Thursday, 21^st September, 2017

 

The House met at 1430 hours

 

[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]

 

NATIONAL ANTHEM

 

PRAYER

 

________

 

RULING BY MR SPEAKER

 

POINT OF ORDER RAISED BY MR MAXWELL M. KABANDA, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR SERENJE PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCY, AGAINST MR ANTONIO MWANZA REGARDING REMARKS ATTRIBUTED TO HIM ON THE EMOLUMENTS PAID TO MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT IN AN ARTICLE ENTITLED “SUSPENDED MPS CHALLENGE SPEAKER”, PUBLISHED IN THE DAILY NATION ISSUE NO. 1696 ON THURSDAY 22^ND JUNE, 2017

 

Mr Speaker: I order you, Mr Antonio Mwanza, to stand behind the Bar of the House.

 

Mr Antonio Mwanza, of the Daily Nation was escorted to the Bar by the Sergeant-At-Arms.

 

Mr Speaker: I also instruct the Sergeant-At-Arms to take the Speaker’s Mace and stand behind Mr Antonio Mwanza.

 

Hon. Members, will recall thath on Thursday, 22^nd June, 2017, when the House was considering the Ministerial Statement presented by Hon. C. Yaluma, MP, Minister of Mines and Minerals Development, Mr M. M. Kabanda, Member of Parliament for Serenje Parliamentary Constituency, raised a Point of Order. The basis of the Point of Order was an article published in the Daily Nation Newspaper, Issue No. 1696, dated Thursday, 22^nd June, 2017, entitled “Suspended MPs Challenge Speaker.” In the said article, Mr Antonio Mwanza was reported to have published information on emoluments paid to Members of Parliament which were incorrect. In this regard, the hon. Member for Serenje sought a ruling on whether Mr Antonio Mwanza was in order to mislead the nation on the emoluments paid to Members of Parliament.

 

Hon. Members will recall that in my immediate reaction to the Point of Order, I reserved my ruling.

 

Hon. Members, in line with Parliamentary Practice and Procedure, and in accordance with the principles of natural justice, the Office of Clerk of the National Assembly wrote to the Daily Nation and Mr Antonio Mwanza requesting them to state whether the story was correctly attributed to Mr Mwanza.

 

In response, the Daily Nation confirmed that the article had been correctly attributed to Mr Antonio Mwanza and explained that the story was obtained from his Facebook (FB) page. Further, the Daily Nation submitted that when it learnt that the information in the story was inaccurate, it published a similar story based on information obtained from a Member of Parliament.

 

Mr Antonio Mwanza denied giving the Daily Nation an interview for the said article, but admitted that he had published the story on his Facebook page. He further stated that as the watchdog arm of Government, Parliament should take a leading role in ensuring transparency and accountability by making the emoluments and other benefits of Members of Parliament known to the public.

 

Hon. Members, the Committee on Privileges, Absences and Support Services, met to consider the matter and Mr M. M. Kabanda, MP, Mr Antonio Mwanza and Ms M. Mbewe, Executive Editor of the Daily Nation appeared before it.

 

The Committee observed that the Point of Order by the hon. Member of Parliament for Serenje Parliamentary Constituency raised the issue of Contempt of the House with regard to a person publishing false or scandalous libel against hon. Members of Parliament.

 

In deliberating on the matter, the Committee considered section 25 (b) of the National Assembly (Powers and Privileges) Act, Chapter 12 of the Laws of Zambia, which provides as follows:

 

 “25. Any person who -

 

(b) publishes any false or scandalous libel on the Assembly or any report which wilfully misrepresents in any way proceedings of the Assembly or any committee shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five thousand penalty units or to imprisonment with or without hard labour for a term not exceeding twelve months or to both.”

 

The Committee further considered the pronouncements of prominent parliamentary authors on the matter. S. L. Shakdher and M. N. Kaul in their book entitled Practice and Procedure of Parliament, Sixth Edition, (New Delhi, Lok Sabha, 2009,) state at page 293 as follows:

 

“It is a breach of privilege and contempt of the House to make speeches or to print and publish libels, reflecting on the character or proceedings of the House or its Committees, or any Member of the House for or relating to his character or conduct as a Member of Parliament.…

 

“Speeches and writings reflecting on the House or its Committees or its Members are punished by the House as contempt on the principle that such acts tend to obstruct the House in the performance of its functions by diminishing the respect due to it.”

 

Hon. Members, from the foregoing authorities, the Committee found that it was a breach of Parliamentary Privilege and Contempt of the House for a person to publish a false or scandalous libel on the House or its Members. The Committee further found that under the National Assembly (Powers and Privileges) Act, such a breach was an offence and the perpetrator was liable as pointed above, to prosecution.

 

Hon Members, after carefully examining both the written and oral submissions of the parties, the Committee established that:

 

(a) Mr Antonio Mwanza published false and libelous information about the emoluments paid to Members of Parliament on his Facebook page;

 

(b) by publishing false and libelous information regarding emoluments paid to hon. Members of Parliament, Mr Antonio Mwanza breached section 25(b) of the National Assembly (Powers and Privileges) Act; and

 

(c) the Daily Nation published what Mr Antonio Mwanza had posted on his Facebook page without verifying the accuracy of the information.

 

In determining the punishment to impose on Mr Antonio Mwanza, the Committee took into account the following factors:

 

(a) that the offence committed by Mr Mwanza was a criminal offence under section 25 (b) of the Act for which he was liable to be prosecuted; and

 

(b) that Mr Mwanza was not a first offender as he had committed a similar offence against the House for which he was reprimanded by the Hon. Mr Speaker on Friday, 6^th August, 2010.

 

However, in view of the extreme remorse exhibited and unreserved apology tendered by Mr Antonio Mwanza to the Committee, the Committee decided to exercise leniency.

 

Hon. Members: Aah!

 

Mr Speaker: In this regard, the Committee recommended that Mr Mwanza be reprimanded before the House in accordance with section 28(4) of the National Assembly (Powers and Privileges) Act, which states as follows:

 

“28 (4) If any person, not being a member, is found to have committed contempt, whether specified in section nineteen or otherwise, the Speaker shall order the person to appear before the Assembly, and the Speaker shall, upon attendance, admonish or reprimand the person at the Bar of the Assembly.”

 

The Committee further resolved that the Daily Nation be cautioned to verify information before publication.

 

Therefore, in line with section 28 (4) of the Act, I will reprimand Mr Antonio Mwanza before the House, as recommended by the Committee on Privileges, Absences and Support Services.

 

I now turn to address you, Mr Antonio Mwanza.

 

Mr Antonio Mwanza, your conduct of publishing false, scandalous, libelous and misleading information regarding the emoluments paid to hon. Members of Parliament was a breach of Parliamentary Privilege and Contempt of the House. Hon. Members’ emoluments are not a secret, but are contained in a Statutory Instrument, which is a public document. The House, therefore, is perturbed that you made a statement regarding hon. Members’ emoluments without making any effort, whatsoever, to confirm the accuracy or veracity of your account. Your conduct was highly irresponsible and evidently a mischievous and calculated attempt to ridicule hon. Members and bring public contempt on them.

 

The House is, therefore, displeased with your conduct which not only portrayed hon. Members of Parliament in a poor light, but also created public debate in which hon. Members were ridiculed. This inevitably brought the House into disrepute and diminished the respect due to it.

 

The House also notes that this is not the first time that you have published a statement intended to ridicule the House and have been reprimanded by the House. Ordinarily, the House should have referred this matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions for prosecution. The House has, however, decided to, once again, exercise leniency on you. You should, therefore, seize this opportunity to introspect and change for the better. Should you commit a similar contempt in the future, you will certainly be liable to be prosecuted.

 

Hon Members, before I order Mr Mwanza to render his apology to the House, let me also caution the Daily Nation and all media houses to verify information they obtain regarding the House and its Members before publication to avoid spreading falsehoods which amount to contempt of the House.  I have provided guidance before that the National Assembly has a Media Liaison Officer, whom the press can contact to confirm any stories or matters relating to the House. The House shall not hesitate to mete out appropriate punishment to media houses which publish scandalous, libelous and misleading information on the House.

 

I now order you, Mr Antonio Mwanza, to unreservedly apologise to the House for the irresponsible, false, misleading and unsubstantiated statements made by you that were reported in the Daily Nation Newspaper, Issue No. 1696, on 22^nd June, 2017.

 

Mr Antonio Mwanza (Forum for Democracy and Development Spokesperson): Mr Speaker, I, Antonio Mourinho Mwanza …

 

Laughter

 

Mr Antonio Mwanza: …in my personal capacity …

 

Mr Speaker: Order!

 

Mr Antonio Mwanza: …do unreservedly apologise to this august House, in general, and the hon. Members of Parliament, in particular, for the article that appeared in the Daily Nation newspaper, Issue No. 1696, published on Thursday, 22^nd June, 2017 containing misleading information regarding emoluments paid to Members of Parliament.

 

Sir, I have reflected on the article and find that I, indeed, went against the provisions of Section 25 (b) of the National Assembly (Powers and Privileges) Act by publishing scandalous and false information, an act which amounts to a breach of Parliamentary Privileges and contempt of the House. For this, I sincerely regret and apologise to the members for the embarrassment and ridicule occasioned by the publication.

 

Sir, I have carefully listened to the guidance you have given me and appreciate the leniency exercised by the House. I wish to assure you and this House that I shall endeavour and comply with the rules and procedures of the House. To this end, I shall henceforth conduct myself in a more responsible and objective manner.

 

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear! Fukama iwe!

 

Mr Speaker: I now order you, Mr Antonio Mwanza, to leave the House through the main door and to immediately vacate the precincts of the National Assembly.

 

I thank you.

 

_________

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS BY MR SPEAKER

 

STANDING COMMITTEES

 

Mr Speaker: Hon. Members, I wish to announce the composition of the Standing Committees.

 

Media, Information and Communications Technologies

 

Mr R. Mwewa, MP

Mr D. M. Kundoti, MP

Mr A. Mukumbuta, MP

Ms M. Lubezhi, MP

Mrs P. C. Kucheka, MP

Dr E. I. Chibanda, MP

Mr A. Kasandwe, MP

Mr M. K. Tembo, MP

Mr F. Ng’ambi, MP

Mr G. M. Imbuwa, MP

 

Government Assurances

 

Mr R. C. Mutale, MP

Mr M. Ndalamei, MP

Mr S. Miti, MP

Mrs O. P. Mwansa, MP

Mr W. Banda, MP

Mr E. Kamondo, MP

Mr L. K. Fungulwe, MP

Mr D. Mulunda, MP

Mr C. D. Miyanda, MP

Mr E. Musonda, MP

 

Transport, Works and Supply

 

Mr D. M. Syakalima, MP

Mr P. M. W. Daka, MP

Mr G. Zimba, MP

Mr R. Lihefu, MP

Mr G. Sialubalo, MP

Ms G. Katuta, MP

Mr Y. Siwanzi, MP

Mr A. C. Mumba, MP

 Ms C. C. Kasanda, MP

Mr R. C. Mutale, MP

 

Delegated Legislation

 

Mr B. Kambita, MP

Ms C. C. Kasanda, MP

Mr T. S. Ngulube, MP

Mr A. B. Malama, MP

Mr J. Siwale, MP

Mr M. Mubika, MP

Mr O. S. Mutaba, MP

Mr A. Mandumbwa, MP

Mr K. Mukosa, MP

Mr S. Miti, MP

 

Public Accounts

 

Mr H. Kunda, MP

Mr M. Mbulakulima, MP

Mr C. Mweetwa, MP

Mr K. Simbao, MP

Mr M. C. Munkonge, MP

Mr A. Chiteme, MP

Mrs D. Mwape, MP

Ms B. M. Tambatamba, MP

Mr T. J. Kasonso, MP

Mr V. Lumayi, MP

 

New Established Committees

 

Cabinet Affairs

Dr S. Musokotwane, MP

Dr M. Malama, MP

Mr S. C. Kopulande, MP

Mrs M. C. Chonya, MP

Mr C. M. Zulu, MP

Mr C. L. Bwalya, MP

Dr C. K. Kalila, MP

Dr M. Imakando, MP

Ms G. Katuta, MP

Mr R. Mwewa, MP

 

Parastatal Bodies

 

Mr M. Mukumbuta, MP

Mr B. Kambita, MP

Ms P. C. Mwashingwele, MP

Mr J. Malanji, MP

Mr A. Kasandwe, MP

 Mr D. Syakalima, MP

Mr M. L. Kafwaya, MP

Mr G. Chiyalika, MP

Mr M. Ndalamei, MP

Mr P. W. Daka, MP

 

Local Government Accounts

 

Mr D. Fungulwe, MP

Mr E. J. Muchima, MP

 Mr A. C. Mumba, MP

Mr M. M. Kabanda, MP

Mr D. Mulunda, MP

Mr E. Mulenga, MP

Mrs G. M. P. Jere, MP

Mr K. Sampa, MP

Mr G. Zimba, MP

Mrs P. C. Kucheka, MP

 

Youth, Sport and Child Matters

 

Mr C. Miyutu, MP

Mr E. Singómbe, MP

Mr P. Kalobo, MP

Mrs O. P. Mwansa, MP

Mr R. Bulaya, MP

Mr L. N. Tembo, MP

Mr M. Mutelo, MP

Mr C. K. Mwiinga, MP

Mr Y. Siwanzi, MP

Mr W. Banda, MP

 

Committee on Local Governance, Housing and Chief’s Affairs

 

Mr M. M. Kabanda, MP

Mr S. S. Mulyata, MP

Mr M. Chikote, MP

Mr E. Musonda, MP

Dr E. I. Chibanda, MP

Mr N. Samakayi, MP

Mr K. Mukosa, MP

Mr G. Chiyalika, MP

Dr C. Kambwili, MP

Mr D. Livune, MP

 

As I have now completed announcing the composition of all the committees, if any hon. Member finds that they do not belong to any committee, such a member should inform the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly, accordingly.

 

I thank you.

 

SEMINAR ON THE SEVENTH NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

 

Hon. Members, I have another announcement to make.

 

I wish to inform the House that there will be a seminar for all hon. Members of Parliament on Monday, 25^th September, 2017, from 0900 hours to 1630 hours in the amphitheatre, Parliament buildings. The seminar will focus on the Seventh National Development Plan (7^th NDP).

 

As hon. Members are already aware, the 7^th NDP was launched by Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, in June, 2017. The plan is a national blue print for development and will determine the course of development for Zambia for the next five years, up to 2021. As Parliament is a key stakeholder and partner in the national development agenda, it is important that hon. Members of Parliament are fully kept abreast of the contents of the plan, so that they can more effectively play their legislative, representative and oversight roles in the developmental agenda.

 

The seminar, therefore, is aimed at enlightening hon. Members about the contents of the Plan and also to shed light on any areas that may require clarification.

 

The team of experts will be led by the Secretary to Cabinet and will facilitate the seminar. All hon. Members are, therefore, required to attend this very important seminar.

 

I thank you.

 

__________

 

QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

 

WATER RETICULATION PROJECT AT CHITOPA SUB CENTRE IN LUANGWA DISTRICT

 

21. Mr S. Miti (Feira) asked the Minister of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection:

 

(a) why the water reticulation project at the Chitopa Sub Centre in Luangwa District had stalled;

 

(b) when the works would resume; and

 

(c) what the time frame for the completion of the remaining works was.

 

The Minister of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection (Mr Kaziya): Mr Speaker, the water reticulation project works in Chitopa Sub Centre have stalled due to the lack of funds. However, the bill of quantities has already been prepared and an estimated amount of K300,000 is needed. The project is now at procurement stage and the council has already obtained quotations for pumps, accessories and tanks.

 

Mr Speaker, works are expected to resume as soon as the funds are made available. The works will include the removal of the old pump from the borehole that is being used for reticulation and assessment of whether the borehole can supply water to meet the current demand. All assessments, including the design for the reticulation and the distance of 1.5 km, from the borehole to the tank have already been undertaken.

 

Mr Speaker, it will take about two months to complete the works once the funds amounting to K300,000 are available.

 

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

 

Mr S. Miti: Mr Speaker, is the hon. Minister in the position to indicate when funds are likely to be made available?

 

Mr Kaziya: Mr Speaker, we expect that the council will finance this project through the Equalisation Fund. Once this money is made available to the council, the works will commence.

 

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

 

__________

 

MOTION

 

MOTION OF THANKS

 

(Debate Resumed)

 

Mr Speaker: Before we proceed, let me just provide some guidance.

 

Unlike last year, in this particular Session, the Minister of Finance is coming to present his Budget Speech in the second week of the Session. What that means, obviously, is that we have very limited time to debate this particular Speech. Since we have limited time, I think those who volunteer to debate must be ready for debate. I would not like to constantly interject because you are bringing in extraneous matters and so forth. In that way, we will lose time. If you have not read the Speech, there is still time especially that we have a weekend in between.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Speaker: You can devote a lot of time to not only reading, but studying the Speech.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Speaker: So that we move with dispatch and that the debates are focused and relevant.

 

I also note that in the course of the debate, there will be certain issues which may excite us. Please, let us try and restrain ourselves so that we do not drown those who are debating.

 

Personally, I would like to follow these debates. So, if we have these running commentaries, cheering, jeering …

 

Ms Tambatamba: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Speaker: … they tend to distract me. I am sure we are all hon. Members, so we should behave honorably.

 

Hon. Member for Kwacha, you may continue with your debate from last evening.

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Ngulube: Ema continuation aya!

 

Mr Malanji (Kwacha): Mr Speaker, I can tell from your unique laughter that today you are in a good mood.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Speaker: I am usually in a good mood.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Ngulube: He has started.

 

Mr Malanji: Mr Speaker, yesterday, I was all over as you rightly said, even quoting those statements verbatim because I wanted to make sure that my line of debate was towing the theme of unity.

 

Mr Ngulube: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Malanji: Mr Speaker, I also appreciate your guidance of not debating ourselves, but my call is that there must be unity. We should not be judgment focused. If we look at paragraph 8 of the speech, it says:

 

“The theme calls upon all of us to seriously reflect on the state of national unity and, by extension, our sense of patriotism…”

 

On page 5, in paragraph 15 the President said:

 

“It is only after a thorough soul search that we come to the realisation that our oneness is embedded and secured in common heritage…”

 

Mr Speaker, I said it yesterday that we must not wear blinkers or metal jackets. I meant one should not look at issues with a preconceived mind.

 

Mr Chabi: You are reading.

 

Mr Malanji: We should not …

 

Mr Mbangweta: You are reading.

 

Mr Malanji: … be judgment focused.

 

Mr Speaker: Hon. Member for Kwacha.

 

The rules of the House do not allow you to read from a written script.

 

Mr Malanji put down his document.

 

Mr Chabi: Hear, hear!

 

Interruptions

 

Mr Speaker: Order!

 

Mr Malanji: Mr Speaker, coordination of this development we are talking about as guided from the Presidential Speech is not something that we can achieve if we go in with a preconceived mind. We should all be focused.

 

Sir, the Speech quotes the President articulating from his previous Speech on the need for industrialisation. If you had gone to Kafue a few years ago, at Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia (NCZ), you would have found only one car in the staff car park but now, if you go there, the car park is full. A few years ago NCZ could hardly produce 20 thousand cubic tonnes of fertiliser but they are now targeting 200 thousand tonnes. The same company is now looking at producing detonators and explosives as by-products.

 

Mr Speaker, microeconomics are not easily articulated. We have start in a big way so that development should trickle down to somebody in Shang’ombo or Kawambwa so that they too can benefit from what the Government is doing. Doing this is not as easy as we perceive it to be.

 

Sir, even now, the Ministry of Health feels we have a deficit of human resource. It takes seven years to train doctor and for a good lawyer, it takes four…

 

Mr Ngulube: Seven years.

 

Mr Malanji: … before one enters into law practice.

 

Mr Speaker, it is not easy for a President who is occupying his legitimate tenure of office and has only covered one year to please everybody. The President can only give guidance. The network and the mechanics must be done by the citizens.

 

Dr Hamukale: Yes!

 

Mr Malanji: Sir, we should not look at development as one sided and complain about what has not been done. What we should all realise is that Zambia is a developing nation. I happen to have been in Abu Dhabi three weeks ago…

 

Mr Ngulube: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Malanji: … and the driver who was driving us…

 

Mr Ngulube: Ema Dubai aya!

 

Mr Malanji: … said that foreign tourists in that country had increased by 50 per cent. We must realise that some of these things are a global revolution and Zambia is not insulated from the effects of economics that affect other countries.

 

Mr Speaker, when you look at the Presidential Speech, it is articulating his previous Speech that we must be focused as citizens to make sure that we apply fully every chance that we are given to develop. Somebody was questioning what we are gaining from the President’s and other Cabinet Ministers’ foreign travels. We already have a demand for goats from Saudi Arabia. In any given corner of this country, land is fertile enough to rear goats.

 

Mr Ngulube: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Malanji: Mr Speaker, the onus is on us to utilise the chance of exporting goats to Saudi Arabia. We must try, as a country, to have more exports than imports to have a stable economy.

 

Mr Speaker, each and every one of us has a constituency where we are coming from.

 

Mr Ngulube: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Malanji: Sir, we have to see how best we can coordinate with our neighbouring constituencies whether they are in the opposition or belong to the ruling party. We need to see how best we can work together and see what we can put in as individuals in this development agenda. Personal involvement is an integral part of development.

 

Dr Hamukale: Yes!

 

Mr Malanji: Mr Speaker, we should not wait for a time when a hospital or school is built in our constituency to coordinate with the Government. We should also seriously engage community pioneered development.

 

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Malanji: Sir, it is from that angle that we can see that there is development taking place. Otherwise, as I earlier alluded to, if we are going to wear blinkers and be focused on one item then we are not going see development.

 

Mr Speaker, with those few words, I thank you.

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Speaker: I have received the following indications on the screen. I will prioritise, of course, the Leader of the Opposition. He will be followed by the hon. Member for Mazabuka Central. Thereafter, we will have the hon. Members for Nkeyema, Feira and Katuba. We will proceed in that order and there is no need for anxiety. We are here untllllnil 2000 hours.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Speaker: We are not debating anything else other than the Speech from now until 2000 hours.

 

Mr Mwiimbu (Monze Central): Mr Speaker, thank you for according me the opportunity to debate the Presidential Speech that was delivered on 15^th September, 2015.

 

Mr Speaker: 2015 or 2017?

 

Mr Mwiimbu: 2017, Mr Speaker, my apologies.

 

Hon. PF Members: Question!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: It just shows that I am not excited about 2017.

 

Mr Speaker, I will anchor my debate on the governance of the country and the need to move it forward. I will start my debate by quoting the statement that was issued by the President on the need for national unity. The President stated that the theme calls upon all of us to seriously reflect on the state of our national unity and by extension our sense of patriotism and the spirit of ‘one Zambia, one nation’. This is the statement that I will interrogate this afternoon.

 

Mr Speaker, I have gone through the Speech that was delivered on the Floor of this House. I want to state that the said speech falls short of my expectations. Article 8 of the Constitution of Zambia states that:

 

“The national values and principles are –

 

(a) morality and ethics; and

 

(b) patriotism and national unity.”

 

Mr Speaker, I expected the President as he addressed the nation to governise the nation and ensure that there is national unity and patriotism in this country. Alas, the situation obtaining on the ground is that Zambia is a broken nation …

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: … and is divided …

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: … and I will be able to demonstrate. The President himself alluded to the division that is affecting this country when he was in Lundazi and Chinsali. Unfortunately, he has not given direction to the nation and how it can remain united.

 

Mr Speaker, the President who is the Commander-in Chief of the armed forces and all security wings has failed the country. As I speak, a lot of our people are being brutalised by members of the Patriotic Front (PF).

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Hon. PF Members: Question!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Mr Speaker, as of yesterday, Mrs Laima and the husband were brutalised by one known …

 

Mr Speaker: Hon. Member, take a seat for a moment. Let us avoid drawing in names or personalities. I think as far as possible let us be issue based in our debates. The problem with reference to evidence is that there will be context over this evidence. One party will say this and the other that. I believe that most of these debates can actually be prosecuted on the basis of issues quite adequately.

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Mr Speaker, I cherish your guidance, but I will still state that yesterday, an official of our party and her husband were brutalised by known PF party cadres.

 

Hon. PF Members: Question!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Mr Speaker, if they insist, we will be able to lay evidence on the Table, but because of your guidance, I will be restrained to do that. We have on several occasions brought this matter to the attention of the authorities that this nation is being divided deliberately by those in authority. As I speak, most of us and the people of Zambia have lost faith in the Zambia Police Force. They cannot go and report a matter because they know that the police cannot take action

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: … and when people lose faith in a law enforcement agency, anarchy prevails in the country.

 

Mr Muchima: Shame!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: For the first time in the history of this country, we have seen members of the police service being beaten by members of a political party, in Zambia.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Shame!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: There is evidence. One of the perpetrators two days ago was even on Muvi Television and he confessed and confirmed that he had an altercation with the police.

 

Mr Muchima: Shame!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Mr Speaker, in civilised societies, you cannot attack the police in uniform and be left unpunished. The police are not being protected by the Command. What sort of a nation are we leading? Our colleagues on your right who are supposed to be responsible are doing nothing and are contributing to the anarchy and tension in this country.

 

Mr Speaker, as leaders in this august House and nation, we have a responsibility to ensure that there is peace and tranquility. However, our colleagues on your right have failed this nation. They must rise above parties and politics and ensure that law and order in this country is applied.

 

Mr Muchima: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Mr Speaker, last week during the elections, we had an incident in Zambezi where one of your members was attacked by political party cadres. The matter was reported to the police and no action was taken.

 

Mr Speaker, I would like you to hear me out. If members of the public lose confidence and they have no recourse to justice whatsoever, they will be left with no option, but to also defend themselves according to the law of this country.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: That is the only option remaining. 

 

Why should we allow a situation where known thugs have been brutalising members of the police force and the general public with impunity and no action is being taken. For example, one senior officer at State House beat up a female police officer at Heroes Stadium and nothing was done about it.

 

Last week, a brother beat up a policeman and nothing was done about it. Is this the culture that we want to inculcate in this country?

 

Mr Muchima: Shame!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Is this what we want for the once peaceful country? The answer is no.

 

Mr Speaker, the other issue that is causing division in this country and which I want to bring to your attention, is the patronage that my colleague from Chipili Constituency talked about yesterday, pertaining to the appointments and employment in the Public Service.

 

My colleague, Hon. Nkombo, had brought up the issue through a Motion. Members of the general public who are perceived to be supporters of the United Party for National Development (UPND) or who hail from certain regions are being retired in national interest.

 

Mr Speaker, this country belongs to all of us and people should not be targeted because of their political affiliation or ethnicity. Why should we allow such things to happen? These things have only happened during the reign of the Patriotic Front (PF).

 

Mr Nkombo: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Why are you abrogating the slogan of “One Zambia One Nation,” which we cherish? Why are you destroying this country?

 

Mr Speaker, the buck stops with the President. I expected the President to speak and stop the anarchy and brutalisation that is obtaining in the country. The people trading in markets and other public places are being denied the right to do so. How do you expect peace to reign in this country when people have no right to trade or to earn a living? This must come to an end. The Government cannot continuously infringe on the rights of the people. You should note that even innocent and law abiding citizens rise up when they are frustrated and victimised. That should not be allowed to happen in this country.

 

Mr Speaker, we have been talking about dialogue. All of us, as responsible citizens, must cherish dialogue. However, there is a group of individuals who do not want to abide by the values of this country because they benefit from the thuggish behaviour of their members.

 

I am aware that Zambia is a Christian nation but, alas, this country is full of former Christians and sinners ...

 

Laughter

 

Mr Mwiimbu: …who do not want to abide by the cherished values of our country.

 

Mr Nkombo: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Unfortunately, even Christians-turned-politicians have become former Christians.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Mwiimbu: They cannot stand up and condemn what is going on.

 

Mr Lusambo: Question!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Mr Speaker, two days ago, the hon. Minister of Local Government delivered a Ministerial Statement on the fire tenders, stating that there was transparency in the procurement process and there was nothing wrong with the tender process.

 

Last evening, His Excellency the President, who is in New York, asked security wings to investigate …

 

Hon. UPND Members: Ya!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: …because the people of Zambia are unhappy with the tender process.

 

Interruptions

 

Mr Lusambo interjected.

 

Mr Speaker: Order!

 

I can see you.

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Mr Speaker, …

 

Mr Speaker: Just a moment hon. Member for Monze Central.

 

I can see you, very clearly.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Speaker: Let us avoid this kind of behaviour.

 

Mr Mbangweta: This is why Dr Kambwili said that he is a gong’a.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Speaker: You will have the opportunity to debate.

 

Mr Mutaba: Mwamona CK abantu mwaleta muli chi party chenu?

 

Laughter

 

Mr Speaker: I have devoted the next three working days to this exercise. There is, therefore, no need for this kind of behaviour.

 

Hon. Member for Monze Central, you may continue.

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Mr Speaker, the terminologies that we are applying in this country today, were abhorred during the one-party state. Terminologies such as “the great leader” of North Korea for example …

 

Interruptions

 

Mr Speaker: Order!

 

Hon. Member for Monze Central, you were debating very well. Please get back to your line of thought. I have already dealt with that issue. Just continue with your debate.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Mwiimbu: I was addressing myself and the nation to the tendering process of the fire tenders.

 

Mr Speaker, you are aware that I was a Town Clerk in-charge of the largest fire station in this country. There is no way that a basic fire tender can cost more US$1 million. The fire tenders that have been delivered and distributed are basic. They are smaller than the existing ones. The processes that were invoked are flawed.

 

Mr Muchima: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwiimbu: They are very flawed.

 

Mr Speaker, an average fire tender, suitable for an African environment, costs about US$300,000. That is the best of the best. However, our colleagues have decided to buy fire tenders worth US$1 million.

 

Interruptions

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Mr Speaker, there is no way a responsible person can spend US$1 million on a basic fire tender. Even a lay person will tell you that there is something wrong because they are small and basic. The manning has also reduced compared to what is obtaining in Lusaka at the moment. Why should we allow a situation where a few individuals enrich themselves out of the sweat of the many Zambians?

 

The fire tenders will be paid for by all of us here and the ordinary Zambian out there. We are all aware that this country has no money to meet most of its obligations. As of this afternoon, the Zambian Government has failed to pay back US$385 million owed to Lap Green.

 

Mr Nkombo: Recklessness!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Now, we are being reckless again.

 

Mr Speaker, Why should we be so reckless when we do not have the money and behave as if Zambia is not our country? Those who want to enrich themselves should get into business and not enrich themselves through the Government tenders.

 

Ms Mwashingwele: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Why should you do that?

 

Mr Speaker, this tender smells of corruption.

 

Mr Kambwili: It stinks, actually.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Mwiimbu: It stinks, yes.  I would like to request …

 

Mr Speaker: Hon. Member for Roan, you will have your time to debate.

 

Continue hon. Member for Monze Central.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Thank you, Sir.

 

Mr Speaker, I want to earnestly appeal to you to constitute a parliamentary committee, arising from the inherent powers that you possess, so that it investigates this particular tender.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Once the committee produces the report and we debate, the matter will be rested.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Yes!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Whilst that is done, the integrity of the august House will be enhanced because we will be doing that on behalf of the people of Zambia.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: It will not be a novel idea because it has been done in so many jurisdictions. The recent jurisdiction, where it was done is Malawi over the maize deal. Malawi made a decision, investigated and made recommendations. I, therefore, earnestly appeal to you, Sir, to constitute a committee.

 

Mr Speaker, the other issue, which I believe is bringing disunity in the country and is also affecting the economy of the country is the behaviour of the PF.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Mr Speaker, the PF have an alliance with the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD). Out of the alliance, a Minister of Finance was produced from the MMD and he is responsible for the financial administration of this country.

 

Sir, once you disturb the hon. Minister of Finance, the economy gets disturbed.

 

Mr Sing’ombe: True!

 

Interruptions

 

Mr Mwiimbu: The economy gets disturbed.

 

Mr Speaker: Hon. Member, the anxiety I have with that line of debate is that we will now begin debating one of us. I know it is difficult to separate these issues, but avoid focusing on the individual.

 

You may continue.

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Mr Speaker, I will not focus on the individual, but on the office.

 

Mr Sing’ombe: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Sir, if the office is being attacked and abused, then the economy of the country will be affected. As a result of what has been going on, the value of the Kwacha has started falling. There was stability, but immediately they started castrations of ensuring that the office is disturbed, the Kwacha has been affected. I do not, therefore, see how they expect this particular office to properly function and present their budget next week when they do not want the office.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Mwiimbu: How do they expect to work?

 

Laughter

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Mr Speaker, for the sake of the nation, I would like to appeal to my colleagues on the right to stop what they are doing because we know the perpetrators.

 

Mr Muchima: Hear, hear!

 

Ms Katuta: Amen!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: If you have personal differences, sort them out somewhere.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Sir, they should do not do things that affect the economy of the country.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Mr Speaker, finally, I once again want to appeal to the hon. Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Development to heed the calls of the Zambians pertaining to the Lusaka/Ndola Dual Carriage Way. There are a lot of genuine complaints that have arisen. Ordinarilly, the cost of 1 km of a tarred road is between U S $300 and U S $500, but currently especially for this particular road, it is U S $3.8 million per kilometer.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Sir, something is terribly wrong.

 

Mr Sing’ombe: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: We need to change the way we operate for the sake of the country. If there are complaints from members of the public, reflect on the issues that are being raised and redress them. I wish I had more time, but I intend to think that my brother will take it up.

 

Mr Mwiimbu looked at Mr Nkombo.

 

I thank you, Sir.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Nkombo (Mazabuka Central): Mr Speaker, I will gladly take it up because I am willing and able.

 

Sir, first of all, I would like to thank you for allowing me to debate. I will as much as possible stick to the speech of His Excellency the President. I will perforate it, give it its merits, where they exist and also demerits, where I see none.

 

Mr Speaker, I want to take the debates of the hon. Members for Chipili and Monze as my own. In the interest of time, I will avoid repeating some of the things that I intended to bring up because they have already been mentioned.

 

Sir, when His Excellency the President was reading the speech, his disposition and the speech fell far short of my expectations.

 

Mr Speaker, I want to quote the theme of His Excellency the President’s Speech which says:

 

“Moving Towards a Prosperous Smart Zambia in Peace and Tranquility without Leaving Anyone Behind.”

 

Sir, tranquility is a deep word. Even just the way it is pronounced. The question is, does tranquility exist in this country? That is that first question, but I will come back to it.

 

Mr Speaker, peace does not necessarily mean the absence of war because you can be at war within yourself. This word will also be interrogated. On the same page, His Excellency the President called for the reflection of state of national unity. These should not be superfluous words because they have deep in meaning. They must go deep into the bone marrow and be meaningful to those who utter them, for the word to be meaningful to those who are listening. My mother told me that straight or honest talk does not break any friendship. Therefore, I will try to be as open as possible.

 

Sir, on page 18, His Excellency the President cited the unfortunate events of arson, hurt speech and social media assault on each other. I want to make an addition to this. The issue of defaming, demonising and false accusation of people were absent in the Speech. I will demonstration later in my discourse because that is at the centre of our livelihood. The negative vices stated above, are the ones causing the grieving that Hon. Mwiimbu has been talking about.

 

Sir, during my maiden speech at the beginning of this life of Parliament, as if I was a prophet, I actually said that this country is divided. In his speech, His Excellency the President, failed short of outlying the things that are dividing the country. I will try and articulate on the issues beginning with the 2016 General Elections.

 

Sir, it is a fact that the elections are the reason the country is in this state. This is a fact because even His Excellency the President said that electoral process requires reform, although he did not mention it, I expected him to say that.

 

Mr Speaker, the electoral process has its dictates. This animosity, intolerance towards one another and the so-called the winner takes it all attitude, came out of the last elections. Therefore, it will be wise for us to find out where things went wrong. The institutions of democracy, such as the ECZ have a huge burden to carry on this division, which we are experiencing today. This is because they did not to follow the procedures.

 

Sir, for instance, I expected his Excellency the President during his official address to the House to speak on the issues which UPND presented before the courts of law, but the door was shut. When President Jacob Zuma came to officiate at the 91st Agriculture and Commercial Show in the show grounds in Lusaka, His Excellency the President said that if these people are aggrieved about my presidency, let them bring the evidence forth.

 

Mr Speaker, there is a pile of evidence on the fact that the Commission of Zambia (ECZ) did not follow the right channel to give credibility to the last Electoral process. I am saying this with the greatest respect to all the parties involved, including players like President Edgar Chagwa Lungu and those of us who are deemed to have lost the elections. Had the ECZ made sure that procedures regarding the GN 12 form had been complied with, the country would not be where it is today.

 

Sir, I am sure you know that in Kenya a record has been broken. Based on procedure and fraud, Kenyan Chief Justice, David Maraga, decided to nullify the presidential election. This of course, has caused a lot of unsettling in Kenya. Coming from the Judiciary end of life, I think you know that the Judiciary is the balancer. The Judiciary is supposed to put a balance and state who won and who lost. As far as UPND is concerned, we are in this problem because the Judiciary did not play its role in the last electoral process.

 

Mr Speaker, the President also talked about love. I have said before that love is a deep word. If you love me, you cannot harm me. It is as simple as that. I repeat that if you love me, you cannot harm me. The President fell short of describing what I now term an absence of the fundamental rights and freedoms of an individual in his Speech. These are the rights to assemble, movement and expression. It is only in the current segment of the Patriotic Front (PF) rule that we have seen media houses being closed arbitrarily. We have witnessed owners of media houses, like the proprietor of Komboni Radio, being beaten up. In this particular Parliament, a hon. Minister defended an evil until that young lady sort justice from the courts of law and was acquitted for being accused falsely of assaulting a policeman.

 

Sir, I am a victim of the police. Let me just rephrase that. The police have allowed officers to get drunk with alcohol. We have evidence that we can lay on the Table of the House about police misconduct. Why is there misbehaving in the entire rank and file of the police force. It does not matter whether one is a senior officer or not. There has been an instance of a senior police officer taking an ordinary citizen to court for defamation. We have court records showing that when the proceedings begin to show some embarrassment, the state enters a nolle prosequis. Why is it that the police are at loggerheads with the public? Why is it that the police are conducting extrajudicial killings such as the case of Mapenzi Chibulo who was killed …

 

Mr Speaker: Order!

 

Hon. Member, I did counsel your colleague earlier on. Let us avoid references in that direct fashion.

 

Mr Nkombo: Sir, I will take your guidance. Since the story is plain for everyone to refer to, I think it is sufficient to ask why the police should conduct extrajudicial killings. Beyond politics, there are families and a family is the smallest unit of social order. When you kill me, my mother will grieve. I think that any woman of a similar nature as my mother will also grieve, regardless whether the person killed came from another person’s loins and womb. It is a bad feeling. You cannot terminate life arbitrarily. These are the issues that the President failed to discuss and were absent in his Speech.

 

Sir, I expected the President to dwell on political values just a little bit more in order to counsel his party and all the other political parties to begin to tolerate one another. Those who were not there in 1991, need to understand that when the country decided to become multi-partism, there were consequences to that decision. That decision is embed in the bedrock of choosing where a person wants to belong.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, it is unfortunate that a chief executive of a political party that has benefited from the expertise of someone serving in the office of the Minister of Finance can say that the party wants to own him 100 per cent for him to have peace in his office. How can such a statement come from a person who holds the top most position in a particular political party? The same individual, whom I believe wines and dines with the President, is on record telling political cadres to set aside 200 plots for themselves whenever they are demarcating land. This is a break-down of the rule of law.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Nkombo: Sir, those are the things that are dividing us. The President touched on the land tenure system in his speech. However, he obliviously, comfortably and conveniently failed to say that these things exist and they take the centre stage in his own political party. These are the abuses that are going on.

 

Sir, I would like to also quickly deal with the issue of poverty because the President talked about it. Poverty is not natural. Why is it that we cannot solve this paradox of our well endowed country which has all the richest mineral resources in the world on one hand and a very poor citizenry on the other? It is because of the issues that Hon. Mwiimbu spoke about such as corruption.

 

Sir, how possible is it that Konkola Copper Mine (KCM) was sold for US$25 million, half the amount of the purchase of motor vehicles with water tanks? Mind you, the value of the United States Dollar is always the same.

 

Laughter

 

Nr Nkombo: We have bought fire engines at US$42 million when we sold KCM at US$ 25 million and I stand to be corrected.

 

Mr Sing’ombe: That is correct.

 

Mr Nkombo: How we can buy a vehicle at US$42 million, which is a wasting asset.

 

Sir, we will be writing a letter formally to you. I am, therefore, urging you to give credibility to this Government so that it can convince the whole country that the purchase of fire tenders was not smeared with corruption. Maybe at this point in time we can put the cost aside, but I said and I laid a document here on the Table that we are convinced that even the procedure of selecting the supplier leaves much to be desired.

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Nkombo: I am very happy today and welcome President Lungu’s pronouncement that this matter should be investigated. What does that mean? Unless the President’s word is subservient to that of a hon. Minister, it will be good and respectful for Hon. Mwale to come to this august House and propose to expunge his ministerial statement from the record of this House until such a time that the issue of fire tenders is resolved.

 

Mr Speaker, on the issues that are dividing this country, the President in his Speech referred to the Public Order Act saying that the hon. Minister of Justice and his team have been waiting for submissions from political parties. That is a waste of time. Why should the Public Order Act today be complicated when it has been with us since colonial times? We have a judgment by Justice Christine Mulundika and seven others on this matter. That judgment tells us that this piece of legislation is not only draconian, but also colonial. A decent Government allows political opponents to have space.

 

In this country, we have no space to hold public meetings. You cannot go to a market to have a meeting because you will be subjected to the Public Order Act. Similarly, you cannot go to church to have a meeting because you will find it surrounded by the police and then you come to me and say, “Let us unite,” when you are stopping people from congregating at church to thank God.

 

Sir, this is the only country where birds fly backwards and where court judgements are disregarded with impunity. I will give you examples. In 2012, the police objected to give UPND permission to hold a rally in Kanyama at Twashuka Grounds. We informed the hon. Minister of Home Affairs, at that time of the police’s decision, but the hon. Minister refused to intervene. Therefore, we went to court. One hon. Member of the Judiciary, Judge Justine Chashi allowed the rally to go ahead. The judgment is available. We went to Twashuka Grounds and the police who had originally refused to allow us to hold the rally because they had no manpower to police us were at Twashuka Grounds. There were more than 500 policemen, with Patriotic Front (PF) cadres maiming and beating people who had gone to listen to our message.

 

Mr Speaker, not long ago, Hakainde Hichilema, who was incarcerated at Mukobeko Maximum Prison had a court order issued by Judge Mushimanga...

 

Mr Speaker: Order!

 

Mr Nkombo: I have the judgment here. She said that he should be kept at Chimbokaila ...

 

Mr Speaker: Order!

 

Hon. Member, please follow my earlier guidance. We do not want to drag individuals here.

 

Mr Nkombo: Thank you, Sir. I will remove the personality.

 

Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker a leader of an opposition political party got a court order to stay in Chimbokaila Prison so that he could have ease of movement to appear in court. Alas! The police and the prison decided to disregard that order and took him against the will of the court, to Mukobeko Maximum Prison for punishment and you want to tell me that we must love each other. The Government must walk the talk. I am speaking here because we have not given up on this emotion called love. We still believe that among normal people, it can be re-invoked, but it requires people to have genuine hearts and can walk their talk. We have people who condemn violence and simultaneously celebrate it. Those are the people you are seeing on your right hand side Mr Speaker.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Nkombo: You cannot have such people and expect to have a normal society.  Unfortunately, the buck stops with the President.

 

Sir, these are the issues I expected the President to speak about. The President failed to speak about these issues in his Speech. I only heard him at the United Nations General Assembly, talking about how grateful he was to the Commonwealth for advocating dialogue which we are desirous of ourselves. We want genuine dialogue and genuine dialogue does not mean you must hide your feelings, but you must express them. Let the words come out and express the feelings. The President never mentioned anything about dialogue in his speech, yet all of us know that the convener of the dialogue with the Commonwealth was sited up there.

 

Mr Speaker, the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops, at the height of the stress we had over our leader’s incarceration, issued a pastoral letter stating their position on what they thought the state of our country was, but speaking at the airport, the President said that the tension the bishops were talking about existed only in their heads. That was an insult and I felt sorry for the Catholic bishops. It did not need to take an expatriate to sit us down when we are always together every day. I think we are a failed lot, belonging to a broken country. We have demonstrated to the world that we are unable to sit and say – I will use his name because he is my friend. Hon. Lubinda, we are not living properly, can we sit down and find a solution to our differences. Let us reconcile.

 

Interruptions

 

Mr Speaker: He is taking reservation to his reference.

 

Mr Nkombo: If he is protesting, I will move. I will take Hon. Siliya  ...

 

Laughter

 

Mr Speaker: Please, let us avoid names. I do not want to take space into your time. He has protested.

 

Mr Nkombo: We did not need a Commonwealth representative to sit us down in order for us to discuss how to live normally. I think we are an embarrassment. We have what it takes to discuss. This whole thing you saw here of shaking hands with President Lungu – I told him not to be proud of the dual carriageway, which is marred with corruption. He has failed to deal with the 70 km of the Mazabuka/Kafue Road, which needs to be fixed. Ask Hon. Chibanda who lost a big truck on that road. I know where all the potholes are on that road, and the hon. Member of Parliament for that road is not me, but President Lungu. That is his constituency.

 

I thank you, Sir.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mbangweta (Nkeyema): Mr Speaker, thank you very much.

 

Sir, first of all, I have some concerns relating to the Speech which was delivered by the President on Friday,15^th September, 2017. I am uncomfortable with the theme of his speech, especially the last few words, “without leaving anyone behind.” To me, the theme appears to be a mockery because the people in leadership who are aspiring to do this are exhibiting the opposite, in their daily behaviour. I will try to demonstrate what I mean.

 

Mr Speaker, with your permission, I will quote from the speech so that I can put everything in context. On page 14, the President said that the development agenda of the country for the next five years would focus on five strategic areas, which include economic diversification, job creation, and reduction of developmental inequalities.

 

Sir, on page 15, he said:

 

“The economic diversification agenda is driven by a stronger macro-economic environment. As outlined, above, our economic growth was lower than targeted, with 3.4 per cent growth rate against a target of 7 per cent contained in the revised Sixth National Development Plan (SNDP). With the experienced contraction in the economy, our economic diversification and job creation prospects were equally affected. Infrastructure projects which contribute to job creation stalled due to the economic difficulties we experienced. Similarly, agriculture, forestry and fishing, which are the leading employment sectors in the economy slowed down in output on account of poor economic growth rate.”

 

Mr Speaker, this is an admission that things have not gone well. I expected the President to give practical solutions on how to address this. The Patriotic Front (PF) Government has made a lot of promises. This year, they were supposed to create 100,000 decent jobs. Decent jobs means jobs which are not temporary, not an attachment and not seasonal. A decent job is one which has social security like the National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) and annual leave. By the same token, I expected to hear what the Government had done concerning this promise to create 100,000 decent jobs, and if they had failed, to what extent they had failed. Since this information was not provided in the Speech, I attempted to find out the number of jobs created from 1^st January, to 31^st May, 2017. What I found out is that there were only 624 jobs created and out of this, there were 283 retrenchments. This means that during the first five months of this year, only 341 jobs were created.

 

Now, if this year we are supposed to create 100,000 jobs, where are they going to come from? Even if we take into account the additional number of the 7,400 health workers mentioned in the speech, we are still far from achieving the 100,000 jobs anticipated. We expected an explanation from the President of w hat happened. This is because I recall that when the issue was debated earlier, we had reminded the Government that even in the previous years, they had failed to achieve such numbers. Therefore, what are they going to do different this time? There was no explanation given.

 

Mr Speaker, it is common knowledge that from 2014, to the first quarter of 2017, the formal sector employment moved from 944,000 to 256,000 then to 1,054,367, in a period of four years. Therefore, what did the people who were making the estimation of 100,000 jobs have in mind?

 

It is also true that over there has been growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but this has not translated in the number of jobs created. Therefore, if one is not working nor has a son or daughter who is not working, they would expect to hear from the President what practical measures will be taken to make sure that the situation is mitigated. In this regard, Mr Speaker, I found the speech wanting.

 

Mr Speaker, I now wish to talk about inequality.

 

Mr Mutale: Question!

 

Mr Mbangweta: Mr Speaker, I have a ministerial statement which was delivered to this House by the hon. Minister of Local Government. He assured us about Constituency Development Fund (CDF), on the 2^nd of November, 2016.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mbangweta: In his conclusion to this House he said:

 

“Finally, Mr Speaker, I wish to assure hon. Members of Parliament that my ministry is committed to ensuring that the CDF is disbursed and that the guidelines are ready as soon as possible.”

 

Now, this assurance was made on the Floor of this House, but it has come to my attention that subsequent to that, the hon. Minister disbursed CDF in a manner that was not agreed to, and in a selective manner. For this reason, I would like to find out whether this House would accept such a situation because the issue was discussed here and agreed to, but then he went ahead to do something else. These are the inequalities we are talking about.

 

Hon. Ministers sitting in the Front Bench are the ones holding on to the resources. How can they be the first ones to receive the CDF and expect us to accept that? Then somebody says they are doing away with inequalities. We should not accept that sort of thing. Even this august House must put its foot down and make sure that what was promised is done. All of us pay tax, therefore, disbursement of CDF should not be selective. These are the issues which divide us.

 

Mr Speaker, Nkeyema is a new constituency, and as I understand that the PF Government was putting up these new districts in order to bring development nearer to the people. How are the districts going to develop if even CDF which was approved by this august House has not been disbursed? Am I expected to go on my knees to beg for CDF. That should not be allowed Mr Speaker.

 

Hon. Opposition Member: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mbangweta: Discrimination and inequality is what we see being practiced. I think it is high time that our colleagues changed their behaviour. This is why I am saying that it is like they are mocking the other sections of the society. For example, if we asked for construction of dams and how they are going to be shared, I am sure there would be no response. Are we expected to be following people to their offices? That should not be case. It should be on need basis.

 

Sir, nobody is paying attention at the Mongu/Lusaka Road. The hon. ministers, who work in Western Province and nearby districts, see that road every day, but nothing is being done. How come other roads are being worked on and even new roads are being constructed? What is the rationale for that? It is very difficult to understand. That is why I am saying that these people are talking of ending inequalities, but their behaviour does not support that position. It is better if they did away with it because it just causes polarisation. This is because of the double standards which are being applied and there is no reason we should accept that sort of thing.

 

Mr Speaker, another issue of concern in the speech, is that Government or public sector officers are being encouraged to get involved into agricultural activities. However, there was no guidance given on how this is going to be applied. My worry is that if it is left open ended, there will be no service delivery. From the rural constituency point of view, the concern parents and citizens have is that the teachers, for example, might go away from the schools during cultivating time and pupils will stop learning. Therefore, with this kind of permission, it will be very difficult to ensure service delivery. The same would apply to the clinics and hospitals. A little more guidance would have assisted because now a problem has been created for the supervisors. On what basis will they stop the workers from going to the fields?

 

Lastly, I appreciate the review of the labour laws, but my concern is that it has taken too long. This process started in 2014 and it means that some of the issues they could have captured have been overtaken by events.

 

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

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Miti (Feira): Thank you, Mr Speaker. First of all, allow me to thank the Government for repairing the Luangwa Road D145 …

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Miti: … which was damaged during the rainy season. As a layman, I would say that the works are now at 98 per cent completion. Therefore, the people of Feira are thanking the Government for the good works done.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Miti: Coming to the Speech, Mr Speaker, that was delivered by His Excellency the President, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, last Friday, it requires a lot of wisdom to see sense in what was delivered.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mutale: Bauze!

 

Mr Miti: It requires critical analysis and thinking to fish out pertinent issues that were delivered by His Excellency the President.

 

Mr Mutale: Aka ka muntu ka mano!

 

Mr Miti: The Speech, Mr Speaker, is not a tired Speech …

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Miti: … as other hon. Members have alluded to. It is a Speech which is inspiring to ordinary Zambians out there and also a wakeup call to those that are charged with the responsibility of taking development to all corners of this country. These are the policy makers and the technocrats. The President has realised that many areas are behind in receiving development. He has also realised that some minds of those that are charged with this responsibility to take development to all corners of this country have become tired. Therefore, it is a wakeup call to them to realise that even a football coach can change the composition of the team and start to win matches.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Miti: It is a wakeup call to those charged with the responsibility of making policies to begin working in an integrated manner. People should no longer work in silence.

 

Mr Speaker, in paragraph 6 of the address, the President states:

 

“The theme of my address to this august House is “Moving towards a prosperous smart Zambia without leaving anyone behind.”

 

Emphasis should be placed on the words “without leaving anyone behind”. The President realises that there are many underprivileged people. For example, people from many remote areas are left behind because of lack of telecommunication infrastructure.

 

Mr Speaker, most of my constituents in Feira are not able to watch these deliberations live on Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) television or listen to them on radio. There are only a few people who are able to access these facilities in Feira Constituency. The Constituency is also behind in terms of telecommunication infrastructure. However, the theme of the Speech gives hope to the people in Feira Constituency and other places across the country that the President will not leave any of them behind. We should walk with him and not behind him. The Speech gives us hope that we will soon have the telecommunication towers that the President talked about. The contents of the Speech are inspiring and give us hope. Further, Luangwa should also be connected to the national grid soon.

 

Sir, in paragraph 9 of the Speech, the President looks at efficiency in service delivery. He states:

 

“The smart development approach is not necessarily about wearing smart clothes such as suits and ties. It is an innovative way of getting what was previously seen as difficult and time consuming tasks done rapidly and easily.”

 

This is where efficiency comes into play. The President has realised that there was no efficiency in the purchase of the fire tenders. It is not cost effective to spend such colossal sums of money on equipment that will soon become white elephants.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Miti: Mr Speaker, the President talks about tourism from paragraphs 78 to 85. In his address to this august House on 30^th September, 2016, the President had directed that we diversify into tourism. It is important that we follow his directive because this sector can contribute greatly towards the growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Despite the President’s directive, village scouts across the country are still being neglected. They work under difficult circumstances and are being exposed to dangerous environments.

 

Sir, in Feira, village scouts are not paid and yet they are deployed in the Lower Zambezi National Park, which is beyond their area of operation. They are supposed to work in the game management areas, but they are made to go deep into national parks where they face properly armed poachers and they endure all this without being paid.

 

Mr Speaker, the President also talked about Community Resource Boards (CRBs). There are seventy-six boards, but out of those, I know that Rufunsa, Mburuma and Mpoka are not funded. The argument is that there has been no hunting, but this is not true.

 

Hon. Opposition Member: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Miti: Hunting has been ongoing, except for 2015, when there was a ban. CRBs are not funded and as a result village scouts are not paid.

 

Sir, I appeal to the Ministry of Tourism and Arts to look into this matter and ensure that the village scouts are catered for. I also appeal to the hon. Minister of Tourism and Arts that first priority should be given to village scouts when the time comes to recruit Wild Life Police Officers (WPOs). Village scouts have already been trained and not much will be lost by retaining them.

 

Mr Speaker, in paragraphs 114 and 115, the President indicates that he has noted our concern about State owned companies. I recall that last year when we debated the budget speech presented by the hon. Minister of Finance, I was one of those who argued that the Government should not, as the hon. Minister said, ‘hive off’ some of the Government owned companies, but rather look at equity partners to revamp their operations. The President has told the House that they have considered transforming some the state owned enterprises into public limited companies, where Zambians will have an opportunity to own shares, which is a very good move. This is why I said it requires wisdom to see the direction the President is taking.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Miti: The Speech was well crafted with both historic and futuristic aspects.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Miti: Mr Speaker, all these pronouncements can only be successfully accomplished if there is unity in the country. Unity is very cardinal and I implore all hon. Members of Parliament, who are assembled here to continue preaching our national motto, “One Zambia, One Nation.” If we are united, we will build a prosperous Zambia in peace and tranquility, of course, as the President says, “Without leaving anyone behind.”

 

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Ms Mwashingwele (Katuba): Mr Speaker, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to debate the Presidential Speech of 15^th September, 2017. I would like to debate from the theme, “Moving towards a prosperous smart Zambia in peace and tranquility without leaving anyone behind,” and I will specifically concentrate on where it says, “…without leaving anyone behind.”

 

Mr Speaker, that part goes in line with good governance. Good governance is not a theory, but a practical issue.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Ms Mwashingwele: Mr Speaker, we need to be more practical. Therefore, as I debate, I will concentrate on practical issues that were not seriously addressed in the Speech.

 

Mr Speaker, I want to look at education as a starting point. How is the Patriotic Front (PF) Government expecting not to leave anyone behind if a lot of our children are not in school? As much as they talk of universal primary education, how do they expect to implement the aspect of not leaving a child behind an adult, if they have failed to give them space in school due to inadequate infrastructure?

 

Mr Speaker, I will be very practical with an example of Kanchibiya District, which currently, has over 2,000 children between the ages of five and thirteen, who have never seen the inside of a classroom. Are those not already left behind? If you go to places on the other side of the country, such as Kaoma Central, you will find that children are still learning under Mango Trees. Are we sure those are not already left behind?

 

Sir, the President spoke about a smart Zambia. He did not mean smart in dressing, but in the use of information and technology. I am very disappointed that the President is not aware that only 4.4 per cent of this country is connected to the national grid. When we talk about not leaving anyone behind, how about the people in Katuba, where there are forty-two primary schools and only five are connected to electricity? How can the people in this area have information and technology when most of the schools have no power to generate components of a smart Zambia?

 

Mr Speaker, in Kaputa, there are forty-three schools and it is only one secondary school which is connected to electricity and there are times when there is no power at this school because they cannot afford to buy the electricity tokens. Are such children not left behind? I want to urge and challenge the hon. Minister of Finance that if by the click of a finger, they can source US$42 million to buy forty-two fire tenders, then, they can find US$1 million to construct schools in Kanchibiya District. Then, we will be able to agree that people are not being left behind. Education is a simple equaliser for our people. Most of us are sitted here because there was a Government that invested in our education.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Ms Mwashingwele: Mr Speaker, the PF Government is always misplacing its priorities when it comes to social services of the people, especially for those in the rural areas. Even secondary education that we are talking about has not been spared. If the primary education that is said to be free cannot be attained, then we are going against our own wishes as a country.

 

Sir, I am deliberately using Kanchibiya District because I met a mother aged twenty-four, who has five children and a woman aged forty-five, who is almost a great-grandmother. They are in  that condition because they did not go to school. They are not availed the resources that we always talk about. How are we going to bring these people to the same level of everyone else that is sitted here, if we cannot avail them the opportunity to have some form of literacy?

 

Mr Speaker, the first empowerment to give a human being is literacy empowerment. Literacy and numeracy should come first because even the resources, which for example, the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Child Development is talking about, will not be put to good use if the people are not literate enough to know and account for whatever they will be given.

 

Mr Speaker, I find it challenging to appreciate the Speech of the President, especially that he did not explain to this august House how the rural population of Zambia will not be left behind. It was unfortunate that he even went ahead to compare a school in Kabulonga to that in Mufumbwe. These schools are two worlds apart. It means he does not understand that these two worlds can never move at the same pace unless we put a deliberate effort to bring them to the same level.

 

Mr Speaker, the PF Government must come down to earth and be practical. We need to set our priorities right because we have a country to govern and children to bring up. 

 

Interruptions

 

Mr Speaker: The consultations there are rather loud. I do not want to mention names. You are disturbing the proceedings. Continue hon. Member.

 

Ms Mwashingwele: Sir, having spoken about that, I would also want to go a step further. I am sure people may wonder why I speak so passionately about education. I want people to understand that I always feel privileged that I have an education and I know what it means. When someone is denied education, no matter how willing they want to fight in life, they will have that missing ingredient, which will always disadvantages them because the Government of the day did not do its part. For that reason, I found it very surprising that in the Presidential Speech, there was no mention of primary education. There was only mention of university education in which we are not doing very well. Currently, a lot of our children are on the streets because they cannot access university education. I wonder how there was so much eulogising of university education by the President when we have challenges in the Government institutions.

 

Mr Speaker, unless we push forward and do the needful, then this Presidential Speech may have a bit of relevance. When we talk, we should not just politick, but work to have a better Zambia as was mentioned.

 

Mr Speaker, I would also want to talk about one other component which was brought …

 

Mr Speaker: Order!

 

Business was suspended from 1640 hours until 1700 hours.

 

[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]

 

Ms Mwashingwele: Mr Speaker, before business was suspended, I was about to conclude the first part of my debate. I was trying to mention that for us to have a smart Zambia, we need to put basics in place, which include installing electricity in all our school across the country and not just those in urban areas.

 

Mr Speaker, the MMD Government saw it necessary to create an authority called the Rural Electrification Authority (REA). It understood very well the importance of the authority, which was a great help to most institutions in rural areas. The funding to the authority was, initially, very good and enabled the authority do what it was meant to do. Unfortunately, the Patriotic Front (PF) Government, in its wisdom, has reduced funding to the authority making its function very difficult. I will give an example of why the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) is not the best option for schools in a constituency like Katuba.

 

Mr Speaker, Chombela Primary School requested for a quotation for only four poles to get power to the school. It received a bill of K350,000. I am yet to find a Government-run primary school that can afford such an amount of money.

 

Mr Speaker, it is for this reason that we are saying that some proclamations are not in tandem with the reality on the ground.

 

Ms Lubezhi: Hear, hear!

 

Ms Mwashingwele: My concern and request is that when such an important Speech is delivered to this august House, it is for everyone in the country. I believe that everyone was listening or watching the President deliver the Speech on that particular day and was expecting him to speak to their basic needs. Unfortunately, we are failing to even give the bare necessities of human need because of misplaced priorities.

 

Mr Speaker, I would like to speak to the point on page 19, paragraph 57 and I quote:

 

“The Government is aware of the challenges that our farmers are facing in marketing their produce.”

 

Mr Speaker, this is something that is breaking my heart as a person who comes from a rural constituency. The peasant farmers this season got the shock of their lives. Recognising the challenge is not good enough, what is good enough is to take action when a challenge is recognised. Unfortunately, the PF Government in this marketing season gave the farmers a raw deal. Asking the food Reserve Agency to buy a 50 kg bag of maize from a peasant farmer at K60 was one of the worst things that could happen to a farmer who had to go through a lot of touble to produce the crop.

 

Mr Speaker, speaking about the farmers in Katuba, their crop was attacked by army worms and they spent a lot to get pesticides while others had to replant and buy extra fertiliser, both D compound and Urea. Therefore, for a Government to determine the low price for a produce it knew cost the farmer so much was the most irresponsible act that could have happened in this year.

 

Mr Ng’onga: Question!

 

Ms Mwashingwele: I say this because the Government is trying to be the judge, the jury and executioner. Why should the Government be involved in marketing? If you go on the market, a five litre container which is regularly called meda of beans costs K60 and the same quantity of maize costs K3. You do not need to be a sky rocket scientist to understand what is actually happening to the farmers.

 

Mr Speaker, I would like to make a request, through the hon. Minister of Agriculture, that if the Government does not have the money to buy maize from the farmers, it should allow the private sector to buy it because marketing should not be the business of the Government. This would help the farmer.

 

Mr Speaker, the Speech has talked about the rolling out of the e-Voucher to the whole country. I think that before rolling out such a big programme, which will cost a lot of money, we needed to do some form of research. Unfortunately, the President makes pronouncements without even giving any feedback on how the e-Voucher worked in the thirty-nine districts in which it was introduced. If it failed and we introduce it to the whole country, then the whole country is going to fail. Such are the issues that we are talking about. We are too quick to make pronouncements before we give feedback.

 

Mr Speaker, farming, according to the hon. Minister of Agriculture, is serious business and, therefore, the producer should not make a loss. This is what we are crying for. Therefore, when we talk about marketing, let the private sector and the producer, who is the farmer, determine the price.

 

Mr Speaker, the President stated that the price of mealie meal is going down. Using an English adage, it is like getting from John to pay Peter, because it was the PF Government who raised the price of mealie meal. Therefore, when price of mealie meal comes down, it is its responsibility to bring it down to manageable levels.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Ms Mwashingwele: Sir, when you look at these things, the Patriotic Front (PF) cannot sing their praises when they are the ones who crafted the problem. The peasant farmers must be protected by the Government. I said it on education and I am going to say it again on agriculture. If the Government can find $42 million to buy forty-two Fire Tenders, they can even find $2 million to buy the maize from the farmers at K100 per 50 kg bag.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

Ms Mwashingwele: Mr Speaker, I think that there were gaps in the President’s Speech. The farmers wanted to hear how the issue of maize will be tackled. If the Government cannot buy the maize, they should leave it to the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) who are specialists and they know what it costs to produce maize. Why are we politicising maize? Why are we not doing the same with rice, cassava and beans? Everyone knows that the producer determines the price. When it comes to maize, we want the person in the urban area to enjoy the maize they have not produced at a lower cost. That is serious mismanagement of the agricultural sector.

 

Sir, if we are talking of diversification to agriculture and do not want to see this country going hungry, then, let us do it properly. I fear for the day when the farmers will decide not to grow maize because it is not profitable. Then as a country, we will start running around buying maize from neighbouring countries at a higher cost when we have our own farmers who are sincere and dedicated to feed the nation. Can the PF Government set their priorities right. We are talking about human needs here. When we run out of our staple food we will have a disaster. The e-Voucher system must be revisited. We need a proper report on how the system worked in the last farming season before it is rolled out to the whole country. In some areas there are no banks. People walk for 100 kilometres to get to the nearest bank. How will the e-voucher system be rolled out?

 

In Conclusion, Mr Speaker, I would want to agree and encourage the PF Government to respect the statement that states that “development is not an accident, but a result of a series of conscious decisions”. I would like to urge them to pass serious decisions.

 

I thank you.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mung’andu (Chama South): Mr Speaker, I would like to thank you for granting me this rare opportunity to add my voice to the debate on the speech delivered by His Excellency, our beloved President, Edgar Chagwa Lungu, on 15^th September, 2017.

 

Mr Speaker, the theme of His Excellency’s Address was “moving towards a prosperous smart Zambia in peace and tranquillity without leaving anyone behind”.

 

Mr Speaker, His Excellency’s address to this august House, according to the people of Chama South’s understanding, is as smart as he appears.

 

Hon. PF members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mung’andu: Sir, it was a Speech that was well thought out laying bare the vision of this country. In my debate of his Excellency’s Speech, I will try to look at three main items. That is, agriculture, which I know everyone is interested in. I will also look at infrastructure development because we cannot talk of agriculture without looking at infrastructure development critically. I will also try to look at the poverty reduction measures.

 

Mr Speaker, his Excellency admitted to this august House that poverty levels in the country are unacceptably high at 54.4 per cent. The most vulnerable are people not only of Chama South, but about 60 or 70 per cent of us, hon. Members, come from rural areas. Rural poverty is at 55 per cent which is very worrisome.

 

Mr Speaker, on agriculture, his Excellency emphasised on economic diversification. He mentioned that agriculture, mining and industrialisation will be the three sectors that will anchor on economic diversification. His emphasis was on agriculture simply because much of our rural population’s main occupation is agriculture. Therefore, what reforms are the Government is embarking on in order to improve efficiency of agrarian reforms. Remember the theme was smart Zambia, which is smart thinking. I agree with the hon. Member for Feira that the word smart might be far fetching for some people to comprehend.

 

Mr A. B. Malama: Yoboya!

 

Mr Mung’andu: Sir, for many years, the MMD Government under the Late President, Levy Mwanawasa, introduced one of the most aggressive fertiliser subsidy programmes. I have to take you back; we were coming from a serious food crisis as the country was ravaged by drought. Donors offered to give us Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) maize. President Levy Mwanawasa refused the GMO maize and introduced Fertiliser Input Support Programme (FISP). From then, to date, have the lives of our people improved? Let us be very realistic. Have the lives of my mother and father improved in Chama South, Chiengi or Lunte? The answer is no. It is against this background that the Patriotic Front (PF) Government is making decisions that are beyond the foresight of many of those who are trying to water down the participation of the Government in the subsidy programmes.

 

Sir, if you look at the FISP, can we look at the unit cost of D compound and at the unit cost in terms of benefit to the farmers. The PF Government realised that the ultimate beneficiaries of these subsidies have been fertiliser marketing companies and not our poor rural communities.

 

Mr Speaker, let me now talk about infrastructure. We cannot talk of agrarian reforms if the means of transporting the produce from centres of production, and in this case from the rural farmers to the market, are obstructed. It is against this background that the Patriotic Front (PF) Government under the able leadership of President Michael Chilufya Sata, may his soul rest in peace, saw the need to open up rural areas so that there is easy connectivity and the maize produced by the farmers can easily be taken to the market be embarking on the Link 8,000 km Road Project.

 

Mr Speaker, every hon. Member of Parliament wants to talk about his or her area being opened up and this was the idea of the PF Government. The Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) was in power for many of years and the people of Chama District never saw a tarred road. It was a farfetched dream to have a tarred road in Chama. For this reason, the people of Chama South will forever remain indebted to the PF Government and His Excellency President Edgar Chagwa Lungu.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mung’andu: Mr Speaker, let us accept the hard decisions because in the next two to three years, we will be celebrating.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mung’andu: The Food Reserve Agency (FRA) participates in maize marketing. However, let us face the reality that the Government has a policy to allow the private players to participate in the maize marketing processes. The Government should not be the single buyer of the farmers’ produce because that is unacceptable. We have a free market economy. The FRA has indicated that they are ready to purchase a 50 kg bag of maize at K60. Those who do not want to sell their maize to the FRA should not do so. They can offer a higher price than the FRA. The hon. Minister of Agriculture invited all of us to create international market linkages. The problem is that when we leave Parliament, we go to our rooms and enjoy ourselves and all we think …

 

Interruptions

 

Mr Speaker: Hon. Member, those are the same issues that I was dealing with right at the beginning of the afternoon. You are casting aspersions on your colleagues. Please, stay away.

 

Mr Mung’andu: Thank you Mr Speaker for that guidance. Moving on to education indeed, it is the equaliser to almost all facets of life. I am sure it is against that realisation that His Excellency the President mentioned that there will be massive investment in this area. There are so many high schools that the PF Government has constructed and it has also transformed many colleges into universities. It also brought up the idea or concept of having universities in almost all provincial centres.

 

Mrs Chonya: Question!

 

Mr Mung’andu: Lewanika University in the Western Province …

 

Mr Mbangweta: It is not there!

 

Mr Mung’andu: … is under construction. The hon. Member for Chipili complained that the Fredrick Titus Jacob (FTJ) University has not been constructed. His Excellency the President in his address to this august House was very specific that they do not want to leave anyone behind. Therefore, the approach to develop the country is not selective. I am aware that the contract for the construction of FTJ University was signed a month or two months ago and the contractor is 15MCC Africa Ltd.

 

Mr Speaker, with regard to the energy sector, since independence, there has been no projection that there will be high demand for energy in our beautiful country and it was the PF Government that realised the need for massive investment in this sector. Musonda Falls in Luapula has been upgraded from 5 to 15 mw and the PF Government has embarked on a tea plantation. Agriculture is not only maize production. There is the horticulture part of it. There is also a timber plantation under the Zambia Forestry and Forest Industries Corporation (ZAFFICO) in Luapula. The PF Government has cultivated 7,500 ha of cassava in Luapula Province and there is also a project to connect the province to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) through Chienge. This is being done because of the vision of His Excellency President Edgar Chagwa Lungu.

 

Mr Speaker, let me also mention the most important observation regarding land policy. His Excellency the President expressed concern that for the past fifteen years, this country has had no land policy. In agreeing with him, there is need for the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to speed up the process. If they do not do that, we will create a serious problem for the future generation. Foreigners have come into our country and are acquiring land at a pace never seen before. Therefore, it is important for the land policy to be drafted so that the Lands Act is relooked at in order to 59protect the future generation.

 

In conclusion, Sir, my contribution would not be complete if I did not talk about citizen participation in resource management, an issue that His Excellency the President raised. The concept of Community Resource Boards was introduced in areas endowed with wildlife, Chama South included, to aid locals in its preservation. This was enhanced by retaining a portion of the proceeds of hunting concessions.

 

Mr Speaker, I am appealing to the hon. Minister of Tourism and Arts to relook at the management of these Resource Boards. Most of the resources realised from these boards are just exploited by the board members. Hence, the primary purpose of empowering the community is not realised. The resources realised from the Resource Boards are public resources. I, therefore, appeal to the hon. Minister of Tourism and Arts to ensure that the resources are audited, like many other public finances.

Sir, this country, according to the people of Chama South is very united. The biggest problem is us politicians who tend to put our personal interest above the interest of our electorates. The hon. Minister of Justice has invited proposals on the Public Order Act, which has been a source of discontent, particularly for members of the opposition parties. The Patriotic Front (PF) had also complained of the unfairness of the Public Order Act when they were in opposition. It is shocking that to-date; the main opposition party has failed to submit proposals on the Act. When change is effected on the current Act, they will cry the loudest.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mung’andu: Mr Speaker, time is not on my side. 

 

With these remarks, I thank you, Sir.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Munkonge (Lukashya): Mr Speaker, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to contribute on the Speech for the Official Opening of the Second Session of the Twelfth National Assembly by His Excellency the President.

 

Sir, I will try not to lecture. However, there is an expression called patriotism that has been thrown around. I support the President’s Speech because while it is possible for the entire Speech to reflect on the shortcomings and difficulties that the country is going through, the President chose to explain some issues that would give us hope and, if possible, dreams.  

 

This is the duty of any leader. A leader cannot just scream that the ship is sinking then take off in a lifeboat. The problems we are facing were inherited by the party over time.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Munkonge: Being patriotic is a challenge as well as agreeing on the common good and on the protection of the sovereignty of the country. This is where we have a problem. Are we being patriotic in the concept of what is good for the country, regardless of the presidency? Do we share the dream of a better Zambia?

 

Mr Speaker, I want to point our certain arguments. One of the arguments is the selective way in which information is given in this august House hon. Members who are trying to put forward points of view.  Obviously, social media is playing an important role in our lives these days. While we can have access to this information, we only select that which we want to talk about. There have been a number of videos on social media where individuals have fought with the police.

 

I was fortunate enough to watch the programme where an individual who had a problem with the police was trying to explain what transpired. I was also fortunate enough to watch a clip where a certain hon. Member of Parliament in this august House took on authority.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Munkonge: The two situations can be interpreted in any manner. However, I am surprised that people are just talking about one clip even though they have access to the other.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Munkonge: If someone could explain the difference in those two clips for the rest of us, perhaps we could have clearer understanding of what arguments people are trying to put forward.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Munkonge: That aside.

 

In using the Public Order Act as an example, an individual’s ignorance is preyed upon to prove a point. The People verses Christine Mulundika and 7 others is a case study of Section 5(4) of the Public Order Act and how it necessitated the modifications to the current Act.

 

I speak from a layman’s point of view. In fact, I might even be speaking from an ignorant man’s point of view.  I can, however, cite the example of the People verses Christine Mulundika and 7 others and the People verses The Medical Association of Zambia where aspects of the Public Order Act were challenged and illegal casings resolved.

 

Mr Speaker, when arguments are advanced, people should not end halfway. They should finish them. I have seen this style of debate which stops us from getting the full story in order to make a proper and full contribution or change our mindset to support an argument.

 

The issue of inherited responsibilities will not go away. Whoever comes into power will find an indebtedness created by someone else. The challenges of development which are associated with this country are for all sides. Therefore, if we cannot agree on the common good to create a common path, then we are in trouble, regardless of which side you belong to. We can talk about development in the country and agree on the way forward. This is good for Zambians.

 

As politicians, we are guilty at the moment of fueling some of this violence.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Munkonge: All the examples that are being given have a political undertone to them, either of the Patriotic Front (PF) or the United Party for National Development (UPND). Immediately there violence, there will be political undertone to it, regardless whether it is the Patriotic Front (PF) or another party. This is happening almost everywhere in the country including Northern Province, where I come from. Possibly, violence is recorded every five years especially during the election period. There is peace when there are no elections. The main challenges that we are experiencing are putting food on the table and to better one’s life.

 

Sir, we, as politicians are fueling violence because of the tones we use and the examples we give. Thereafter, play to the international gallery. The beneficiaries of the squabbles are the investors, who can now categorise the country as a high risk destination and then, demand concessions because we have portrayed our country as a high risk investment area. Some of the concessions demand tax rebase so that they can be given incentives to come and open up the banking services. This is because we have created an impression that our country is an uncontrollable place. Where is the patriotism?

 

Mr Speaker, my understanding on the maize issue is that when the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) says that they will buy a 50 kg bag of maize at K60, purely, if it is a perfect situation, they are talking about strategic reserves.

 

Sir, those of us who come from rural areas can get maize at K60, but the maize is in the far flung areas. It can even be bought at K50, but the places are far away and it is very difficult to reach and, therefore, the price will be comprised because the buyers take into consideration the expense of moving the maize. Therefore, the market price of K60 per 50 kg bag of maize is just for the price of the maize to the FRA for the strategic reserves. In other words and as one hon. Member stated, one can actually refuse to sell to FRA. Therefore, for those, who reside in the border areas like Kasama in Northern Province, it means they will sell the maize to the neighbouring countries like Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

 

Mr Speaker, our farmers are not selling the maize to FRA because there is demand from the neighbouring countries. I would like to request the Government to control the price of maize in order to protect farmers from the unscrupulous people who are taking advantage of the Government price of K60, but when it is taken across the border to the DRC, it can be sold at K150, but they want to pay the Zambian farmer at K60. Perhaps the Government should announce the price for export at K90 or K100. If that is done, those who want to play with the figures will have a higher figure to play with. They are just being mischievous because they know the correct price of the maize out there. Therefore, it is just a question of people trying to take advantage of the farmers by referring to the market price of K60.

 

Sir, the truth is that at any given time, we are dealing limited resources. That being the case, someone has to make a decision on how these resources are distributed. Development cannot happen everywhere and at the same time. We cannot take advantage of the natural issues which can generate income because of politics. We are now trying to spread the money over a large area.

 

 For instance, if we identify Luapula as a province, which is most likely to generate the easiest form of power, which is need for almost for everything else, why can we not agree that Luapula should get more money for the power sector or perhaps set up a hydro electric station in North-Western Province. Development should be more directed, where the general public can be given the greatest good. Right now, the infrastructure for mining is in North Western and the Copperbelt provinces. Therefore, to move it to somewhere else would take time. So, why not exploit it to its logical conclusion.

 

Mr Speaker, I would want to agree with the statement Hon. Chitotela made yesterday that the Government is responsible for creating a rich Zambian. The biggest player in any economic market is the Government. Therefore, if the Government does not take deliberate policies to make some its citizens super rich, we will be equal at a certain poverty level, where nobody can say they are rich. Therefore, the Government has to create these rich people. We therefore, pray that these people come with good hearts and can take their wealth into their respective areas, to bring exceptional development.

 

Sir, this is happening in Nigeria, where the billionaires of that country build airports in their villages and open up airlines between their villages and the capital. This is possible because they have been given that opportunity. Unfortunately, we do not know the formula they use to choose their billionaires. A research needs to be conducted in that area.

 

Sir, another aspect that touches my heart is the issue of land. To the best of my knowledge, the Queen in England has owned land for hundreds of years. No attempts have been made to change the title deeds from the Queen to the Government. The reason is simple. Once the land is finished, the Queen will be toothless.

 

Sir, let me give an example of my area. Why should Chief Mwamba give land to the Kasama Council for free, which the council sells to people? It does not make sense. It is better to have a system that ensures that the revenue from that land trickles to the chief. Let us protect the people and the chiefs.

 

Sir, if we do it properly, time will come when chiefs, especially those in urban areas will not require money from the Government,. Therefore, we need to put in place laws that protect the chiefs and the ordinary people.

 

Mr Speaker, you would find that land has no value, but an investor comes with a multi-billion dollar venture on the land which has no value. Let us protect ourselves, the future of our children of and our great grand children. Let us give them a gift that can only be left by us, the law makers. We should give them gifts that perhaps, will outlive us. It is my hope that they will outlive us because these are the gifts that we leave for them. Therefore, we really need to look at our investment laws properly and revisit them so that they can protect the intended persons.

 

Mr Speaker, on the ideal world we are trying to create, we need to take a step back and agree that the system is not perfect. If the system is not perfect, it needs to be revisited and try to move towards being perfect.

 

Sir, in Zambia, we have conflicting laws and also have laws that have been implemented. These should be revisited. I sat on the Northern Province Constitutional Review Panel on the land issue. We barely got any contribution because people were only interested in the dual citizenship and the 50 plus one. One aspect that really needed our attention was land, but it was ignored because it was not exciting. Therefore, we need to revisit those laws even if they are in the new Constitution. We need to revert to them in order to protect ourselves.

 

Sir, I had promised not to lecture, but I would like to apologise if I have. Nevertheless, I would like to commend His Excellency the President, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, for the Speech that gives Zambians hope that there is a better future, …

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Munkonge: … for which we should prepared to work hard and make the necessary sacrifices.

 

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mrs Chonya (Kafue): Mr Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity to also give my thoughts on the Speech which was presented by the President on Friday last week. While the immediate past speaker has ended on a note commending the Speech, I feel that even if I had stayed away from listening to the President’s Speech, I do not think that I would have missed much because most of what was put across …

 

Hon. PF Members: Question!

 

Mrs Chonya: … are things that I have heard before. Therefore, I did not get the kind of inspiration I thought I would. I may be repeating what my colleagues have already said, but it is because these are very important issues and I will only be sharing them again for the sake of emphasising the importance of these aspects of our lives.

 

On agriculture, for instance, other colleagues that have spoken before me have talked about the topical issue of the floor price of maize. I have listened to the argument that farmers are at liberty to sell their maize at their own price. In my little understanding, I think once the Government sets the price, it does not give the farmer much negotiating leverage to get a better price.

 

This is because briefcase businessmen will use the floor price to get an even lower price for the maize from the farmers, especially if they follow the farmers in the village to buy the crop. The crop traders convince the farmers that in as much as the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) may be offering something a little more, the payments from the FRA are usually late. Therefore, farmers would usually be lured into selling to those who are offering them instance cash. I, therefore, beg to disagree with my colleagues who support the Government’s current position on the matter. The Government needs to set a good price so that our farmers in turn can get a better deal for their hard work in producing the crop.

 

Mr Speaker, on the issue of the e-Voucher system, I was going to be inspired, if the President had assured us that this time around as this programme is being rolled out nationwide and that it was going to be done in a better way, so that the farmers were not going to be ripped off of their money by the middlemen who started overpricing inputs during the last farming season. We would have wanted to be assured that this will be done without disadvantaging the farmer.

 

Sir, there has been so much talk by this Government wanting to improve agriculture. There have been talks about value addition and yet some of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that have been cited as adding value to their products have ended up putting the products on the shelves, where they cannot compete favourably with imported goods. I see such SMEs soon going out of the market with their products because they will not stand the competition of cheaper goods that are being smuggled into the country. Most of the time, the goods tend to be cheaper than the locally manufactured goods due to high cost of production.

 

Mr Speaker, I read the President’s Speech from the first to the last word. I was interested in what it would say about industrialisation. There is mention of this word not less than three times in the Speech, but it does not articulate what tangible things will be done in the area of industrialisation which will help in achieving this aspect of value addition. I was particularly interested to hear what progress has been made regarding the industrialisation process because the last time this subject was talked about with great emphasis.

 

Sir, I was very attentive to this particular issue because the Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia (NCZ) in Kafue is one industry which was discussed in terms of it being revived. There was a pronouncement in the past that NCZ would fall under the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). I was looking forward to a progress report on how this has worked out up to this point.

 

Nevertheless, we heard about the intention to put certain companies on the Lusaka Stock Exchange (LuSE). I do not know whether NCZ would also be considered. As far as I am concerned, that industry in Kafue is on the verge of collapse. Kafue used to be an industrial hub with a lot of economic activity, but now NCZ is just one of the two or three industries that are thriving in that town. This is very sad

 

Mr Speaker, the three industries only employ less than 3,000 or 4,000 workers. Therefore, when you use the voting population as a yardstick, for instance, it means these only constitute a small component of people that are employed by these industries. The other number could be accounted for by the people who are in the social sectors like teachers. This means that a huge number of people in Kafue remain unemployed.

 

Mr Speaker, poverty levels are rampant in Kafue. I think that even the figures that we are given as representing urban poverty may actually be understated for Kafue. I would want to believe that this is the case with most of the towns in the country. If I take Kabwe, for instance, there is the Mulungushi Textiles Limited. We were given a lot of hope before the elections that this particular industry was going to be revived and 1,500 people were going to be employed. I do not know what happened immediately after elections. I hear that even the people that worked for a month to-date have not been paid.  My colleague from Kabwe would have confirmed that.

 

Mr Speaker, this is why I have difficulties in appreciating the President’s Speech. Let me turn to education, which is an aspect of human development. When you look at our friends who come from civilised societies, the human development index is informed by aspects of access to education and good health, and not how many youths are being targeted for empowerment with money for street vending. It means we are not doing enough to prepare the youths for decent jobs or decent self employment.

 

Sir, in his Speech, the President said that it was projected that the country will have 60,000 graduates by some date in the nearest future. We are still grappling with what to do with the graduates who we have now. It is painful to see these young men and women who have sacrificed long nights studying, roaming the streets and ending up getting K1,500 as capital to vend in the street.  This is being done with the hope of them voting for us in the next election. That is not the best way to empower the youths. We can certainly do something much better for them.

 

Mr Speaker, I did not expect the President to announce again that the Skills Development Act was enacted in 2006. I was expecting the President to tell us or even urge the hon. Minister of Higher Education to ensure that she does everything possible, so that in January, 2018, the Loans Board becomes fully operational. This would ensure that the issue of bursaries and students not accessing the student loans does not come up in the next three months time. That is the kind of progress I was hoping to hear from the President.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mrs Chonya: Mr Speaker, I think my colleagues have already elaborated on the land issue. However, I will also add my voice in terms of expressing concern, Madam hon. Minister of ...

 

Ms Kapata: Point of Order!

 

Laughter

 

Mrs Chonya: Which hon. Minster did I mention? It was a slip of the tongue.

 

Mr Speaker, I just want to say that the issue of land, as contentious and as close to our hearts as it is, should not be an issue to toy with because this is another area where our people get empowerment. In the previous debates, people have talked about the possibility of Zambians partnering with some investors. For instance, a Zambian can own land where an investor can come and set up his industry. That way, we will meaningfully empower our people, instead of giving them money for street vending.

 

Sir, one prominent aspect of this speech is the number of Bills that are intended to be presented to Parliament for enactment. A number of Bills have been proposed to come here for enactment. I think we have sufficient frameworks and laws to deal with the challenges we are facing. What is missing in this whole equation is the morality needed to respect our own laws. We have talked about amending our Constitution several times over, but our friends in other countries respect their constitutions which are not even written. We want to write and rewrite our Constitution and at the same time, disregard even the very basics that are in this Constitution. Why am I saying so? If we held our Constitution as a sacrosanct document, we would not have had what we saw during the last elections where someone who should have stepped down to pave way for the judicial process to go well did not step down.

 

Hon. Government Members: Question!

 

Mrs Chonya: Mr Speaker, someone should have used the basis of the Constitution to tackle the legal process and the petition.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mrs Chonya: Sir, I read from the speech that political parties are not making any submissions on reforming the Public Order Act. The Public Order Act, in its current state, is not a problem, if we respected its provision that political parties are merely supposed to give notice for them to hold public rallies. In fact, we have used the same Public Order Act to hold rallies and public meetings in the past without any difficulties. Why is that it is only during this regime that the Public Order Act has become so problematic? 

 

Mr Speaker, on the aspect of good governance, a number of issues were talked about. In this speech, there is the issue of revising the Anti-Corruption Policy. Honestly, with what we are talking about, the K1.2 billion Ndola dual carriageway and the fire tenders, do we really have to wait for the revision of the Anti-Corruption Policy for us to appreciate that these transactions, as someone put it, it stinks of corruption? The other day, when I made my comments on this same issue of procurement of the forty-two fire tenders, I went to back to the unrebased Kwacha so that I understand better. I established that this depreciable asset of fire tenders cost us K9 billion unrebased. Now, if you take this K9 billion and take the cost we spent on building universities like Mulakupikwa and Robert Kapasa Makasa, which was K100 million, some three years ago, even if inflation trebled, it means that from the cost of one fire tender, we could have built not less than fifty universities. Would we not have solved the problem of lack of sufficient universities in provinces? Would the people of Luapula have complained that the Frederick Titus Jacob (FTJ) University has not been started, if we had not bought even just one fire tender? What about hospitals? How many would we have done? How many roads would we have done under the Link Zambia 8,000 km project?

 

Laughter

 

Mrs Chonya: I have in mind the road from Chiawa via Chirundu. Construction of that road has stalled because there is no money. Yet, we have chosen to prioritise spending all the money on the fire tenders. Like someone said, we need to put our priorities right as a country.

 

Mr Speaker, I agree with the issue of making Zambia smart. Yes, we have to be smart in the way we do things, by deploying technology in order to try and attain e-governance. However, this smartness will just go down the drain if we will not improve our governance system. We have to come back to the drawing table, as Zambians. Like somebody said, we need to dialogue amongst ourselves. We do not need an external person to come and make us appreciate that we need to talk to each other, that we are brothers and sisters, as we sing in our national anthem. 

 

Sir, on the aspect of governance, I was hoping that the President would say something about revoking the state of emergency because after all, there is a general acknowledgement that those conditions which existed then, are no longer there. Now, there is no need for the state of emergency. I hope that this august House, in this sitting, will have an opportunity to tackle the issue because if we continue sustaining this kind of environment, even the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) will not perform well under this situation where we have been turned into a police state. It is a very ugly sight to see Zambia become a police state. There are police officers everywhere. When I was going to Kafue the other day, there were roadblocks by the police. How can we hope to achieve what we intend to achieve in the area of economic progress if in the eyes of the foreigners, we have reduced ourselves to a police state, a state that does not respect its own laws, and does not listen to the cries of its own citizens. I feel very sad.

 

Mr Speaker, having said that, I am looking forward to having a President who will operate along the lines of President Magufuli because that is what we need, ...

 

Hon Government Members: Question!

 

Mrs Chonya: ... an action-oriented President who will not just remind us about our troubles, but offer us real hope that Zambia can rise above its challenges.

 

Mr Speaker, on that note, I thank you very much. 

 

Mr Samakayi (Mwinilunga): Mr Speaker, thank you for giving me an opportunity to speak, after such a long time.

 

Sir, I heard my colleague say that it takes a lot of wisdom to understand the President’s Speech. I agree with him that it takes wisdom to read and understand the Speech. Wisdom is packaged differently. Therefore, we must respect the standpoints of different individuals in this House, as we debate the President’s Speech.

 

Mr Speaker, my expectation from the President when he was presenting his Speech, was that he was going to go down memory lane and look at the promises he had made to this august House because those promises gave some people hope. Those promises gave Zambians hope.

 

Mr Speaker: Order!

 

Business was suspended from 1810 hours until 1830 hours.

 

[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]

 

Mr Samakayi: Mr Speaker, when business was suspended, I was saying that among the things that the President should have talked about going back on the memory lane, are the promises that he had made to this House in the last sitting. I hoped he would tell Zambians how many of those promises have been realized and why some of the promises have not been achieved.

 

Sir, I just want to take one example. In the two previous speeches, the President had assured the nation that he was going to create 500,000 jobs in one year. In his second speech, the President came here and promised through us the people of Zambia, that he was going to create 1 million jobs over five years. If one takes a slice of one year out of five years, they should be talking of 200,000 jobs. Therefore, the President should have mentioned the difficulties of creating 200,000 jobs in his Speech. I did not hear that. That is one of the issues that I really wanted to hear the President come out straight.

 

In the Speech, there is one paragraph talking of enhancing human development. I believe that is creating skills for our industries. Mr Speaker, we have debated in this august House some of the negative activities that the Patriotic Front (PF) Government has been embracing especially after elections.

 

Hon. Opposition Member: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Samakayi: Workers who have been trained at greater expense, spent so many years in institutions of learning, worked for a long time in government and gained so much wealth of experience, have been retired under national interest. Now today, they are promising usthat they will train people. I guess it is to replace those that have been retired. That is being wasteful.

 

Ms Kapata: Muka babweshe!

 

Mr Samakayi: This is because some of the people that were retired are below fifty years and some of them were thirty. I know of a doctor who is thirty-two years old. They had long service to give the people of Zambia. We trained and spent money on them. However, because we are wasteful and failing to manage public affairs, we do whatever we want to do. Those in Government do whatever they want to do as PF. That is wrong.

 

Mr Speaker, I will leave that point and move to the cardinal point of the preamble found in the Constitution of the Republic of Zambia. In the preamble of the Constitution, there are five pillars which must guide our actions as individuals and severally and also guide the life of our country. These pillars are love, humility, truthfulness, selflessness and integrity. Our actions as Government and as individuals must be anchored on the five pillars.

 

Sir, this was a subject in the speech by the President in March, 2017. I am talking about national values and principles of the nation and of the lives of the people of Zambia.

 

Mr Mutale: Where you there?

 

Mr Samakayi: Mr Speaker, in March, 2017, the President talked about love in this august House and he has repeated. In March the President was talking about humility, selflessness, truthfulness and integrity. However, on 11^th April, 2017, the Government sent criminals to a house of an Opposition leader, not to arrest him, but to kill him.

 

Hon. Government Members: Question!

 

Interruptions

 

Mr Speaker: Hon. Member, may you take your seat.

 

Mr Samakayi resumed his seat.

 

Mr Speaker: I know sometimes we lose it.

 

Mr Lubinda: Emotions!

 

Mr Speaker: Emotions reign. Control your temperament and consequently what you will be stating. I am sure you are able to follow my guidance. That is not factually correct in so many ways. You are a leader.

 

You may continue, please.

 

Mr Samakayi: Mr Speaker, the Government sent policemen to arrest an opposition leader who has never refused summons from the police to help them with investigations.

 

Ms Kapata interjected.

 

Hon. Opposition Member: Just shut up!

 

Mr Speaker: Hon. Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, ...

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Shame!

 

Mr Speaker: ... this is the point I was making earlier in the day. I would want to keep quiet and follow the debates, some of them, quite frankly, are even enjoyable, but now I am being compelled to interject because, again, self restraint is a problem here. I do not want to constantly interject.

 

Mr Samakayi: Mr Speaker, I was saying that police officers were sent at 2200 hrs to arrest an opposition leader who...

 

Mr Mutale: Who sent them?

 

Mr Samakayi: ... has never refused to go to any police station to help them with investigations. The only reason we are able to talk to him today is that he was wise enough to build his house with a hidden room. Those who wanted to get him could not find the room just like Drogba failed to score a penalty in 2012.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Miyutu: Hammer!

 

Mr Samakayi: Mr Speaker, these police officers did mysterious things after failing to get this opposition leader...

 

Laughter

 

Mr Speaker: Hon. Member, I think I have been very patient with you. You have to demonstrate to me that you are still relevant in your debates.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Speaker: Relevance is one of the rules of the debate and so far I am not seeing any relevance in what you are saying.

 

Mr Samakayi: Mr Speaker, I am still relevant ...

 

Mr Speaker: Sorry, hon. Member. I am not saying you, as a Member, are irrelevant. The rules of the House require that the debates are relevant. You are still relevant. You are still representing the people of Mwinilunga and that is why you are seated there.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hammer, hammer!

 

Interruptions

 

Mr Samakayi: Mr Speaker, my debate is very relevant because I am talking about governance. I am talking about governance in relation to love, humility, truthfulness, selflessness and integrity. I am trying to analyse the Speech in relation to what happened on 11^th April, 2017.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Samakayi: Was there love or truthfulness in laying trumped-up charges on an opposition leader?

 

Sir, what integrity is there in arresting someone without carrying out investigations?

 

Hon. Government Members: Aah!

 

Mr Ngulube: Question!

 

Mr Samakayi: What love, integrity or humility is there?

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Nothing!

 

Mr Samakayi (pointing at hon. Government Members): Mr Speaker, our country has been destroyed by the PF ...

 

Mr Ngulube: Question!

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

Interruptions

 

Mr Speaker: Hon. Member, you seem to have a challenge with temperament here. Even pointing a finger in the manner you are doing ...

 

Hon. Government Members: Eh ma whiskey aya!

 

Mr Speaker: I would like you to complete the debate. However, if you constantly invite me to interject I may just decide to curtail it all together, which is a power I enjoy anyway, if you have difficulties in restraining yourself.

 

Mr Samakayi: I have discussed a little bit on governance, which seems to be getting me into trouble, so I will move on to another topic.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Laughter

 

Mr Samakayi (pointing at the ground): Mr Speaker, the PF Government ...

 

Laughter

 

Mr Samakayi: I am pointing down. I am not pointing at anybody.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Samakayi: The PF Government ran their campaigns on being pro-poor. They said they were going to extricate the people of Zambia from poverty and take them to the promised land and that is how they got into power. In 2011, people from the rural area where I come from had tuntembas ...

 

Mr Speaker: Meaning what?

 

Mr Samakayi: Small shops, Mr Speaker.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Samakayi: In 2011, people had small shops where they were able to sell their maize and buy themselves vehicles ...

 

Mr Ngulube interjected.

 

Mr Samakayi: ... but today there are no small shops. People are suffering, but the Government claims to be taking people out of poverty. I wonder how they are achieving this when the number of people living in poverty is increasing.

 

Sir, the Speech lays the foundation for the Budget and should help reduce poverty amongst the people, especially salaried workers. The hon. Minister of Finance should consider increasing the tax-free band from K3,300 to K4,000. I made an appeal while debating the last Budget and today a non-governmental organisation (NGO) is proposing the same thing.

 

Mr Speaker, corruption is a cancer. The PF claimed that the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) was corrupt and that is why the people of Zambia voted them out of power. However, today, corruption has escalated because ...

 

Hon. Government Members: Question!

 

Mr Samakayi: ... the PF has gone to bed with the same people that they hounded out of Government.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Samakayi: Mr Speaker, the skills of corruption that were in the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) have now been transferred to the Patriotic Front (PF).

 

Laughter

 

Mr Samakayi: Sir, this country is stinking corruption.

 

Mr Speaker: Hon. Member, take a seat. I think for future debate, I am now decreeing that the word “stinking” is unparliamentary. You will have to find a suitable word.

 

Mr Samakayi: Mr Speaker, I withdraw the word, “stinking’ and replace it with “smelling.”

 

Laughter

 

Mr Samakayi: Sir, Zambia is smelling corruption. The issue of the fire tenders is not going to die. We have learnt the skills that this Government used to hound out MMD. We are also going to use the same skills to hound this Government out.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Samakayi: Mr Speaker, the fight against corruption cannot be left to the Government alone because they are the ones who are involved in corruption. We cannot solve the problem using the people that cause it. We must use other people. If we have to clean up the corruption which is in the Government, we need to use a different set of people such as members of the United Party for National Development (UPND).

 

Interruptions

 

Mr Samakayi: Sir, this way, we will be able to clean up the corruption which is in this Government.

 

Mr Speaker, time is against me because of so many interjections. I want to quickly suggest that one of the issues why we have failed to …

 

Ms Mulenga interjected.

 

Mr Speaker: Order! We do not do business like that. We should reserve such for other places.

 

Mr Ngulube: Especially the bar!

 

Laughter!

 

Mr Speaker: Continue, hon. Member!

 

Mr Samakayi: Sir, I was saying that there are certain things that we have not done in order to fight corruption. There is lack of transparency in the way we deliver our services and development in this country. The Zambians would want to know what the cost of providing a service is. They want this information publicised. They need to know, for instance, how much it costs to tar or grade a kilometer stretch of a road and what a unit cost of providing infrastructure development is. The moment those figures are publicised, even the ministers …

 

Interruptions

 

Mr Samakayi: …or the people who are involved in service delivery will know that they are being checked. Everyone will have information on how much it costs to provide a particular service.

 

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Ngulube: Ema irrelevant aya!

 

Mr Lufuma (Kabompo): Mr Speaker, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the State of the Nation Address by the President, made on Friday, 15^th September, 2017. The State of the Nation Address is always an occasion where there is excitement and great expectations. This is for obvious reasons. It affects all of us as citizens of this country. However, year in year out, just like my colleagues have said, it is the same good old story. We have always received grandiose promises of what the Government would like to do. These grandiose promises are normally out of sync with the social and political economy of the country. They do not balance as they are in their own world. The Government thinks they can do this and that. Reality constrains them from doing certain things, but they cannot see it. Therefore, because of that, you find that speeches or pronouncements previously made are not fulfilled at all.

 

Mr Speaker, I will give a lot of examples. In the 2016 Presidential Speech which was delivered by the President, it talked about diversification in agriculture and about the four pillars that development would anchor on. These have now reduced to three pillars that development will anchor on this year. The other pillar which was tourism has been removed.

 

Mr Speaker, they are just modifying things for the sake of coming up with a Speech that people should listen to and this is wrong. They have no business being in Government if they do not have a vision as to where they want to take the nation. Otherwise, it will be politics as usual and it is simply not acceptable. It is, therefore, incumbent upon us to make a mark as leaders. In my opinion, good leadership basically means that they have to look at their possibilities, capabilities and capacities. They need to know what they have in terms of these attributes that they want to contribute to this country.

 

Sir, if they look at those, then they have to synchronise and put them within context so that they are able to deliver on whatever they promise. If they promise heaven on earth and they cannot deliver, in the end, the people will call them names. I do not want to use the word, “lies.” I do not know which phrase I could use. The fact is that they will not be telling the people the truth. Having said that, I would like to …

 

Hon. Government Members: Conclude!

 

Mr Lufuma: No! Not to conclude as yet. In my opinion, that the State of the Nation Address has three components. There are social, economical and political aspects. These three components must come out clearly. An analysis of each component will give us the state in which we are today. That is why it is called the State of the Nation Address because we will be able to see what is happening today. We will be able to see what is eating this nation today. We will also know what the major problems that are beseeching this country are today. That is exactly what I expect of a State of the Nation Address. Unfortunately, because of the many promises which are never fulfilled, the same good old stories, in the end, become an anti-climax for most citizens listening to the State of the Nation Address.

 

Sir, I cannot talk about all the components because it is very difficult. I will therefore, choose one component, the political one with various dimensions.

 

Mr Speaker, what currently exists in the political arena is exactly what the President saw, except we see it in a different angle. Page 3, paragraph 6 of the Speech says,

 

“The theme of my address to this august House is ‘Moving towards a prosperous smart Zambia in peace and tranquility without leaving anyone behind.’”

 

Mr Lufuma: Mr Speaker, this is fantastic and I could not agree with it more.  What are the implications of this? There are a lot of social economic implications. There are also equity issues.

 

There is the smart issue which basically is information communication technology (ICT). Is it feasible in the rural areas? What is the coverage with regard to communication technology? There are 469 towers which are supposed to be installed, but where are we? We have just been talking about this for the last two to three years. Therefore, there are a lot of implications here.

 

Mr Speaker, another important aspect is equity. We have the issue of participation of the people in the economic development of this country. Is it not more of foreigners than the locals participating? These are the issues that we have to look at seriously.

 

Mr Speaker, we have issues of peace; one Zambia, one nation; equitable distribution of resources and inclusive development. All of these, in my opinion, are issues which should have been addressed by the President.

 

Mr Speaker, having taken out peace, unity and tranquility as the main area of my focus, I would like to say that they are absent. This is the state of the nation today. There is tension and division which followed the last general elections. We have one half, the North-Eastern part of the Zambia, which voted for the Patriotic Front (PF) and the other half, the North-Western Part of Zambia, which voted for the United Party for National Development (UPND). There is clear division. This is the state of the nation and we have to identify it as a problem and find a solution. If not, what state of the nation are we addressing? So, these are some of the issues that must have been addressed, but were not.

 

Mr Speaker, what has endangered the peace and tranquility in this nation is the insatiable appetite for power. I will repeat. It is the insatiable appetite for power which has endangered the peace and tranquility that we have been enjoying for 53 years. How has this come about? It has come about because of a Government that is so bent on ensuring that it continues to be in power and it starts to use institutions of good governance to its advantage.

 

Mr Speaker, let me now turn to the elections. This is one source of consternation in this country. We all know that half of the country was not happy about the elections because they were fraudulent.

 

Interjection

 

Mr Lufuma: Yes, they were fraudulent and I can say that with confidence because we have in …

 

Mr Speaker: Order!

 

Mr Lufuma: … in the count …

 

Mr Speaker: Order!

 

The Speaker is speaking.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Speaker: You see, when you make assertions, they must be factually based. It is one thing to allege and another to surmise. As far as I know, you have not been able to advance a factual basis on which you forced your assertion. You see, the question of elections is one I have guided on. If you go back to the Hansard, you will notice what I have guided on it. Therefore, as much as you may want to address the electoral issue, I think that there is a way in which you can do it, fairly so. Your colleagues have previously done that without controversy.

 

Mr Lufuma: Ok, I hear you.

 

Mr Speaker: You see, there is also another side of the story on the other side. Therefore, what I am trying to avoid is the constant interjections. I have advised repeatedly that some of these points can be advanced without controversy. Even earlier in the day, the same issues were advanced without controversy and I never interjected. However, it is how you broach them.

 

You may continue.

 

Mr Lufuma: (coughing) Mr Speaker, I thank you for your counsel. I will say that the election results have been contested. Maybe that should suffice for now.

 

Mr Speaker: Precisely.

 

Mr Lufuma: That the elections have been contested is a fact because there is a presidential election petition ...

 

Hon. PF Members: Where? In which court?

 

Mr Lufuma: … which, unfortunately, was dismissed on technicalities and, again, contributing to the tension.

 

Mr Ngulube: Question!

 

Mr Lufuma: It is said that justice cannot be cut off because of technicalities. Therefore,, the courts were supposed to find ways and means to ensure that this is taken care of and resolved in the best way possible.

 

Mr Speaker, I am trying to give reasons for the state of the nation and have just given one. The other one concerns the police  force and the selective manner in which it has been administering the Public Order Act.  You know what has been happening. The Patriotic Front (PF) is allowed to demonstrate at will without any problems, like it happened quite recently with regard to the hon. Minister of Finance.

 

Mr Speaker, when our president was released from incarceration, the opposition also wanted to celebrate, but what happened? It was curtailed and yet it is the same country. This brings into play what is called the rule of law. The rule of law is not being observed as it should be. There are some people who are above the law.

 

Mr Ngulube: Question!

 

Mr Lufuma: This is where you have a situation of animal farm. All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. This is what is happening in Zambia and contributing to the state of affairs today characterised by tension.

 

Mr Speaker, let us continue to look at the observance of rule of law. Sir, when you dissolve Parliament, everyone who is a hon. Member of Parliament has their seats dissolved. However, in the last election, instead of all packing up their bags and going home, some remained to be Cabinet Ministers. This is completely against the Constitution.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Lufuma: Therefore, some people can overlook the Constitution without implications. The court sat and said that they should refund the monies that they used, but they are not.

 

Hon. UPND Member: Nothing!

 

Mr Lufuma: They are not doing anything at all. So, they are above the law.

 

Mr Speaker, in the process of the petition, as an example of the disregard of the rule of law, according to the Constitution, the incumbent President is supposed to step aside and give way to you, Mr Speaker, …

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Lufuma: … to be the acting President.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Speaker: It is not to me, but to the Speaker.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Speaker, way must be given to the Speaker to act as President for the period of the petition.

 

Mr Lufuma: You can imagine, Mr Speaker, the Speaker would have enjoyed being …

 

Laughter

 

Mr Lufuma: …acting President during that time.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: hear, hear!

 

Mr Lufuma: The crafters of the Constitution did so, to have a level playing ground so that this President does not interfere with institutions of good governance. That route was completely ignored, yet they are talking about Zambia being a country of laws. That is completely out.

 

Mr Speaker, the other example I will give quickly, is when the President of the biggest opposition party in the country was released, we were supposed to go and pray in a church. The preamble to our Constitution says Zambia is a Christian nation. What do you get when we got to church to pray for our leaders release? The police …

 

Mr Ngulube: Boma!

 

Mr Lufuma: … who to brutalised people and chased away pastors and bishops with big stomachs. That is not acceptable.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: hear, hear!

 

Mr Lufuma: Sir, that is a breach of the Constitution. These breach of the Constitution, by the way, are impeachable.

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Hear, hear!

 

Laughter

 

Mr Lufuma: I have to talk to my colleague who is a lawyer. I do not know how we are going to start the impeachment process. We are going to impeach you (pointing at the Government bench) whether you like it or not …

 

Hon. Opposition Members: hear, hear!

 

Interruptions

 

Mr Lufuma: … you have overlooked the Constitution. So, we want to ensure that they are impeached.

 

Mr Speaker, apart from that, other issues that come into play which are affecting this country are for instance, is intolerance of divergent political views, is killing this country. This reminds me of a certain African saying, that every time there is a problem; you attribute it to the opposition. When there is a fire, you attribute it to the opposition, saying we will deal with these guys, for the sabotage. Why are you assuming these things even before there is evidence?

 

Mr Speaker: Hon. Member, the word guys is unparliamentary.

 

Mr Lufuma: I am sorry, Mr Speaker, I replace it with gentlemen.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Lufuma: Why do you want to assume before you investigate?

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Lufuma: Mr Speaker, this is what is contributing to the tension in the country. Let us be one. Okay, one Zambia, one nation. This time I am saying one Zambia, one nation because I do not want to say one Zambia, one side for the sake of unity. This is why I am saying the Patriotic Front (PF) is like this African saying, which says that “when a hyena wants to eat its kids or small ones, it accuses them of smelling like goats”.

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Therefore, that it is justified.

 

Interruptions

 

Mr Lufuma: It is an excuse to eat them.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: hear, hear!

 

Mr Lufuma: Mr Speaker, we know these fires and the so called sabotage that was happening was just an accusation to eat up the opposition.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

Hon. PF Members: Question!

 

Mr Lufuma: You want to crush the opposition.

 

Sir, they want a one part participatory democracy. That is not going to happen. It was in the Kaunda days. You are not going to crush the opposition. We are here ten times stronger.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: hear, hear!

 

Mr Lufuma: You will not crush us and watch out.

 

Mr Nkombo: Watch out!

 

Mr Lufuma: 2021…

 

Mr Ngulube: Question!

 

Mr Lufuma: … the people with a vision and commitment are going to take over this country…

 

Interruptions

 

Mr Lufuma: … and ensure that the endemic corruption that is happening in this country comes to an end. If you are involved, my dear friend, you had better watch out.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Lufuma: Here we come, UPND.

 

Mr Speaker, I would like to thank you for the opportunity.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwila (Chimwemwe): Mr Speaker, I would like to thank you for this opportunity to add my voice to this important Motion.

 

Mr Speaker, I will quickly go to page 54 where the Head of State stated that the Government will continue with the recruitment of qualified teachers. This is how it should be and I am happy that the Ministry of General Education has already started implementing this.

 

Sir, not too long ago there was an item on the news that in excess of 500 teachers were caught with forged academic qualifications.

 

Mr Ngulube: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwila: Now, Sir, if this was a politician, a Member of Parliament or a councillor who was caught with fake academic qualifications, it is an automatic disqualification and nullification of the seat, and a by election is called. Why are we applying different laws in the Ministry of General Education? From the time we heard that an excess of 500 teachers and Ministry of Education staff were found with forged academic papers including some District Education Boards Secretaries,

 

Mr A. B. Malama: DEBS?

 

Mr Mwila: Yes.

 

Mr Speaker, we have not heard of any action being taken. We are yet to hear whether they have been taken or will be taken to court and whether they are still on the payroll? I understand they are still getting paid. When are they going to be removed from the payroll? Why have they continued to draw money when they are not qualified? Are we supporting the Head of State.

 

Hon. Members: No!

 

Mr Mwila: We are not. Therefore, hon. Minister, as you come to debate this Motion, please respond to that.

 

Mr Speaker, when are the other ministries going to take a leaf from the Ministry General Education, especially the Ministries of Home Affairs and Health. Can we also scrutinise the papers that our staff have so that we have qualified staff running Government ministries and departments.

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, may I quickly make a small comment on page 48 where the Head of State said and I quote:

 

“It is unacceptable to continue with trends where 42 per cent of maternal deliveries occur at home in rural areas compared to 11 per cent in urban areas”.

 

Sir, this is true and the people of Chimwemwe Constituency agree with what the Head of State said. In fact, it is not just maternal deliveries happening at home, even maternal deaths occur at home. In Chimwemwe Constituency, we are experiencing these deaths. Chimwemwe Constituency has urban and peri-urban areas. In the peri-urban setup, we have benefited from the health posts, but these health posts close around 1630 or 1700 hours. They are manned by nurses. There are no doctors or clinical officers.

 

Mr Chabi: But witch doctors.

 

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, in most cases, you will find that it is just one nurse manning the health post. In the health posts, there are no maternal deliveries as they are all referred to the central hospital. Now, these issues of maternal deliveries happen suddenly at times. Kitwe District, with five constituencies only has two ambulances. In a situation where a woman in a family way, in Kamitondo area and is about to deliver, but has to wait for one of the two ambulances that service the five constituencies, deaths do occur in such a scenerio.

 

As the hon. Member of Chimwemwe Constituency, I am expectant of the Budget that the hon. Minister of Finance will deliver to this House on Friday next week and would like to see a specific budget line for the procurement of ambulances, so that deaths can be prevented. Other than that, I may find it very difficult to pass some of the proposals that will be brought here by the hon. Minister of Finance.

 

Mr Speaker, let me quickly draw your attention to page 36 where the Head of State stated that he would want the Government to implement the Movable Property (Security Interest) Act No. 3 of 2016, to increase access to finance, especially for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). On paragraph 111, he also stated that more than 500,000 clients have accessed funds using movable assets such as vehicles. It had to take the Head of State to make this announcement, yet the people of Chimwemwe pay K3 per month to Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) so that they can make those announcements to the people. However, the marketeers at Nakadoli and Twatasha Markets in Chimwemwe Constituency would want to know which bank distributing these funds so that they can access them.

 

Mr Speaker, we are currently pushing Patron and Permanent Secretary (PS), of the Presidential Empowerment Initiative Fund, Mr Chanda Kabwe, so that the marketeers can access funds to improve their businesses. I hear some banks now accept household movable assets such as fridges and stoves. Therefore, one can take a stove as collateral and get capital. I want the hon. Minister of Information and Broadcasting my neighbor to clarify this.

 

Ms Mulenga: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, in last year’s Budget, we approved an amount of US$50 million so that the Development Bank of Zambia (DBZ) could lend money to SMEs. I made an effort to go to the bank to find out what my people in Chimwemwe Constituency could do to access that money and I was told that the minimum amount they were giving was K1 million or K1 billion unrebased. However,for one to access that, apart from writing a proposal, they needed to make a security deposit in excess of one and half times. If one wanted K1 million, he or she had to take collateral worth K1.5 billion. Where would the youths in Chimwemwe Constituency get K1.5 billion to take as collateral in order to get K1 million? Therefore, I will find it very difficult to support any amount allocated to DBZ in next year’s Budget which will not support the women and youths of Chimwemwe Constituency, unless as stated by the President, it will go towards the implementation of the Movable Property (Security Interest) Act, so that people can pledge for example a white book for a car to get a loan.

 

Mr Speaker, on page 17 of the speech, the Head of State stated that the Government is promoting small scale agriculture and he actually emphasised that this must be achieved against all odds. The Head of State has put up a proper policy for implementation, but the technocrats in the Government are not supporting this, at least not in Chimwemwe Constituency. Along the Chingola/Kitwe Road at a place called Sabina, the women who sell tomatoes, vegetables, carrots, maize and all sorts of things are from Chimwemwe Constituency and they farm just after hybrid farms along the road to Mufulira. However, this year, some former ZCCM workers went to that area waving title deeds dated March, 2017, which they got from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources’ offices in Ndola and they want to displace those people who have been staying there for more than forty years. Where are they going to go and why should we allow that to happen?

 

Mr Speaker, it is unfortunate that the hon. Minister of Lands and Natural Resources is not in the House, but I will present this issue to her office. I encouraged the residents to obey the law and not to skip the ministry and go to State House to seek clarification on that issue. Title deeds can be issued, but not after displacing thousands of people.

 

Mr Ngulube: They will not vote for you.

 

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, I do not know about Kabwe Central, but those are issues that matter in Chimwemwe Constituency and I know that the PF is a pro-poor Government.

 

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, on page 11, the Head of State talked about the removal of subsidies and that the Government had to make a bold decision to remove them so it could ease pressure on expenditure. Electricity tariffs were increased by 75 per cent and the Zambians agreed as this was the only way out to salvage the economy. The residents in Chimwemwe Constituency agreed to migrate, yet a mining conglomerate is refusing to do so. They must also migrate and if they do not want, then the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) should allow them to set up their own grid to Copperbelt so that they can import power from South Africa or they could set up their own plant like Dangote Cement Ltd did in Ndola and there is no problem with that. If they cannot agree on any of the two options, they can pack up and go because there is no way they can subsidise a marketeer at Nakadoli Market and not a mining conglomerate. That is unacceptable.

 

Mr Speaker, allow me to quickly comment on Mukuba University. It was stated that Mukuba College was upgraded to a university, but that is not true.

 

There is no such thing as Mukuba College in Kitwe. The Copperbelt Teachers Training College (COSETCO) is what was upgraded to a university and renamed Mukuba University. I thought that I should clarify this for proper record is in the Hansard.

 

Mr Ngulube: Anamizila ba President uyu!

 

Mr Mwila: No.

 

Mr Speaker, still on the same issue, it is not true that construction works at Mukuba University have been completed. Although Phases I and II have been done, works have stalled at Phase III because the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the Ministry of Higher Education are still sorting out issues.

 

There is a small part of land that needs to be degazetted so that the contractor can move on site and complete the works.  Otherwise, we are happy with the works so far. Furthermore, we are happy that Chimwemwe Constituency has a university.

 

I would like to urge the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to sort out the issue. The same Government that approved the construction or expansion of the university must have planned for it. Monies were released by the hon. Minister of Finance, Hon. Felix Mutati, MP, President of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD).

 

Mr Chabi: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwila: He is doing a good job. However, we cannot negate what we have done by failing to degazette a small part for the contractor to complete the works.

 

Mr Speaker, His Excellency the President stated that the Government is very committed to addressing inconsistencies identified in the newly amended Constitution. I agree with him. I would like to highlight a few areas that I will support.

 

Sir, I understand that this new Constitution proposes and recommends a Parliamentary Service Commission which will be responsible or in-charge of setting conditions for Members of Parliament as well as choose the Speaker. Hon. Members of Parliament will not elect the Speaker when this commission is formed. 

 

I cannot support this. We expect the Front Bench to quickly bring in these clauses to this House so that we can change them. We want to be electing the Speaker that we want. We cannot let the commission appoint him or her. 

 

Mr Ngulube: We want to be electing you, Sir.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Mwila: We do not want retired people coming back as commissioners. 

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwila: If this will be the case, the people of Chimwemwe will demand fresh graduates from the university as commissioners for the service Commission so that the national cake is shared. We do not want people who have retired and gotten their pensions and gratuity to come back here to start work. When will graduates start getting money?

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Ngulube: What are saying about those people that side?

 

Laughter

 

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, the other item that I do not agree with in the new Constitution is the requirement to fund political parties. My electorates in Chimwemwe Constituency have agreed to suffer the removal of subsidies for the economy to recover. 

Now, the Constitution is asking the poor people of Ganerton Itimpi, to fund political parties such as the one headed by Mr Muliokela so that he starts printing T-shirts and chitenge materials.

 

Interruptions

 

Mr Speaker: Order!

 

Hon. Member, do not drag outsiders into your debate.

 

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, I thank you for your guidance.

 

My point is that the savings made from the removal of subsidies should not go to funding political parties. Then, we will have more than 1,000 political parties. Even I will form a political party tomorrow knowing that I will get funding. 

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwila: I will support the removal of this section from the Constitution.

 

My last point, which I am sure will not be pleasant to most of my colleagues here, is limiting the tenure of office for Members of Parliament to two or three terms. If the head of state can be limited to two terms, why can it not be the same for Members of Parliament?

 

Mr Ngulube: Ah, on that one, you have failed!

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwila: The people of Chimwemwe are willing to support the limitation of terms to two or three. One Member of Parliament cannot be in Parliament for 15 to 20 years.

 

I thank you, Sir.

 

Mr Kufakwandi (Sesheke Central): Mr Speaker, I am very happy to be back. The people of Sesheke have been asking me why I was not here.

 

First of all, I want to say that many of the points that I wanted to bring forward have already been covered. However, I will try to concentrate more on the issues missing from the President’s Speech.

 

Mr Speaker, I want to start by saying there are a lot of discussions on development. Where development is taking place, it is seen, it is tangible and it is felt. It can be found in a home. It can be found at the table when people are eating.

 

The issue of development, therefore, is not complicated. We are always trying to quote the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is not directly related to the pace of development. Development is about people eating three meals a day, people being able to send their children to school and having access to clean water.

 

Sir, development is not about grandiose projects.

 

Mr Ngulube: It is not about what?

 

Mr Kufakwandi: Grandiose projects!

 

Laughter

 

Mr Kufakwandi: Big projects may have no impact on development. I passed through Harry Mwanga Nkumbula Airport in Livingstone. I stood there …

 

Mr Ngulube: By plane or what?

 

Mr Kufakwandi: …and I only saw two planes the whole day. 

 

Laughter 

 

Mr Kufakwandi: Meanwhile, we are recording this as development.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Kufakwandi: Mr Speaker, at any time, there are not more than five planes at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (KKIA). There are only small business jets and Proflight planes.

 

Mrs Chonya: And Kenya Airways!

 

Mr Kufakwandi: When we feel that something is not big enough, we want to build bigger. What happens? We over borrow.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Kufakwandi: We borrow to finance grandiose projects.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Kufakwandi: These are problems.

 

Mr Speaker: Order, on my right!

 

Mr Kufakwandi: These are the problems that our country is facing. We have to differentiate between what we want and the actual needs of the country. We can want anything, but is it a need?  Do we need it?

 

Mr Speaker, we claim that the Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Airport in Ndola is a hub, a hub in the Southern African Development Community (SADC)? How?

 

Ms Chonya: Grandiose!

 

Mr Kufakwandi: Grandiose.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Ngulube: Ema new words aya!

 

Mr Kufakwandi: Botswana and Zimbabwe have built modern, but modest airports.

 

Mr Samakayi: Modest!

 

Mr Kufakwandi: Yes, modest, but Botswana has more than 1.5 million visitors per year.

 

Sir, it is a gradual thing because all the facilities are there. Therefore, we need to start a paradigm and make a shift. Do not make big things, which have no correlation with the size of the economy even for the next twenty years.

 

Mr Ngulube:  Hear, hear!

 

Mr Kufakwandi: Sir, on page 15, paragraph 45, His Excellency the President said:

 

“The economic diversification agenda is driven by a stronger macro-economic environment. As outlined above, our economic growth was lower than targeted with 3.4 per cent growth rate against a target of 7 per cent contained in the revised Sixth National Development Plan. With the experienced contraction in the economy, our economic diversification and job creation prospects were equally affected.”

 

Sir, that is the verdict of what has been happening.  As reported here, this sort of economy cannot create jobs, hence, we have only been dishing out big figures such as 100,000 jobs in one year. How can it be possible …

 

Laughter

 

Mr Kufakwandi: how can it be possible to create jobs in the agriculture sector when we are killing this sector by not giving the farmers incentives? There are no incentives for them. They would want me to go enough maize and come up with more bags of maize. I grew enough maize this year. It will even be twice next year. It costs more than K90 to grow a 50 kg bag of maize in Sesheke.

 

Mr Mwale: Question!

 

Mr Kufakwandi: Therefore, how can I sell that bag at K60? Then, I must be a bit mad.

 

 Laughter

 

Mr Kufakwandi: Now, these are the fundamentals that we have to face instead of us trying to speak as if we are not seeing what is happening on the ground.

 

Sir, when we complain that the development that is taking place is not evenly distributed, people say we are politicking. We are not politicking.  If Sesheke or Livingstone roads need mentainance, why not work on them? Instead of working on them, we go and start constructing a new road somewhere else. When my constituents see that on television, they always call me and asking why the Government is grading a road instead their roads? I have no answer apart from thinking that maybe, there is collective punishment for those who did not vote for them. I tell them that maybe they do not like the Government of the day.

 

Sir, how can people think the same? Is it possible? I do not think so. Sometimes, these things are ideological and based on experience. Sometimes, I get surprised when I read from the news papers that there is a regional pattern of voting because it has been like that since 1964. They should go and check their records. The only time it changed was when the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) came into power in 1991. After that, it went back. So, there is nothing new about regional pattern of voting. People are simply expressing their preference and that is what democracy is all about.

 

Mr Speaker, let me briefly deal with what I think is missing in His Excellency the President’s Speech. First of all, many people have touched on many issues, but they were not hitting the nail on the head.

 

Mr Ngulube: The nail on the head.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Kufakwandi: Sir, the biggest problem we are facing is politics of regionalism. Everything is looked in the principle of regions.

 

Mr Kufakwandi: When people say this region must not get elected, but go somewhere else. They do just that. We cannot build a “One Zambian, One Nation” like that of unequals. It cannot work.

 

Mr Musonda: Correct!

 

Mr Kufakwandi: We have to go back to where we started from, a united nation, which does not look at the face or name of a person because if that was a case, some of us would not have been educated. In those days when we finished Form Five and went to university, we never knew anybody, but we just went there.

 

Ms Katuta: National Service!

 

Mr Kufakwandi: No! We did not do that. It was for the young ones.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Kufakwandi: Therefore, the issue of regionalism must be address because it is not a very small matter. It is important that all of us open up our hearts to try and build a nation …

 

Ms Katuta: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Kafakwandi: … a nation can compete with other nations. We have to use the best people we have in public institutions. If we do not do that, we are going to have institutions which hide everything like businesses and put people in positions for which they have no experience and think that they are doing the correct thing. How can they employ 400 teachers who do not have qualifications? How can they do a thing like that? There must be something wrong. We have to address that issue.

 

Mr Speaker, secondly, I expected His Excellency the President to cover the issue of pension and terminal benefits for the Zambians, who have been waiting for the past fifteen to twenty years to get the benefits.

 

Sir, this august House had approved a budget of K1.7 billion to address this issue in 2017. What has happenned? From the records that I have, it indicates that no one has been paid, and yet, we are in September. These are the people who have been suffering for fifteen to twenty years.  Their children cannot go to school and some of them are sick, but we approved the budget. Why did His Excellency the President not touch on that aspect, which is extremely important?

 

Mr Speaker, I also expected His Excellency the President to have said something on the need to narrow the gap, not just between the rich and the poor, but the gap between urban areas and the rural areas.  I for one, do not subscribe to the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) allocation across the board. How can they allocate K1.4 million to Sesheke and do the same thing in the urban place, where clinics are over the place, big hospitals are everywhere and water is available, but we get the same amount of allocation. This is the beginning of failing to address the issue of real needs. We have to look at that budget. We need to have an affirmative action place.

 

It is for this reason why the poverty figures are going up and yet, every year, we have a budget. Why are we failing to bring down these poverty levels? This is happening because the resources are not being targeted to the people who are really poor, those who really need help. We are not on the ground to show the world. No! We have to address the issue of poverty. How is it possible to have this kind of a situation and have poverty levels in rural areas between 50 and 70 per cent after fifty-three after independence? People are suffering. We want a framework that will give more money to rural areas.

 

Sir, it is for this reason that the Ministry of Rural Development in the Kaunda Era was very important. We have to look at that. Resources must be concentrated in the rural areas so that our sisters and brothers can at least enjoy half of what we are enjoying her town.

 

Interruptions          

 

Mr Speaker: Order!

 

The colleagues on the right are doing very badly in terms of conduct. There is a lot of misconduct going on.

 

Interruptions

 

Mr Kufakwandi: Mr Speaker, I was saying that one of the areas which I thought the President’s Speech could have touched on is where the discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding budget support. I get worried about this because I have heard statements that we do not need the IMF’s assistance. I do not know the basis for that type of position. The IMF is like something you would use to open a wedge in a door and it has bilateral and multilateral programmes with many institutions. Since the National Budget is about to be announced, the country must know where we are because the financing of the budget without the IMF might be very difficult. Therefore, I expected the President to brief the nation on that so that we are informed on the issues of national expenditure and debt, which the IMF has been questioning.

 

Mr Speaker, I also expected the President to cover the issue of the dangers caused by environmental degradation. Right now, the country is facing very serious degradation. It appears to me that instead of the nation addressing this matter as an emergency, we are taking it as business as usual. This is a very serious matter. Our forests are being cut down like we have no capacity to protect them. It is the responsibility of the Government to take action and halt the depletion of our forests. Environmental protection is not just about talking about the Paris Agreement and so on and so forth. What are we doing about this at the local level?These are the issues I expected the President to have referred to.

 

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Kalobo (Wusakile): Mr Speaker, I thank you for to allowing the independent voice of the good people of Wusakile to be heard on the debate on the Presidential Speech that was delivered on 15^th September, 2017, by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu.

Mr Speaker, development is like a journey. One has to have a destination when travelling. Therefore, allow me to bring in the President’s first Speech to this august House, which was delivered on 30^th September, 2016. That speech highlighted what the Patriotic Front (PF) Government wanted to do and it gave a lot of hope to the people of Zambia.

 

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Kalobo: The last speech, which was delivered on 15^th September, 2017, is a progress report. In view of this, His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia and PF Government must be commended for their implementation of the Plan 7^th NDP.

 

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Kalobo: Mr Speaker, there are a lot of successes that stood out in the President’s speech. One of them is the policy coherence on sustainable development by adopting a multi-sectoral approach …

 

Mr Speaker: Order!

 

(Debate adjourned)

 

___________

 

The House adjourned at 1955 hours until 0900 hours on Friday, 22^nd September, 2017.