Wednesday, 5^th May, 2021

 

The House met at 1430 hours

 

[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]

 

NATIONAL ANTHEM

 

PRAYER

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QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER

 

KALOMO DISTRICT FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE OUTBREAK

 

198.  Mr Kamboni (Kalomo Central) asked the Minister of Fisheries and Livestock:

 

1. whether the Government is aware of the outbreak of the Foot and Mouth Disease in Kalomo District;
2. if so, what measures are being taken to contain the Disease; and
3. when the drugs will be provided to the district.

 

The Minister in the Office of the Vice-President (Mrs Mwansa) (on behalf of the Minister of Fisheries and Livestock (Prof. Luo)): Mr Speaker, the Government is aware of an outbreak of the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in Kalomo District.

 

Mr Speaker, the following measures have been put in place:

 

1. samples from affected animals have been taken to the reference laboratories to determine the FMD virus serotype and for vaccine matching to ensure that the appropriate vaccine is procured;
2. bio-security measures have been instituted at affected farms;
3. effecting movement restrictions from affected areas;
4. surveillance activities have been heightened in all affected areas; and
5.  increased sensitisation of all key stakeholders on the disease.

 

Mr Speaker, the House may wish to note that the type of virus causing the outbreak has been determined to be Type O and vaccine matching has been completed. FMD vaccines have been ordered and are expected in the country by midmonth this month.

 

I thank you, Sir.

 

Dr Imakando (Mongu Central): Mr Speaker, we know that the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is transmitted from wildlife, particularly Buffalo. In the past, we used to vaccinate cattle in FMD prone areas to prevent the disease. Could the hon. Minister confirm whether this practice still continues or we just wait for disease outbreaks and then we vaccinate?

 

Mrs Mwansa: Mr Speaker, the vaccination of cattle is a continuous process. The cause of the disease is the movement of animals by business people.

 

Mr Lihefu (Manyinga): Mr Speaker, this disease is deadly. As the hon. Minister has mentioned, animals are moved around by business people, who are very difficult to control such that this disease can engulf the whole country. What measures have been put in place to ensure that animals are not moved by business people who have the tendency of moving animals when they know that there is an outbreak of a disease defying whatever the ministry has put in place? What measures have been put in place to prevent business people from moving animals from one place to another?

 

Mrs Mwansa: Mr Speaker, we have put up some roadblocks, especially in Kalomo, where we advise people not to take animals to other areas that not affected by the disease.

 

I thank you, Sir.

 

Mr Kamboni: Mr Speaker, the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) has been in Kalomo for over a year now. We were promised drugs but to date, there has been nothing. The District Veterinary office does not even have money for fuel and allowances. It is extremely limping. When is the Government going to, at least, provide logistics for the office so that the measures the hon. Minister mentioned can be catered for. At the moment, the office does not even have enough money to man, to run and to catch those who will break the laid down laws.

 

Mr Mwansa: Mr Speaker, the office has been providing money for officers to monitor these activities. The delay of the arrival of the vaccine is because we are now ordering these vaccines from Kenya instead of Botswana. Botswana has stopped the production of the vaccines because of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) challenge.

 

I thank you, Sir.

 

Mr Nanjuwa (Mumbwa): Mr Speaker, the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) has been very devastating to farmers across the country. The hon. Minister mentioned that interventions to vaccinate animals are being put in place. I would like to know the last time the vaccinating of animals in the Southern Province as whole was done.

 

Mrs Mwansa: Mr Speaker, I do not have those details. I will come back to the hon. Member when I have the answer on the last time we vaccinated the animals in the Southern Province.

 

I thank you, Sir.

 

Mr Chaatila (Moomba): Mr Speaker, the Member of Parliament for Kalomo Central, Hon. Kamboni, has just indicated that the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) has been in Kalomo for more than a year. Since the hon. Minister has just indicated that the vaccines are ordered from Kenya, I want to find out why it has taken the ministry this long to just order vaccines for Kalomo. In fact, initially, I thought that the vaccines come from outside Africa, hence the delay. So, why has it taken more than one year to order vaccines from Kenya? What is causing the delay?

 

Mrs Mwansa: Mr Speaker, when the disease is reported in a district, our officers have to go and get samples. These samples are taken for testing so that they are matched to the virus. We order the vaccines when the results are brought back to us. That process is what caused the delay. Additionally, it has taken time for the vaccines to come because we had to change where to order from.

 

I thank you, Sir.

 

Mr Sing’ombe (Dundumwezi): Mr Speaker, the hon. Minister has indicated that roadblocks have been mounted as a measure to reduce the spread of the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD). I want to confirm that we have only one roadblock at Tara. There are no roadblocks on roads coming from the rural areas. For example, there is not a single roadblock along the Kalomo/Dundumwezi Road and the Mapatizya Road. Is the hon. Minister saying that the transmission of the FMD is only happening along the tarmac since this is where there is a roadblock and none in the outskirts or away from the line of rail?

 

Mrs Mwansa: Mr Speaker, we have taken note and we shall address that problem. We will put roadblocks even on the Kalomo/Dundumwezi Road.

 

I thank you, Sir.

 

Mr Ng’ambi (Chifubu): Mr Speaker, bearing in mind that the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) has ravaged our farmers for a very long time in this country, I want to know whether the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock has a research department that can detect some of these challenges before they start affecting our animals. Is there a preventive mechanism for such outbreaks?

 

Mrs Mwansa: Mr Speaker, the prevention measure is to stop the movement of animals by buyers or farmers themselves.

 

I thank you, Sir.

 

Mr Speaker gave the Floor to Mr Miyanda.

 

Mr Miyanda was inaudible.

 

Mr Mwiinga (Chikankata): Mr Speaker, when the hon. Minister talks about the mounting of roadblocks, I would like to find out whether that includes the inspection of all animals or they are strictly for cattle? Do they cater even for the control of the movement of pigs and goats?

 

Mrs Mwansa: Mr Speaker, the FMD affects even pigs and goats. That is why when we mount roadblocks even the vehicles carrying animals drive over chemicals. We also provide hand washing facilities as well as chemicals for people to dip the shoes on their feet.

 

I thank you, Sir.

 

Mr Speaker: The last question will be from the hon. Member for Kalomo Central.

 

Mr Kamboni: Mr Speaker, the test to find out which drugs were suitable was done a long time ago and we have been waiting for so many months. However, my question is: Why is the Government failing to pay the workers that are mounting the roadblocks their allowances and funding the office? I passed through the district office and found that it is not being funded. We had a meeting of all the stakeholders in Kalomo and it was clear that the district office is not being funded. When is the Government funding this office so that it can operate properly?

 

Mrs Mwansa: Mr Speaker, my office is not aware that people are not being paid. Let the relevant officers’ report to our office so that we make sure that the people who are affected are paid in order for them to carry out this task.

 

I thank you, Sir.

 

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MOTIONS

 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY, WATER DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM

 

Ms Chonya (Kafue): Mr Speaker, I beg to move that this House do adopt the Report of the Committee on Energy, Water Development and Tourism on the proposal to ratify the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression for the Fifth Session of the Twelfth National Assembly, laid on the Table of the House on Monday, 3^rd May, 2021.

 

Mr Speaker: Is the Motion seconded?

 

Ms Chonya: The Motion is supposed to be seconded, but I would like to be guided if I can second my Motion in the event that the Seconder is not available.

 

Mr Speaker: You cannot second your Motion. Get any one of your Members to second it.

 

Mr Speaker: Gave the Floor to Hon. Mbangweta

 

Mr Speaker: Gave the Floor to Hon. Jamba

 

Mr Speaker: Gave the Floor to Hon. Mr Mulusa

 

 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTS

 

Mr Muchima (Ikeleng’i): Mr Speaker, I beg to move that this House do adopt the Report of the Committee on Local Government Accounts on the Report of the Auditor-General on the Audit of Accounts of Local Authorities for the financial Years Ended 31^st December, 2018 and 2019, for the Fifth Session of the Twelfth National Assembly, laid on the Table of the House on 4^th May, 2021.

 

Mr Speaker: Is the Motion seconded?

 

Mr Zimba (Chasefu): Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.

 

Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, the Auditor-General’s report considered by your Committee contains sixty councils, each appearing on a separate paragraph.

 

Sir, your Committee interacted with all of these councils, and I wish to only highlight a few issues which came before it. I am confident that the hon. Members have already acquainted themselves with the content of your Committee’s full report.

 

Mr Speaker, the first query, which has appeared in the report in almost all councils that were cited in the report, is negative variance on revenue collection. Your Committee observes with concern the negative variance on various revenue types projected against what was actually received by the councils. Most councils have cited lack of funding from the Central Government to the Local Government Equalisation Fund (LGEF) and the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). They claimed that the said funds received were not as per budget, hence the huge variances reported.

 

Sir, your Committee does not accept this reason as it has, time and again, been emphasised that councils must explore means and ways of increasing their revenue resources unlike waiting upon the Central Government to finance their expenditure. The major reason for this query is over-budgeting on fees, levies and charges coupled with the lack of aggressiveness on revenue mobilisation by the councils.

 

Mr Speaker, your Committee emphasizes to all principle officers to ensure that the councils devise the new strategies to enhance their revenue collection and increase their revenue portfolios to counter this effect. Your Committee has also emphasised the need to enhance councils efforts in sensitising the communities in their respective jurisdictions on the need to pay rates, fees and other council charges.

 

Mr Speaker, allow me also to touch on staff related matters. Your Committee is happy to report that, through continued intervention on matters related to staff transfers and discipline, the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC) submitted a report that during the period under review, principle officers and other council staff were charged with offences of negligence of duty and failure to comply with established procedure in accordance with their terms and conditions of service. This is what we want to see unlike transferring erring officers to other councils and perpetuating the vices in other jurisdictions.

 

Sir, another issue which your Committee observed is the failure by the councils to secure their properties with title deeds. The Lands Act No. 29 of 1995 requires that institutions or individuals owning land should possess title deeds as proof of ownership. Therefore, it is of great concern that almost all council properties in the period under review have no title deeds. Your Committee is concerned that this serious omission may result in losing properties. Therefore, it urges the controlling officers to ensure that all councils resolve the matter without undue delays.

 

Sir, your Committee wishes to appreciate the interventions by the Office of the Secretary to the Treasury for having facilitated the follow ups on outstanding issues on the previous reports of your Committee. This august House may wish to know that the recent intervention by this office has resulted in the closure of over 90 per cent of the outstanding issues up to 2015. The Secretary to the Treasury is encouraged to ensure that this trend on the outstanding issues is improved upon and that other initiatives are explored and operationalised to ensure improved compliance which will ultimately reduce the volume of audit queries in local authorities.

 

Sir, however, your Committee is saddened that the Secretary to the Treasury did not facilitate for the follow ups of the Treasury minute on the report of your Committee for the Fifth Session of the Twelfth National Assembly. This has resulted in no query being closed in the mentioned report. Your Committee encourages his office to ensure that the mentioned report is considered expeditiously and included in the Outstanding Issues Report in the First Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly.

 

Mr Speaker, in conclusion, I wish to thank all witnesses who appeared before your Committee for their co-operation. I also wish to acknowledge and show appreciation to the officers from the Office of the Auditor-General and the Ministry of Local Government for their technical advice to your Committee during its meeting. Allow me also to thank you and the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly for the guidance and support rendered to your Committee during its deliberations.

 

Mr Speaker, I beg to move.

 

I thank you, Sir.

 

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

 

Mr Zimba: Now, Sir.

 

Mr Speaker, in seconding the Motion, let me thank the mover for the able manner in which he has highlighted the issues that were deliberated upon by your Committee. The mover of this Motion has ably articulated the views of your Committee on this Motion. Therefore, I shall only make a few comments on other issues that caught my attention.

 

Mr Speaker, one worrying issue exposed by the Auditor-General in his report is the huge debt stock on statutory and staff obligations. The Auditor-General highlighted that on all the sixty councils that have been cited in this report, a total of K1.7 billion and K280 million on statutory and staff obligations respectively are being owed by the councils. In addition, most of the councils are failing to meet their current obligations. Some councils reported that they were behind in paying staff salaries by four months. Therefore, your committee is worried that this state of affairs may result in the demoralisation of the workforce. The total effect of this debt may also result in continued misapplication of funds, as already mentioned by the mover of the Motion.

 

Sir, it is the considered view of your Committee that the Secretary to the Treasury considers paying off this debt stock on statutory and staff obligations to relieve the councils of this burden. This may be coupled with invigorating principal officers to enhance their efforts on revenue mobilisation and obligation to self-reliance.

 

Sir, the other matter I want to touch on relates to the perennial anomalies of loss of documents, which has become a permanent feature in the Auditor-General’s Report. This is a clear testimony of poor internal controls and weak supervision of the officers responsible for managing the councils’ affairs. It is now evident that these officers have become so cunning in weakening systems to their advantage. Surely, this is unacceptable and should not be allowed to continue. In this regard, your Committee strongly urges the Secretary to the Treasury and the controlling officer, Ministry of Local Government, to take drastic steps to strengthen the internal control systems in the councils in order to arrest the current state of affairs.

 

Sir, on a good note, I wish to state that the Report of the Auditor-General has also recorded some notable improvements on some of the usual queries that were appearing year in and year out. For example, the report has no unspent funds on the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). It has no query relating to failure to prepare financial statements, to mention but a few. Given that such reductions are rare, your Committee wishes to take note of these improvements and commend the Secretary to the Treasury for the measures he has put in place so far. However, your Committee urges the Secretary to the Treasury not to relent, but to continue to implement other measures to ensure that audit queries are completely eliminated.

 

Mr Speaker, your Committee also made a general observation that numerous queries contained in the Report of the Auditor-General are mainly attributed to a lack of understanding and appreciation of the financial legal framework in place by most principal officers. Your Committee, therefore, recommends that a comprehensive induction programme be conducted at the commencement of every financial year for all principal officers as well as their respective directors of finance and treasurers on the general provision of the Public Finance Act, the Financial Regulations Act, Public Stores Regulations, Public Procurement Regulations and other administrative issues. Your Committee suggests that this should include representation from key institutions such the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA), the Auditor-General’s Office, Ministry of Finance and Cabinet Office among others.

 

Mr Speaker, lastly, allow me to also join the mover of the Motion in thanking you for according us the opportunity to serve on this important Committee. I also wish to thank the hon. Members of your Committee for affording me this opportunity to be the last seconder of the Committee’s Motion in the House.

 

Mr Speaker, I beg to second.

 

I thank you, Sir.

 

Mr Jere (Livingstone): Mr Speaker, thank you for according me this opportunity to add my voice to the debate on this report.

 

Mr Speaker, I would like to thank your Committee for the job well done. In doing so, I totally agree with your Committee that councils are charged with numerous responsibilities. However, when you look at the resource envelope, it leaves much to be desired.

 

Mr Speaker, a long time ago, councils had many sources of income, which included rentals. They owned houses, which were sold. At the moment, the only sources of income that councils rely on are levy charges and probably property rates, which in most cases have been difficult to collect owing to the fact that business houses have been hit by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

 

Mr Speaker, there is urgent need for the Government to be releasing the Local Government Equalisation Fund (LGEF) on time so that councils can offer the much-needed services to our community. In the past, councils used to collect road taxes, but this tax was taken away from them. However, the responsibility to look after roads in townships still remains a responsibility of the council. We, therefore, ask the Government to continue releasing funds to enable councils to carry out this very expensive exercise.

 

Mr Speaker, on staffing, indeed, I totally agree with your Committee that the issue of transferring human resource is also affecting the councils in that they pay huge sums of money on settling-in-allowances, meaning that other services suffer. We need institutional memory. As we operate, we are not supposed to transfer workers almost every time as these transfers have affected the councils.

 

Mr Speaker, the other issue is the failure by councils to secure title deeds for land which is under them. This is a sad story because a long time ago, we used to have open spaces which have been taken up mostly by cadres. These open spaces were very important. This is where people used to access recreational facilities and where our children used play. In times of calamities, people would put up tents in those areas. However, all these spaces have been taken up because they were not secured through the acquisition of title. What happened to those spaces is also happening to many Government-owned pieces of land that have not been secured, including schools. So, I urge the Government to expedite the issuance of titles to schools and properties that are under the local authority.

 

Mr Speaker, with these few words, I would like to thank you and your Committee for the job well done.

 

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

 

Mr Mung’andu (Chama South): Mr Speaker, thank you, and sorry for the delay in having my computer unmuted. I am very grateful for this opportunity to contribute to the debate on the wonderful report presented on the Floor of this august House.

 

Mr Speaker, let me begin by thanking His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, and the entire Patriotic Front (PF) Central Committee for giving me another opportunity to contest the Chama South Parliamentary Constituency seat on our beloved party ticket in the 12^th August, 2021 Election.

 

Mr Speaker, it is clear from this report that there is a need to ensure that our local authorities take their work seriously. For example, when it comes to the non-titling of land, we are all aware that in our land administration, the issuance of land to citizens starts with councils. It is the councils that sit, approve and send the approved site plans to either the provincial planning authority, if it is not the planning authority, or, indeed, to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources for approval or numbering.

 

How, then, do we have a situation where council land is not put on title? Can we blame the Central Government? The answer is no. It is simply a lack of commitment by the supervising staff in these councils or a lack of planning. Indeed, failure to secure title for land on either freehold interest or statutory improvement on a fourteen-year lease has led to unscrupulous people encroaching on public property. There is no excuse for the councils’ failure to secure their land or, indeed, Government property.

 

Mr Speaker, let us give credit to the PF Government. These things are coming to light because of its deliberate policy and commitment to ensuring that all arms of the Government are checked. In this case, the Auditor-General’s office is doing wonderful work because the policy that the PF Government has put in place has made it possible. For that, we are grateful and can assure His Excellency that we are behind whatever effort he is making to develop this country.

 

Mr Speaker, coming to the movement of employees, if you check a number of these councils that have audit queries regarding misapplication and misappropriation of funds, you might probably discover that it is the same principal officers who are simply being moved from one council to another who are responsible. This is another thing that our working Government has to deal with and I am confident that the able Commissioner for the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC) is already looking into the issue to ensure that those who break the law by misapplying or misappropriating funds are brought to book. This is already happening. A number of principal officers are being disciplined.

 

Mr Speaker, in conclusion, I would like to comment on one more issue. Look at the councils that are led by members of Opposition political parties. Is the situation any different? The answer is no. If anything, the councils that are led by members of the PF are doing far much better than the councils that are led by the Opposition. It is against this background that we urge our people, especially where the councils are led by members of the Opposition, to ensure that come August this year, two months from now, they should endeavour to vote for the PF and President Edgar Chagwa Lungu so that development is ensured without living anyone behind, the way he is doing it.

 

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

 

Mr Speaker: Hon. Members, we will proceed as follows: we will have the hon. Member for Chilubi, the hon. Member for Mumbwa, the hon. Member for Msanzala, the hon. Deputy Chief Whip and then the hon. Minister of Finance, in that order, before I request the hon. Member for Ikeleng’i to wind-up the debate.

 

Mr Fube (Chilubi): Mr Speaker, I thank you for giving the good people of Chilubi an opportunity to add a word to the debate on the good report that has been presented before this House.

 

Mr Speaker, I would like to address the issues arising from the report. I want to start with the issue of the titling of land. As far as my knowledge serves me, I will speak for rural districts. Some rural districts that I know received funding for titling and planning of land in various places. Therefore, councils that were given funding in that line have no excuse to give on why they have not titled land.

 

Mr Speaker, coming to the script that has been written that councils were doing better when they had housing units and many other sources of income than they are doing today, I think, that script is not depicting the picture as it may be. Some time back, we used to hear of council workers not being paid for fifty-four months. They could not even strike because they were used to such conditions. However, with the coming in of the decentralisation process, which has been unfolded heavily, and radically so, during the Patriotic Front (PF) period, the funding of councils and the forming of structures like the Ward Development Committees (WDC), the situation has improved. We need to change the notion that local authorities should just bank on funding from the Central Government.

 

Mr Speaker, I know that most of the 116 councils that we have in the country have enough land for agricultural purposes and have access to land to contribute to the tourism sector. For instance, some time back, we used to hear of council farms. However, I do not know who or what was responsible for the abandonment of such a very good initiative along the way so that they could scoop some of the revenue that we are complaining about today.

 

Mr Speaker, we know that some councils used to maintain motels. I do not know if they called them motels, but this could still continue, especially that the country is well positioned commercially. In addition, the country has opened up with an infrastructure boom that can see to proper networking. Some of these issues that we are hearing about such as queries to do with the accounts of the councils can be dealt with because the revenue base can be broadened by councils venturing into the utilisation of land for agricultural and tourism purposes. You would find that there would be some of sealant in the collection of revenue.

 

Mr Speaker, as regards the issue of human resource, with the coming of the LGSC, the council currently is well positioned with good human capital that can market the local government on different fronts. Most of the councils countrywide, be they peri-urban, urban and rural, have been beefed-up with human capital that is qualified in marketing and many other fields. That should position the councils to take charge of the revenue base.

 

Mr Speaker, with the coming of the Local Government Equalisation Fund (LGEF), however, it is like councils are now so dependent on it such that even when they want to buy automobiles, it is what they have to utilise.

 

Mr Speaker, it is my submission that the country still enjoys vast potential and opportunity for different councils to invest and broaden their revenue source unlike just relying on what should come through the window of the Central Government. Actually, much of the land in Zambia still remains virgin. If much of the land still remains virgin, it is up to councils to take advantage and utilise that land. Those councils which have rivers and land can also capitalise on that and factor them into the Seventh National Development Plan (7NDP) and play a role in economic boom.

 

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

 

Mr Nanjuwa (Mumbwa): Mr Speaker, I would like to thank you for giving me this opportunity to add the voice of Mumbwa to the debate on this very important Report of the Committee on Local Government Accounts.

 

Mr Speaker, I have read the report and realised that the Auditor-General’s report has revealed various weaknesses in the manner in which councils across the country are managing the affairs of the local authorities. Unlike what has been hinted that councils in areas led by the Opposition are not doing well as compared to those led by Members of the Ruling Party, the Auditor-General’s report has revealed that the weaknesses are across the country, including local authorities which are under the leadership of councillors and council chairpersons of the Patriotic Front (PF).

 

Mr Speaker, the Auditor-General’s report has revealed that most of the councils are unable to collect revenue. Most of the councils are not able to meet their own annual budgets and others are not able to meet even 50 per cent of their budgets. This shows that most of the councils are not being realistic in the manner in which they draw up their budgets. They put up a lot of activities which, when you look at, are untenable. Most of the councils, according to the report, are more dependent on the Local Government Equalisation Fund (LGEF) and the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) so much so that when the LGEF is not released even for two or three months, the councils are not able to function accordingly to meet their targets.

 

Mr Speaker, we have seen these weaknesses. The way some councils keep accounting source documents such as deposit slips, receipts and many others is not up to date. This entails what kind of human resource we have in these various councils. Why should a council take one year without realising that there are certain revenues that have not been deposited? Only until an audit is carried out is it revealed that there are deposit slips missing. This is negligence of the highest level, which should not be condoned.

 

Mr Speaker, I would like to agree with your Committee which recommended that officers entrusted with such responsibilities where such kind of mismanagement has been identified by the Auditor-General’s office be disciplined. If this kind of recklessness and carelessness continues with councils that are entrusted with the affairs of providing services to communities, we are not going to succeed.

 

Mr Speaker, there are also certain measures that the PF Government has not been putting in place in the creation of new districts. For example, with the Kanchibiya District Council, we are told that the office of the stores officer is at a mission hospital. This is not a very good situation. It does not give a good work environment for the council to execute its services well.

 

Mr Speaker, when creating districts, the Government is supposed to ensure that infrastructure with which to operate is provided in an urgent manner, not the way the PF is doing it. This is not good at all and I would like to assure people that under the United Party for National Development (UPND) Government, such issues will not arise.

 

I thank you, Sir.

 

Mr Daka (Msanzala): Mr Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity to add the voice of the people of Lusangazi and Msanzala in particular, as a constituency, to the debate on the Floor.

 

Mr Speaker, since time immemorial, there has been an endemic pandemic in councils. What I mean is that you can go around villages and find that people have contributed K1,500 towards their water reticulation programme, yet the programme is not implemented.

 

Sir, the best thing that has happened to councils is to be given the Local Government Equalisation Fund (LGEF). Unfortunately, it is abused. Most of the time, officials use it to modernise their offices and surroundings and forget that 20 per cent of that fund is supposed to go towards projects to alleviate the suffering of people in rural areas in so many councils and cities. That money is misdirected.

 

Mr Speaker, 20 per cent of K700,000 per month is almost K140,000. For example, when I have a borehole drilled in the village, I pay K25,000. However, when this is done by officials in the council, figures go up as high as K40,000. This is preposterous. It is unacceptable that we should allow our people to wallow in poverty and have access to dirty water when we can solve their problems.

 

Mr Speaker, even when you talk about Grain Levy, there are certain areas where a council has two books, one that is official and another which is unofficial for fraud. This cannot be happening in Zambia today. I would like the chairperson for the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC) to be on top of things, as he has always been. It does not help us to transfer bad eggs from one district to another. What we require is to ensure that the bad eggs are removed completely.

 

Mr Speaker, there are situations where we have water reticulation projects under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). When an officer visits the site where the borehole is being sunk for five times, he/she will draw so many allowances against the total amount of the money which is supposed to help reticulate water in the village.

 

Sir, the reports that are coming through the Auditor-General on various councils are a sad state of affairs to read. We wonder what type of officers or councillors sit on these committees to allow such situations to happen until the Auditor-General comes in to highlight or highlight certain issues.

 

Mr Speaker, local government is meant for everybody. It is meant for all of us in rural areas. If it cannot perform, then, the decentralisation which we have always spoken about will not be meaningful.

 

Mr Speaker, I would like to thank your office for ensuring that accountability of the Public Finance Management Act, 2018, is being practised by bringing the councils and the Office of the Auditor-General into the fold. We will not solve a problem by only transferring one officer to another council to go and do the same things. We need prudent management of the resources that are hard earned in this country. The President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, has ensured that everybody is never left behind.

 

Mr Speaker, I would like to thank you for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the debate on this very important Report of the Committee on Local Government Accounts on the report of the Auditor-General.

 

I thank you, Sir.

 

Mr Ngulube (Kabwe Central): Mr Speaker, thank you for this opportunity to add my voice to this very wonderful debate. I must state, from the outset, that the problems in our councils have been there for quite some time now. We have always complained about councils misapplying funds and resources and their failure to do what they are mandated to do by law.

 

Sir, I know that almost each council has some source of income or financial resources that come to them almost all the time. However, the problem we have had is that most of these councils do not have priorities. They have forgotten about service delivery. They have forgotten to do exactly what is expected of them such as collecting garbage, grading of township roads, collection of market levy and all sorts of things.

 

Mr Speaker, the councils have now concentrated on selling land. Council workers think that every time you go to a civic centre, you must become a rich man. That is why we now see that while the council offices and everything else is looking so poor, the individuals working for the councils are looking richer than they were. We can even say that, most of the time, they are thriving on doing wrong things.

 

Sir, the first proposal I would like make is that we get the supervisors of these councils on their feet? We have been talking about people siphoning Government funds, councils failing to account for this and that or failing to put land on title for a long time. These reports will come and go. We have had these reports year in and year out, but nothing is improving. Why do we not take the people responsible to task?

 

Mr Speaker, for instance, I am aware that the town clerks have now been put on performance based contracts. The directors of engineering must also be on performance based contracts. This also goes for the council secretaries and everyone else so that we do not transfer problems from one council to another. The moment these people fail to perform, we should just kick them out of the system.

 

Sir, we have many engineers and lawyers working for these councils, but their performance cannot be evaluated. The councils are failing to do what they are supposed to do because a few individuals have taken advantage of the lapses. We cannot forever talk about the councils failing to collect money due to them or this and that about councils. We must now give them targets. For instance, if the Chibombo District Council is owed K100 million, we must give it a target. At least, every year, it must recover even 30 per cent of that amount to ensure that service delivery to the people does not suffer.

 

Mr Speaker, we must also begin to ensure that the councils do not divert from their core functions, as they perform their functions. Our councils are borrowing recklessly. They owe the banks, other financial institutions and individuals a lot of money. Why is this so? There is no one to stop them from doing so. For example, look at the councils that owe banks K150 million, but whose income is K20 million per month. As a result, they are failing to pay salaries. They are also failing to pay statutory obligations and to even do other things that are expected of them.

 

Sir, finally, I know that some of these problems councils are going through are because the people who were running these councils in the past have now become hon. Members of Parliament. Some hon. Members of Parliament will soon be going to jail because of failing to follow the law.

 

Mr Speaker, I want to thank you for this opportunity once more. I also want to send you greetings from the people of Makululu, where I am debating from. We are just from commissioning a health post in Makululu and Katondo, a sign that the Patriotic Front (PF) is coming back to power on 12^th August, 2021.

 

Sir, with those few remarks, allow me to also thank His Excellency the President of this country for the wonderful work he is doing in Namwala at the moment. I also want to thank you for the good leadership that you have given us throughout the last five years and we shall really miss you when Parliament dissolves.

 

Mr Speaker, I thank you. May God bless and may God make it easy for you.

 

I thank you, Sir.

 

The Minister of Local Government (Dr Banda): Mr Speaker, I am grateful to have this opportunity to react to the Report of the Auditor-General on the Audit of Accounts of Local Authorities for the Financial Years Ended 31^st December, 2018 and 2019, tabled in this House through your Committee on Local Government Accounts.

 

Sir, allow me to thank the mover and seconder of the Motion for a job very well done. I wish to say that my ministry notes your Committee’s concerns on the gaps in the budget performance in many local authorities in relation to income, which includes grants from the central Government.

 

Mr Speaker, to address these concerns, my ministry is working to strengthen budget formulation systems by linking local authorities’ databases to various revenue streams. Measures are also in place to track performance of approved budgets against actual revenues through automated financial management systems and implementation of standardised general purpose financial statements as guided through the Treasury.

 

Sir, additionally, my ministry is strengthening budget formulation processes by rolling out the Output Based Budget (OBB) system in local authorities to ensure that performance is measured against the planned outputs. It is at this point that I would like to agree with your Committee that councils should be innovative and start raising their own revenue while being supported through funding from the central Government. Here, I am talking about the Local Government Equalisation Fund (LGEF), of which we are up to date. From last year, we do not owe any local authority in as far as the LGEF is concerned. Our colleagues in the Ministry of Finance have actually done their level best to ensure that we are up to date with the payments of the LGEF.

 

Mr Speaker, the ministry has continued to ensure that local authorities fully operationalise and adhere to the guidelines on the utilisation of the 20 per cent capital component of the LGEF as captioned in the Local Government Act No. 12 of 2018. The Government has begun the process to take action against the local authorities that have been cited in misapplication of funds. These are required to refund the misapplied resources, failure to which disciplinary action would be undertaken against them, in line with the Public Finance Management Act No. 1 of 2018.

 

Sir, in line with your Committee’s concern on the failure by most local authorities to develop and implement integrated development plans pursuant to the provisions of the Urban and Regional Planning Act No. 3 of 2015, I wish to submit that my ministry has been working to ensure that all local authorities develop and implement integrated development plans by providing an adequate policy and legislative framework. Therefore, my ministry in 2019 prepared and circulated integrated development plans guidelines and facilitated training of staff in local authorities in the preparation of integrated development plans. Most local authorities have since started the process of preparing the plans. However, progress has been slow due to limited financial and human resource capacity.

 

Mr Speaker, we are, nonetheless, working towards ensuring that all these matters are put in place so that we can make the councils responsible and also effective in their operations as they provide service to the people.

 

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

 

The Minister of Finance (Dr Ng’andu): Mr Speaker, thank you very much for this opportunity. I would like to start by commending your Committee on Local Government Accounts for its incisive report on the Auditor-General’s report on the audit of accounts for six local authorities. The report has highlighted a number of weaknesses which stand in the way of effective financial management and also make it difficult for councils to adequately deliver on their service obligations.

 

Mr Speaker, many of these weaknesses that have been mentioned are not insurmountable. They can be overcome. They are structural weaknesses which we can deal with, and we are doing everything that we can to deal with them. I would like to demonstrate the example of the work that is going into improving the capacity of local authorities to deliver on their programmes by responding to some of the weaknesses and queries that are being highlighted by your Committee in its report.

 

Mr Speaker, your Committee notes that there is failure by procurement officials to follow laid out procedures and regulations. The House may wish to note that in order to address these anomalies relating to procurement and control management, the Government has enacted the new Public Procurement Act No. 8 of 2020. I signed the commencement order on 16^th April, 2021and it has actually come into force now. This will guide the treatment of all public entities, including local authorities. One of the things that the Act does is that it provides for sanctions for failure to follow procurement regulation.

 

Mr Speaker, in this regard, if a person, for example, conspires to raise prices or lower the quality or quantity of goods, services and works for procurement entities that intend to acquire products or services through bidding process or certifies sub-standard goods or works that they are incomplete or up to standard, or is guilty or accused of poor supervision of procurement, he/she will now be subject to not just administrative sanctions, but the possibility of imprisonment. Furthermore, the Act now restricts variations to contracts and limits that to not more than 30 per cent. What we had previously was a situation where contracts could just vary and keep on varying. Through that, a lot of value was lost. We have also introduced in this Act price indexing as well as the concept of price reasonableness so that we can ensure that what is being procured falls within what an ordinary human being might consider to be fair pricing.

 

Mr Speaker, the report also observed misuse of the Local Government Equalisation Fund (LGEF) and Constituency Development Funds (CDF). I would like the House to be aware that my ministry and the Ministry of Local Government are developing the LGEF regulations in order to enhance the management of resources. This work is expected to be completed in the course of this year. Further, the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC), working with the Ministry of Local Government and my ministry, has commenced the disciplinary process of all principal officers involved in the misuse of funds that were cited in the report. Those who will be found wanting will be sanctioned in line with the Public Finance Management Act of 2018.

 

Mr Speaker, the report also observed that there is failure by the local authorities to remit statutory and staff obligation resulting in the build up of local authorities’ debt. This should not be the case.

 

Sir, to address the build up of local authorities’ debt, my ministry has developed a debt management strategy for local authorities covering the period 2021 to 2025. These were done in conjunction with the Ministry of Local Government. The strategy is aimed at addressing the debt issue and focusing on dismantling the existing debt and introducing measures to halt further debt accumulation in local authorities. The strategies to be employed include development of liquidation plans and monitoring systems, enhancement of own resource revenues, debt cancellation, refinancing, restructuring and secession of debt contraction. These measures should and will help to bring about the structural changes that we are looking for in these local authorities.

 

Mr Speaker, lastly, your Committee observed that there is failure by local authorities to collect and account for revenue. We have directed all local authorities to develop and implement strategies to enhance own resource revenue mobilisation. Further, they are required to stop printing revenue receipts on their own but collect these from the ministry. My ministry is also working closely with the Ministry of Local Government and Smart Zambia Institute to build capacity of local authorities to efficiently collect revenues and account for them. One of the measures that the Government is putting in place is in the development of the standardised integration financial management information system for the local authorities that will enhance internal controls and create efficiency in the collection of revenue and financial reporting.

 

Mr Speaker, my ministry takes note of the observations and recommendations that have been made your Committee. These measures will be looked at and they will be acted upon, just as we have acted already and continue to improve on the financial management measures and work on upgrading the capacity of local authorities. We think more can be achieved, but we are set to work closely with the Ministry of Local Government to ensure that local authorities begin to function as proper institutions that will create value for the people of this country rather than the current state that most of them are in.

 

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

 

Mr Muchima: Mr Speaker, I am very thankful to the seconder and the hon. Members of Parliament for Livingston, Chama, Chilubi, Mumbwa, the Deputy Chief Whip and mostly, I would like to thank the hon. Minister of Local Government and the Minister of Finance, who actually wrapped it up so nicely by saying that financial management measures will be put in place. That is the way it is supposed to be. The Government is supposed to work for the people of Zambia by guarding what belongs to them and supporting the good work of the Auditor-General.

 

Mr Speaker, with these few words, I thank you for having given me the opportunity to lead your Committee for the past five years.

 

 I thank you, Sir.

 

Question put and agreed to.

 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY, WATER DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM

 

Ms Chonya (Kafue): Mr Speaker, I beg to move that this House do adopt the Report of the Committee on Energy, Water Development and Tourism on the proposal to Ratify the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, for the Fifth Session of the Twelfth National Assembly, laid on the Table of the House on 3rd May, 2021.

 

Mr Speaker: Is the Motion seconded?

 

Mr Mulusa (Solwezi Central): Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.

 

Ms Chonya: Mr Speaker, pursuant to Article 63 of the Constitution of Zambia, as amended by Act No.2 of 2016 and Section 5 of the Ratification of International Agreements Act No. 34 of 2016, your Committee was mandated to receive submissions and make recommendations to the House on the proposal by the Executive for Zambia to ratify the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

 

Sir, the convention was adopted on 21^st October, 2005 at the 33^rd Session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in Paris, France. The convention relates to cultural diversity and the exercise of cultural rights, and in particular, the universal declaration on cultural diversity of 2001.

 

Sir, it is noteworthy that the convention entered into force on 18^th March, 2007, after it had been ratified by thirty States. As at January 2020, the convention had been ratified by 149 States, including the European Union.

 

 Sir, you may also wish to note that the Government of the Republic of Zambia is a member of UNESCO. Further, Zambia has ratified some of UNESCO’s conventions that relate to cultural matters such as the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage of 1972 and the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage of 2003. Therefore, the ratification of the Convention of the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity Cultural Expressions will augment other already existing UNESCO conventions.

 

Sir, the main objective of the convention is to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions, create the conditions for cultures to flourish and to freely interact in a mutually beneficial manner and to give recognition to the distinctive nature of cultural activities, goods and services as vehicles of identity, values and meaning, among others.

 

Mr Speaker, your Committee received insightful and well articulated submissions from various stakeholders which it thoroughly interrogated in order to arrive at an informed decision to support the ratification of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

 

Sir, all the stakeholders that appeared before your Committee recommended that the National Assembly should approve the proposal to ratify the convention. Your Committee observes that the protection and promotion of cultural diversity requires adequate resources which the Government may not be able to provide at the moment due to other equally important and competing national needs.

 

Mr Speaker, it is noteworthy that Article 18(1) of the convention provides for the establishment of the International Fund for Cultural Diversity, which is to be accessed by countries that have ratified the convention. In light of the above, your Committee reiterates its recommendation that the House should approve the proposal for Zambia to ratify the convention in order for Zambia to have access to financial resources from the fund. This will assist the country to protect and promote its cultural diversity for the benefit of both the current and future generations.

 

Mr Speaker, your Committee agrees with the stakeholders that the protection and promotion of cultural expressions can spur economic growth and development through diversification of the tourism sector. This can be achieved through cultural expression such as wood-carvings, pottery and handcrafts, artwork, oral traditions and folk dances which can serve as tourism products and earn the country foreign exchange from international tourists.

 

Mr Speaker, while noting that some attempts have been made to promote cultural expressions in Zambia, your Committee observes that only a few aspects of Zambia’s culture are being showcased, mostly in the form of traditional ceremonies. Unfortunately, these traditional ceremonies are restricted to a few ethnic groups despite Zambia having about seventy-three tribes.

 

Sir, your Committee further notes that other aspects of cultural diversity in Zambia such as traditional songs, dances, food, dress, healthcare and folklore are not promoted. This has resulted in some citizens adopting foreign cultures as they consider the indigenous Zambian culture to be outdated and old fashioned. In this regard, your Committee urges the Executive to ensure that all Zambian cultures are protected and promoted without fail. The ratification of this convention could be used as one of the avenues that the country could leverage to achieve this objective.

 

Mr Speaker, your Committee observed with concern that it has taken the Executive more than fifteen years to begin the process of ratifying the convention. Your Committee further noted that Zambia is losing out on many opportunities being offered by UNESCO under this convention. In light of this, your Committee urges the Government to hasten the process of ratifying the convention and, therefore, take the necessary steps to domesticate the convention as a matter of urgency so that Zambia begins to benefit from the programmes under this convention.

 

Mr Speaker, having said that, your Committee recommends that this august House approves the proposal to ratify the Convention on the Protection And Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

 

Mr Speaker, I beg to move and apologise, once again, for the small hiccup that we had earlier.

 

I thank you, Sir.

 

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

 

Mr Mulusa: Mr Speaker, I wish to speak now.

 

Mr Speaker, may I appreciate the hon. Members of the Committee for trusting me to second the Report of the Committee on Energy, Water Development and Tourism on the proposal to ratify the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

 

Mr Speaker, I also take this opportunity to just thank the Chairperson for ably presenting this report. During our deliberations the following points were observed:

 

(a)        Failure to document Zambia’s cultural expressions

 

    Your Committee observed with concern that the country’s rich cultural expressions are not documented. Your Committee takes cognisance that culture is the foundation of any society, including Zambia. It is, therefore, imperative that culture is safeguarded and preserved in the form of documentation to avoid the risk of its extinction. In this regard, your Committee strongly urges the Government to provide resources to the relevant institutions to enable them to create cultural repositories to document all the aspects of Zambia’s cultural expressions.

 

(b)        Enhancement of Zambia’s capacity to take stock of the rich cultural diversity

 

 Mr Speaker, your Committee notes that the ratification of the convention would enable the country to take stock of its rich cultural diversity through research and documentation by relevant institutions. Thereafter, this would assist the country to formulate national policies that would promote sustainable use of cultural expressions to foster socio-economic development.

 

(c)        Museums can be used as vehicles to protect and promote cultural expressions.

 

  Mr Speaker, your Committee agrees with stakeholders that museums immensely contribute to the preservation and promotion of cultural expressions in the form of folklore, traditional songs, dances, dress, food, healthcare and production of hand crafts among others. Museums can achieve this through platforms such as permanent exhibition and public programmes. However, Zambian museums lack resources to implement these programmes. Therefore, the ratification of the convention would provide a wealth of opportunities to counter the challenges that were preventing museums from undertaking such activities aimed at preserving Zambia’s cultural heritage.

 

(d)        Need to show commitment to the provisions of the convention

 

 Mr Speaker, your Committee observes that the non ratification of the convention would result in Zambia being viewed as a country that is not committed to protecting and promoting the diversity of cultural expressions. Additionally, failure to ratify the convention will disadvantage Zambia as it will not benefit from the support that UNESCO offers as prescribed in the convention. In light of this, your Committee strongly reiterates its call for Zambia to ratify the convention.

 

Mr Speaker, I beg to second.

 

Thank you, Sir.

 

The Minister of Tourism and Arts (Mr Chitotela): Mr Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to give the Government position on the report that has been rendered on this Floor by the Committee on Energy, Water Development and Tourism on the proposal to ratify the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions during the Fifth Session of the Twelfth National Assembly.

 

Mr Speaker, my statement in support of the adoption of your Committee’s report is in two parts. In the first part, I am going to recap the background information relating to the convention and the key conclusions by your Committee. Thereafter, I will endeavour to highlight the benefits that will accrue to our country once we ratify the convention before I conclude my statement.

 

Mr Speaker, the cultural industry is currently among the fastest growing sectors in the world. According to the United Nations (UN), the global value of the sector is around US$4.3 trillion per annum. The estimates also put the contribution of the sector at 6.1 per cent of the global economy with annual revenue generation and job creation estimated at US$2,250 billion and 30 million, respectively.

 

Sir, these statistics signify that Zambia can tap into the benefits in this sector to promote job creation, particularly for citizens that are aged between fifteen and twenty-nine; inclusive economic growth; reduction in inequalities and achievement of sustainable development goals.

 

Mr Speaker, one of the key instruments developed at the global level to promote the cultural sector is the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

 

Sir, since it was formulated, the convention has been at the heart of the creative economy and supports governments and civil society in arriving at policy solutions to address challenges in the cultural sector. Based on the principles of human rights and fundamental freedoms, the convention, therefore, provides a comprehensive framework for informed, transparent and participatory systems of governance in the cultural sector.

Mr Speaker, the key objective of the convention is to strengthen the creation, production, dissemination, access and enjoyment of cultural expressions conveyed by cultural activities and goods and services. The convention places deliberate focus on developing countries such as Zambia.

 

Mr Speaker, therefore, the convention recognises the rights of parties to take measures domestically and internationally to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions. Through the convention, the global community has formally recognised the cultural and economic value of cultural expressions produced by artists and cultural professionals.

 

Mr Speaker, arising from the recognition of the significant value of the convention to our national aspirations regarding the development of our cultural sector, my ministry initiated the proposal for Zambia to ratify the convention following the finalisation of internal approval processes within the Executive. The proposal was brought before this august House, as required by law. I am glad to note that your able Committee executed its work diligently and it now remains for the House to consider the report for adoption.

 

Mr Speaker, perusal of the report by your Committee clearly indicates that stakeholders that were consulted recommended that Zambia should ratify the convention based on the immense potential benefits of doing so. On the other hand, the report has highlighted the concerns expressed by the stakeholders which the Government intends to address through the establishment of governance structures under the convention.

 

Mr Speaker, after a thorough analysis of the submissions from the stakeholders, your Committee has overwhelmingly supported the proposal to ratify the convention. I also wish to state that the Government has taken note of the need to address some of the matters that have been raised by the stakeholders to maximise the benefits of ratifying the convention.

 

These matters are clearly highlighted in the report and include the need for the Government to do the following:

 

1. raise awareness among its citizens about this convention;
2. promote and uphold Zambia’s cultural diversity; and
3. improve documentation of cultural expressions.

 

Mr Speaker, I wish to strongly urge my fellow Members of Parliament to support the Motion to adopt the report of your Committee. It is very clear that Zambia will significantly benefit in many ways from ratifying the convention.

 

Sir, as the cultural sector, we expect a lot of positive benefits at sector and national levels, especially when working together with other national and international partners. The Government will work to ensure that Zambia benefits in the following ways:

 

1. integration of cultural aspects in international trade agreements and, therefore, placing recognition on cultural goods, services and activities as a vehicle of value and not only in measuring as mere objects of trade;
2. development of responsive national cultural policies that will ensure free movement of ideas and cultural works;
3. strengthening co-operation in cultural matters within and with other countries and international organisations including support from the international fund for cultural diversity;
4. creation of an environment supportive of all cultures and their expressions in Zambia and to allow them to benefit from each other;
5. increase in involvement of civil society in the implementation of the cultural development agenda; and
6. improved access to means of cultural creation, production and dissemination at national and international levels.

 

Mr Speaker, over all, the Government will maximise the benefits and demonstrate that when our country increases efforts to harness the diversity of cultural expressions through the ratification and domestication of the convention, we will transform these cultural expressions into economic and social assets and values for our communities in Zambia. This will essentially reduce poverty and create sustainable development for the benefit of the present and future generations.

        

Mr Speaker, as I conclude, let me appeal and thank all hon. Members of Parliament who silently supported the ratification of this convention. I would also like to thank your Committee for the report that it has renderd. Let me also take this opportunity to join the 145 countries and the European Union (EU) that have ratified or acceded to the convention as of February 2018.

 

I thank you, Sir.

 

Mr Speaker: The last intervention will be from the hon. Member for Kabwe Central and Deputy Chief Whip.

 

Mr Ngulube: Mr Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity to support the report. I think the hon. Minister has summed it up very well for us all. Zambia has a very rich cultural diversity, and there would be no harm if all the cultural expressions were documented. I remember when I was growing up as a boy, almost each province had a cultural centre. We had the Kabwata Cultural Village, in Livingstone, we had the Maramba Cultural Village and many other places where information pertaining to most of these expressions that we see in various cultures was obtained.

 

Mr Speaker, I am also aware that because of its geographical location, Zambia shares most of these cultural expressions with neighbouring countries. Sometimes, when we travel outside Zambia, we find cultural expressions that are very similar to ours. Talking about the Eastern Province, if you go to Malawi and Mozambique, you will find that most of the cultural expressions, proverbs as well as a number of other traditional beliefs form quite a huge reservoir of the preservation of our cultural diversity.

 

Mr Speaker, we also know that Zambia having about seventy-three ethnic groupings, each of our ethnic groupings has quite a number of cultural expressions that would be preserved if they were all properly documented. Therefore, I support the proposal by your Committee and the Ministry of Tourism and Arts to ratify the convention so that Zambia is not left behind.

 

Mr Speaker, I have in mind Ghana, where they have done very well with documenting almost all their cultural expressions such as greetings. Visitors to that country are welcomed in several ways. They will tell you that this expression is meant for the highest level of visitors and so on and so forth. I also know that even our own brothers and sisters in the Western Province will greet you in a manner that depicts cultural diversity.

 

Mr Speaker, I know also know that when you go to neighbouring Tanzania, the people there will greet you in Swahili, in a cultural expression that gives you a belief that you are welcomed as a visitor. That is why you have heard all these proposals by the ministry. We also feel that being a country which has a million cultural expressions, Zambia cannot fail to ratify the convention.

 

Mr Speaker, with these few remarks, allow me to thank you most sincerely for this wonderful opportunity on behalf of the people of Kabwe Central, here in Katondo and Kafulamase where we are commissioning a mini hospital on behalf of the President.

 

Mr Speaker: Order!

 

Hon. Member for Kabwe Central, it looks like you will be sending those greeting throughout the afternoon.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Ngulube: Mr Speaker, yes, I am delighted that now, through your leadership, it is possible to debate in Parliament from anywhere in the country. It is something that was never thought of, and we cannot fail to continue rejoicing with the wisdom that you have impacted on us in the five years that we have been with you. I do not wish to be like those people who only praise someone when he is gone. I would like to be one of those that praise you while you are sitting in that Chair.

 

Mr Speaker, with these few remarks, I thank you most sincerely and may God bless you.

 

I thank you, Sir.

 

Mr Kampyongo: Kabwe Central!

 

Mr Speaker: We are yet to see more.

 

Laughter

 

Ms Chonya: Mr Speaker, indeed, we are yet to see more. What more with this excitement for adoption coming from Makululu.

 

Mr Speaker, nevertheless, from the hon. Minister’s submission and the debate that has just gone, I think we will not be flogging a dead horse. It appears that we all have consensus on the need to ratify our convention. You may recall that your Committee expressed concern about it having taken the Executive more than fifteen years to begin the process of ratifying. Now, when I listen to the hon. Minister making assurances that, indeed, the Government will undertake to address the issues raised in the report, I get some slight comfort and can only wait and see what happens next.

 

Sir, if the Patriotic Front (PF) fails to live up to its word of ensuring that this convention is ratified within the next few months, then, as we come in as the United Party for National Development (UPND) Government, we shall definitely do that so that we benefit from what the convention has to offer.

 

I thank you, Sir.

 

Question put and agreed to.

 

­_______

 

BILLS

 

SECOND READING

 

THE NARCOTIC DRUGS AND PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES BILL, 2021
                                                                                                 

The Minister of Home Affairs (Mr Kampyongo): Mr Speaker, beg to move that the Bill be now read a second time.

 

Mr Speaker, the objects of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Bill, 2021, are to:

 

1.  provide for the functions of the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC);
2. revise and consolidate the law relating to narcotic drugs and psychotropic and precursor chemicals;
3. provide for special measures relating to the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of victims of drug abuse;
4. provide for limitation of industrial hemp from control under this Act;
5. domesticate the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, adopted in New York on 13^th March, 1961. The Convention on the  Psychotropic Substances signed at Vienna on 31^st February, 1971, the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988 and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, signed at Palermo, on 29^th  September, 2003;
6. repeal and replace the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act,1993; and
7. provide for matters connected with, or incidental to, the foregoing.

 

Mr Speaker, the review of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, Cap. 96 of the Laws of Zambia started in 2016 when the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) engaged the Zambia Law Development Commission (ZLDC) to co-ordinate and facilitate the process. The current law on narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances was enacted in 1993.

 

Since then, a number of developments have taken place and new trends in illicit drugs and substances have emerged. With ever emerging sophisticated methods of criminal activities, strengthening of the law was deemed necessary. Therefore, in order to address the new developments and the emerging trends in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, there is an urgent need to review the current law.

 

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

 

Dr Malama (Kanchibiya): Mr Speaker, in accordance with its terms of reference as set out under Standing Order No. 157(2) of the National Assembly Standing Orders, 2016, your Committee was tasked to scrutinise the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Bill, No. 33 of 2021, which was referred to it on 16^th April, 2021. To help it with the task, your Committee consulted various stakeholders who made both written and oral submissions before it.

 

Sir, let me state from the outset that all the witnesses who interacted with your Committee were in support of the Bill. The stakeholders, however, raised a few concerns which are recorded in your Committee’s report for the consideration of this august House. Your Committee is also in support of the Bill and, in so doing, makes the observations and recommendations I now highlight.

 

Mr Speaker, your Committee notes that the functions of the staff board provided at Clause 5 (1) of the Bill are similar to those of a public board. After consultations with the hon. Minister of Home Affairs during its deliberations, your Committee recommends that the model of the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) board, where the Bank Governor is the chairperson, be adopted. Your Committee recommends that the board, whose purpose is to oversee and provide policy direction to the commission and ensure that it effectively performs its functions, should comprise representatives of institutions such as the Zambia Police Service, Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority (ZAMRA).  

 

Sir, with regard to Clause 7, which provides for the appointment of the Director-General of the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC), your Committee notes that the Bill does not provide for the declaration of assets by the Director-General and other appointed officers. In this regard, your Committee recommends that the clause provides for the requirement of a written declaration of assets by all officers of the commission before appointment and at prescribed intervals thereafter.

 

Mr Speaker, your Committee observes that Clause 40(1), which provides for application for authorisation, does not cater for the use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances for research purposes. In view of the foregoing, your Committee recommends that Clause 40 (1) be amended to accommodate the use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances for research purposes.

 

Sir, your Committee agrees with the stakeholders who contended that Clause 48 was replicating what had already been provided for under the Medicines and Allied Substances Act, No. 3 of 2013 and the Dangerous Drugs Act, Cap 95 of the Laws of Zambia. Your Committee, therefore, recommends that in order to avoid duplication and possible conflict of interest, this clause should be deleted from the Bill.

 

Mr Speaker, your Committee also finds it irregular that the Bill, under this clause, provides for the hon. Minister responsible for health to issue statutory instruments under an Act which is supposed to be administered by the ministry responsible for home affairs. Your Committee, therefore, recommends that this be normalised.

 

Sir, your Committee notes that although Clause 60(5) of the Bill provides that a person aggrieved with a directive of the Director-General may appeal to a court, the appellate court has not been defined under Clause 2. This notwithstanding, Clause 61(7) provides for the appeal against the decision of the Director-General to lie to the High Court. It is, therefore, apparent that the appeal referred to at Clause 60(5) lies with the High Court.

 

In this regard, your Committee recommends that the court referred to under Clause 60(5) should be defined under Clause 2 for purposes of consistency. Your Committee further recommends that instead of only having two provisions with an appellate procedure to a court, a general appellate provision be included to provide for an appeal procedure against a directive of the Director-General.

 

Mr Speaker, your Committee observes with grave concern that Clause 83(a) and (c) provides for the seizure of property of a person even where a person has not been prosecuted for any offence under any written law with regard to that property. Your Committee is of the view that all seizures must be done for breach of law and successful prosecution of the suspects. In this regard, your Committee recommends that Clauses 83(a) and (c) should be deleted.

 

Sir, in conclusion, I wish to pay tribute to all the witnesses who interacted with your Committee. I further wish to thank you for affording your Committee an opportunity to scrutinise the Bill. Gratitude also goes to the Clerk of the National Assembly and her staff for the services rendered to your Committee. I also want to be on record to thank you for the leadership that you have provided to this Parliament and our Committee in particular.

 

Mr Speaker, I thank you.

 

Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, let me thank all the hon. Members who have supported the Bill quietly. I also would like to thank your Committee on National Security and Foreign Affairs for expeditiously considering the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Bill, No. 33 of 2021. The ministry has noted the observations and recommendations made by your Committee. The ministry, however, has some reservations on some recommendations as follows:

 

Sir, the first one is on Clause 5(1), which is on constitution of the staff board. The Constitution of the Republic of Zambia establishes DEC as an investigative commission. The establishment of the staff board is in conformity with the operations of the DEC. Further, the staff board already exists and is appointed by the commissioner as it stands currently. However, to strengthen the staff board, this Bill provides for the appointment of the members of the staff board by the hon. Minister. It will be difficult to compare the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) structure and an investigative wing. So, we feel this is well couched.

 

Sir, on the issue of the position of Director-General of DEC, again, recommendations were made by DEC to change the title to commissioner-general. However, during the development of the Bill, stakeholder consultations with DEC revealed that the title of commissioner be changed to Director-General and this is in line with Article 235 of the Constitution which provides for investigative commissions and we currently have just only two which are operational. The other one is yet to be operationalised and so we need to harmonise with what is obtaining at the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), which is the other investigative commission which fails under Article 235.

 

Mr Speaker, the other matter which the Chairperson raised was related to Clause 83 – Forfeiture of Property. This clause provides for what is called “Administrative Forfeiture”. It is mostly used on abandoned properties were seizures may be effected through third parties. It has worked well in the current Act to be repealed and the provisions will be maintained.

 

Mr Speaker, I would like to assure your Committee that, indeed, this Bill, which is progressive and in line with international practices, will look at comprehensive matters that are emerging related to the trends of drugs and illicit transactions. We will find time to attend to all those issues that have been raised by your Committee and, where need be, we shall move some amendments.

 

I thank you, Mr Speaker.

 

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

 

Committed to a committee of the whole House.

 

Committee on Friday, 7^th May, 2021.

 

THE ZAMBIA CORRECTIONAL SERVICE BILL, 2021

 

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

 

Mr Speaker, following the amendment of the Constitution of Zambia in 2016, the service changed its name from the Zambia Prisons Service to the Zambia Correctional Service and shifted its attention to implementing correctional measures as opposed to taking punitive actions in the management of offenders.

 

Mr Speaker, the change of the name and focus of the service necessitated the review of the Prisons Act, Cap 97 of the Laws of Zambia, as the mandate has changed. The review of the Prisons Act, therefore, comes as a consequential amendment process following the amendment of the supreme law of the land, which is the Constitution of Zambia in 2016.

 

Mr Speaker, the objects of the Zambia Correctional Service Bill are to:

 

1. continue with the existence of the Zambia Prisons Service and rename it as the Zambia Correctional Service and redefine its functions;
2. provide for the establishment, management and control of prisons and correctional centres;
3. provide for the discipline of correctional officers;
4. provide for the correction and reformation of inmates;
5. provide for youth corrective training centres  and community service;
6. provide for after care orders;
7. establish the National Parole Board and provide for its functions;
8. domesticate the United Nations standard minimum rules for the treatment of flounders;
9. repeal and replace the Prisons Act of 1996 and provide for matters connected with, or incidental to, the forgoing.

 

Mr Speaker, I beg to move.

Dr Malama: Mr Speaker, in accordance with its terms of reference, as set out under Standing Order No. 157(2) of the National Assembly Standing Orders, 2016, your Committee was tasked to scrutinise the Zambia Correctional Service Bill No. 35 of 2021, which was referred to it on 16^th April, 2021.

 

Sir, to help it with the task, your Committee consulted various stakeholders who made both written and oral submissions before it.

 

Mr Speaker, let me state from the outset that all the witnesses who interacted with your Committee were in support of the Bill. However, the stakeholders raised a few concerns which are contained therein for the consideration of this august House.

 

Sir, your Committee is also in support of the Bill, and in so doing, makes the observations and recommendations I now highlight.

 

Sir, your Committee observes that the definition of ‘circumstantial child’ in Clause 2 –Definitions, which reads, "a child born in a prison or brought in a prison or correctional centre by virtue of the mother’s incarceration", had not been capped by age. It is, therefore, open to wide interpretation. Therefore, your Committee recommends that for purposes of clarity, the definition should be tied to a maximum age of three years, for instance.

 

Mr Speaker, your Committee notes that the determination of which sentence an offender receives, as provided in Clause (41)(d) is outside the mandate of the Zambia Correctional Service. Your Committee observes that the power to determine the appropriate sentence rests with the Judiciary. In this regard, your Committee recommends that this provision should be deleted.

 

Mr Speaker, your Committee is of the view that, in its current form, Clause 50, which provides for the rehabilitation, reintegration and employment of inmates, has not taken care of the employment discrimination suffered by former inmates. 

 

Sir, in this vein, your Committee recommends that this provision should make reference to adoption of the provision in the Constitution, which provides that ‘subject to the Constitution, a person shall not be barred from consideration for employment by a public or private organisation or institution by reason of having previously served a term of imprisonment’.

 

Sir, your Committee notes the provisions of Clause 71(2) on the date of commencement of a sentence of imprisonment imposed for an offence on an inmate by a court of competent jurisdiction. However, your Committee is concerned that the provision does not cater for the commencement of a sentence for an inmate serving a sentence of life imprisonment if such an inmate commits another major offence.

 

Sir, in this regard, your Committee recommends that Section 37 of the Penal Code Act, Cap 87 of the laws of Zambia should be used, considering that it provides for a sentence of imprisonment to take effect from and includes the whole of the day on which it was pronounced, unless the court shall, at the time of passing sentence, expressly order that it shall take effect from some day prior to that on which it was pronounced.

 

Mr Speaker, your Committee notes that Clause 77(3) has provided that when the court refuses to consent to the release of an appellant inmate under subsection (2), the court shall, within seven days of receipt of the notice give reasons for its refusal. However, the clause has not provided for an appeal procedure in the event that the court refuses to release an appellant. Your Committee, therefore, recommends that in order to avoid a situation where the decision of a lower court becomes final, the clause should provide for appeal to a Higher Court.

 

Mr Speaker, in conclusion, I wish to pay tribute to all the witnesses who interacted with your Committee. I further wish to thank you, Mr Speaker, for affording your Committee an opportunity to scrutinise the Bill. Gratitude also goes to the Clerk of the National Assembly who has guided this Parliament very well in close collaboration you, Mr Speaker, and her staff for the services rendered to your Committee. I also commend the Members of your Committee for their dedication to the work of your Committee in this instance and for the past five years.

 

Mr Speaker, may God bless our country.

 

I thank you, Sir.

 

Mr Kampyongo: Mr Speaker, let me start by thanking your Committee, chaired by the able chairperson, Hon. Dr Malama, on National Security and Foreign Affairs for expeditiously considering the Zambia Correctional Service Bill No. 35 of 2021. The ministry has noted the observations and recommendations by your Committee. The ministry, however, has some reservations on some of the recommendations.

 

Sir, the proposal made by your Committee on Clause 2 is accepted. However, the ministry has recommended the maximum age of the circumstantial child to be four years old. This has been the case. From experience, I do not think that it would be reasonable to adjust the age.

 

Sir, with regards to Clause 50, we support the recommendation by your Committee for former inmates not to suffer employment discrimination. However, the ministry forms the view that this does not fall within its mandate which is limited to education, work and social programmes in terms of offender reformation and possible reintegration of offender back into society.

 

Mr Speaker, we take note of other recommendations, including the harmonisation of the provisions of the Penal Code with this Act. We will take time to certainly look into those.

 

Mr Speaker, this, otherwise, is a progressive piece of legislation that will strengthen enforcement mechanisms and bring them in line with international best practices and, therefore, make them comprehensive in dealing with new and emerging issues in correctional services. The Bill is comprehensive and has addressed the inadequacies in our existing law.

 

Mr Speaker, let me just, once again, thank your Committee, the hon. Minister of Justice and the drafting team at the Ministry of Justice, which has worked tirelessly in ensuring that this Bill has come to fruition. Let me not forget to extend my thanks to the Correctional Service command and our team at the Ministry of Home Affairs that have equally done a commendable job in ensuring that the enactment of this very important Bill is expedited.

 

Mr Speaker, I beg to move.

 

Mr Lubinda: Thank you.

 

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

 

Committed to a committee of the Whole House.

 

Committee on Thursday, 6^th May, 2021.

 

_______

 

HOUSE IN COMMITTEE

 

[THE CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES in the

Chair]

 

THE ACTS OF PARLIAMENT (Amendment) BILL, 2021

 

Clauses 1, 2 and 3 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

 

CLAUSE 4 – (Insertion of sections 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16)

 

Mr Lubinda: Madam Chairperson, I beg to move an amendment in Clause 4 as follows:

 

1. on page 4, in line 20 by insertion of the words “as prescribed” immediately after the word “mark”; and
2. on page 5, in line 13 by the deletion of the words “for Law Revision”.

 

Amendment agreed to. Clause amended accordingly.

 

Clause 4 as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Title agreed to.

______

 

HOUSE RESUMED

 

[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]

 

The following Bill was reported to have passed through Committee with amendments:

 

The Acts of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

 

Report Stage on Thursday, 6^th May, 2021.

 

THIRD READING

 

The following Bill was read a third time and passed:

 

The Health Professions (Amendment) Bill, 2021

 

______

 

MOTION

 

ADJOURNMENT

 

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

 

Question put and agreed to.

 

______

 

The House adjourned at 1651 hours until 1430 hours on Thursday, 6^th May, 2021.

 

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