It is within my discretion, but it is something that I am very slow to do. I do not think that I should continue counselling you in the very short time that you have to debate. Confine yourself to issues. There is no need to refer to all these filial relationships and the pleas that you are making.
Continue.
Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, I will oblige.
Sir, the North-Western Province deserves a good place in the heart of this Government. The road infrastructure and electricity supply requires attention. It deserves a lot of attention because the roads are being damaged as a result of the haulage of what is contributing to the GDP of this nation. We beg that a Speech by the President be the basis or framework of policy, balance sheet and the Budget. When the province is not mentioned, how will it be included on the development agenda so that its people, who have been in the dark, can, today, see the light? That is what I am trying to point out.
Mr Speaker, people there are crying. The other day, when I stood here, I heard some sentiments that hon. Members of Parliament from the North-Western Province do not speak, and that it was why there was no development there. I am standing here, but it is so unfortunate that all my tears have dried. I would have cried for the province to have a share in the name of Jesus.
Hon. Opposition Members: Aah, amen!{mospagebreak}
Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, we borrowed money, through the Eurobond, but I have been wondering if there was a plan for that money before it was borrowed because it has just been put in a bank and is accruing huge interest without being utilised. I thought that there was a need to start with the framework and, later, look for the money. The money that is being lost could have been used for projects in the North-Western Province, which would have been a great relief.
Sir, bridges have been washed away in the North-Western Province and you cannot like the roads that are there. There are accidents on the Solwezi/Chingola Road and people are dying every day. There is also the Jimbe Road. Quite alright, we have heard about the Link Zambia 8,000, but how long will it take to complete this project. If it took so many years for the Mutanda/Chavuma Road to be completed, in which period will you complete the Link Zambia 8,000 Project? Feasibility studies on this project have not even started. It will just be indicated on paper that the Government intends to construct this road. I am telling you that the project will not be implemented in the near future. The Jimbe Road, which is so crucial because it connects Zambia to Angola and is the shortest route to the sea, has been neglected. However, if it was worked on and opened, you would see that even the livelihood of people in the North-Western Province and Zambia as a whole would improve.
Mr Speaker, I contend that this Speech should have captured the North-Western Province, in terms of economic development, the value that it is adding to this country and the voting pattern, which is, maybe, agitating people to look at the province in a different way. Let us be sincere. You cannot utilise revenues from there and ignore the people of the area, who are the owners. That is what we call neo-colonialism, and we do not want it. We are brothers and sisters and we are inter-marrying. Do not deny us even the little that we have. Let us work together so that we remember you for what you can do for all of us just as we remember the late President, Dr Mwanawasa, SC., because he left a legacy in the province. So, if you want to be remembered, you should do something there.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Muchima: On the issue of universities, before we start talking about the new ones being established, we should consider rehabilitating the University of Zambia (UNZA). President Kaunda, in his time, had proposed that there be a university of agriculture in the North-Western Province. That was when we were still small boys. Dr Phiri was still a young man and he was then at the university. However, today, we are hearing of the construction of two universities in one corner and two others in Chinsali. We have not heard of the construction of a university in the North-Western Province, which has a population that has expanded so much. There is completely nothing. There is talk of building universities in phases, but we do not know when some provinces will benefit because, in time, we may even forget about it. We are pleading. The population in the province is increasing and we need these facilities there. If you did that, they would remember you for it.
Mr Sikazwe: In two years.
Mr Muchima: Hon. Sikazwe, you stand up and debate.
Laughter
Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, what are the expectations of Zambians from this Government? Are they all happy with what is happening in the governance of this country? These are questions that you should be asking yourselves. There is a need to get some feedback so that you know whether you are on the right path or not. We want to be governed properly, be it in school or church. We do not want to be led into temptations or divisions and fights here and there. That is what we are pleading for. Let us be decent enough to be accountable to every citizen. Let us cherish Zambia. God has already given us these values. So, let us cherish them. There are good hon. Ministers there and some of them are carrying a political hangover of being in the Opposition. They may think that we are their enemies, but we are in this House to contribute to the development of this country.
Mr Sianga interjected.
Mr Muchima: When we approach you in your offices, we are there to deliver and add value. You will not be there permanently. You are not the first ones to be in those offices and you will not be the last. You should leave a legacy so that, when you go out there, people will remember you.
Mr Sianga: Where are we?
Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, I tell you, certain hon. Ministers will do so, and I wish everyone would do that. You say that we should not debate ourselves, but we should appreciate people like the hon. Minister of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Muchima: We need examples. Even his Deputy …
Mr Speaker: Hon. Member, …
Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, with these few words, I thank you.
Laughter
Mr Speaker: The hon. Member for Solwezi West.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Livune: Mukulumpe! Bakulu bamingilo.
Mr Mwanza (Solwezi West): Mr Speaker, I thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to join other hon. Members who have debated the President’s Speech.
Sir, from the outset, I want to state that I do not support the Motion on the Floor.
Laughter
Mr Mwanza: I do not support it because of what I am going to say.
Mr Speaker, the hon. Member of Parliament for Dundumwezi marked Zambia on the world map yesterday.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mwanza: I wish to thank you, hon. Member, for your words. I wish to take them as my own.
Mr Speaker, I also wish to thank my brother, Hon. Muchima, for what he said because that is what I stand for.
Hon. Opposition Member interrupted.
Laughter
Mr Mwanza: Mr Speaker, on behalf of my colleagues, I would like to say that Mr Nkombo, the hon. Member for Mazabuka Central, and my own vice-president, the hon. Member for Mwandi, have done us proud, as Zambians.
Sir, I would like to dedicate my discussion to the people of the North-Western Province because I am an hon. Member of Parliament for …
Hon. Opposition Members: The North-Western Province!
Mr Livune: Kumukala!
Mr Mwanza: Mr Speaker, the North-Western Province, today, produces what keeps Zambia in shape. It produces what is building Muchinga and many other provinces in this country.
Mr Speaker, I stand here as Member of Parliament for Solwezi West, where we have Lumwana and Kalumbila mines. The latter is currently being developed. Nothing comes from Muchinga Province, but we contribute to the wealth of that province. This is unacceptable and the people of the North-Western Province are saying no to it.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mwanza: The people of the North-Western Province value what the MMD did.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mwanza: My vice-president, thank you.
The MMD left a legacy in the North-Western Province, but the PF has none there.
Laughter
Mr Mwanza: The party’s members are quarrelling and disorganised. They have been telling people half-truths about who they are. That is why they are not making an impact on the Zambian population. The people are fed up with the PF Government. They have realised that they made a mistake in voting the PF into power.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mwanza: I am not the one saying this, but the people you know. Even here, people are complaining about the PF not having done enough.
Mr Livune: Even there!
Mr Mwanza: Even on your right, Sir, people are complaining.
Mr Livune: Hon. Mwila is complaining.
Mr Mwanza: This is not what they expected the PF Government to do. They were very excited that a new dispensation had come to Zambia, but alas, nothing good is happening.
Mr Speaker, the Mumbwa/Kasempa Road was an MMD project. Today, it is on the Link Zambia 8,000 Project and it is being talked about happily. Do you know how many people will be employed in that environment? These are temporary jobs, Hon. Shamenda. I, therefore, do not expect the President to jump around and say that many jobs have been created. The person who is supposed to do this is a District Commissioner (DC), who is much more junior.
Sir, it is important that you know that the people of the North-Western Province respect what the MMD …
Mr Chilangwa: On a point of order, Sir.
Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised.
Mr Chilangwa: Mr Speaker, is the hon. Member of Parliament, who is debating in a disorganised manner, in order to claim that the President is jumping around? I need your serious ruling.
Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Speaker: Order!
Hon. Members, I mentioned this yesterday in my ruling. Let us be less temperamental in the manner in which we communicate. I do not want to prescribe or proscribe figures of Speech. I mentioned this yesterday. I leave this to your good judgment and discretion to reflect on the decorum and dignity of the House.
Hon. Member, you may continue.
Mr Mwanza: Mr Speaker, I thank you for your wise counsel.
Mr Speaker, I was saying that the MMD Government did a lot for the North-Western Province, and I am proud of that. When I speak like this, I am doing it for and on behalf of the people of the North-Western Province.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mwanza: I am not speaking for anyone from anywhere else, but for my people in the North-Western Province. They know what I talking about when I say that we respect the projects that were initiated by the then Ruling Party, the MMD.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mwanza: Mr Speaker, I want to refer to what is happening in Chambishi, where there is a multi-economic facility zone (MFEZ). This is one genuine developmental idea that came from Mr Felix Mutati, the former hon. Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry in the MMD Government. It is not a baby of the PF Government.
Mr Kaingu: Not at all. They just commissioned it.
Mr Mwanza: The PF Government, as the vice-president of the MMD said, simply commissioned what is happening in Chambishi. Hon. Mutati did a good job as hon. Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mwanza: The PF Government has not equalled that level.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Speaker: Hon. Member for Solwezi West, pause a moment.
Firstly, I have already ruled on the need to avoid debating individual hon. Members of Parliament. I have said that repeatedly. Secondly, I ruled, earlier, that there are themes that were addressed in the President’s Speech. I think that, as far as possible – and this is for the entire House – let us keep to those themes. This is not an occasion to revise and devise an agenda that suits the issues you want to ventilate, but one to debate the President’s Speech, which has themes. Let us keep to those themes. This is why we gave you sufficient time to reflect on the Speech. The sense I am getting from a few of the debates, so far, is that the Speech might have been put aside and separate notes made. If we proceed in this fashion, we will go out of line. There is a Motion that is clearly reflected on the Order Paper. Therefore, let us demonstrate that we have read the Speech. Otherwise, I will keep intervening and re-directing the debate, which will be very counter-productive. Judge yourself, through self-assessment, and, if you discover that you are not ready, please, go and read the Speech. When you are ready, we will line you up amongst those people who are to debate. It does not matter what your views or perceptions of the Speech are, you must read it and confine yourself to its themes. I have been very liberal, so far. I am not saying that you should debate to the letter of the Speech, but rather, the themes which the President addressed.
You may continue, please.
Mr Mwanza: Mr Speaker, I would like to turn to the question of the new Constitution, which is a theme in the President’s Speech.
Hon. Opposition Member: Yes.
Mr Mwanza: Sir, Zambians have a lot of hope and many expectations on the new Constitution. They want a Constitution that will be people-driven. I would have expected the President to deal with the concerns of the people of Zambia, who are saying that there is no legal framework in the Constitution-making process. So, in my view, the document that will be produced will be illegal. I also said this at the convention. Everybody is talking about it and the PF Government wants to dwell on the lack of a legal status of the Constitution-making process. I expected the President to deal with the question of the roadmap, including the announcement of a date for a referendum, which is still not known. In my speculation, the PF Government is not ready to give the people of Zambia the much-talked about Constitution.
Mr Mbulakulima: Hear, hear!
Mr Mwanza: The party is not ready because it does not want the new Constitution.
Mr Speaker, the Technical Committee is on record saying that, when the document was ready, a copy would be sent to the President only. You know that this idea is reminiscent of the idea of sending a White Paper to the President, who will sit with his Cabinet to doctor it. I have no respect for, and faith in, the PF Government. Therefore, it is important to stick to what was agreed.
The Technical Committee is sharply differing with the President’s Speech. It says that the draft Constitution will go straight to the President, not even to Parliament …
Mr Ndalamei: Shame!
Mr Mwanza: … or the people of Zambia. This is against the concept of being people-driven. Is the Constitution-making process really people-driven?
Hon. Opposition Members: No.
Mr Mwanza: No.
Mr Speaker, I wish to refer, now, to the CDF. Although this item was not included in the President’s Address, it is also covered under governance and, as hon. Member of Parliament for Solwezi West, I need to pick items that are important.
Sir, as I stand here, I am extremely disappointed with the disbursement of the CDF. The North-Western Province is a Cinderella that is not respected in the eyes of the PF Government because we did not vote for it. So, its members have had a grudge against us. So, the disbursement of the CDF is selective. Only PF-controlled constituencies …
Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!
Mr Mbewe: Ba Kabanshi!
Mr Mwanza: … have received the fund. I have not received the CDF in Solwezi West Constituency in the North-Western Province. That is not right. The MMD Government tried, as much as possible, to spread development to all areas. What is upsetting and provoking the people of the North-Western Province is that, in Solwezi East, thanks to you, Hon. Lombanya, …
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mwanza: … is that, because the PF knew that it would cause a by-election, it disbursed the CDF.
Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!
Mr Mwanza: In Solwezi West, where I am, they did not. Neither did they do that in Solwezi Central.
Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!
Mr Nkombo: Where is Taima?
Mr Mbewe: Ba malukula!
Mr Mwanza: So, you can see the amount of …
Prof Lungwangwa: On a point of order, Sir.
Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised.
Prof Lungwangwa: Mr Speaker, thank you for affording me this opportunity to raise a point of order. I sincerely apologise to my colleague for interrupting his debate.
Sir, is the hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing in order to remain mute in the House when issues of being selective and discriminatory in the disbursement of the 2013 CDF are being raised? I need your serious ruling.
Mr Speaker: My ruling is that, if you want the hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing to account for the disbursement of the CDF, there are channels available through which you can get her to do that. I do not need to go into any details, especially when I am addressing one of our Whips. You can make her accountable.
You may continue, hon. Member for Solwezi West.
Mr Mwanza: Mr Speaker, I now wish to talk about job creation, which is important because it was also part of the President’s Address. However, we, in the North-Western Province, dissociate ourselves from whatever was written in that book because it is erroneous. Job creation will not be done at the level that the PF Government is talking about because the Pave Zambia 2,000 Project will create 1,300 jobs. That is incorrect because those jobs will be temporary and non-professional. A labourer …
Mr M. H. Malama: Aah! Ni nchito!
Mr Mwanza: They are not white-collar jobs. The PF Government promised decent jobs. Are these jobs of working in the streets and workshops or making blocks decent? Is sweeping roads a decent job?
Hon. Opposition Members: No.
Mr Mwanza: They are not. So, I feel very strongly that we will not achieve the 1,300 mark that the PF Government is talking about.
In addition to that, Mr Speaker, it must be known that, today, the PF Government is advocating a situation in which we would have reforms in the pensions sector and that the retirement age would be moved from fifty-five to sixty-five years. First of all, there are no jobs to be given out. Secondly, the young people who are in university and will qualify will have to wait for the next ten years before they can get these jobs. Is this what the PF Government promised? No. It promised more money in people’s pockets, lower salaries and re-introduction of the windfall tax, but all these things are not happening. So, the people of Zambia are disappointed.
Mr Ndalamei: Lower salaries, yes.
Hon. Opposition Members: Lower taxes.
Interruptions
Mr Speaker: Order!
Mr Mwanza: Mr Speaker, the job of an hon. Member of Parliament like me is to attack.
Laughter
Mr Ndalamei: Very good.
Mr Mwanza: I am not going to support what the PF Government is doing. My job is to attack.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mwanza: Attack from any angle, …
Laughter
Mr Mwanza: … and I am attacking you.
Mr Ndalamei: You can even kick them.
Laughter
Mr Mwanza: You have failed to deliver.
Mr Ndalamei: Kick them.
Mr Mwanza: There are no lower salaries …
Laughter
Mr Mwanza: … and people are complaining.
Mr Ndalamei: You can even beat them.
Laughter
Mr Mwanza: Sir, I wish to say that infrastructure is critical in the North-Western Province, particularly in the Lumwana area. People from all parts of Zambia, including Mporokoso and Sinazeze, have moved into Lumwana at Banyama. The pressure on the education and health facilities is serious and some hon. Ministers of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education have been there and can attest to this. The people in my constituency were asking me why they see new schools in Muchinga, but none in Lumwana. That is true because I have not seen a school that has been built in the area.
Hon. MMD Member: Paul Mushindo School.
Mr Mwanza: Mr Speaker, there is Paul Mushindo University. Although, in my view, Robert Makasa University should have been the major university while Paul Mushindo should have just been a school or faculty.
Hon. MMD Members: That is right.
Mr Mwanza: Sir, to put two universities in one village is incorrect, no matter how you look at it.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mwanza: Mr Speaker, it not just wrong, but immoral, too. The PF Government has said that it will recruit teachers for various schools. While we welcome this development, the Government must know that there is no development in the North-Western Province. Chavuma produces rice, but the PF Government is not interested in looking at that. Mufumbwe produces groundnuts but, again, the Government is not interested in looking at that. Kabompo produces honey and groundnuts, but the PF Government, which is in the saddle, is at sea, …
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Mwanza: … to the extent that, when you are in Solwezi, you see people in Chawama rejoicing that the roads in their area have been tarred while, in the North-Western Province, when a vehicle passes, there is a lot of dust. So, the people there …
Hon. Opposition Members: Are at sea.
Mr Mwanza: … are at sea.
Laughter
Mr Mwanza: Mr Speaker, is this the Zambia we want, where one area is well-developed while another is at sea? Is that okay?
I thank you, Sir.
Laughter
Mr Speaker: Before we proceed, I would like to reiterate what I said earlier. Those who are indicating to debate in the next day or two, please, ensure that you are ready. By being ready, I mean, read President’s Speech. It is as simple as that. It does not matter what your views are. Read the Speech. Do not come through with your own, for want of a better expression, catalogue of personal burning subjects. That is not the idea of a Motion. Read the Speech and analyse it. That is the minimum. Anything short of that will not do. I want to avoid constantly interjecting because we will be wasting time. I want to sit back and listen to the debates as well. So, read the Speech. If you have not done so, the most honourable thing to do is listen to others, for the time being, until you are ready.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Miyutu (Kalabo Central): Mr Speaker, I would like to thank you for giving me this opportunity. I consider my standing a fresh one.
Laughter
Mr Miyutu: Sir, on 20th September, 2011, out of the thousands of people of Kalabo Central, I was voted into office to come and represent the constituency. Somehow, however, I happened to almost backslide.
Laughter{mospagebreak}
Mr Miyutu: Sir, by the power of God, I have revitalised my efforts …
Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Miyutu: … and, truly, I have come back to my full conscience.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Miyutu: Mr Speaker, I like to live as a free man.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Miyutu: Sir, I really like to live as a free and happy man.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Speaker: Hon. Member, take your seat.
Laughter
Mr Speaker: I am sure that you are aware, by now, that you are debating yourself, which we are not allowed to do. It is a fundamental rule of the House that you do not debate yourself. I know that you could even take twenty minutes on your reflections, but that is not what we are here for. I am afraid, maybe, we may have to find a suitable and alternative forum for that. For now, you are debating the President’s Speech. Please, stick to that.
Mr Miyutu: Mr Speaker, I thank you for your counsel.
Sir, on page 34 of the 2013 President’s Speech, there is an item on water supply and sanitation. I pity people who do not live in rural areas.
Laughter
Mr Miyutu: I really pity them because they do not have an understanding of what it means to live in a rural area. I live in a rural area. So, when I hear somebody talk about water, I sing and dance. This is the third time I am hearing a statement on water supply and sanitation. However, I wonder why Kalabo does not have access to this water that is always talked about.
Sir, in 2011, we were told that 3,000 boreholes would be sunk. In Kalabo, we are still waiting to see those boreholes. Rural Water, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) sank only nineteen boreholes in Kalabo. In 2012, the number of boreholes to be sunk changed from 3,000 to 2,500. What that entailed is that the number had reduced because 500 boreholes had been successfully sunk and that, since some progress has been achieved, there was a need to focus our attention on improving other sectors as well. However, I think that Kalabo District was not catered for when the plan to sink 3,000 boreholes was made. So, to us in Kalabo, what this meant was that the Government did not want to improve water supply. Had the Government decided to sink one borehole in the villages where people fetch water from shallow wells, maybe, the perception would have been different. In some places, water from these shallow wells is green and you would not desire to drink it during the day. Maybe, at night, when you cannot see its colour. If it is given to you during the day, especially if it is in a transparent glass, I doubt if you will drink it.
Mr Speaker, I think that the President’s Speech should have been like a letter written to a mother by a child who has been away from home informing her that s/he is well and would be home on a particular date. The mother would, then, wait expectantly for the return of her child.
Interruptions
Mr Miyutu: On the day when the child arrives in the village, there will cheering and dancing.
Mr Speaker, we just listen to Presidents’ Speeches, but do not see the pronouncements contained therein come to fruition. This does not make us, Zambians, happy. If we continue like this, we will not achieve anything, as a nation. For how long are we going to listen to statements that end up unfulfilled?
Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Miyutu: When people put us in the Government, they give us the power to control public resources, which we must distribute to all Zambians. We do not need to move around to see what is happening in other places. Whenever there is no development in our places, we conclude that the Government is not doing its work. For two years, we have not had any improvement in water supply in Kalabo. When we ask the people at the Western Water and Sewerage Company (WWSC), they tell us about what they thought they could do, but which they cannot do.
Laughter
Mr Miyutu: Those who have been to the Boma of Kalabo District know that, in Kashitu Compound, people drink water from shallow wells. This is due to the failure by the Government to provide clean drinking water. Let us deliver social services to our people. We need to bring back the old days of good standards of living in Zambia. From 1964 to 2013, things seem to have been taking a turn for the worst. We are not improving. If there has been improvement in water supply, maybe, it has only been here, in Lusaka. However, how many people are going to shift from Kalabo to come and reside in Lusaka? On the other hand, we are talking about decentralisation, which entails devolving power to the people in the villages. If we want the people in villages to come and reside in urban areas, there will be increased congestion here. That is not development. Development is to take development to places that are underdeveloped.
Mr Speaker, if a father does not feed the people he is keeping in his home, he will not know that the children are talking about him.
Laughter
Mr Miyutu: This father might not know that the children have realised that he is being biased. So, when they see this parent, they will start talking among themselves, reminding themselves of the name they have given him because they have realised that he is not fair, for instance, that he always buys clothes for just one child when there are other children who need new clothes.
Mr Speaker, despite Zambia having a population of more than 13 million people, the three arms of the Government only have branches in Kabwe, Lusaka and the Copperbelt. That is not fair. There is a need to open new offices countrywide. I am not going to name the hon. Minister, but he said that the factor that was considered in constructing a new stadium in the Western Province was the distance that the people had to travel to watch matches in Lusaka. I pat that hon. Minister on the back for that. It is true that people travel 1,000km from that place to Lusaka. Instead of travelling to Lusaka to watch a game, we shall only be moving 2km to the stadium being built. That is what should have been done with the universities.
Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Miyutu: We all need universities in our constituencies. Our children travel thousands of kilometres just to study at tertiary institutions. Now, they will be travelling 2,000km.
Hon. UPND Members: To Mushindo.
Laughter
Mr Miyutu: We are not going to base our hopes on promises that do not seem to come to fruition. Why should the district and the whole province always dance to the same tune of promises? We have lost hope. Even the construction of the King Lewanika University is questionable. Just five days ago, I was in the Western Province. The project is still doubtful because we cannot even locate anything concerning it. The project was mentioned in the President’s Speech, but this is just a paper that does not give us details of the project.
Laughter
Mr Miyutu: So, those who are given the power should realise that they have to use it for the good of the entire nation. Like others have stated, Zambia is known to be a peaceful country. This means that we are patient people. We are able to wait, but we should not be made to wait forever. Let us change things for the better. If previous leaders made mistakes, let us not continue with the same mistakes.
Sir, whenever I go to the village, people ask me about the clinics that the Government promised them. This they do upon my arrival. The councillor for Buleya Ward always calls me to ask about this issue and I have now run out of words because I have no more answers.
Hon. UPND Members: That is why you came back to the UPND.
Mr Miyutu: For two years, the clinics have been a story in this country. The President’s Speech, again, tells us that we should wait for another two years. So, two plus two years is four years.
Laughter
Mr Miyutu: This means that we have to wait until the end of the term of office of the present Government. The truth of the matter is that there is a need to assess the speed at which we are executing public works. We are here for those in the villages and other places. So, if we are too slow, we are perpetuating the suffering of the people. It is true that, when you are in Kalabo, the only pick-up truck you see is mine.
Mr Speaker, Kalabo District Hospital is the only hospital in the district, and it appears like it is 150 years old. There is no flushing toilet in that hospital. You find drums of water …
Mr Speaker: Order!
Business was suspended from 1815 hours until 1830 hours.
[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]
Mr Miyutu: Mr Speaker, before business was suspended, I was telling this House that the whole of Kalabo District has only one district hospital, which is in a dilapidated state.
Sir, there is a famous phrase in this country, ‘the Link Zambia 8,000.’ It is a good and impressive project. However, I have an observation on the way it has been allocated. The project is in three phases and, in the first phase, the whole of the Western Province is not captured, yet this is a project that should link the whole country. Look at how many kilometres of bituminous roads we have in the whole province. They are very few. Therefore, the Link Zambia 8,000 Project is centred on some regions. I say so because, if it was intended for the whole country, the first phase should have included three quarters of the provinces whereby the North-Western, Southern, Eastern and other provinces would all have been included in Phase I. Then, it would have become a national project. There is the saying that, ‘Let them sleep so that we eat.’
Laughter
Mr Miyutu: In our language we say, ‘Let the children sleep so that the adults can eat meat.’ The meaning is that some regions are just there to support other regions. We are talking about a good programme, but it is about supporting some regions, not all. At the end, the Link Zambia 8,000 will come down from 8,000km because its implementation will not be successful.
Mr Speaker, for two years, the whole Kalabo District has not had any school constructed. We have only two schools under construction, namely, Libonda and Sikongo, but one is in doubt. There are no new classrooms or new schools, yet we are talking about this change from basic and high schools to primary and secondary schools. To which schools will our children go?
Hon. Government Member: Outside.
Mr Speaker: Order!
Mr Miyutu: It means that our children in the province will be at a disadvantage. They will not be captured in this programme, whether it is in phases …
Mr Chisala: On a point of order, Sir.
Mr Speaker: A point of order is raised.
Mr Chisala: Mr Speaker, I thank you for according me this rare opportunity to raise a point of order. I rise on a very serious point of order.
Sir, misleading the people of this nation is a very serious offence.
Interruptions
Mr Chisala: Is the hon. Member of Parliament for Kalabo Central in order to mislead the people of Zambia that not even a single road is under construction in the Western Province under Phase I of the Link Zambia 8,000 Project when the Mongu/Kalabo Road is in that province?
Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!
Mr Livune: Question!
Mr Speaker: Order!
There is no doubt that we are all expected to be factual in our debates. However, the nature of the Motion before the House is such that the right will have an opportunity to respond. There are so many things that have been said, so far, and not all of them may have been factually correct. However, I do not think that it is proper and fair for me to begin making rulings on matters of factuality. It is very difficult because there could be contests on these issues. So, in the scheme of the debate, there will be an occasion when you will have an opportunity to respond. If certain falsehoods have been stated, you can debunk them at that stage, unless it is something that is patently obvious. If we are going to talk about the nitty-gritty of a programme and, like just a while ago, some people started asking whether some road will lead from the Great East Road to connect to another side and whether there will be re-routing and other things, I cannot go into those details because it is a very complex project. So, those of you on the right that are seized with the details of this programme will have an opportunity to clarify those issues. You will have to highlight the factually accurate position.
Hon. Member for Kalabo Central, may you continue.
Mr Miyutu: Sir, my last word is that, in the implementation of the Youth Development Fund (YDF), which is a good and encouraging programme, we must realise that salt can lose its taste when it is not well stored. Thus, if a programme is not well-implemented, it can lose its value.
Mr Speaker, as I stand here, there is a question that I am failing to answer in Kalabo: Where is the money? So, I urge the Government to quicken the disbursement of the YDF, especially in the Western Province. When you are in the Western Province, like some people have said, there is tension and you see that everybody is not at peace. Therefore, failure to execute some of these small, but viable activities will put the place in flames because people will lose the faith and confidence that they should have in the Government.
Finally, Sir, I am thankful for the failure of the programmes that should have been an addition to the value of the PF in the country.
I thank you, Sir.
Laughter
ADJOURNMENT
The Vice President (Dr Scott): Mr Speaker, I beg to move that the House do now adjourn.
Question put and agreed to.
__________
The House adjourned at 1840 hours until 1430 hours on Thursday, 26th September, 2013.
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