Debates- Tuesday, 23rd October, 2012

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DAILY PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES FOR THE SECOND SESSION OF THE ELEVENTH ASSEMBLY

Tuesday, 23rd October, 2012 

The House met at 1430 hours

[MR DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair]

NATIONAL ANTHEM

PRAYER

___________ 

Mr Chikwanda walked in.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

RULING BY THE HON. MR DEPUTY SPEAKER 

POINT OF ORDER RAISED BY HON. MWILA, DEPUTY MINISTER OF DEFENCE ON THE HON. MEMBER FOR LUNTE PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCY’S PREMATURE DISCUSSION OF THE 2013 BUDGET

Mr Deputy Speaker: Hon. Members will recall that, on Friday, 19th October, 2012, during His Honour the Vice-President’s Question Time, the hon. Deputy Minister of Defence, Mr Mwila, MP, raised a point of order on whether the hon. Member of Parliament for Lunte Parliamentary Constituency, Mr Mutati, MP, was in order to begin discussing the details of the 2013 Budget before the House had started debating it.

Hon. Members will recall that I reserved the ruling. I have since studied the point of order and wish to make the following ruling: 

As hon. Members are aware, the House is, currently, debating the Budget Address by the hon. Minister of Finance, Mr Alexander Chikwanda, MP, on Friday, 12th October, 2012. In this regard, the House has not yet resolved into the Committee of Supply to consider the individual heads in the Budget. It is, therefore, premature and unprocedural for an hon. Member to, during the Vice-President’s Question Time, ask whether the allocations to new districts have been reflected in the Yellow Book. In this regard, I find that, in attempting to bring out specific issues contained in the Yellow Book during the Vice-President’s Question Time, the hon. Member of Parliament for Lunte was out of order.

Thank you.

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

__________

ANNOUNCEMENT BY MR DEPUTY SPEAKER

MEMBERS’ SENSITISATION WORKSHOP BY THE CHAMBER OF MINES

Mr Deputy Speaker: I wish to inform the House that the Chamber of Mines will hold a one-day sensitisation workshop for all hon. Members of Parliament on Monday, 5th November, 2012, in the Amphitheatre, Parliament Buildings, at 0830 hours. The Chamber of Mines, whose primary goal is to represent the interests of its members, is desirous of partnering with hon. Members of Parliament in fostering development in the mining industry through effective dialogue. The sensitisation workshop is one of the strategies for dialogue. I, therefore, urge hon. Members to attend this important workshop.

I thank you.

___________ 

QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER

LUSAKA/CHINGOLA HIGHWAY ROAD MARKINGS

184. Mr B. Mutale (Kwacha) asked the Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication when the road markings on some portions of the Lusaka/Chingola highway would be re-done.

The Deputy Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication (Dr Mwali): Mr Speaker, the stretch between Kabwe and Kapiri-Mposhi will be worked on under the periodic maintenance contract, which has reached an advanced procurement stage and is expected to commence before the end of December, this year. The scope of works under this contract includes road markings and signs. The stretch between Kapiri-Mposhi and Ndola will be re-marked under four routine maintenance contracts that are scheduled to run from December, 2012 to April, 2013.

Sir, the stretch between Ndola and Kitwe will be worked on under the periodic maintenance contract, which has been awarded to China Jiangxi Contractors and is expected to commence works by the end of November, 2012. The scope of works under this contract also includes road markings and signs. 

Mr Speaker, the stretch between Kitwe and Chingola is earmarked for major upgrade works, including dualling. Procurement of these works is underway and works are expected to commence early next year, following the advertisement of the works, which will close on 9th November, this year.

Mr Speaker, lastly, the stretch between Lusaka and Kabwe is mostly in good condition in terms of road markings and signs. However, some portions that may require re-marking will be worked on under routine maintenance contracts scheduled for December, 2012.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr B. Mutale: Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Minister for the elaborate answer he has given. However, is he aware that most road accidents happen at night due to road markings which are not visible?

Dr Mwali: Mr Speaker, the ministry, being responsible for road safety, is aware that some of the road accidents that we witness on our roads are due to a lack of road markings and signs.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mbewe (Chadiza): Mr Speaker, in the northern part of this country, which comprises of Northern, Muchinga and Luapula provinces, most of the roads have no signs because most signs that are on metal sheets are always vandalised. They are used to make …

Mr Ng’onga: Question!

Mr Mbewe: … hoes and other tools. Has the Government got any plans to be using concrete road signs, instead of metal ones, which the Bembas are vandalising?

Laughter 

Dr Mwali: Mr Speaker, in addition to the continued sensitisation of our communities, the ministry is exploring all the options for stamping out this problem.

Thank you, Sir.

Mr Mooya (Moomba): Mr Speaker, I heard that one of the sections of the road will be given to a Chinese contractor, yet the marking of roads and putting up of signs is a simple task. Why not empower a Zambian contractor?

Dr Mwali: Mr Speaker, empowering of Zambians is paramount on our agenda, but I hasten to say that the section that has been referred to is on the Ndola/Kitwe Road. The contract is for periodic maintenance, not merely for road markings and signs.

I thank you, Sir.

PURCHASE OF RICE FROM FARMERS IN LUAMBUWA AND NAMAFULA WARDS

185. Mr Taundi (Mangango) asked the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock whether the Government would purchase rice from farmers in Luambuwa and Namafula wards of Mangango Parliamentary Constituency in 2012.

The Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock (Mr Kazabu): Mr Speaker, as things stand currently, there are no sufficient rice stocks to guarantee the opening of satellite depots and subsequent purchasing of rice in Luambuwa and Namafula wards of Mangango Parliamentary Constituency. Much as the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) provides market to small-scale farmers, it also has the mandate to ensure food security at the household level. In this regard, the FRA leaves considerable stocks of crops within communities for their household food security.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mufalali (Senanga): Mr Speaker, what is the minimum stock required for a satellite depot to be opened for purchasing rice?

The Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock (Mr N. Banda): Mr Speaker, what determines the minimum is the quantity that should be harrowed from the satellite depot to the main depot. For maize, it is 600 bags and it is the same quantity for rice because it is the same type of transport used.

Thank you, Sir.

Dr Kalila (Lukulu East): Mr Speaker, the Government is urging people to diversify from maize to other crops and, as a result, there is so much rice in Luambuwa and Namafula wards.  Why is the Government failing to buy the rice from the people in these areas after encouraging them to grow a lot of it?

Mr N. Banda: Mr Speaker, the Government has opened up depots in the above-mentioned areas. We expect the FRA to buy rice in these depots. When we open depots for buying mainly maize, we do not restrict them to maize, but rice also.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Taundi: Mr Speaker, is the FRA not failing to buy the abundant rice in these areas, which is above 1,000 bags, because of the lack of roads on which to ferry the stocks?

Mr N. Banda: Mr Speaker, the hon. Member is right to say that the production of rice in the areas mentioned above is high. The Government expects farmers in these areas to transport rice to the depots that have been opened by the FRA. The rice that will be bought by the agency will be transported in the same way as the maize.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Hamudulu (Siavonga): Mr Speaker, the hon. Deputy Minister is skating around this issue. Why not open a satellite depot for rice in Luambuwa and Namafula wards?

Mr N. Banda: Mr Speaker, I have already made it clear that the depots that are opened in the areas are supposed to buy both maize and rice. It would be uneconomical to open a depot just for rice when the quantities in the area cannot justify or sustain the opening up of a depot.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Livune (Katombola): Mr Speaker, the truth of the matter is that the areas in question do not have a depot. Why not open one because not even maize is being bought?

Mr N. Banda: Mr Speaker, maize production in those areas is low. There are some satellite depots which have been opened in particular districts, although the distances are below what is stipulated in the implementation manual that is being used by the FRA this year. Farmers are expected to deliver their crops to the opened markets. Last week, when I was answering a similar question on the Floor of this House, I mentioned five depots in the same areas.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Antonio (Kaoma Central): Mr Speaker, let us assume that there are depots that are operating. How much rice has been bought from those depots?

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr N. Banda: Mr Speaker, the House will agree with me that this is a complicated issue because we have to count how many bags have been bought. However, I can tell the House that the FRA depots have not large quantities of rice in those areas.

Thank you, Sir.

Mr Miyutu (Kalabo Central): Mr Speaker, I find the answers from the two hon. Deputy Ministers quite contradictory in the sense that one reveals that rice stocks in those wards are lower than 600 bags while the other suggests that the depots there are buying rice. Which answer should the House take because the FRA is not buying rice because of stocks being low?

Mr N. Banda: Mr Speaker, it is quite interesting that the hon. Member of Parliament is asking that question because we opened one depot in his constituency.

Interruptions

The Deputy Speaker: Order!

He is answering the question. Give him a chance.

Mr N. Banda: We have one depot which we expected to buy rice, but is buying maize.

Interruptions

The Deputy Speaker: Why are you …

Mr N. Banda: Mr Speaker, only twelve bags …

The Deputy Speaker: Order! Order, hon. Minister!

You are engaging the hon. Minister. Please, let him answer and be heard properly. 

Hon. Minister, you may continue.

Mr N. Banda: Mr Speaker, in Kalabo D …

Interruptions

Mr N. Banda: Mr Speaker, we opened a depot in Kalabo to buy maize as well as rice. By the time one of the hon. Deputy Ministers visited the place, we had only bought 12 bags, and yet we are almost closing the season. I do not know whether the hon. Member of Parliament is able to justify the figures he is talking about.
I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mbewe (Chadiza): Mr Speaker, the hon. Deputy Minister is answering very well.

Mr Hamudulu: On a point of order, Sir.

The Deputy Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Hamudulu: Mr Speaker, I apologise to my brother who was just about to raise a supplementary question. However, is the hon. Deputy Minister in order to discuss Kalabo when the question is specifically on Mangango and Kaoma districts? I need your serious ruling.

The Deputy Speaker: There is no serious ruling. It could have been a slip of the tongue.

Laughter

Mr Mbewe: Mr Speaker, I heard the hon. Deputy Minister saying that it is insolvent to run some depots which were supposed to be opened in that particular ward. May I know how much it costs to open up one depot?

Mr N. Banda: Mr Speaker, according to the implementation manual that we are using this year, six hundred bags which is the equivalent of 30 metric tonnes triggers the process of opening up a depot.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Miyanda (Mapatizya): Mr Speaker, according to the hon. Member of Parliament for Mangango, there are over 1,000 bags of rice produced in the two wards in question and the hon. Deputy Minister said that there is a requirement of 600 bags for a depot to be opened. Why not open a depot in this area?

Mr Livune: Hear, hear!

Mr N. Banda: Mr Speaker, the private sector is also buying rice.

Interruptions

Mr Livune: Question!

Mr N. Banda: We have depots close to the two points in question. We also have satellite depots that are close to these points and we expect that the farmers will deliver to the already existing depots. Further, I must mention that the private sector has been buying rice in that area. When my colleague, the hon. Deputy Minister explained about the FRA, he indicated that it also has the responsibility to ensure household food security. If we opened up a market, particularly for rice in that area, the people will demand relief food.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

BEEF EXPORTS TO EUROPE AND OTHER COUNTRIES

186. Mr Hamusonde (Nangoma) asked the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock when Zambia would commence the export of beef to European and other countries?

Mr N. Banda: Mr Speaker, Zambia has been exporting beef to neighbouring countries, namely Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, exporting beef to European countries has a lot of challenges that Zambia needs to address. These include:

(i)    the European market requires exporting countries, including Zambia, to have in place a trace-back system. This system facilitates the importing country to know the piece of meat being served in a restaurant in Europe, starting from the country of origin, all the way back to the farm and the animal;

(ii)    European markets require information on the chemicals and drugs used on farms – this requires good record management;

(iii)    European markets request for a constant supply of beef. Zambia would be required to fulfill a quota that we would be given. This would require an increase in the number of beef cattle in the country; and

(iv)    Zambia would need to be free from the foot and mouth disease (FMD) and contagious bovine pleuroneumonia (CBPP) as a country or identify areas or compartments that are free of these diseases.

Only when these conditions are met, will Zambia be able to export beef to the European Union and other markets.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Hamusonde: Mr Speaker, may I find out from the hon. Minister why we import tinned beef when we have a lot of beef animals in this country?

Mr Kazabu: Mr Speaker, the truth of the matter is that the beef industry in this country has not yet developed to a level where we can it as compared to beef that comes from other countries. That is the more reason why, as a new Government, we believe that we should take the statistics of the total population of cattle to a higher level. At the moment, 3.4 million herds of cattle for the size of our country is a tragedy. We have plans to raise that number, God willing, to something like 6 million head of cattle.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Ng’onga (Kaputa): Mr Speaker, following the challenges that the hon. Deputy Minister has indicated as the reasons why we have not been able to export into the European Market, I would like to know whether we have plans in place for us to tackle these challenges within our period of time?

Mr Kazabu: Mr Speaker, in our answer earlier, my colleague explained that in order to export beef to the European Market, there are certain conditions that we have to fulfill and one of them is to have a trace-back system. We need to have such a system for purposes of proving to the receiving market that the piece of beef that an individual is enjoying in a restaurant has not come from an animal whose grandparents were diseased. A presentation has been made by one company from Namibia on putting in place an identification and traceability system. Once that happens, we will, then, identify areas that should be designated as a disease-free zones. With those zones and the traceability system, we will be able to get into the European market.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Belemu (Mbabala): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister said that he had listened to a presentation by Namibians. May I know why the veterinary surgeons in the ministry could not come up with a plan that would assist the country. We should bear in mind that Namibia is a smaller country than ours and is largely a desert.

Mr Kazabu: Mr Speaker, the company from Namibia that came to make the presentation is specialised in software that deals with identification and traiceability. We do not have that expertise at the moment. The officers that the hon. Member has referred to are qualified in different skills. That is why this company saw the opportunity to come and market this software. We gave them the opportunity to do so. I must share with the House that we were highly impressed with the software that the company offered.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Miyutu (Kalabo Central): Mr Speaker, the presentation was made by people from Namibia which got its Independence after Zambia. After all these years, from 1964, we a presentation was made to us by Namibia that we wondered at. The question for the hon. Minister is: When are we going to learn, practically, from that presentation so that we can export meat to Europe? After all, Zambia has a higher population of cattle than Namibia.

Mr Kazabu: Mr Speaker, the hon. Member must be  aware that hitherto systems of identifying animals, for instance, branding or use of ear tags are many. However, the system we are talking about is an advanced computerised system. As I explained earlier, we do not have organisations that offer this software. Therefore, when we were approached by this company from Namibia, we agreed to give them an audience. By the way, this company did not only come here, but also went to other countries. It is specialised in that area. Therefore, the question of who became independent first does not arise.

I thank you, Sir.

Laughter

Mr B. Mutale (Kwacha): Mr Speaker, is the Government considering the fact that the price of beef is rising daily due to its exportation to the European Market markets and the African Region.

Mr Kazabu: Mr Speaker, Zambia only exports beef to Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As I have already explained, if we were  to penetrate the European market and be given, we would need to ensure that the cattle we have is sufficient to enable us to regularly export and meet the quota. Perhaps, I did not follow what the hon. Member meant when he said that the price of beef is going up daily. However, we will continue to export beef to the DRC and Angola until we are in a position to break into the Europe market.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Muntanga (Kalomo Central): Mr Speaker, can the hon. Minister confirm that we have the technical knowledge, but there is no funding to undertake the technicalities required. I know what he is talking about. You need to invest about US$30 million which Botswana did invest in the cattle industry. Can the hon. Minister confirm that we do not have those funds to invest in the cattle industry.

Mr Kazabu: Mr Speaker, that is true. This is why, in future, if we want to develop the livestock industry, we should put money where it matters most, and livestock is one such area.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Ndalamei (Sikongo): Mr Speaker, when are you going to lift the ban of livestock movement from the Western Province to Lusaka and the Copperbelt provinces.

Mr Kazabu: Mr Speaker, I appreciate the anxiety of the hon. Member of Parliament. Let me share that the movement of cattle from the Western Province to other areas is under surveillance because we want to prevent out-breaks of the contagious bovine pleurapneumonia (CBP) and foot and mouth disease (FMB). Until we are satisfied that the out-break of these diseases is under control, sadly, it will not be possible to allow the people in the Western Province to bring their animals to the line of rail where they can sell them at good prices.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Livune (Katombola): Mr Speaker, the desire to grow the cattle population is very good. Can the hon. Minister outline some salient mechanisms that the Government will put in place to grow the cattle population.

Mr Kazabu: Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Member of Parliament for Katombola for that question. We are going to establish Livestock Breeding Centres and Livestock Service Centres. We are also going to be concerned with issues of …

The Deputy Speaker: Order!

Let there be order on my right.

Mr Kazabu: Mr Speaker, we are going to revamp the insemination programme at our Mazabuka Research Station. We hope that, through the breeding centres, we will be able to bring more people on board so that everybody can participate in increasing the herds of cattle in the country. These are some of the measures that we will put in place.

I thank you, Sir.{mospagebreak}

NANGOMA HIGH SCHOOL

187. Mr Hamusonde (Nangoma) asked the Minister of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education when the Government would build a high school in Nangoma Parliamentary Constituency.

The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education (Mr Mabumba): Mr Speaker, the Government made a provision in the 2012 Infrastructure Development Plan for the construction of a secondary school in Nangoma Constituency, and construction will commence when funds are available.

I thank you, Sir.

ABLUTION BLOCK AT GHANDI BASIC SCHOOL 

188. Mr S. Chungu (Luanshya) asked the Minister of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education when the Government would build an additional ablution block at Ghandi Basic School in Luanshya to cater for the increased number of pupils.

The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education (Mr Mabumba): Mr Speaker, the Government has plans to construct additional infrastructure at various schools. Therefore, an additional ablution block at Ghandi Basic School will be considered once the 2013 Budget has been approved.

I thank you, Sir.

MONGU AND KAOLE STADIA

189. Mr Chisala (Chilubi) asked the hon. Minister of Youth and Sport how much money was spent on the development of the Mongu and Kaole Stadia in Mongu and Mansa, respectively, in 2011.

The Deputy Minister of Youth and Sport (Mr Mubukwanu): Mr Speaker, K100 million for each of the stadium was sent to the Provincial Administration in Mongu and Mansa for the development of the said Mongu and Kaole Stadia in Western and Luapula provinces, respectively.

Sir, the resources that were sent for Mongu were meant to do the following:

(i)upgrading of the water reticulation;

(ii)electrical works;

(iii)ablution;

(iv)resurfacing of the playing field;

(v)the running track and

(vi)resurfacing of the turf. 

Sir, for Kaole Stadium, the money was used for the construction of the fallen wall fence.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Chisala: Mr Speaker, to what extent has the progress been done on the two stadia?

Mr Mubukwanu: Mr Speaker, according to the information that we have, the progress is on course. In due course, maybe, additional resources will be required to complete the work.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Miyutu (Kalabo Central): Mr Speaker, is the hon. Minister aware that Mongu Stadium does not have proper toilets despite the fact that money was allocated and spent? 

Mr Mubukwanu: Mr Speaker, as ministry, we are not really responsible for the planning and doing the actual works. This is the work of the Provincial Administration. However, we are aware that the current ablution blocks at the facility are in a much better condition than they were before this money was sent. I came back from there two days ago.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Bwalya (Lupososhi): Mr Speaker, there are quite a lot of resources that have been released and sent to the provinces mentioned. However, there is a problem of monitoring to ensure that these funds are utilised for the intended purpose. What plans do you have to ensure that monitoring is enhanced through the Provincial Administration?

Mr Mubukwanu: Mr Speaker, the K100 million each for the stadia that we are referring to sounds big as a figure but the works that are required are quite large in scope.

Sir, regarding the monitoring plans, this is an on-going exercise that each Provincial Administration is engaged in. We, as a ministry, do periodically visit the provinces to support and have a feel of what is obtaining on the ground.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Ntundu (Gwembe): Mr Speaker, the question that has been asked by Hon. Chisala has not been answered by the hon. Minister. The question is: At what stage is the progress on the works? Are they doing the slab? Tell us the stage where the works are.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order!

My understanding of the question was whether the works were being monitored. I thought the hon. Minister addressed the issue of monitoring. However, the hon. Minister may want to give him a bonus answer.

Mr Mubukwanu: Mr Speaker, unfortunately, I have no bonus answer for him.

I thank you, Sir.

Laughter

YOUTH RESOURCE CENTRES REHABILITATION

190. Mr Chisala asked the hon. Minister of Youth and Sport:

(a)how many Youth Resource Centres (YRCs) were constructed country-wide in 2011; and

(b)how much money was spent on the rehabilitation of the YRCs at Chishimba and Chiwoko Zambia National Service Camps in 2011.

Mr Mubukwanu: Mr Speaker, there was no construction works that were carried out in 2011 because of budgetary constraints. However, the Government policy on the construction of YRCs in each district still remains.
Sir, I would like to inform the House that no rehabilitation works took place at Chishimba and Chiwoko Zambia National Service camps in Kasama and Katete, respectively, due to budgetary constraints.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Chisala: Mr Speaker, since no rehabilitation took place at the two camps, what measures does the Government intend to put in place to normalise the situation at those camps?

Mr Mubukwanu: Mr Speaker, the fact of the matter is that the works are still outstanding and they will have to be done at an appropriate time, when resources are available.

I thank you, Sir.

MONEY RECEIVED FROM ZESCO BY ZAMBZI RIVER AUTHORITY

191. Mr Ntundu asked the hon. Minister of Mines, Energy and Water Development:

(a)how much money the Zambezi River Authority received from Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) Limited in 2011;

(b)what the purpose of the money was;

(c)what social responsibility activities the Authority engaged in for the people who live along the Zambezi River, in the same year.

(d)What activities had so far been undertaken in Gwembe District.

The deputy Minister of Mines, Energy and Water Development (Mr Zulu): Mr Speaker, the Zambezi River Authority received K26, 442,923,000 in 2011, from ZESCO. This was in respect of water tariffs for water used by ZESCO for power generation.

Sir, the money was used for the following:

(a) Operations on Kariba Dam maintenance which involved:

(i)resealing of the South Bank;
(ii)fabrication of the emergency gate;
(iii)repair of two sluice/channels;
(iv)sealing of leaks through floodgate lateral linings;
(v)vulcanisation of gate seal junctions; and
(vi)general servicing of flood gates.

(b)Water Resources Environmental Monitoring which included:

(i)water quality analysis;
(ii)monitoring of invasive water weeds; and
(iii)monitoring water pollution; 

(c)Paying wages.

Mr Speaker, the Zambezi River Authority carried out social responsibility activities for the people who live along the Zambezi River in the same year, as follows:

(a)Rehabilitated Nkandabwe Irrigation Scheme in Sinazongwe along Lake Kariba at a cost of K300 million. Ninety-four peasant farmers are benefitting from this irrigation scheme. I was there last month.

    (b)    sank a borehole for Chief Sikongo in Mweemba area at a cost of K45 million.

    (c)    rehabilitation of Lusitu Irrigation Scheme in Siavonga which is still on going. Lusitu Irrigation Scheme was constructed in 2009 at a cost of K650 million. However, people in Siavonga stopped using it. The Zambezi River Authority has since undertaken sensitisation activities on the importance of an irrigation scheme in the area. Thirty families are going to benefit from this scheme. The Zambia Revenue Authority is going to spend K30 million on the rehabilitation works.

Mr Speaker, the Zambezi River Authority has since handed over a grinding meal in Gwembe District at Nakajele. It, also, has an irrigation scheme known as Kota Kota Irrigation Scheme which is ear marked for implementation. In consultation with the local councils, Zambezi River Authority has also partnered with the Department of Water Affairs to push for the implementation of capital intensive projects which include the construction of Ganikoongo Dam in Gwembe and Ngolongozya Dam in Kalomo. Survey works and project designs for both sites are complete and will soon be committed for tendering process.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Ntundu: Mr Speaker, people lost lives during the construction of the Kariba Dam and the majority of them are from Gwembe District. I wonder why the Government continuously ignores the fact that Gwembe District is supposed to benefit more than any other district. Can the hon. Minister tell me why this authority keeps on singing a song of bringing projects to Gwembe which are not taking off?

Mr Zulu: Mr Speaker, it is true that we have just taken over Government and we are new to the system. However, the Zambezi River Authority has set up what is called the Zambezi Valley Development Fund … 

Interruptions

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order!

I cannot hear you. Hon. Members, let us consult quietly so that the person speaking can be heard.

Mr Zulu: Mr Speaker, the Zambezi River Authority … 

Interruptions

Mr Deputy Speaker: Continue.

Mr Zulu: Zambezi River Authority has set up the Zambezi Valley Development Fund which is registered here in Zambia for the people who were displaced. The fund is run by trustees comprising both Zambians and Zimbabweans. One per cent of the revenue collected annually goes to this fund on an annual basis … 

Interruptions

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order!

Hon. Members from the Executive, it is unbecoming of you to be consulting loudly when your colleague is giving an answer. Please, consult quietly so that he can be heard. You are consulting loudly.

Mr Zulu: Mr Speaker, I was saying that 1 per cent of the revenue collected by ZESCO and ZESA, which is like ZESCO in Zimbabwe, is channeled to the Zambezi Valley Development Fund. We expect people from these areas to annually submit proposals to the authority so that they may also benefit. 

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Nkombo (Mazabuka Central): Mr Speaker, how much are ZESA and ZESCO putting in a central pool for the development of this region? How much is it in real terms at the moment?

Mr Zulu: Mr Speaker, that is a new question. I will follow it up and give you the actual figures.

I thank you, Sir. 

Mr Mbewe (Chadiza): Mr Speaker, I heard the hon. Minister say that there is an irrigation scheme which has been abandoned. Why has it been abandoned?

Mr Zulu: Mr Speaker, the irrigation scheme was abandoned two to three years ago. We are trying to bring it back now. Therefore, those who were there three years ago should know better.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Siamunene (Sinazongwe): Mr Speaker, the nation is aware of the suffering of the people of the Gwembe Valley and the contribution they have made to this nation. Is the ministry considering electrifying all the villages in the Gwembe Valley for free so that they may have the benefit of their suffering?

Mr Zulu: Mr Speaker, I think we have answered that question several times before. The Rural Electrification Authority (REA) is responsible for electrifying all rural areas and I am sure Gwembe and the area where the hon. Member comes from are both rural areas. So, if they could submit the requirements to the REA, it will be done for them.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Hamusonde (Nangoma): Mr Speaker, I heard that the borehole that was constructed cost K45 million. How special is that borehole to cost K45 million?

Mr Zulu: Mr Speaker, it was a borehole that was drilled and fitted with a pump.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Mbewe: On a point of order, Sir.

Mr Deputy Speaker: On whom? The hon. Member has raised a point of order and I am asking who he is raising it against because I have not yet asked you to speak. Please hold your fire.

Mr Hamudulu (Siavonga): Mr Speaker, in answering … 

Mr Mbewe: On a point of order, Sir.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order!

A point of order is raised.

Laughter

Mr Mbewe: Mr Speaker, you have advised us in this House that hon. Ministers should give answers which will be understood by the people. The response of saying that they have just come into power and, therefore, they cannot give concise answers is unacceptable. 

Sir, is it in order for the Deputy Minister of Mines, Energy and Water Development to answer that question in that manner?

Mr Deputy Speaker: One of the rules here is that points of order must be made there and then. You are making your point of order long after the hon. Minister has spoken. So, next time you want to make a point of order take that into account.

Mr Hamudulu: Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister has alluded to the fact that one irrigation scheme was abandoned. Has the hon. Minster taken time to find out why the scheme was abandoned before he embarks on resuming the project which may be abandoned again?

Mr Zulu: Mr Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for that question and I think he is the right person to ask that question … 

Laughter

Mr Zulu: ... because he was not there three years ago.

Laughter

Mr C. Zulu: Mr Speaker, I think that the hon. Member is the right person to direct the question because he was not there two to three years ago. We will find out what actually happened. In fact, we will commence works on the dam next week since the sensitisation campaigns are over.

I thank you, Sir.

SOUTHERN WATER AND SEWERAGE COMPANY

192. Mr Ntundu (Gwembe) asked the Minister of Local Government and Housing:

(a)how much money, on monthly basis, the Southern Water and Sewerage  Company (SWASCO) collected from water consumers in Gwembe;

(b)why the water supply in Gwembe was erratic;

(c)when the water supply situation would be regularised; and

(d)when the company would revert to drawing water from the Singonya Dam.

The Deputy Minister of Local Government and Housing (Mr Tembo): Mr Speaker, statistics from SWASCO show that the billings and collections for water supply in Gwembe from July, 2011, to July, 2012, was as follows:

    Month    Billing    Collections    CE Billings
        (Water Only)    (Water %)

    July, 2011    14, 333, 513.00    19,344,801.00    135

August, 2011        12, 295, 730.00    71

September, 2011        19, 019, 670.21    114

October, 2011        13, 411, 423.00    77

November, 2011    15, 916, 650.80    85

December, 2011    15,382,545.00    104

January, 2012    9, 322, 500.00    96

February, 2012        15, 101, 308.00    104

March, 2012        10, 691, 472.00    78

April, 2012        14, 214, 302.00    85

May, 2012        26, 906, 036.00    159

June, 2012        11, 632, 006.00    63

July, 2012        16, 744, 705.00    83

Totals        199, 983, 149.01

Average  Per Month    16, 119, 594.69    15, 383, 319.15

Mr Speaker, as far as the Ministry of Local Government and Housing and SWASCO are concerned, the water supply in Gwembe is stable. However, the company is not able to supply water on a twenty-four hour basis as expected because of power outages experience on a daily basis. There is no major water supply problem that has been brought to our attention in the recent past. If there are areas where supply is erratic, we just need to be told so that we address the problem. 

Mr Speaker, given that the general water supply situation in Gwembe has improved, we would address any other problem as soon as it is brought to the attention of the ministry and SWASCO. Furthermore, the ministry has made a budgetary allocation in the 2013 Budget to improve water supply in Gwembe.

Mr Speaker, SWASCO has stopped getting water from Singonya Dam. It is, instead, getting water from boreholes in the Nalucha area, which is nearer to Gwembe Township. Unless under exceptional circumstances that the aquifer fails, the utility will not revert to Sangonya Dam. The reasons for this are that Singonya Dam is very far, making pumping costs relatively higher. 

Sir, secondly, surface water is more costly to treat than ground water. This is why the water utility company is opting for ground water.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Ntundu: Mr Speaker, whoever provided that answer to the hon. Minister needs to be fired with immediate effect.

Laughter

The Deputy Speaker: Order!

Hon. Member for Gwembe, please, ask your follow-up question.  

Mr Ntundu: Mr Speaker, I want the hon. Minister and I to go …

Mr Muntanga: On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

The Deputy Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr Muntanga: Mr Speaker, I would like to know if hon. Members of Parliament have been given extra powers of firing employees. I am saying so because the hon. Member for Kafue has fired the whole staff at the Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia (NCZ). 

I need your serious ruling, Mr Speaker.

The Deputy Speaker: The, the guidance to the hon. Member for Gwembe was that he should ask a follow-up question. Therefore, there will be no ruling on that point of order. 

May the hon. Member of Parliament for Gwembe continue.

Mr Ntundu: Mr Speaker, I want the hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing and I to go outside and call the District Commissioner (DC) so that we know whether there is water in Gwembe currently. 

Laughter

The Deputy Speaker: Order! 

I will not allow you to go outside. 

Laughter 

Mr Hamudulu: Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister mentioned that SWASCO is unable to provide water twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week due to power outages by ZESCO. Is there a solution in sight to these power outages so that the water supply system can be normalised? 

The Minister of Local Government and Housing (Mrs Kabanshi): Mr Speaker, as you are well aware, power outages are happening throughout the country and ZESCO is working very hard to improve power supply. So, we are hoping that power supply will be improved so that we can supply water to the people of Gwembe.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mbewe: Mr Speaker, is there is a problem in sensitising all the water utility companies to buy stand-by generators since the power problem seems to have come to stay?

Mrs Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, the power problem is not here to stay. I advise the hon. Member that using generators is very expensive. It will push up water bills.

I thank you, Sir.

CONSTRUCTION OF A MODERN MARKET IN MULOBEZI

194. Mr Sililo (Mulobezi) asked the Minister of Local Government and Housing:

(a)When the Government would build a modern market in Mulobezi District; and

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

Mr Tembo: Mr Speaker, the construction of modern markets requires high capital investment and, due to the limited Budget provisions for markets over the past years, including the 2012 Annual Budget, the Government does not have immediate plans to construct a modern market in Mulobezi District. However, the Government has continued soliciting for funding from co-operating partners to assist in the construction of modern markets and bus stations countrywide.

Mr Speaker, the cost of constructing a modern market in Mulobezi can only be estimated from the design that would be done once a survey of the site for the construction of the market has been carried out to determine the size of the market, and the type of the shops, stalls and other facilities that would be required.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mufalali (Senanga): Mr Speaker, I am aware that the Ministry of Local Government and Housing has a fund for markets. What types of markets are supposed to be built from that fund?

Mrs Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, as the hon. Deputy Minister has indicated, in the 2012 National Budget, there were no funds allocated to build a market in Mulobezi. However, we will try and see if funds can be made available for the construction of a market in 2013.

I thank you, Mr Speaker, 

Mr Sing’ombe (Dundumwezi): Mr Speaker, why did the Government declare Mulobezi a district when it did not have the capacity to put up infrastructure, including a modern market?

Mrs Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, Mulobezi was declared a district because this caring Government wanted development to reach that area. However, it is not the construction of the market alone that is going to take development there.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Hamudulu (Siavonga): Mr Speaker, Mulobezi is one of the new districts. Is this the trend that we will see in all the new districts, whereby there will be no markets as part of the infrastructure in the plans of the new districts?

Mrs Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, there are officials in the new districts who have been appointed to go there. However, there is, first, a need to build houses for those officials because they cannot live in markets. In this regard, the construction of markets is, currently, not a priority. However, we will consider the markets in the next budget.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Professor Lungwangwa (Nalikwanda): Mr Speaker, in the hon. Minister’s earlier response, …

Interruptions

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order!

Professor Lungwangwa: … she was about to give a definite assurance to the people of Mulobezi that they will soon have a modern market. Can she be definite, so that the people of Mulobezi can be assured of having a market in their area?

Mrs Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, when the funds are available, a market will be built in Mulobezi.

I thank you, Sir.

Ms Lubezhi (Namwala): Mr Speaker, I am aware that there is donor funding for markets in her ministry. What happened to those funds?

Mrs Kabanshi: Mr Speaker, if the hon. Member would like to know about what has happened to that funding, I invite her to my office so that, together, we can see the schedule of what is happening to that money.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.{mospagebreak}

CONSTRUCTION OF LOCAL COURTS IN BWINA, NAWINDA AND KAMANGA

194. Mr Sililo (Mulobezi) asked the Minister of Justice:

(a)    when local courts building would be constructed at Bwina, Namwinda and Kamanga;

(b)    whether the Government was aware that court sessions at Bwina are held under a tree; and 

(c)    what the cost of constructing one local court building was.

The Deputy Minister of Justice (Mrs Mwamba): Mr Speaker, the construction of Bwina, Namwinda and Kamanga local courts is subject to the availability of funding in 2013. The Judiciary does not have any records on Kamanga Local Court. The establishment records do not even show any details of the existence of that court. It could have been established under a different name. Therefore, the Judiciary will conduct further research on this matter.

Mr Speaker, the Government is aware of the need to construct court houses at Bwina and Nawinda in Sesheke, but the project did not commence in 2012 due to budgetary limitations. The Government is not only aware of the need to build court houses in this part of the country, but also of the outcry all over the country for construction of court rooms and renovation of run-down infrastructure. 

Sir, the cost of constructing a court ranges between K600 million, in rural areas, to K1 billion, in urban areas.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Mufalali: Mr Speaker, how does the Ministry of Justice intend to dispense justice in a place where there are no courts, including the places that have been mentioned?

Mrs Mwamba: Mr Speaker, this Government is very committed to enhancing access to justice. That is why there is a deliberate policy to construct court houses between 2012 and 2015. I think that we will be reaching out to various parts of the country where there are inadequacies.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Professor Lungwangwa: Mr Speaker, is the hon. Minister in a position to avail the House the policy on local court construction?

Mrs Mwamba: Mr Speaker, that will be done.

I thank you, Sir.

AMOUNT OF MONEY SPENT ON THE 23RD MEETING OF THE COMMON MARKET FOR EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA

195. Mr Chisala (Chilubi) asked the Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry:

(a)    how much money the ministry spent on the preparations for, and participation in the 23rd meeting of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Trade and Customs Union held in Swaziland in 2009; and 

(b)    how much property was lost when part of the COMESA Headquarters Building in Lusaka was gutted by fire in December, 2011.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order!

Hon. Members should always remember to consult quietly.

The Deputy Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry (Mr Taima): Mr Speaker, my ministry spent K14, 524, 000 on the preparations for, and participation in the 23rd meeting of the COMESA Trade and Customs Committee Meeting, which was held in Swaziland in 2009. This includes the cost of travel and allowances. 

Mr Speaker, the figures on the property damaged when part of the COMESA Headquarters was gutted last year were quoted in dollars at the time we were given the answer by COMESA. The property lost was worth US$4, 450, 776, and included Information Technology (IT) equipment worth US$350, 000, computer equipment worth US$22, 000 and office furniture worth US$35,576.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Hon. Minister, I think that the person who asked the question will have difficulties in understanding what you are saying because of the loud consultations. Can we, please, heed the advice to consult quietly.

Mr Taima: The last component that was gutted was part of the office building and, according to the assessors, it was damaged to the extent of 25 per cent, and its value was estimated at US$4 million.

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Chisala: Mr Speaker, has any compensation been done, so far?

Mr Taima: Mr Speaker, the entire building and property therein was insured and insurance claims are underway. Meanwhile, remedial measures have been undertaken. Temporary structures have been constructed as we await comprehensive construction. 

At the end of it all, appropriate values will have been ascertained so that the insurance company can come in and compensate the people affected accordingly. 

Mr Speaker, I thank you. 

MANUFACTURING COMPANIES IN ZAMBIA

196. Mr Chisala asked the Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry:

(a)how many Zambian companies were engaged in the manufacturing of the following products as of 31st March, 2012:

(i)Cement;
(ii)Iron sheets;
(iii)Paper;
(iv)Tyres; and
(v)Bicycles; and

(b)whether the Government had any plans to encourage the establishment of a fish canning plant in Chilubi District. 

Mr Taima: Mr Speaker, according to the2011Economic Census Register, the numbers of companies that were engaged in manufacturing the said products stood as follows:

    Product    Number of Companies

    Cement    3
    Iron sheets    10
    Paper    9
    Tyre    0
    Bicycles    2

Mr Speaker, it is the Government’s intention to promote the development of resource-based industries in all areas of the country, including Chilubi District. This is in order to create wealth, employmentand uplift the living standards of our people in every part of the country. 

In line with this objective, the Government is developing and implementing an industrialisation strategy which emphasises and facilitates value-addition on the basis of resource endowment of each area in the country. This will be achieved through establishing industrial clusters or attracting of domestic and/or foreign investment into these areas. This, we believe, will result in districts such as Chilubi being developed in linewith their natural resource endowments. 

I thank you, Sir. 

Mr Chisala: Mr Speaker, I would like to find out if the Government has serious intentions to set up a tyre industry in this country. 

Mr Taima: Mr Speaker, we have those intentions. 

We have continued to call for investments in this area from prospective investors, including the one-time very popular Dunlop. We have courted it, but I cannot suggest, now, whether it has indicated its willingness to come back or not even though they are among the list of prospective investors in the tyre sector. 

To be more specific, however, at the moment,we have a company that has started the construction of a tyre manufacturing plant in Ndola. We, therefore, have interest and expect a lot more investors to come and invest in this area. 

I thank you, Sir. 

Mr Bwalya: Mr Speaker, may I find out from the hon. Deputy Minister whether there are any incentives that have been provided for the companies that may wish to venture into investing in the tyre or iron sheet industry. 

Mr Taima: Mr Speaker, we have sector-specific incentives as well as general incentives that are aimed at attracting investment into the country. 

Generally, we try to make every effortto provide as much incentives in all our sectors as possible, through the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA), and as backed by the Act. This isin a bid to attract investment from local and foreign investors. I may not be very specific, but we do have incentives. 

I thank you, Sir. 

CONSTRUCTION OF TOWERS AT LUAMBA AND LUKENA IN MANGANGO

197. Mr Taundi (Mangango) asked the Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication when communication towers would be constructed at Luamba and Lukena in Mangango Parliamentary Constituency to improve the telephone operations.

Dr Mwali: Mr Speaker, we are mindful that there are no plans by any of the service providers to construct communication towers, specifically in Luamba and Lukena in 2012. However, the Government has made it a priority to extend communication towers and services to cover all chiefdoms, and other areas that are not served,within the shortest possible time. 

Mr Speaker, as stated two weeks ago in response to a similar question by hon. Member of Parliament for Kafulafuta, surveys to select suitable sites for the erection of towers for base coverage and to establish other resource requirements such as height of tower required, access roads and power commenced on 12th August, 2012 and were completed by end of September, 2012. 

Mr Speaker, currently, the planning of the roll-out of the programme, which is taking into account the findings of this survey, is going on. It is projected that this work will be completed by the end of November, 2012. 

I thank you, Sir. 

Mr Mufalali: Mr Speaker, I am beginning to wonder just how accurate this information from the Ministry of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication is. Last night, I was with the Mobile Telephone Network (MTN) manager at Kaoma Filling Station. He told me the MTN is putting up a tower in Lukena. The MTN team was actually on its way to Lukena. 

Hon. Government Member: He lied to you!

Laughter 

Mr Mufalali: How accurate is your information, hon. Minister?

Dr Mwali: Mr Speaker, we endeavour to give information as accurately as we possibly can. We are committed to this because we are professionals.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Deputy Speaker: Next question. 

Mr Taundiindicated. 

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order!

I can see the hon. Member for Mangango, whom I will give the benefit of the doubt, wanting to raise a follow-up question. Let me give some advicethat rules here are that those who put questions have the priority to ask a follow-up question. Therefore, hon. Member for Mangango, next time, if you have a follow-up question, indicate after the answer has been given because if you indicate after another person has asked, it becomes unprocedural. However, I said that I would give you the benefit of the doubt, and so you may ask your follow-up question. 

Laughter 

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

Mr Speaker, the area in question is, actually, not “Luamba” but “Lwambuwa”. Lwambuwa Ward is very far from all the places that have towers, thereby making it very difficult to have a communication network. Would the Government consider making Lwambuwa a priority after Lukena because I have noticed that a tower is already being erected in Lukena?

Dr Mwali: Mr Speaker, we will look at priorities when the findings of the surveys have been concretised and the new strategy has beenoperationalised. 

2006 FINANCIAL REGULATIONS

198. Mr Milambo (Mwembeshi) asked the Minister of Finance whether, in their current form, the Financial Regulations of 2006 are effective, and if not, when they would be revised. 

The Minister of Finance (Mr Chikwanda): Mr Speaker, I would like to state that the Financial Regulations of 2006, in their current form, are effective. This is evident from the reports that are tabled before this august House by the Auditor-General. At no time has she ever indicated or stated that the 2006 Financial Regulations are ineffective. However, over the past years, irregularities have been mostly due to failure by offices charged with the responsibility to adhere to financial regulations. 

In addition, there are weaknesses in internal control systems, wastage in the use of resources, poor management of contracts, failure to follow tender procedures, abuse of imprest, delays in completion of projects, poor workmanship and non-adherence to contract terms, among others.

Sir, I wish to note that the Public Accounts Committee has also tabled before this House reports indicating that the controlling officers, who are charged with the responsibility of management of public resources, do not adhere to the regulations. This has resulted in increased audit queries over the years.

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

Mr Milambo: Mr Speaker, unretired imprest is proving to be a simple norm, now, to the imprest holders. How is the ministry intending to handle this issue of unretired imprest?

Mr Chikwanda: Mr Speaker, we are taking every rigorous measure to ensure that we seal the loopholes in as far as retirement of imprest is concerned.

I thank you, Sir.

__________

MOTION

BUDGET 2013

(Debate resumed)

Mr Muntanga (Kalomo Central): Mr Speaker, thank you, I am glad that the hon. Minister of Finance has finally come …

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Muntanga: … and we can, now, address our concerns to him. Sir, it is appropriate when you are talking to someone to look at him/her, unlike depending on the assumption that the person will be listening to what you are saying via the radio.

Laughter

Mr Muntanga: Mr Speaker, the mover of the Motion, Hon. Chikwanda, in his address, said that he believed that I, Hon. Muntanga, was happy with the budgetary allocation to the agriculture sector. I wanted to tell him that I was not happy at all and it was going to be difficult to tell him so in his absence.

Sir, could you tell the hon. Minister of Finance, whom I can see sitting over there, that, for your information, I am not happy. The reasons of my not being happy are these: You have talked about making agriculture the most important sector for development, but you have given this sector K1.9 trillion. You have allocated K1.1 trillion to the sector, but I want to say that it should remain K1.9 trillion because, there is K800 billion somewhere that has been split between K500 billion for the Farmers Input Support Programme (FISP) and K300 billion for marketing. Therefore, it is still K1.9 trillion. Sir, this figure is only 5.9 per cent of the National Budget which falls far too short of what the governments in the region signed for.

Mr Speaker, the 2003 Maputo Declaration on food security, to which Zambia is a signatory, agreed to allocate 10 per cent of national budgets to agriculture. Unfortunately, Zambia has allocated only 5.9 per cent to agriculture.

Furthermore, Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), under the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), agreed that there should be an increase in the agricultural growth to 6 per cent. However, Zambia stands at 3 per cent. The 2004 Centre for International Trade and Agriculture (CITA) Declaration on Agriculture and Water and the 2006 Abuja Declaration of Fertiliser for the Africa Green Revolution, by which the African Union (AU) member states resolved to increase fertiliser use from 8kg to 50kg of nutrients per hectare by 2015 shows that this allocation is short of the target. Sir, Zambia stands at 27kg per hectare. These figures show that Zambia is far too low of the required target. 

Mr Speaker, our people are still using the hand-hoe and ox-drawn implements. This technology has been there since 2012 years ago when Jesus Christ was there. The technology they were using to farm at the time is the hand-hoe and oxen.

Mr Nkombo: Even during the time of John the Baptist!

Mr Muntanga: There is no way you can increase production with the same old technology of using a hoe and oxen-drawn equipment. Very few farmers are using tractors.

Sir, there was an agreement by African countries that the target group should be the small-scale farmers. What have we done about it? This K500 billion targeted for inputs is only targeting a half hectare for each one of those 900,000 farmers. 

Mr Speaker, I would like the hon. Minister of Finance … 

Please, stand this side. I want to be looking at the hon. Minister of Finance. (Mr Muntanga addressing a cameraman)

Laughter

Mr Muntanga: … to know whether he can make a living by growing a crop on a half hectare. Is it possible for him to sustain his family; take children to school and live off that half hectare? Can the hon. Minister do that?

Hon. Opposition Members: Answer!

Mr Muntanga: Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister of Finance must listen to me. After all, these things have been discussed, the African governments, Zambia included, have abdicated their responsibility. If I compare Zambia with other three countries, namely Ghana, Mali and Tanzania, Zambia has the highest arable land at 51,776 hectares. Ghana is at 40,500 hectares. Mali is at 45,800 hectares and Tanzania is at 37,000 hectares. Out of this arable land, Zambia is only using 3.01 per cent whereas Tanzania, with a lower arable land level is at 4.9 per cent and Mali at 5.14 per cent. These figures indicate that we are not serious. We are not making progress. These are some of the issues that I would like the hon. Minister to understand are not making Muntanga happy. I thought I should say you are beginning to indicate on that point.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order!

Hon. Muntanga, do not make your debate too personal between you and the hon. Minister of Finance.

Mr Muntanga: Sir, through you, …

Mr Deputy Speaker: Yes, but you should use the second person, such as “He” rather than being personal.

Mr Muntanga: Alright!

Through you, Mr Speaker and that man, …

Laughter

Mr Muntanga: … whom I am looking at, and is my friend, and His Honour the Vice-President whom I believe is listening, I wish to tell him that if he does not take agriculture seriously, then, he should stop singing about it.

Mr Nkombo: The yellow maize man!

Mr Muntanga: Stop singing!

Sir, many a time, we have talked about him including the private sector in the agriculture sector, but without the necessary instruments to support them, they cannot survive. If you look at our Budget, Mr Speaker, you will find that for us to buy the crop, we will need K300 billion which we have budgeted for, and yet this Government is saying it wants to buy one million tonnes of maize. I am sure it knows how to calculate. Even my good friend Hon. Given Lubinda, who is quiet now, knows that to buy one million tonnes of maize, he will not spend K300 billion, but in excess of K1 trillion. Where will it get the money from?

We are going back to the state of affairs where farmers are paid money for their maize in March, of the following year.

Sir, through this Budget, you have already condemned farmers that they will not be paid for their crop until next year. So, where is the change? Every time you debate, you keep referring to your manifesto and saying the MMD did not do this or that and yet you are behaving the same way the MMD was behaving, if not worse. In your case, you are only copying what the MMD did, when we want to see things done differently.

Mr Speaker, we have been hearing that there should be some fertiliser distribution programmes to be distributed appropriately to the framers. For this, we need to allocate a substantial amount of money to the agricultural sector. Without doing so, we will not achieve anything.

This afternoon, we are talking about exporting beef and the hon. Minister saying we do not have the technology. When I am seated here, I sometimes get sick because of listening to someone saying we do not have the right technology. What technology are we talking about?

Sir, the back tracing you are talking about is not only the one about tagging. You have the borases, which can be detected. You make the animal swallow the boras and then it remains inside the animal. When the animal is killed, the boras is removed from inside and then, with it, you will be able to trace where the animal came from.

Sir, that is what Botswana is doing, but to do that, it had to get US $30 million to support that programme. What money have you, as the PF Government, set aside for livestock development? Only last year, the Committee on Agriculture and Lands recommended to the then Government that we should have the Ministry of Livestock Development but, instead, you have closed it. Now, you come here and tell us that you do not want disease control. This cannot end just by mere talking.

Mr Speaker, I want to give examples of Namibia and Botswana where the conditions are more arid as compared to Zambia because those countries are in a desert. Look at their disease control mechanisms, which are in three stages. You have physical wire barriers, between where you have the wildlife and that is the red line. The next one is the yellow line while the third is the green line which symbolises disease-free areas.

Sir, we said that since you do not have money to put up all these fences, let us have selective disease-control areas like the free zones you talked about. There was a declaration of some area in Central Province, to be a disease control zone. I was expecting that some money from the Euro Bond would be allocated to the agriculture sector because that US $30 million is needed for traceable situations but you have left it out.

Mr Speaker, if you can support agriculture and people have the money, then, you will, actually, be reducing poverty. To talk about you putting money in a sector where it does not even trickle down to the people will mean going back to the same thing where we have nice figures showing the economy has grown by a certain percentage when, in fact, not. This has no benefit to the people on the ground.

Hon. Government Member: It does.

Mr Muntanga: Mr Speaker, I hear that it does. Only someone who does not stay in the village can say there is something people are benefiting…

Interruptions

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order!

Why are you engaging him?

Mr Muntanga: Mr Speaker, I can handle them.

Laughter

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order!

I can handle them, myself. I am in the Chair. So, I can handle them. So, please, let us have order, let us listen. The hon. Minister is here and he will respond to what is being raised. You may continue.

Mr Muntanga: Mr Speaker, we talked about zero tolerance to corruption. We know the fertiliser company that wanted to bid to be the supplier of this farming season’s fertiliser. Now, we are hearing that Nyiombo Investments must be investigated and we agree that these small companies you are forming to supply fertiliser must be investigated. Why are you forming a small company to supply fertiliser now that you are in the Government? Where were you before?

Hon. UPND Member: Including Midland …

Hon. Opposition Members: Masholi, masholi!

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order!

That kind of behaviour is unbecoming of hon. Members of Parliament. You cannot be shouting masholi masholi when someone is debating.

Laughter

Mr Deputy Speaker: Really, we are getting out of control. That is not acceptable.

Business was suspended from 1615 hours until 1630 hours.

[THE DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON in the Chair]

Mr Muntanga: Mr Speaker, before business was suspended, I was saying the poverty levels in our country are still high. What this means, therefore, is that, those ratios we are talking about are not benefiting the people. Those who may argue and say it is not true, perhaps, need to read the United Nations figures, which indicate that, in Zambia, 64 per cent of the people live on less than one dollar a day whereas Ghana is at 30 per cent and Mali at 50 per cent. Why is Zambia not doing well?

Sir, it is because Ghana’s agriculture budget is now at 10 per cent of its National Budget while Mali’s is at 11 per cent. That has a relationship with the development of the people. It is a fact that 80 per cent of our people are in rural areas and when people’s needs are not met in those areas, they migrate to the urban areas and these are the ones who are selling on the streets. The hon. Minister is now saying do not call them street vendors because they are street traders but we are not going to encourage that.

Mr Speaker, even when we know that we need to put a lot of money for purchases, we do not do that. Now, we hear that, in Mufumbwe, the business of maize is booming because there is a by-election in the area. Elsewhere, like in Kalomo, people who delivered maize a long time ago have not yet been paid for their maize.

Sir, the hon. As the Minister has indicated, he will do very well by pumping in K255 billion into Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia (NCZ), but governance issues will arise. The hon. Deputy Minister for the Western Province, who is also an hon. Member of Parliament, goes there with a group of cadres and tells management at the institution that they are fired and orders them to get out of their offices. What sort of indiscipline is that? Where did you hire these people from?

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

Hon. Members on my left, the rules of the game are very clear. When an hon. Member is debating, please, give him an opportunity to debate in a conducive environment. The habit of making running commentaries is frowned upon. May you, please, continue.

Mr Muntanga: Mr Speaker, the issues related to agriculture should be taken very seriously. Let us not bicker over little things when people are supposed to get their fertiliser now. We need to investigate what happened at the Nyiombo Investments Limited warehouse in Mansa where thieves stole millions of bags of fertiliser meant for the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP). When are the inputs under FISP going to be distributed? 

Mr Speaker, some people involved in this programme are now crying foul but where were they all along? They are only doing so because they are not getting a cut from whatever is going on and are now alleging corruption. Our colleagues on your right should be careful not to be ‘eaten’ by corruption. They should understand that one who talks about corruption should make sure that he/she has a clean record. This is what we keep talking about. We need the money in the Budget to be allocated where it is supposed to be.

Mr Speaker, I know that some people do not follow the debate of the Opposition. However, I want them to refer to various important documents. I can even produce my address to the Alliance for Greener Revolution of Africa (AGRA) Conference. They need to find out what was discussed at this conference. The general cry of delegates to this summit was that although Africa has the biggest arable land in the world, it fails to develop its agriculture sectors. Alas, even the allocation for agriculture is only 3 per cent of our Budget. 

Mr Speaker, I want the hon. Minister to show me what money has been allocated towards the improvement of irrigation systems in this country. We cannot continue only growing crops that are rain fed. Maize is the easiest to grow because it is rain fed and that is why most people grow it. If we want to grow rice, wheat and other crops, we must improve the irrigation systems in Zambia. The exercise of making dams is not going anywhere. What we have heard is that only three dams are going to be constructed in Southern Province. What is this supposed to mean? There is no seriousness. 

Mr Speaker, since it is a K32 trillion Budget, K3.2 trillion should go towards agriculture. Agriculture does not even need K5 trillion, as has been given to education. Once the Government does that, our people will survive. Other sectors will also pick up because agriculture will be the primary source of raw materials. The hon. Minister of Finance should inform the powers that be to create a ministry of livestock and fisheries development. I hope the President is listening. This will enable livestock and fisheries development to receive its own allocation instead of being under the Ministry of Agriculture. 

Mr Speaker, there was a comment from across that we are not supposed to tell the Government what to do before the Budget is even approved. Unfortunately, the hon. Minister of Agriculture is not here but his hon. Deputy Ministers are here. Maybe, he is acting as President somewhere. My appeal is that, as leaders, our words should be matched with our actions.  The Government is wrong to propose to increase funding to the cotton sector and give one bag of seed and one of fertiliser per farmer and think that this is going to improve cotton production to 150 kg per hectare from 8 kg. 

Mr Speaker, I am looking at the time remaining because I have a lot of information around me that I would like to share with the House. The only thing I can appeal to the hon. Minister is to re-look at the Budget allocations. People should be allowed to decide what they want to prioritise in terms of development through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). I thought this year it was going to be increased to K5 billion per constituency.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!{mospagebreak}

Mr Muntanga: I heard that a total of K150 billion has been allocated for this fund. The CDF is the only way money goes directly to the people. Through it we can address issues of building dip tanks, for example. The idea of increasing funding to councils shows that our colleagues are dreaming as they sit there because councils are not efficient.  

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Professor Lungwangwa (Nalikwanda): Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity to make some comments on the Budget Address. However, before I do that, I would like to express our gratitude to the hon. Minister of Finance, the mover of this Motion, for being in the House. That is how it should be. We did walk out last week, for three days consecutively, because we did not want to set a bad precedent for the generations to come.

Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister of Finance has been in the House before, some good thirty years ago. I think it was from 1974. It is not even thirty but probably forty years ago and, clearly, I am very sure he appreciates the …

Mr Mwila: A point of order, Sir.

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: A point of order is raised.

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, is the hon. Member of Parliament for Nalikwanda in order to start challenging the ruling of Mr Speaker? Mr Speaker ruled that we have to proceed with the debate. I need your serious ruling.

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: The ruling, which is serious, is very simple. I have been exercising anxious moments as I was following the line of debate by the hon. Member for Nalikwanda but, so far, he has not crossed that thin line. He was almost crossing it, but he has not and I hope the hon. Member for Nalikwanda will take that into account as he debates.

The hon. Member for Nalikwanda may continue.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Professor Lungwangwa: Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. 

Sir, that is how it should be because, as representatives of the people, we would like to debate with the full view of the hon. Minister of Finance who is the bearer of the message from His Excellency the President regarding the proposals in the Budget which the House should debate and critically analyse in the interest of the people. So, we did not want to be part of a wrong …

Mr Kalaba: On a point of order, Sir.

The Deputy Chairperson: A point of order is raised.

Mr Kalaba: Mr Speaker, you have just raised a very important issue in your ruling that we should restrict ourselves to substantive matters. Is the hon. Member for Nalikwanda, who is debating in a manner suggesting that he is not sure of what he wants … 

Interruptions

Mr Kalaba: … to debate on, in order to continue debating in that manner even after you have given that ruling? I need your serious ruling.

The Deputy Chairperson: The very serious ruling is that the man is almost finishing along that line of thought …

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Chairperson: … and he is, therefore, in order, now, to embark on more serious issues.

The hon. Member can continue.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Professor Lungwangwa: Mr Speaker, thank you very much. 

Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister of Finance brought a very serious Motion to the House with a very serious theme called “Delivering Inclusive Development and Social Justice”. This is a serious statement that touches on the lives of our people. What we expected out of this Budget is a different way of looking at the lives of our people. We expected some innovative, imaginative and creative ways or methodologies of looking at our people’s lives through the Budget. 

I expected serious attention to be paid to the disparities that affect our people, in particular, between the urban and the rural areas, the low and upper income echelons of our society, and how the hon. Minister of Finance can work with the available resources in the Budget to create an impact in the lives of our people, especially in the rural areas in line with the Budget’s theme. 

Sir, inclusive development and social justice will only be attained when the Government is able to ensure that every child goes to school and there are opportunities for secondary and tertiary education for the greater majority of our people. 

Mr Speaker, inclusiveness will only be achieved when the greater majority of our people are assured of clean water that cannot threaten their health. 

Sir, inclusive development will only be achieved when the greater majority of our people are enabled to market their sources of income, in particular cattle and various types of crops, to generate income to use in addressing the various problems that affect their children and themselves. 

Mr Speaker, inclusive development and social justice will only be achieved when our people are able to access clinics near their homes, preferably, within 5km. Also, people should be able to access the rural areas across various rivers in the country and their children safe from wild beasts like crocodiles. The House should note that, just a few weeks ago, some children, unfortunately, lost their lives at a crossing point in Shang’ombo. It is only when these issues that affect the lives of our people are addressed seriously that we are going to have development and social justice for the greater majority of our people. 

In this Budget, Mr Speaker, I have not seen serious attention paid to these issues, which are very critical to the lives of our people. When it comes, for example, to the low-income echelons of our society, we have tax that has been imposed on simple things like roofing sheets which, of course, the greater majority of our people depend on to construct decent homes for themselves. That is not being people-centred, taking into account the interest of alleviating poverty among our people. 

Mr Speaker, in this Budget, we have seen proposals to drill 2, 500 boreholes across the country. That can never have a greater impact on the lives of our people who so dearly need clean water and, of course, improved sanitation in order to mitigate against various water-borne diseases that affect them. 

Mr Speaker, in this Budget, we have seen an allocation to the education sector which is meagre because we have K475 billion which stands out as an allocation to the operations and infrastructure development in tertiary institutions like universities and colleges. That amount is extremely small and will not make any impact on tertiary education because for the University of Zambia (UNZA) alone, and if you add with the Copperbelt University (CBU), the amount of money they owe their workers is much more than K475 billion. If you look at the secondary school sector, the proposed allocation is K393 billion. On average, a secondary school will cost K39 billion, which means that the PF Government will only be able to build ten secondary schools next year. That will leave a big gap for the greater majority of our youths who would like to access secondary education in this country. That will not have any impact at all.

Sir, the Budget proposes to allocate K75 billion for the construction of primary schools. If, on average, a primary school costs K7 billion, we are talking about less than twelve schools to be constructed. Is this really a people-centred Budget? Is this the kind of Budget that will avail the greater majority of our children opportunities to access education? The answer is no. 

Mr Speaker, we have an allocation of K42 billion to the buying of educational materials in this Budget. There are many millions of our children out there who need educational materials in order to access quality education and K42 billion will not have any meaningful impact on the quality of education in our country.

Sir, if you look at other aspects of the Budget, very important aspects like, for example, grants for free basic education. In many districts, there are no grants for free basic education for our people. Where will our children in basic schools get textbooks, exercise books and various other educational requisites if this Budget has not made any provision in that direction? This is why we are saying that the Budget has not lived up to the higher ideals that the hon. Minister of Finance expounded in the House, namely, inclusive development and social justice.

Mr Speaker, apart from the Budget falling below the standard of inclusiveness, if the trends over the past one year are anything to go by, even on the proposals which are made, the resources will come very late just like the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). For example, many of us in our respective constituencies have not been availed the 2012 CDF, which means that most of our people will not have the opportunity to have their problems addressed this year. For example, feeder roads, clinics, teachers’ houses and small bridges will not be worked on. 

Sir, the year is coming to an end in two months time, but the CDF has not been availed to us. Clearly, we do not see that K1 billion which has been proposed in the 2013 Budget coming to us this time next year. It will be in 2014. These are the challenges and concerns. I can be specific. Even Nalikwanda Road for which K1 billion was allocated in the 2012 Budget has not received anything, yet our people have to walk 60km to Mongu because the road is inaccessible to motorised transport. They are still waiting for that K1 billion. These are the issues and concerns of our people. That is why we are extremely sceptical about the higher ideals which you pronounced in this House about inclusive development and social justice.

Mr Speaker, in fact, on the issue of social justice, we have a very serious governance issue in our country today: we are living in a Police State.

Interruptions

Professor Lungwangwa: Our people fear for their lives. We have the undemocratic situation in our country in which freedom of expression and association are being denied to the greater majority of our people. As Opposition parties, we are being denied the freedom to meet our people and hold rallies to talk to them. Those are issues of governance and there cannot be a pronouncement of social justice when we are being denied opportunities for free expression, speech and association. That is undemocratic. 

Mr Speaker, we stand here to inform the hon. Minister of Finance that we are concerned because the budgeting process is an integral part of governance. If there is no good governance in our country, even the budgeting process may not operate in the best interests of our country. Therefore, we would like to see the Executive adhere to the highest principles of democratic governance where ordinary citizens – men and women, and children and adults – have the opportunity to enjoy, in their lives, the rights that they are given by our Constitution, including the rights of free speech and association. 

Sir, the Public Order Act must be re-visited because it is not in line with the promotion of good governance. We would like the Executive to take these issues seriously, including the issue of the muzzling of the democratic environment in the House by poaching hon. Members from our side to the Executive.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Hon. Government Member: Question!

 Professor Lungwangwa: That is undemocratic because the stronger the Opposition is in the House, the better for the governance of our country. Currently, about ten of our people have been silenced. Their freedom of expression in representing their people has been compromised. 

Interruptions

Professor Lungwangwa: That is undemocratic. These are governance issues which we are extremely concerned about. The Budget is part of that Governance process and therefore, we would like these issues addressed, including the petitioning of the election of hon. Members in the Opposition. There was absolutely no need for all those petitions. That is …

Mr Mwila: On a point of order, Sir.

The Deputy Chairperson: A point of order is raised.

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, is the hon. Member of Parliament for Nalikwanda, Professor Lungwangwa, in order to talk about petitions which are before the High Court as well as the Supreme Court? I need your serious ruling.

The Deputy Chairperson: To the extent that he did not zero-in on any specific petition, he is in order.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Chairperson: However, hon. Member, as you debate, bear in mind that you should not discuss any petition that is in court. A general statement might be tolerable.

You may proceed.

Professor Lungwangwa: Mr Speaker, these are the concerns of the greater majority of our people. This Government, represented by the Executive, must re-examine the governance system in our country. Let our people be guaranteed their freedoms as we celebrate forty-eight years of Independence. This Executive, which is being led by the PF, will take this country to the fiftieth anniversary of our Independence, …

Dr Scott walked into the Chamber.

Professor Lungwangwa: … and you must be seen, Hon. Guy Scott, to be democratic. In fact, if it were me, and given the unconstitutionality currently obtaining as a result of Hon. Dr Scott’s being in that position, I would have resigned.

I thank you, Sir.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear! 

Mr Mooya (Moomba): Mr Speaker, …

Hon. UPND Member: Umpa Mudala!

Mr Mooya: Ndaumpa.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mooya: Mr Speaker, in analysing the speech by the hon. Minister of Finance, my first comment is on the bottom-left of the cover of the booklet of the Budget speech. There is a picture that is not supposed to there because it portrays the dangerous situation caused by overloading, which causes damage to our roads. Ideally, the picture is not supposed to be controversial at all, but one that is good and carries a good message.

Mr Speaker, I am reminded of a similar picture that appeared on the booklet of the Budget speech delivered by Hon. Magande in 2008. We condemned the picture in our comments. Hence, in 2009 and 2010, it never appeared, but it has now come back. I do not blame the hon. Minister because he is new. However, his officers know what we said in 2008. It is a very bad picture because it brings back very bad memories – the damage to our roads by abnormal loading and abnormal dimensions. That is what is happening. Our roads are being destroyed by this, yet we are glorifying it.

Mr Speaker, I note, on page 3 of the Budget address, that there are four sectors that have been mentioned as being strategic for growth and job creation, namely; agriculture, tourism, manufacturing and infrastructure development.

Mr Speaker, I think Hon. Muntanga zeroed in on his field of expertise, which is agriculture. I would like to speak on infrastructure development. I do not see how the Government is going to create jobs, considering the constraints that are there.

Mr Speaker, in his speech, the hon. Minister talked about the public procurement reforms. I welcome the reforms. Let me talk about the Road Development Agency (RDA). The answer to the problems at the RDA does not lie at State House, but at the RDA. State House must be the one to be protected and not institutions to be protected by State House. I understand that there is a scramble for contracts at the RDA, and that the RDA has a problem of refusing to offer some people contracts. That is the problem we should zero-in on instead of taking the RDA to State House. We should not shoot in the dark because the problem is clear.

Mr Speaker, we have invested a lot in the RDA and the National Council for Construction (NCC). Reforms are the answer to the problems at these institutions. Let us protect State House and the President. There has been a lot of mud-slinging since the RDA was taken to State House. I hope this arrangement of taking the RDA to State House is interim, and only up to January, 2013 only, when the reforms in public procurement will be implemented. I hope the RDA will go back to where it belongs. 

Mr Speaker, there are a lot of constraints in this sector and will not make any progress if we dot address them. I was listening to a programme called ‘National Watch’ on television on 17th October, 2012, and the boss of the RDA was trying to justify why the RDA had been taken to State House. I do not envy him because, as I said earlier, there is a scramble for contracts. I understood that he wants to work very hard and deliver, but he cannot do that completely. He can only deliver 80 per cent and 20 per cent has to be delivered via State House. These are the figures he used. He will deliver his 80 per cent plus the 20 per cent from State House, it will make 100 per cent. That was his argument. I do not admire him.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mooya: Mr Speaker, as I said earlier, we have identified the problem, therefore, let us not shoot in the dark. I think taking the RDA to State House is a national issue. I humbly request the professional bodies to state their stance on the issue. Whenever there is an issue, the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) always states its stance. 

Mr Speaker, I am a member of one of these professional bodies. We have the Engineering Institution of Zambia (EIZ). I humbly ask the EIZ to state its stance on whether it is happy with the transfer of the RDA to State House or not. This should come from the institution and not from an individual. Similarly, the Zambia Institute of Architects (ZIA) should state its stance on this national issue. I also humbly ask the quantity surveyors to issue a statement on whether they accept this situation or not.

Mr Speaker, I listened to another programme on Radio Phoenix called Face the Media on the 11th of October, 2012 sponsored by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zambia. I was very sad about what I heard. If we do not correct this situation, we will never create jobs. I heard that the construction industry is dominated by foreign firms. Zambian contractors make up 96 per cent of the industry and foreign firms make up 4 per cent. However, this situation is reversed when it comes to accessing contracts. The 4 per cent foreign firms get 90 per cent of the contracts while the 90 per cent Zambian contractors get 4 per cent of the contracts. I know what happens there. This means that all that money is externalised instead of circulating in the country. Therefore, that issue of job creation and empowering Zambian contractors is a dream, and we will not achieve it. Let us find a solution here.

Mr Speaker, there was an item in the newspaper about the 20 per cent sub-contracting policy. The National Association for Medium and Small Scale Contractors (NAMSC) are not happy with that policy. We must revisit it if we want to create jobs. NAMSC argues that it is the main contractor, who is always a foreigner, selects, awards, and supervises the sub-contractor. He also certifies the work for payment to be made.

As you can see, our Zambian contractors are at a huge disadvantage. Let us sort out that problem if we are to create jobs and empower Zambian contractors in order to reduce poverty. Otherwise, the strategy for job creation in the sector is a joke.

Mr Speaker, there are many problems in the construction industryand infrastructure development. We should, first of all, neutralise all these constraints though it will take time. It will not take five years, but more than that or even up to ten years. We should solve that problem firstand,then, talk about job creation.

Sir, that is my free advice to the PF Government.

I thank you, Sir.

The Deputy Chairperson: Any further debate?

The hon. Member for Chembe.

Hon. Government Members: Chief Mwanya!

Mr Livune: Have you come with a message, Sir.

Mr Mbulakulima (Chembe): Mr Speaker, I thank you for giving me this rare opportunity to debate on the Motion on the Floor. 

First of all, allow me to register my disappointment. When Hon. Professor Lungwangwa was debating, he talked about muzzling the media. This is part of good governance, butunless you observe it …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mbulakulima: My nephews there are saying,“Hear, hear!” It affects me …

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

Just address the Speaker. You can see that the Speaker is listening to you attentively. Therefore, do not engage them. Leave the people who debate while seated to do so, but they will be controlled by the Speaker.

Continue, please.

Mr Mbulakulima: Mr Speaker, the walking out which Hon. Professor Lungwangwa mentioned was not for nothing. However, I was flabbergasted by the conduct of the station we call a national broadcaster, the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), and the manner in which it covered that event. They were in the House and showed the nation how hon. Members of Parliament were walking out. 

I do not know what constitutes newsto them. Was the news about the hon. Members who walked out of the House or those who remained? However, they remained here to interview the hon. Members who remained. From here, they went into the streets and areas like Kabwata, instead of interviewing the people who were involved.

Sir, it is this kind of coverage which is not fair, and I want to put this on record. Probably, …

Interruptions

Mr Kapeya: On a point of order, Sir.

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

The Deputy Chairperson: A point of order is raised.

Mr Kapeya: Mr Speaker, several times, you have advised hon. Members of Parliament to debate with factswhen they stand to debate. Is the hon. Member of Parliament for Chembe in order to mislead this House and the general public at large that the ZNBC did not interview any single hon. Member of the Opposition when they walked out of this Chamber? I seek your serious ruling.

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah!

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

The hon. Member should take that point of order into account as he debates.

Continue, please.

Mr Mbulakulima: Mr Speaker, the ZNBC went to Kabwata and everywhere. Let me give an example of this kind of reporting.A few days ago, the MMD had a press briefing by the Manager, Elections, and he said a lot of things. When he was quoted …

Mr Chisanga: On a point of order, Sir.

The Deputy Chairperson: A point of order is raised.

Mr Chisanga: Mr Speaker, the trend in this House is that the hon. Members on your left raise issues whilethe hon. Members of your right take notes and respond at the right time. However, I have seen a number of hon. Ministers rising on points of orderinstead of taking down notes so that they respond at the right time. Is it in order for hon. Ministers to rise on points of orderwhen they have capableBackbenchers who can do that?

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

The ruling is that Backbenchers both on the right and left have the right to raise issues to which the Frontbench will, at an appropriate time, respond to.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Chairperson:Having said that, any hon. Member of Parliament, who has a valid point, is within his rights to raise a point of order …

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Chairperson: … but, at the end of it all, it is up to the Speaker to make a ruling on whether that point of order is sustained or not.

Can the hon. Member proceed.

Mr Mbulakulima: Mr Speaker, as I wind up this matter, I would like to say that I was impressed with Radio Phoenix because of the way it covered our Manager, Campaigns. He talked on a lot of items. On the same news programme, they aired the Manager for PF in Mufumbwe, Hon. Jean Kapata. That was a balanced way of reporting. That is how it is supposed to be.If you recall, for two days, the ZNBC kept showing the same clip,but never featured anyone from the UPND or the MMD. I want to send a message to them. No wonderthe PF Government was inquiring them indiscriminately. They must avoid that …

Mr Ng’onga: On a point of order, Sir.

The Deputy Chairperson: A point of order is raised.

Mr Ng’onga: Mr Speaker, I rarely rise on points of order, but I have done so because this is a very serious point of order. Is the hon. Member for Chembe in order to be politicking since he started debating? I do not even know whether there are anyhon. Members who are following his debate. I seek your serious ruling.

Interruptions 

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

To the extent that he is complaining of alleged unfair coverage, he is in order.

Can you proceed.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mbulakulima: My nephew, I am still around.

Interruptions

Mr Mbulakulima: I think under modernisation and reform, we must give them a chance to remove jackets. That is the way I look at it.

The Deputy Chairperson: Order! 

I think you have talked much on that issue. Can you move on to the next point.

Mr Mbulakulima: Mr Speaker, let me now come to the main item. I find this Budget Speech we call the PF Real Budget,a technically no-growth Budget. If it is a growth Budget, then it is not even pro-poor, but elitist.

Sir, I know that the hon. Minister of Finance isa sober, cool and collected person, but let me mention that the PF came into Government on the platform of an economic Tsunami. People’s expectations are extremely high. 

Mr Speaker, on the other hand, the Budget’s micro-economic fundamentals are low. The 2012 Budget was K27.7 trillionthat was 26.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). In the 2013 Budget, it has gone up to K32.2 trillion. Again, you are saying that it is 26.6 per cent of the GDP. However, this K32.2 trillion includes the 750 Euro Bonds. 

Mr Livune:Nkongole!

Mr Mbulakulima:Ask yourself what the problemis. Is there is no internal resource mobilisation?
.
Where is the growth? At one time, it was 26.5 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and, this year, it is 26.6 per cent of our GDP and yet it includes the Euro Bond. I see no hope and no growth in this Budget.

Hon. Opposition Member: Shame.

Mr Mbulakulima: Mr Speaker, we set targets of 7 per cent as GDP and talk about import cover of three to four months - in the last few years it has been three to four months. Inflation is single digit but there too much fluctuation in the exchange rate. I wonder whether there was need to change Government. 

Laughter 

Hon. Opposition Member: There was no need.

Mr Mbulakulima: There was no need. They are just following the same parameters that we had in place. Where is the change and how has it come? I remember a few years ago, the United Party for National Development (UNPD) debated and promised that if they came into power the GDP would be set at 10 per cent. In Ghana, if you recall, from 5-6 per cent they have gone to 8 per cent. If you are going to grow the economy at this rate, when will the trickle down effects come?

Interruptions

Mr Mbulakulima: This is not the way to set a Budget. You came in on a platform of an economic tsunami. However, I do not see any growth in this. I think we need to change for the better.

Sir, I have seen that the hon. Minster of Finance is at pains to reconcile the two. Under Part II of the Budget, under micro-economic objectives, they are talking about limiting the overall fiscal deficit to 4.3 per cent of the GDP of which domestic borrowing will be at 1.5 per cent. However, this is a contradiction to what is in the Budget. Look at the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, a province and districts have been created, with more on the way, but where is the funding? I know that they want to avoid a fiscal deficit. However, where will the money to fund the districts come from? I know that there will be a tsunami in terms of creation of districts in Mufumbwe when the PF Government goes there. The funding is extremely poor under this Budget and this is a contradiction. 

Mr Speaker, capital grants last year amounted to K125 billon. However, in this year’s Budget, the capital grants amount to K81 billion. At a time when we are moving from seventy-four districts, plus fifteen and more to come, we are moving from K125 billion to K81 billion. How will it be in terms of infrastructure development?

Mr Speaker, I have also noticed that there is K204 billion under infrastructure in new districts which is only enough for one province. I am aware that out of K125 billion provided last year, K31 billion was released but it did not go to its intended purpose. That money was mopped up and now you have K174 billion which you want to use for the harmonisation of salaries. That is good, but where will the growth come from? Now, we are going straight into consumption for two consecutive years. You are aware that K133 billion was provided for under the green paper but nothing has been done. So, I do not see any growth coming from this Budget. That is why I am saying that this is not a growth Budget.

Interruptions

Mr Mbulakulima: You are saying Bayama? Soon, we will be going to the Provincial Development Co-ordinating Committee (PDCC) … 

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!{mospagebreak}

The Speaker is not on your right. I am right in front of you.

Mr Mbulakulima: If we I go the PDCC, how will I face the people of Luapula? Where is the money for Lunga District? Where is the money fro Chembe? Where is the money for Chipili? There is no Mwansabombwe in this Budget.

Interruptions

Mr Mwila: On a point of order, Sir.

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

A point of order is raised.

Mr Mwila: Mr Speaker, I rise on a serious point of order. Is the hon. Member of Parliament for Chembe in order to insinuate that there is no money for Chipili, which is now a district, when the money is there? As area Member of Parliament, I will go there and explain that the money is there. Is he in order, Sir?

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

As much as I appreciate the point of order raised, allow me to say a few words. We need to exercise patience when other people are making their points and the reason for this is that the Government will have an opportunity to correct those misconceptions. It is important to take notes. 

You may continue, but bear that point of order in mind.

Mr Mbulakulima: Mr Speaker, what I am saying is that while technocrats provided K120 billion for new districts, only K81 billion was allocated for all districts which are now over eighty-four or eighty-nine with more to come. We are going to create this deficit unless we plan for it. K1 billion is not enough for a new district to meet its challenges.

Sir, the other point under the Ministry of Local Government and Housing is that of valuation rolls. There has been lack of funding on this vote and this affects the growth of our councils. Are you aware that Chipata has been a city in waiting? One of the constraints that they had is the payment of grants in lieu of rates. This stifles growth in councils and unless you put enough money on this account, districts will not grow. These are technically matters on which we should not quarrel. 

Interruptions

Mr Mbulakulima: Mr Speaker, we have only put aside K20 billion for the Constitution. I am aware that we spent K95 billion. However, 95 per cent of the Constitution has been made. There are very few items that have to be dealt with. One would have thought that our focus would be on the road map especially with regards to holding a national referendum but this is not coming through.

Hon. Opposition Member: Hear, hear!

Mr Mbulakulima: The hon. Minister of Justice was addressing the nation the other day, and talking about the United Nations Charter and African Charter. As long as we do not embrace and channel the Bill of Rights in the Constitution, you cannot claim to have a Budget which is pro-poor. The issues of economic, social and cultural rights are now mandatory. This cannot be called a pro-poor Budget until we do this. Where is the money for the National Constitution? 

Interruptions

Mr Mbulakulima: Will K20 billion be enough for us to achieve this national assignment?

Interruptions

Mr Mbulakulima: It is not about ninety days. This should have been the easiest thing to achieve because 95 per cent of the job has been done, but why are the dillydallying? 

Hon. Opposition Member: Posh cars. 

Hon. Opposition Member Taking money to Ilunda Investments.

Mr Mbulakulima: Mr Speaker, I do not see this Budget as a pro-poor Budget. The people of Milenge are asking whether it is a pro-poor Budget and I say no. I have looked at the Budget. You talk about manufacturing and value addition to locally available raw materials but that has nothing to do with Milenge. Short-term financing through banking, entry into the international market, construction of low-cost houses and the rehabilitation of the three major hospitals are all about towns. Where is the money for Milenge?

Hon. Opposition Member: in Ilunda Investments

Mr Mbulakulima: The people of Milenge would have been happy if you were talking about the Constitution. The Constitution affects them and will accelerate development.

They should have been happy if we allocated enough funding to the agriculture sector. The K300 billion which was said to be insufficient is the same amount that has been put aside. Who will buy maize from the local people of Milenge? This is an elitist Budget.

Mr Speaker, I have noticed that my people have been denied remote hardship allowance. There is no allocation for graduate retention in this Budget. Now, where will these people find solace? This reminds me of a colleague who said that I should be appreciative because this Government is attending to the challenges that the people are facing. The young man does not understand. I take strong exception. First of all, you must appreciate and give respect. If you do not want to do that, you should give recognition. Out of the fourteen, only one managed. How did he manage? You should give respect and if not, give recognition.

Laughter

Mr Mbulakulima: Mr Speaker, I came to this House on the platform of performance. In the previous Budget, a district hospital was built in Milenge. A trades college and high schools were built in Milenge. A pontoon was also bought. What I am looking for now is electricity. I will also give you a credit if you tar the road in my area. For one to stand on the platform and say that I must appreciate, I think that is lack of respect and recognition. 

Mr Speaker, the road that he mentioned is now being patched up for the first time since 1964. Where have you seen a gravel road that is patched up? 

Laughter

Mr Mbulakulima: Sir, that is what is happening. You should have been the last person to talk. I would have appreciated if the hon. Deputy Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication stood on this platform and said something because I have seen his concern. I have also seen the hon. Provincial Minister’s concerns. These are people who want to bring Milenge to its proper standard.  For someone to bring certain insinuations, I take very strong exception. 

Interruptions

Mr Mbulakulima: Mr Speaker, I also want to talk about the social security sector. I think this sector is completely sidelined. The Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF) is a contributory fund. I have seen the interventions that have been made but I think our aim is to clear the arrears. If we do that, we will be up to date with the contributions. At a later stage, there will be no need for us to have the interventions in the Budget because this is a self financing project. I want to believe that money will be set aside to clear the backlog and see how the Public Service Pension Fund will operate. That way, the PSPF will be able to finance projects on their own without Government intervention.  

Mr Speaker, when I went to the Eastern Province, I had the privilege to address my colleagues in Chadiza District. They came in big numbers. You know how good the people from the Eastern Province are. I wanted to assess the performance of the PF and I asked them, “How have the PF performed?” They said, “This school where you are addressing us was built in 1999 and it was called Chitukuko but today, it is called Tafelansoni.”

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Laughter

Mr Mbulakulima: Mr Speaker, these people are looking forward to a special allocation in this year’s Budget so that this school can retain its old status. We hope that one of the sons from there will make a difference. Having gone through the Yellow Book, I am disappointed to note that the people of Tafelansoni. will continue with that name. The people of Milenge and Chadiza are extremely disappointed. As Hon. Mutelo said, unless we change, what is in this Budget is doom. 

Mr Speaker, the issue of good governance cannot be compromised. We can see what is already happening in this country and we believe that we are going to introduce good governance in this country. What we see now is extremely disappointing. As we debate the National Budget, it is important to talk about issues of good governance. 

With these few words, I thank you.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Chairperson: Indeed, they were few words.

Mr Nkombo (Mazabuka Central): Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to debate the National Budget Address by the hon. Minister of Finance. 

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

Mr Nkombo: Sir, let me begin by thanking him most sincerely for coming to this House to deliver his speech. I am also certain that as he was delivering this speech, he, in his heart of hearts, meant very well for this country. 

Mr Speaker, on the cover page, there is a theme, “Delivering Inclusive Development and Social Justice.” I want to argue, from the outset, that our colleagues in the PF have continued to be engrossed in a very bad spirit of deception which, in simple terms, is called, “Don’t kubeba” because there is no social justice in this country and I will argue as we get along in my discourse. 

Mr Speaker, my colleagues from Nalikwanda and Milenge constituencies ably indicated how the injustices that have been inflicted on those of us on your left hand side, when it comes to human rights. They have become deafening as they scream in our ears every day. I have no clue what it is that the PF remains paranoid about upholding the basic tenets of fundamental human rights and freedoms. So, it was actually wrong to put this theme here that they want to see inclusive development and social justice.

Sir, a Budget is a very important tool for generating public revenues, directing expenditure, identifying priorities and, also, with a view to directly or indirectly speak to the issues that affect the people who sent us to this House to represent their interests and aspirations. Going by what I read in this speech and having looked at all the Budget speeches from 2008 to this moment, I want to argue that I have not seen the linkages for the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), the Fifth National Development Plan (FNDP) and the Vision 2030. Although they may claim that the 2012 Budget was not theirs, they took long to amend it and they still work with the same civil servants.  I expected a direct relationship between where they left off in 2012 and now, telling us in no uncertain terms, for instance, the levels of the Supplementary Budget that they are going to bring here so that we see how the Budget for 2012 performed.  
I think that our colleagues in the PF may still be under the impression that budgeting is just an event, not a process. Let me argue that it is a process. Its formulation, implementation and results should, therefore, be all connected. 

Mr Speaker, there should be a link between this year’s theme and the one for last year but, instead, there is a disconnection. What has been said in this speech about the fiscal and monetary policy, is just the business-as-usual kind of thing. From the years of the previous Government to this Government, there is no reason for me to think that there has been a departure in the fiscal and monetary policies as outlined by the hon. Minister of Finance.

Mr Speaker, the gross domestic product (GDP), inflation, exchange rate, debt contraction process and interest rates are, by and large, similar, if not worse than they were in the MMD Government. 

Sir, a 7 per cent economic growth has been projected. Assuming that we actually achieve this growth, I would still want the PF Government, in no uncertain terms, to tell us when Zambia will actually qualify to become a real middle income country. As far as I am concerned, at 7 per cent, we will be seeing poverty for a very long time in this country. We, from the United Party for National Development (UPND) think that it is possible to achieve a 10 per cent growth rate, which can hasten the eradication of the poverty that we see among our people. 

Sir, a projection must come with determination. The way our colleagues are operating is as though the PF is resigned to the fact that it actually went to the people of Zambia in the deceptive spirit of ‘Don’t kubeba’ and convince them to vote for it and promised to improve their lives at the domestic level. The party preached the re-introduction of the windfall tax. Whenever its members opened their mouths every single day, they talked about the windfall tax but, today, it is now a taboo to discuss that issue. We are further told that we may be in some wrong state of mind if we continue to discuss that issue.
Mr Speaker, let me argue that, with the four years we have ahead with the PF Government, we have, indeed, missed the opportunity for our people to see the alleviation of poverty by simply doing what it promised to do when it was campaigning; to bring out …

Hon. Government Member: Those are dreams.

Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, it would be good to get some protection from you.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order! 

Please, proceed.

Mr Nkombo: I have never seen a person who is dreaming while talking, but it seems that those fellows who think that the budgeting process is just an event have found a way to do so.

Laughter

Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, I was saying that, if we took the windfall tax as one of the policy measures to improve our economy, we would very easily get in excess of US $3 billion per annum. This is because the threshold of profit gears in at a certain point, which does not happen every day. Let me tag this against the Eurobond, which was the brain-child of the MMD at US$500 million. I think that the MMD Government had a plan of how to utilise that money. However, when these hon. Fellows on the right came om the scene, ...

Hon. Government Member: Which fellows?

Laughter

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order!

Can you substitute the word ‘fellow’ with an appropriate one.

Mr Nkombo: The PF hon. Members of Parliament decided to scale it up to US$750 million.

Mr B. Mutale: On a point of order, Sir.

Mr Deputy Speaker: A point of order is raised.

Mr B. Mutale: Mr Speaker, this is the first time I have risen on a point of order.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order!

Allow the hon. Member to raise his point of order.

Mr B. Mutale: Is the hon. Member of Parliament for Mazabuka Central in order to call us fellows in this honourable House? I need your serious ruling.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Deputy Speaker: Although the ruling has come belatedly, I had already reminded the hon. Member to substitute that word with an appropriate one.

Proceed, hon. Member for Mazabuka Central.

Mr Nkombo: I, once again, withdraw it for the benefit of the hon. Member of Parliament for ... whatever constituency. 

Mr Speaker, the PF decided to become over-adventurous without a plan and upped the loan to US $750 million. The hon. Minister of Finance actually stated that the Eurobond was over-subscribed. He further said that this was as a result of the confidence that he thought the investors had in this country. Let me argue that investors are very clever people. You may, in your view, think that this is a good investment destination but, in theirs, that they think that this is an easy-money-land, where they can come in, make their money and go. 

Sir, we are endowed with wealth which was given to us by God in form of minerals, and we could easily raise this US$3 billion per annum. In five years, we could have got, maybe, US$15 billion, which is more than K3 trillion, from our own local resources. This might sound like a dream to some people, and this is, certainly, different from what we see through the PF’s current attitude of moving from entrepreneurship to tender-preneurship. Its members are now living in tender houses and opening companies in order to molest this country for their own benefit.

Hon. Opposition Member: Melunda Holding.

Mr Nkombo: How can we allow them to give us the devious spirit of ‘Don’t kubeba’? For instance, in Peru, South America, investors left when the windfall tax was introduced, but they did not go for a long time. We all have access to the Internet. So, we can all go and verify this. In this regard, even if the investors that we have in Zambia also left, it matters less because the copper and cobalt would still remain. When the UPND comes into power, we will find people who will come and pay the windfall tax.

Hon. Government Member: Dream on.

Mr Nkombo: Whether you think that I am dreaming or not, those of you who are commenting, the force of gravity dictates that whatever goes up must come down.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order!

Allow the hon. Member to debate.

Mr Nkombo: Make the hay while the sun shines because a time will come when the Zambian people will show you the red card the same way they did to the MMD Government. You cannot live in tender-preneurship, making bogus companies in order to molest the Zambian people and get their wealth. This is unacceptable.

Dr Scott: Tender what? 

Mr Nkombo: Tender- preneurship.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order!

 Hon. Muntanga, please, stop interfering with the debate of the hon. Member on the Floor.

Mr Nkombo: It is totally unfair. If you think that the Zambians are sleeping, they are not. There is a crop of good politicians in the PF, but I am afraid to say that more than half of them do not mean well for this country. 

Hon. Opposition Members Hear, hear!

Mr Nkombo: We cannot continue to see people fighting over small things that, obviously, suggest that they are not doing the work that they promised Zambians they would do. They are busy enriching themselves. This is not a Budget for the PF, but for the whole country, including my grandmother in Munenga Village. That is what it is. We are fed up of this fight and people trying to show that they are mightier than others. With due respect, to crown it all, the head of State is enjoying it by, as can be deduced from his question, “How is the fight going?”

Laughter

Mr Nkombo: Who wants to know about a fight? Does their manifesto include fighting? We have very serious affairs to attend to. 

Mr Speaker, I would now like to talk about the Eurobond. I want the hon. Minister of Finance, when he comes back to respond, to tell me, in no uncertain terms, whether the PF Government has got the absorption capacity to use the US$255 million that it has allocated to energy generation and transmission. I want to know the capacity levels. When will the Government exhaust this money? Let us assume …

Hon. Government Member: It is little money!

Mr Nkombo: Yes, it is little. However, I know that constructing a power generation plant does not take a year or two. I can argue with you on that and bring you down. Between now and the time all the stages of this construction would have been completed, what will be done with the US$255million? This the question I would like answered when the hon. Minister comes back to respond. 

Mr Speaker, what is the absorption capacity for the US$430 million allocated for transport (road and rail)? Hon. Mooya indicated that 4 per cent of contractors, who are foreigners, are the ones enjoying 90 per cent of the contracts. Do the 4 per cent have the capacity to finish US$430 million within five years? If they do not, what will you do with this money between now and mid next year? Will it just sit in the bank waiting the powers that be to decide when to buy turbines and penstalks? I would like to know because these things are bought like scones. 

Sir, the construction of a power plant as big as the Kariba Bank Extension Project, the Kafue Gorge Lower Power Project or even the 20mw station at Itezhi-tezhi will not take two years to complete. Are you going to sit on this money? Do you have the capacity to actually exhaust it or are you going into tender-preneurship, a new term that the PF is now known for? Even a commoner on the street knows that, on a particular day, when they wake up, the PF will be fighting about tenders, in terms of who will win and who will form a company. 
Mr Speaker, the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) is infested with PF members wanting to form companies. It is in the PF Manifesto that they will support each other. There will come a day of reckoning. 

The Vice-President scratched his head. 

Nkombo: Mr Speaker, His Honour the Vice-President is scratching his head. 

Laughter 

Mr Nkombo: There will come a day of reckoning when the people of Zambia will show you the red card. 

Hon. Opposition Member: They will arrest them.

Hon. Member interjected.

Mr Nkombo: Yes, it is itching. 

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

Address the Speaker. I have not seen His Honour the Vice-President scratch his head. 

Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, I want to quickly …

 The Deputy Chairperson: Address me so that you will not be concerned with him scratching his head. 

Laughter 

Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, I want to quickly state that this Budget that they have given us is below par on the CDF. 

Mr Ng’onga: On a point of order, Sir. 

The Deputy Chairperson: A point of order is raised. 

Mr Ng’onga: Mr Speaker, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to rise on a point of order. 

Mr Speaker, is the hon. Member for Mazabuka Central in order not to speak factually on these tender-entrepreneurships. Can he give facts so that not all of us are labelled in a bad way or seen to be in the same boat. Is he in order?

The Deputy Chairperson: May the hon. Member continue debating while taking the point of order into account. 

You may continue. 

Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, I certainly will. I said that a good number of people here are good. However, 50 per cent are bad, and it is up to him to choose where he will allocate himself. 

Laughter 

Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, I would like to go to page 10 of the speech. I think that this Government has performed below par on the CDF. 

Mr Speaker, when His Honour the Vice-President and my dear brother-in-law sat on this side of the House, we used to argue that we need K5 billion for CDF. What has happened today? Tender-entrepreneurship.

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

Mr Nkombo: Mr Speaker, obviously, this Government knows about the Abuja Protocol on health and it has performed below par by allocating 11 per cent when the protocol, which the Government is signatory to, prescribes 15 per cent. 

Sir, the Government has also performed below par in education, to which it has allocated 17.5 instead of 20 per cent of the Budget. 

Mr Speaker, agriculture, which Hon. Muntanga ably discussed, has been given 5.8 per cent, which is also below par. You have failed. It is supposed to be 10 per cent. For these three sectors to speak to the issues of poverty, mortality rates and job creation, they require a minimum of 45 per cent of the National Budget. Only then can we start seeing certain things happening. At the rate the Government is going, I give it an “F” score. 

Mr Speaker, the devil lies in the detail. When the time comes to open the Yellow Book, whenever that will be, we will find where the devil actually lies.  A Budget can neither be good nor bad; only useful. I pray that, when we open the Yellow Book, we will find that the devil does not reside there. 

The Government has the mammoth task of implementing this Budget. I think that this is where the angel resides. This is why I said that the budgeting process should never be viewed simply as an event in which PF cadres come to drink alcohol then go home and say, “Yes, natubika budget iyisuma sana”, meaning, “we have crafted a good budget”. 

Laughter 

Mr Nkombo: You have a mammoth task to follow-up on this Budget because, once we approve it, if at all we do, it will become law and you will be bound by it until the finalisation of the whole Yellow Book that you and your technocrats have put together. 

Mr Speaker, I want to finally appeal to His Honour the Vice-President and senior hon. Ministers like my uncle, Hon. Chikwanda, to come down to earth with their PF Government and allow us to exercise our fundamental human rights of association, movement and expression. Personally, I do not care whether they put me on Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) or not because we suffered the same peril at the hands of previous Government. The PF Government has gone on to fit perfectly into their Size 8. In fact, they are probably worse now. They won elections without being seen on the ZNBC. You watch the space. Do not even look disgusted mulamu. That is what happened. 

Laughter 

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

Mr Nkombo: No one showed Hon. Kambwili on TV. 

The Deputy Chairperson: Address the Speaker. There is no mulamuship here. 

Mr Nkombo: No one dared show Hon. Kambwili. It was taboo to see him on the ZNBC but, today he is an hon. Minister. Watch the space. 

Finally, you enjoy Independence on your own tomorrow because, as far as we are concerned, there is no Independence in this country. You also tell your civil servants to keep away from politics. Let us face one another because this is the life we chose to live. 

Mr Speaker, I thank you. 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Chairperson: Any further debate?

Hon. D. Mwila indicated to speak. 

The Deputy Chairperson of Committees: Order!

This time is for Back Benchers. Hon. Ministers will be allotted time to respond. 

Interruptions

Mr M. B. Mwale (Malambo): Mr Speaker, I thank you for according me an opportunity to contribute to the Motion of Supply moved by the hon. Minister of Finance, then Acting President. 

Mr Speaker, the speech by the hon. Minister of Finance was full of words; empty words. 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr M. B. Mwale: The speech was non-inspirational and offered no hope to the people of Zambia.    

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear! 

Mr M. B. Mwale: Mr Speaker, from the genesis of the speech, …

Hon. Opposition Members: Hammer! 

The Deputy Chairperson of Committees: Order!

Mr M. B. Mwale: Mr Speaker, in paragraph 4 of the first page, the hon. Minister informs the people of Zambia that the economic journey will, …

Hon. Kalaba left the Assembly Chamber.

Hon. Opposition Member: Kalaba walk out!

Laughter 

Mr M. B. Mwale: … in his own words, not be easy because of difficult challenges. He caps it up by saying that it would require tough choices. 

Mr Speaker, these are harsh words for the poor.  They spell doom.

Hon. Opposition Members: Doom!

Mr M. B. Mwale: The words are reminiscent of that famous 1991 Inaugural Speech by President Chiluba, May His Soul Peace (MHSP), in which he posed a question to the Zambian people whether they were ready to suffer and we answered in the affirmative with a deafening yes.

Mr Mbulakulima: Kali kaume!

Mr M. B. Mwale: Those who were old enough know what followed. Indeed, difficult choices have already been made on behalf of the Zambian people by people with no due consideration for the poor and vulnerable in our society.

Sir, in the 2012 Budget, which that administration has labelled as an MMD Budget, there was an allocation of K25 billion for the Food Security Pack, as indicated on page 10 on the expenditure by the function table. This expenditure targeted the vulnerable such as child-headed households in Kalabo, Shang’ombo and Moomba. It also targeted the physically challenged in Nchelenge, Kaputa, Milenge …

Hon. Mbulakulima: Hear, hear!

Mr M. B. Mwale: … and households headed by the elderly in Chasefu, Lundazi Central, and the orphans in Gwembe, Katombola and Malambo. 

Mr Livune: Thank you, Sir!

Mr M. B. Mwale: Mr Speaker, under the Food Security Pack, the beneficiaries received a packet each of D-Compound, urea and maize seed. However, under the 2013 Budget, which has been called the first truly PF Budget by that administration, coincidentally, the hon. Minister’s Speech on page 10, is very silent about the Food Security Pack. This means the vulnerable people are not a priority to the PF Government. Typical of their style, we are, again, being deceived by the newly-coined phrases such as, pro-poor budgeting. Meanwhile, the Speech by the hon. Minister of Finance is silent on one of the programmes for the vulnerable people.

Mr Muntanga: For the poor!

Mr M. B. Mwale: Mr Speaker, furthermore, in the 2012 Budget, dabbed the MMD Budget, that had a provision on page 11 of K90 billion for social protection which covered social safety which included the Public Welfare Assistance Scheme and social cash transfers. However, in the so-called PF Budget, which is supposed to be pro-poor, has scaled downwards the social justice and social protection provision from K90 billion to K83.1 billion.

Hon. MMD Members: Shame!

Mr M. B. Mwale: At least, the MMD Budget was truly pro-poor ...

Hon. MMD Members: Hear, hear!

Mr M. B. Mwale: … whilst the PF Budget is a Donchi kubeba one.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr M. B. Mwale: It is one of deception. Bati gon’ga nakabili!

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Chairperson: What does that mean?

Mr M. B. Mwale: They have deceived us again.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Chairperson: What is the meaning of that phrase?

Mr M. B. Mwale: Mr Speaker, I said they have deceived us again. 

Sir, I was privileged to be one of the six Parliamentarians you sent to Monze to see how the Social Cash Transfer programme had benefited the vulnerable in rural Monze. We saw how a chronically ill lady had built a house of brick and mortar and roofed it with iron sheets out of the Social Cash Transfer programme. We saw an elderly man who could hardly walk, who had bought breeding goats out of the Social Cash Transfer programme. Truly the Social Cash Transfer programme was empowering the vulnerable. 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr M. B. Mwale: In brief, the monthly disbursements of K120,000 to the vulnerable people was cushioning their suffering. Continue with this, Hon. Dr Katema. It had given them hope and life esteem as God’s creation hence, the Social Cash Transfer programme needs to be up-scaled quickly so that we do away with donor dependency.

Mr Speaker, may I now move to the topical issue of job creation. As I did my arithmetic …

Mr Mbulakulima: Mathematician!

Mr M. B. Mwale: … between agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, infrastructure and energy, this Government has a vision of creating 1,050,000 jobs in its five-year mandate. I call it a vision, Sir, because we are all allowed to dream.

Laughter

Mr M. B. Mwale: A dream does not have to turn into reality. It can be a desert mirage which gives one hope of finding water, and yet in reality, there is no water. 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr M. B. Mwale: The hon. Minister of Finance conveniently avoided informing the nation how many jobs had been created in 2012, the first year of the PF in Government. On average, Mr Speaker, it is projected that about 200,000 are to be created in the five-year term of this administration. However, for the people of Malambo, the only new jobs created are in the chiefs’ palaces. 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr M. B. Mwale: Why do I say so? The chiefs’ palaces have been turned into distribution centres for PF party regalia, the chitenges, which suddenly are so abundant and they call campaign material.

Hon. Opposition Members: Yaba!

Mr M. B. Mwale: When other people of political groups have the same materials, they call it process of crime.

Hon. Opposition Members: Shame!

Mr Livune: Elunda Investment!

Hon. Opposition: Hammer! Hear, hear!

Mr M. B. Mwale: Mr Speaker, the hospitality industry, which is the economic mainstay of the country, has been severely affected by the poor and unco-ordinated policies of that Government, …

Hon. Opposition Member: Which government?

Mr Livune: The PF Government!

Mr M. B. Mwale: … such as the minimum wage. As a consequence, there has been a downsizing of the labour force by the lodge owners. Even the lodge where His Honour the Vice-President loves to stay has been downsizing its the labour force.

Mr Muntanga: He is not listening!

Mr M. B. Mwale: At the national level, Mr Speaker, the PF Government have specialised in creating unemployment through its firing of employees with that famous bad phrase of “with immediate effect”. We have seen district commissioners, permanent secretaries, diplomats and parastatal heads fired, with no due regard to their families, all adding to their unemployment list.

Mr Nkombo: Shame! Shame!

Mr M. B. Mwale: Mr Speaker, in addition to the aforesaid, we are reliably informed that, in our country, 300,000 youths enter the labour market each year from the education system and only, …

Mr Kambwili: What about the ZNS!

Mr M. B. Mwale: Even if you introduce national service, Hon. Kambwili, it will not help.

The Deputy Chairperson: Order! Address the Speaker.

Mr M. B. Mwale: Thank you, Sir. 

… about 15,000 get formal sector jobs, leaving out 285,000 youths unemployed. Meaning, the numbers entering the job market far outstrip your mirage of creating 200,000 jobs per year. There is no hope for the youths under PF Administration. Only the MMD will give the youths hope.

Mr M. B. Mutale: On a point of order, Sir.

Hon. Opposition Members: Aah! Iwe ka mudala, wacha! Just debate!

Interruptions

Hon. MMD Members: Hear, hear! Hammer!

Mr M. B. Mwale: Sir, may I now move to an area that I am so passionate about, the mining industry.

Hon. MMD Members: Hear, hear! Let them walk out!

Mr M. B. Mwale: As a country, Mr Speaker, we said, through privatisation, never again are we to see our mining industry deteriorate to its pre-privatisation level. We resolved that we were to have a vibrant private-sector led mining industry and, truly, we have scored some successes. From a low copper production of 250,000 tonnes in 2000, …

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

Business was suspended from 1815 hours until 1830 hours.{mospagebreak}

[THE DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON in the Chair]

Mr M. B. Mwale: Mr Speaker, before business was suspended, I was saying, with privatisation, our copper production has improved from 250,000 tonnes in 2000 to a high of 800,000 tonnes currently. We are projecting to improve our copper production to one million tonnes in the next three years. How have we achieved this?

Sir, this has been achieved because we have provided a competitive fiscal and legislative framework. I am talking about a predictable fiscal framework and regionally and internationally competitive incentives such as a stable political environment, an environment with no threats to investments and to the investor.

Mr Speaker, this is why we have been able to improve our copper production. However, of concern, in the 2013 Budget Speech is the reduction …

Hon. Government Member: Bicycles.

Mr M. B. Mwale: Yes. Bicycles and yet they are using helicopters.

 … of the capital expenditure deduction rate from 100 per cent to twenty-five per cent. Further, the Budget prescribes that the capital expenditure will only be claimed for deduction from the year the asset comes into business.

Sir, this is more a populist pronouncement, but in the long term, it will hurt the industry. The danger is that the already productive mines may slow in recapitalising the operations in order to maintain acceptable profit levels for their shareholders. This lowering of the capital expenditure deduction rate from 100 per cent to twenty-five per cent entails a definite prescription to the reduction of recapitalisation of our mining industry.

Mr Speaker, the PF Government would like to see us get back to the pre-privatisation days when our mines suffered from a lack of recapitalisation while the equipment and technology equally became obsolete. We saw how we came from a high of 750,000 tonnes of copper to 200,000 tonnes of copper.

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: Order! Order!

May the hon. Ministers on my right desist from making comments. I expect you to be taking notes. You do not take notes by engaging in a cross-House discussion. 

You may continue.

Mr M. B. Mwale: Mr Speaker, they specialise in flying helicopters while we are content with bicycles.

Laughter

Mr M. B. Mwale: Sir, for the Treasury, the twenty-five per cent capital expenditure deduction is welcome as it will assure them of more revenue whilst hurting the industry, the cow that gives them the milk. There is a need for a win-win situation between the industry and the Treasury.

Mr Speaker, in order to boost the Government revenues, the answer, to some degree, is in what the hon. Minister termed money sector regulation and it starts with institutions which play an oversight role such as the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Mines, Energy and Water Development. Sir, I will give the hon. Minister a ka dyonko …

The Deputy Chairperson: What is that?

Mr M. B. Mwale: Mr Speaker, an example.

Laughter

Mr B. M. Mwale: How do you explain a Government institution assaying gold which is above eighty per cent as residual gold? There is a challenge there, hon. Minister. The mineral evaluation sections in these Government institutions need to be overhauled. In this instance, if not for a high gross domestic product (GDP) at that time, this country would have lost a lot of revenue. That is an eye-opener for you, hon. Minister.

Mr Speaker, it is gratifying to note that K642.6 billion has been budgeted …

Mr Chilangwa: On a point of order, Sir.

The Deputy Chairperson: A point of order is raised.

Mr Chilangwa: Mr Speaker, is the hon. Member of Parliament for Malambo, who specialises in those two-wheeled vehicles, in order to mislead the nation by saying that ka dyonko means an example? He should put the words he is using in a proper context for the sake of the people who are listening.

The Deputy Chairperson: Hon. Member, you may continue with your debate, but take into account the need to interpret correctly.

Mr B. M. Mwale: Mr Speaker, the K642.6 billion allocated to infrastructure improvement in terms of rail, is welcome. However, it has to start with the Copperbelt, where the railway system has been vandalised, particularly by the scrap metal dealers.

Laughter

Hon. Opposition Members: Example in the House?

Mr B. M. Mwale: Sir, as we embark on the railway infrastructure improvements, we have to address the issues of security of goods being transported by rail and in high speed. It takes seventeen days for a locomotive turnaround from Dar-es-Salam and it only takes seven days by road to turn around to Dar-es-Salam.

Mr Speaker, as an exporter, I would like to see that the goods reach the port in Dar-es-Salam in time to avoid any losses. It should be realised that trucks are easily monitored by satellite, thereby ensuring that there is security of the products that an exporter is taking to a port like Dar-es-Salam.

Sir, in conclusion, I would like to categorically state that the 2013 Budget does not give hope to the Zambian people.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr B. M. Mwale: Sir, it is now a donchi kubeba Budget and, again, the Zambian people are being deceived. We are being go’ngad.

I thank you, Sir.

The Deputy Chairperson: What does that mean?

Mr B. M. Mwale: Sir, it means we are, again, being deceived.

I thank you, Sir.

Mr Belemu (Mbabala): Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity to debate the Motion on the Floor of the House. A few weeks ago, when Hon. Mulusa said that there was a possibility that one day we will find the PF has abandoned Government and run away, I was quite skeptical. However, listening to what has been said in the last few days and, more importantly, when I looked at the Budget, I had to re-think my position on that matter. There is a genuine possibility that these people on your right will abandon us one day.

Laughter 

Mr Belemu: Mr Speaker, this Budget is sounding more like a will which assumes that the author will have died by the time it is being read.

Laughter

Mr Belemu: Sir, what seems more worrying is that it also seems to assume that even both the executor and beneficiary will also die soon after reading it.

Laughter

Mr Belemu: There are so many inconsistencies in this Budget, on one hand, and what the PF is saying and doing on the other. I want to cite a few examples.

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

I cannot follow the debate.

The hon. Member may proceed.

Mr Belemu: The hon. Minister is proposing that he wants to remove excise duty on carbonated drinks and the economics behind this is that more people will take more of these drinks and, eventually, more jobs will be created because of increased production. The inconsistency there is that, not too long ago, the hon. Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry was telling us about the Government’s intention to encourage the making of juice out of pineapples from Mwinilunga, mangoes from Kalabo and masuku from Choma. However, this Budget does not address what the hon. Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry said. All it is doing is to address the issue of carbonated drinks. 

Now, we all know that when we talk about manufacturing of carbonated drinks, they come in syrup form and all that is done in Zambia is the addition of water. So, at what stage, then, are we going to consider the pineapples that are grown in Mwinilunga and mangoes grown in many places in this country? Is that not an inconsistency on the part of the PF Government? 

Sir, worse off, not too long ago, I was at a hospital that is run by the hon. Minister of Health and I was told that carbonated drinks are not good for health. Now, which one of the two should we believe? Should we believe the hon. Minister of Health who says a healthy nation is a prerequisite for economic development or the hon. Minister of Finance who says that let people drink more carbonated drinks, even if they die early, the economy will grow nonetheless?

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Laughter

Mr Belemu: Mr Speaker, further, the hon. Minister of Health wants to reduce the mortality rate. I am of the view that what should have been going down are the prices of what is contained in the basic food basket. The Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) has been doing a very good job in identifying products that go into the basic food basket. Those are the items that are going to give us a healthy nation. An example is baby milk. 

To extend my argument, I quite doubt that the people of Mbabala will drink more carbonated drinks if their prices are reduced. We are content with the sour milk and chibwantu that we have been drinking for a long time. So, the Budget we have been looking for is one which addresses the issues of our cattle so that we can continue drinking our own milk and not carbonated drinks. We were looking forward to a Budget that would have addressed the cost of electricity so that, ultimately, when we go to the millers for our chibwantu, the price is affordable. That would have given us a healthier nation than what is being proposed. 

It is my view, and a doctor can help me to argue, that, in fact, those people that are producing drinks like the carbonated ones, which are considered unhealthy, should have been going towards paying more and more tax so that the price goes up and people are discouraged from consuming these drinks and we go for healthier drinks. This has been the case in discouraging those who smoke.

Interruptions

Mr Belemu: Mr Speaker, we understand what we need in Mbabala. It is more water through boreholes and dams and not bottled water. This Budget is said to be about social justice and being pro-poor. For the people of Mbabala, I quite doubt that this means drinking more carbonated drinks. It will be the same people who have been drinking carbonated drinks who will drink more and ultimately probably become obese. The people of Mbabala want water for their animals so that they can increase their milk production.

Mr Speaker, another inconsistency is that the hon. Minister of Finance has proposed K500 billion for the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP). We agree that there is need for this programme. The hon. Minister of Agriculture has told us that among the crops that have been included under FISP is cotton. Now, we all know that the cotton that is produced in this country is exported in raw form. However, the hon. Minister of Agriculture has told us that when the prices are poor locally, the Government cannot intervene because it is a market economy. Yet, Zimbabwe intervened in the case of poor cotton prices and, ultimately, the farmers benefited. The companies that buy cotton here are exactly the same ones that are buying it in Zimbabwe. When I thought the drama was over, we were even treated to more of …

Mr Chikwanda: On a point of order, Sir.

The Deputy Chairperson: A point of order is raised.

Mr Chikwanda: Mr Speaker, I am raising this point of order with a very heavy heart because the hon. Member is debating very intelligently and is worth listening to. However, just on a matter of fact, is he in order to mislead the House by saying that cotton is exported in raw form? What is exported is only lint, which is one third of the cotton. The rest remains in the country. I reiterate that the hon. Member is debating absolutely intelligently but he is misleading the nation and even himself.

The Deputy Chairperson: As you continue with your intelligent debate, take into account the point of order raised by the hon. Minister of Finance.

You may continue.

Mr Belemu: Mr Speaker, I quite doubt that I am aware of any company that is manufacturing products from cotton in this country. Now, the hon. Minister …

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

There is only one hon. Member of Parliament who has the Floor. Those who want to debate while seated must do so in low voices. I am interested in following the intelligent debate.

The hon. Member may proceed.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: Thank you, Mr Speaker.

What is even more worrying when we come to supporting cotton production through the FISP is that, not too long ago, a named hon. Deputy Minister told us about what the package would be for support to this sector. He told us, on the Floor of this House, that it would be one bag of seed and one bag of D-compound fertiliser per farmer. Now, even my grandfather whose last job was sinking wells in Wankie, in Southern Rhodesia, in those days in the 1950s, is aware of what goes into cotton production. Firstly, it is good seed and, secondly, it is management of the pests. Thirdly, it is good soil and rains. Fertiliser does not come into the equation. However, according to its thinking, the Government wants to give cotton farmers one bag of seed and one bag of D-compound fertiliser.

Mr Muntanga: You lecture them.

Mr Belemu: Since our colleagues are talking about working with us, I was almost tempted to sponsor my grandfather’s services to the Government so that, at least, they are aware of what goes into cotton production.

Interruptions

Mr Belemu: The one who was in Wankie.

Laughter

Mr Belemu: I am sure they would love him because he came with a long coat, pretty much like the one the former hon. Member of Parliament for Mufumbwe used to wear. He claims he used to do a dance called Sinjonjo, which I cannot interpret in English.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: However, Mr Speaker, it is important for the Government to explain to us what will go into the support for cotton production in this country, than to treat us to things that are not there. The hon. Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry has been talking about value addition. We want to know, through the Budget, what form of value addition will be done to the cotton that we are producing in this country because we are going to subsidise its production. In real terms, when we export it in raw form, we will be subsiding manufacturing outside of this country. So the hon. Minister of Agriculture and hon. Minister of Finance should tell us, clearly, how they are going to ensure that we stop subsiding manufacturing industries out there.

Mr Muntanga: Are you agreeing?

Mr Chikwanda: Yes!

The Deputy Chairperson: Order! Order!

Mr Belemu: Mr Speaker, it would be my submission that the support to cotton production should include equipment for spraying so that when the people of Mbabala are not spraying cotton, they will use it in the gardens as well. It should include implements like a plough because they can also use it for other crops as opposed to giving farmers one bag of seed and one bag of D-compound, which they have not asked for.

Mr Speaker, what I also find a bit inconsistent is the fight against corruption vis-à-vis public procurement. I think we need to be a bit clearer. The hon. Minister of Finance talked about reforms in the tendering and procuring processes so that the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) remains with the overall responsibility of monitoring what it will regulate, but there is concern as my colleagues earlier said. When you begin to transfer certain institutions that procure a lot of works such as the Road Development Agency (RDA) to State House, we wonder, really, at what stage the ZPPA is going to come in to check what is going on, for example, in the procurements that are going to be done at State House.

Sir, Dr Nevers Mumba tried to go to State House, but was not allowed to enter. Now, I am not quite sure how an officer from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is going to dare to enter State House to check what will be going on …

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: … if a president of a political party with hon. Members of Parliament was not allowed to enter there.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear! 

Mr Kalaba: On a point of order, Sir.

Hon. Opposition Members: Kalaba!

The Deputy Chairperson: A point of order is raised.

Mr Kalaba: Mr Speaker, I have tried to refrain myself from rising on a point of order from the so called intelligent debater.

Laughter

Mr Kalaba: Mr Speaker, is he in order, first of all, to insinuate that the ZPPA will fail to carry out its mandate as a result of Presidential oversight or as a result of the fact that His Excellency the President has taken interest in ensuring that roads are done in this country in an efficient manner? Is he in order …

Interruptions

Mr Deputy Chairperson: Order!

Allow the hon. Deputy Minister to make his point of order.

The hon. Deputy Minister can continue.

Mr Kalaba: Is he in order to mislead the House as well as the nation that the ZPPA’s mandate is limited and does not extend to State House? Is he in order to express such grave ignorance on the Floor of this House? I deserve a very serious ruling, Sir.

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

The Deputy Chairperson:  I think let us guide one another. However distasteful it may be, the hon. Member has a right to debate and make his point. You will be given an opportunity to clarify in the best way possible. I am not here to stop people from debating. I think the point, here, is that he is merely giving his opinion …

Mr Kambwili interjected.

The Deputy Chairperson: Order! 

You will be given three clear days to answer and that is why I am advising that instead of debating while seated, take notes so that you leave no stone unturned in your response.

The hon. Member for Mbabala may continue.

Mr Belemu: Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.

Mr Kambwili interjected.

The Deputy Chairperson: Order! 

The ruling is very clear. Do not debate while seated, hon. Minister.

Interruptions

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

We are here at taxpayers’ expense and they are listening to what is happening here. There should be no comedy taking place here. I think it is absolutely important for us to be serious in the manner we handle the proceedings here. All I am guiding is that the hon. Members on the right should be patient and take notes. You will be able to rebut in the best way possible. Rebutting while seated is dishonourable. 

The hon. Member for Mbabala may continue.

Mr Muntanga: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Yes, we need to reform the procurement process (looking at the hon. Government Members).

The Deputy Chairperson: Order!

The hon. Member for Mbabala must address the Chair.

You can continue.

Mr Belemu: Mr Speaker, we need to reform the procurement processes and procedures and other matters that are related to procurement, but we must also strengthen institutions of governance and institutions that have been created to carry out certain mandates. It is also my considered view that the very act of the RDA moving to State House is, actually, passing a vote of no confidence in the ministry and all those that are responsible for supervising the RDA. 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: If we are going to rely on the President to execute programmes that must be executed urgently, I wonder how many ministries and institutions are going to go to State House eventually. We will wake up one day and find that the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Health and other institutions have moved to State House. We must be moving towards strengthening institutions as opposed to moving institutions to State House. 

The other inconsistency, Mr Speaker, which is in this Budget, is that the hon. Minister of Finance has allocated K32.3 billion for tourism marketing and promotion, with particular focus on the UNWTO Conference. From experience, I know that this amount of money will not even go to marketing, but will be consumed through workshops, meetings and travels for officials. By the time tourism marketing starts, there will be, probably, K1 billion or K2 billion left to go towards marketing activities. It is, therefore, important to check what the breakdown of the K32.3 billion will be. Otherwise if we focus on hosting the UNWTO Conference, we will discover that there will be no money for tourism marketing which is critical at the end of the day. Out of this allocation, I am sure some of it will remain at the ministry. Chances are 50 per cent that the Tourism Board will be given part of this money, and some of it will go to administrative expenses. By the time actual marketing starts, they would have spent, maybe, K1 billion or K2 billion out of this K32.3 billion. So, we need to check. I think we should not contradict ourselves. I do not think that hosting the UNWTO Conference is the actual marketing. For the information of the Government, the number of leisure travellers during UNWTO Conference will, actually, go down because they would not want to go to a place which is full of Government officials hosting a conference. So, we must also take into account the fact that the people that will be there for three days are unlikely to spend a lot of money on actual leisure and tourism. They will keep their allowances so that when they go back home, they can buy a bag of cement or two.

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: So, we need to check how much is going to actual tourism.

Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister proposed incentives which will only be valid up to December, 2013. Now we should take advantage of the UNWTO Conference to make or give incentives that are going to guarantee long-term investment and tourism as opposed to focusing over the period of the UNWTO Conference. I do not think that there will be an investor who wants to invest in infrastructure that is targeted for three days. What will happen for the rest of his life?

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: So, we should have used this opportunity to create incentives that are going to ensure long-term investment bearing in mind that tourism investment, gestation period and pay back period are long. This can even go up to seven years. So, even if you provided incentives for one year, who is going to buy the kind of incentives that have been provided? Like I have said, serious operators do not like this kind of thing because it scares away the actual tourists. The place will only be full of Government officials at that particular time. So, we should just use it as an opportunity.

Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister of Finance indicated that more power should be devolved to councils in the spirit of decentralisation. Yes, we need to decentralise, but there is a contradiction. Whereas the hon. Minister of Finance needs to decentralise, the letters that are being received from the Ministry of Local Government and Housing indicate that the CDF projects must be approved by the Permanent Secretary in Lusaka. That is a contradiction. How will the Permanent Secretary know about a project which is in Mabwatuba, Mbabala or Kabanze in Mbabala, Zozwe or wherever? If the Government has failed to deal with a very simple problem like street vending, how will they know about the projects that are in my constituency? They have changed the name from street vendors to street traders. In doing so, power is being taken away from the councils and devolved with the people. That is why I said it is contradictory. It assumes that we will not be there to see these things happen and be ready when they are not there. Let what the hon. Minister of Local Government and Housing has said be in tandem with what the hon. Minister of Finance has talked about in the Budget. 

Mr Speaker, we have been told that this is an inclusive development oriented Budget with an aspect of social justice. However, when you look at most of the incentives, they are elitist. I doubt that, if a gas stove came into the country, it would be useful to my headman in Mang’onza. Those are for these people seated here and others in their class, who are currently using electricity. We should have looked for things that can benefit the rural as well as the urban areas. If we want to encourage rural areas to develop, let us put more incentives there. What we need are very basic things. We need water dams and for our cattle to be protected from diseases so that we continue to feed on milk and continue to be healthy.

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Belemu: Mr Speaker, the other contradiction is on free education. We have been told that we need to encourage free education but, when we look at the allocation towards the sector, it does not go far in promoting that. How will schools run on the concept of free education when the grants that are given to them are so small? Some schools actually receive grants as minimal as K400, 000 from the Government as opposed to what is budgeted. How can a school run the whole year on this amount, considering that it has to run mock and final exams as well as clean up? We are contradicting ourselves.

Mr Livune: Shame!

Mr Belemu: Mr Speaker, this Budget reads like a will, whose writers always assume that they will not be there when it is being read and implemented. We need to move to reality so that what the hon. Minister of Finance is saying is in tandem with what every other Government organ is saying, and what is being interpreted through the Budget. Otherwise, when are you going to budget and bring together all those things you have been telling us ... 

You have been telling us that we must provide information on what we consider to be the strengths of our regions so that you can introduce industrial clusters – whatever they are.

Laughter

Mr Belemu: For me, the industrial cluster is already there. We need our cattle to be healthy. We also need our maize, cotton and other crops. We need people to be healthy and clinics provided. Those are sufficient for your Government to work on as opposed to telling us about clustered industries when, in the meantime, you are removing duty on carbonated drinks whose manufacturing process is just adding warm water and off it goes onto the market.

Mr Speaker, with these few remarks, I thank you.

ADJOURNMENT

The Vice-President (Dr Scott): Mr Speaker, I beg to move that the House do, now, adjourn.

Question put and agreed to.

_______

The House adjourned at 1903 hours until 1430 hours on Thursday, 25th October, 2012. 

_______