Wednesday, 29^th September, 2021

 

The House met at 1430 hours

 

[MADAM SPEAKER in the Chair]

 

NATIONAL ANTHEM

 

PRAYER

______

 

ANNOUNCEMENT BY MADAM SPEAKER

 

RE-LAUNCH OF COVID-19 VACCINATION PROGRAMME

 

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members, I wish to remind the House that the Ministry of Health will be re-launching the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Vaccination Programme on Friday, 1^st October, 2021.

 

The event will take place at the Ministry of Health Headquarters grounds starting at 1430 hours. The Office of the Clerk will provide transport to and from the venue. Hon. Members intending to attend the event should be at the National Assembly Motel at 1400 hours. The bus will depart the motel at 1410 hours. In this regard, interested hon. Members are requested to confirm their participation with the Office of the Clerk by close of business on Thursday, 30^th September, 2021.

 

______

 

MOTION

 

MOTION OF THANKS

 

(Debate resumed)

 

Mr Chala (Chipili): Madam Speaker, before business was suspended yesterday, I was talking about Chipili Secondary School and Chipili Primary School. I was saying that Chipili Secondary School was initially called Chipili School for the Blind. This is the school which has been turned into Chipili Secondary School. I am going to engage the hon. Minister of Education to ensure that the infrastructure at this school is brought up to standard. New buildings should be constructed.

 

Madam Speaker, on feeder roads, the Patriotic Front (PF) Government started paving the roads in my constituency. I am happy that as at now, there is continuity in this area, and this is the spirit we need. The New Dawn Government has not abandoned these works, and I salute it for not abandoning the projects in my constituency.

 

Madam Speaker, some roads need to be upgraded to bituminous standard. One of these roads is Munga’nga Turn-off to Mukonshi up to Kawambwa. This is a very important road to us because the route will be shorter for people who will be moving from Kawambwa to the provincial headquarters, Mansa.

 

Madam Speaker, let me go back to the issue of the district hospital. My people want a district hospital. That should be the first thing that the New Dawn Government must give my people –

 

Madam Speaker: Order!

 

The hon. Member’s time expired.

 

You may now proceed to debate the President’s Speech.

 

Mr Chala: Madam Speaker, let me now debate the President’s Speech. Firstly, I want to talk about the “One Zambia, One Nation” motto. It is very important to unite as one people because divided we fall, united we stand. We all want to develop this country, and that is why we are here.

 

Madam Speaker, to realise the “One Zambia, One Nation” motto, I want to see how the New Dawn Government is going to be distributing the national resources. I believe that the New Dawn Government is going to distribute the national resources equitably to all the ten provinces.

 

Madam Speaker, let me now talk about the mining sector. There are two words I am interested in. The first one is participation and the second one is ownership. It is true that we need to empower Zambians to participate in the mining sector and to own mines. We do not want to have a situation whereby we empower some people or sell mines to some individuals who then become billionaires, and the money that they have cannot be shared by millions of the Zambian people. What is the point of empowering such people who become billionaires only for their families? The best thing the New Dawn Government must do on mining is to get the State to own some mines on behalf of the Zambian people. By doing that, the proceeds from those mines, which the State will own, will be redistributed equitably to all the Zambian people. There is no point in starting to sell some companies like Konkola Copper Mines Plc, which is being run by the State. I want the State to continue running this company so that my people in Chipili can have a share and not individuals –

 

Interruptions

 

Madam Speaker: Order!

 

Just a reminder to hon. Members that while you are in the House, please switch off your Zoom because it is giving feedback. Those who have their Zoom on, please switch them off.

 

The hon. Member for Chipili may continue.

 

Mr Chala: Madam Speaker, on page 5 of his speech, the President emphasised on reforms for higher learning institutions. This time around, why should we be talking about reforms? Reforms for what? Reform the bursaries and loans? No, Madam Speaker. The people of Zambia would like to see a change. Our children, especially our children at the University of Zambia (UNZA) who are close to where we are, want the word ‘reform’ to be removed and substituted with the word ‘abolish’. If that will be done, we will see the students of Zambia who are close to us here start dancing and saying, “Bally has done it.” That is what we want. We want people to dance once more. That is the way they danced when Bally was declared winner. They need to dance. The words that should have been stated there are “abolish loans.” We are fed up with reforms. We are fed up with talking about the same thing. We cannot be going round and round. We have to abolish the loans completely.

 

Madam Speaker, I want the students in all higher learning public institutions to describe the President in a special way. I remember vividly when Mama Fulano came to Samfya Secondary School some time back. Mama Fulano described KK as “A man and half. Others are men.” I contemplated the meaning of that, but did not understand that expression. Today, I have realised that KK used to make decisions. What was impossible became possible. I want the President to be remembered as “HH, the man and half” for abolishing the loans and bursaries.

Madam Speaker, I know that the Government has said that it has no money. I remember President Michal Chilufya Sata, may his soul rest in peace, said “Who told you that there is no money. The Government should have money.” The Government has money. If the New Dawn Government still insists that it does not have money, it can start by providing free education at higher learning institutions first. It should abolish the bursaries and loans.

 

Madam Speaker, I thank you. 

 

Interruptions

 

Madam Speaker: Order!

 

Hon. Members just a reminder again, please check if your Zoom is on or off. The feedback is not good for our ears.

 

As we move to the hon. Ministers, just a reminder to the hon. Ministers to stick to their scripts so that they are within the time that is allocated.

 

The Minister of Fisheries and Livestock (Mr Chikote): Madam Speaker, thank you for according me this opportunity to comment on the Address of His Excellency the Republican President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, during the Official Opening of the First Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly.

 

Madam Speaker, let me start by congratulating you for being elected as the first ever female Speaker of the National Assembly in the history of our great nation. As Martin Luther King Jr said: “We are not the makers of history, we are made by history.” Indeed, Zambia has made history by demonstrating that gender equality is an important development goal for this country. Let me also take this opportunity to extend my congratulations to the First and Second Deputy Speakers on their election as well.

 

Madam Speaker, allow me also to commend the Zambian people who came in numbers to vote and denounce the corruption of the previous regime by ushering in the United Party for National Development (UPND) into power.

 

Madam Speaker, let me state from the onset that I fully support this Motion. The address by His Excellency the President, was not only inspiring, but gave hope to the people of Zambia on what the New Dawn Government is going to deliver. Before I proceed to debate the Motion, let me also appreciate His Excellency the President, for the creation and realignment of Government ministries and departments, and for appointing me to serve in his Cabinet as Minister of Fisheries and Livestock. The realignment of ministries is the way forward to improve service delivery that is needed in this nation, contrary to what some debaters said, which is that these ministries were just created for friends. This is far from that thinking.

 

Madam Speaker, on page 12, His Excellency the President, clearly stated:

 

“I will now proceed to outline the broad policy direction of my Government for the next five years.”

 

Madam Speaker, His Excellency gave a broad perspective of the policy direction from which specific interventions will be drawn. I will focus my attention on the thematic area of economic transformation and job creation as stated on page 12, and particularly fisheries and livestock development as outlined on page 14 to page 17 and other pages that are relevant.

 

Madam Speaker, on page 14, His Excellency stated:

 

“To this end, Government will implement a comprehensive
agricultural transformation programme with the aim of making
the sector a viable commercial undertaking.”

 

Madam Speaker, the comprehensive agriculture transformation speaks to aligning agricultural policies to the UPND Manifesto. I, therefore, call upon the stakeholders in the fisheries and livestock subsector to carefully study the UPND Manifesto, translate it, and align the existing policies to the party’s development agenda.

 

Madam Speaker, on capture fisheries and aquaculture development, His Excellency, the President noted the following: The country has abundant water and wetlands which are key to the development of both capture fisheries and aquaculture; the subsector is faced with challenges such as high cost of finance; high cost of fish feed; and inadequate fingerlings. Thus, the Government will restructure the sector to focus on interventions that raise production and productivity in fisheries and aquaculture.

 

Additionally, Madam Speaker, the President also identified aquaculture as an area with great potential to provide opportunities for the people of Zambia to venture into fish farming across the country.

 

Madam Speaker the President also encouraged most of our farmers to start looking at this subsector as a business entity.

 

Madam Speaker, given this policy direction, my ministry will now undertake the following measures:

 

1. development of National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy and review the regulatory framework;
2. promote the expansion and intensification of aquaculture across the country;
3. promotion of fingerling production through the establishment of fish hatcheries;
4. promotion of greenhouses so that production of fingerlings is throughout the year;
5. enhance aquaculture research development and also genetic improvement of fish species to exploit the growth potential.
6. establishment and gazetting of protected fish breeding areas; and
7. operationalisation of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Fund.

 

Madam Speaker, on page 17 the President also in his Speech said:

 

“To promote and increase livestock production, the Government will focus on stocking and restocking, artificial insemination as well as enhanced disease surveillance control.

 

Government will also facilitate research in animal breeding, disease prevention, and nutrition.

 

Further, the livestock market promotion and value addition will be prioritised.

 

Government will also support the construction and rehabilitation of livestock infrastructure such as laboratories, service centres, and breeding centres, across the country.”

 

So, his Address, Madam Speaker, is different from what some of the debaters said who described the address as empty, likening it to the Jelita and Mulenga story. This is very contrary.

 

Madam Speaker, my ministry will undertake the following measures to develop upon the pronouncements the President announced to the nation, which are as follows:

 

1. developing national animal health measures;
2. developing the Livestock Development Act;
3. prioritising animal diseases control and prevention;
4. develop robust animal identification and flexibility in the country;
5. local production of vaccines and drugs. We have to start making our own drugs in the country;
6. upscaling livestock;
7. strengthen the artificial insemination services;
8. livestock production will cover the whole country, not part of the country;
9. we will restock animals for the viable farmers. We will not be selective. We are going to deliver our services to everyone in Zambia.

 

Madam Speaker, we want to see this nation starting to compete with other nations like Botswana. We should now start exporting our beef. We will support our farmers.

 

Madam Speaker, this Government means serious business. We do not make mere pronouncements. We are going to deliver according to the expectation of the people, and change Zambia to become a better nation to live in.

 

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

 

The Minister of Water Development and Sanitation (Mr Mposha): Madam Speaker, I wish to express my gratitude to you for according me this opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the Republican President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema’s Address to the National Assembly.

 

Madam Speaker, allow me to congratulate you for having been voted as the first women Speaker in Zambia. I also wish to extend my felicitations to the First and Second Deputy Speakers for their election.

 

Madam Speaker, my sincere gratitude also go to the people of Zambia for resoundingly ushering into office, President Hakainde Hichilema on 12^th August, 2021 on the United Party for National Development (UPND) ticket. I thank the people of Munali Parliamentary Constituency for not only giving me the mandate to be their area Member of Parliament, but also for adding 54, 000 more votes to the presidential ballot. I further wish to thank the President for giving me the rare opportunity to serve as Cabinet Minister in charge of water development and sanitation in his New Dawn UPND Administration.

 

Madam Speaker, I will now highlight a few issues from the President’s maiden speech to the National Assembly during the Official Opening of the Thirteenth Session on 10^th September, 2021. The President’s Speech indeed signifies hope and inspiration as well as guarantees a bright future for the people of Zambia under his able leadership. The President’s Address, which was anchored on the theme “Creating a United, Prosperous and Equitable Zambia: Restoring Economic Growth and Safeguarding Livelihoods.” This theme resonates well with the UPND’s guiding principle of a people centred and pro-poor development strategy that guarantees the basic needs of all our people in Zambia. The President reiterates, among others, his Government’s commitment to increase water security and attainment of universal access to water and sanitation. This is in order to spur economic development and enhance the people’s wellbeing and improve their livelihoods.

 

Madam Speaker, the President clearly outlined his vision in line with the UPND manifesto anchored on economic transformation as being the overarching framework to galvanise various sectors of the economy to create jobs and reduce poverty. I have no doubt in my mind that the clear vision and tenacity of the President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, for inclusive development will result in meeting the basics needs of our people without leaving anyone behind.

 

Madam Speaker, in this regard, I wish to assure the people of Zambia that my ministry will ensure that the critical role that water plays in stimulating investment as envisioned in the economic transformation agenda of the UPND is realised. Consequently, the ministry recognises the need to heighten intervention to improve water resource management and development in order to harness water for various social and productive uses.

 

Madam Speaker, allow me to retaliate Government’s recognition of the importance water plays as an enabler to various economic activities. Water is key in food and agriculture production, industries such as manufacturing, energy production, and in many other productive ventures for job creation and poverty reduction.

 

Madam Speaker, with this in mind, my ministry will strengthen the implementation of the ongoing programmes to harness water resources as well as enhance the protection of water resources particularly with the advent of climate change.

 

Madam Speaker, to this end, the construction and rehabilitation of dams will be given priority to harness water to increase productivity and mitigate the effects of climate change. Furthermore, the protection of water resources including recharge zones will be intensified through sensitisation on the importance of protecting water resources. The ministry will also strengthen the enforcement of the existing legal framework on water resources protection. This will be complemented by the review of some of the current legal framework.

 

Madam Speaker, my ministry will also reposition the importance of water in contributing to the realisation of the much need socio-economic development in Zambia. This will be by realigning the contribution of water and sanitation programmes to the UPNDs vision of economic transformation.  As the hon. Members of Parliament may be aware, water is a human right, as declared by the United Nations General Assembly, due to its role in sustaining life. This declaration resonates well with the President’s pledge during his address to this House on his commitment to progressively increase the budgetary allocation to water in order to contribute to the enhancement of human development.

Madam Speaker, the Government has taken stock of the strides that have so far been made towards the national water security to stimulate economic activities as well as water and sanitation for all. It is in this regard, that my ministry will scale up the ongoing interventions to increase national water security and accelerate universal access to water and satiation by 2030. The ongoing implementation of the National Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Programme as well as the National Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programme will be strengthened to accelerate access to water and sanitation.

 

Madam Speaker, the interventions which include the construction of boreholes and solar water schemes in rural areas, as well as water supply and sanitation infrastructure coupled with good hygiene practices, will be given new impetus under the UPND Administration. This is to ensure that our people have access to clean water and sanitation services in order to improve their lives and dignity.

 

Madam Speaker, allow me to assure the people of Zambia that my ministry will ensure transparency and accountability in the utilisation of resources in line with our President’s drive on timeless, quality, and cost effectiveness in service delivery.

 

Madam Speaker, in conclusion, I would like to appeal to the people of Zambia, including the hon. Members of Parliament both on your left and right, to join hands with us in Government, through my ministry, to ensure the availability of water for various uses as well as adequate sanitation for all.

 

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

 

The Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development (Mr Milupi): Madam Speaker, I join the many, in this House and elsewhere, who have congratulated you and your two deputies for ascending to the leadership of this House. I further, wish to congratulate all hon. Members of this House, both those who are returning and those who are coming here for the first time, and that is from both sides of the aisle.

 

Madam Speaker, the people of Zambia, particularly the women and the youth, spoke loudly on the 12^th of August, 2021, after many years of misrule, mismanagement, and infringement on their democratic rights and God given rights. They peacefully, through the power of the ballot, removed an oppressive regime and librated themselves and ushered into office the New Dawn Administration, under the able leadership of His Excellency, Mr Hakainde Hichilema. I wish to pay sincere gratitude to our people, particularly the young ones, who wake up as early as 0300 hours to stand in long lines to cast their vote for change. They cast their vote for a new dawn of freedom, prosperity, and a unity of purpose, away from the politics of division perpetuated by the previous regime.

 

Madam Speaker, before I proceed to register my thanks to the President’s Speech to this august House, allow me to state that listening to the hon. Members of the Opposition in this House, it is clear that they have caucused and have decided to advance certain narratives. The first narrative is that the former President, Mr Edgar Lungu, is a statesman who should be thanked for having handed over power.

 

Madam Speaker, this narrative is completely misplaced. It is akin to a person going to a shop to buy a fridge, and upon being told the price and finds that the money he has is well below the price of the fridge, he walks out of the shop, and the shop owner is told to thank the customer for walking out of the shop leaving the fridge behind.

 

Laughter

 

Hon. PF Members: Question!

 

 Mr Milupi: Madam Speaker, we live in a democracy and our Constitution states so. The former President suffered a humiliating defeat at the elections and the choices left to him were to either hand over power to the one who won convincingly by a landslide or hang on to power and thus, commit treason.

 

Madam Speaker, the other narrative being advanced by those to your left from the former Ruling Party, is that United Party for national Development (UPND) was a violent party and that Patriotic Front (PF) suffered as a result of this violence. Even one life lost to political violence from any direction is one life to many.

 

Madam Speaker, let me remind the PF of some of the many UPND members and ordinary citizens who lost their lives as a result of PF’s sponsored violence as well as death resulting from PF aligned individuals recruited and deployed among the ranks of the police who include, Mapenzi Chibulo, Lawrence Banda, Joseph Kaunda, a UPND official, Nsama Nsama, a state prosecutor killed in cold blood for being near UPND members, Mukonka, a University of Zambia (UNZA) student, Vespers Shimunzhila and many others.

 

Interruptions

 

Madam Speaker: Order, hon. Members!

 

Mr Milupi: Madam Speaker, the list is too long for the allocated time. The PF in Government institutionalised violence in this country. The PF knows it and, more importantly, the people of Zambia know it. The PF should not dare the New Dawn Government on who is the architect of political violence in this country because we shall shame them.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Milupi: Madam Speaker, the PF rule will go down as a sad chapter in the history of this country as far as political violence and violence against citizens by their own Government is concerned.

 

Madam Speaker, over the many years that I have spent in this House, I have listened to many addresses by various Presidents. President Hakainde Hichilema’s address this time around is by far the most inspiring.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Milupi: Through it, one got to understand Hakainde Hichilema the man and Hakainde Hichilema, the President. It revealed who he is and his passionate desire to chart a more equitable and prosperous path for our country. The President’s Speech gave hope and inspiration to our people across this great nation and outlined plans by the New Dawn Government to address the many and complex challenges affecting our people.

 

Madam Speaker, His Excellency, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, was categorical in highlighting his Government’s ambitious agenda for transforming our country and setting it on a clear path of economic recovery and shared prosperity by all the peoples of this country. The focus of the President’s transformational agenda is to go beyond the attainment of economic growth targets and ensure greater participation of our people in the economic activities of this country.

 

Madam Speaker, in terms of infrastructure development, we want to state that all infrastructural projects will be done to cost, quality and will include the participation of the Zambian people. The days of grossly overpriced infrastructure projects have gone with the PF Administration.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Milupi: The New Dawn Government will ensure that infrastructure projects undertaken by foreign or local contractors are of specified quality, at the right cost and delivered on time, as directed by the President.

 

Madam Speaker, we are in a new dawn and it is up to us as Zambians and leaders to ensure that this Government is supported. Unlike those who attacked their own citizens, we seek to protect the Zambian citizens.

 

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Sampa: Ema president aya.

 

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members, running commentaries and even saying, “eba president” is not allowed.

 

Laughter

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members, order!

 

 I do not want to send anybody outside. Please, take note and be guided accordingly.

 

The Minister of Mines and Minerals Development (Mr Kabuswe): Madam Speaker, thank you very much for according me the opportunity to contribute to the debate of His Excellency the President’s Address during the Official Opening of the First Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly. The speech was very inspiring. I thank all the hon. Members of this august House who have contributed to the debate of this important Motion, whether in the positive or negative.

 

Madam Speaker, allow me to congratulate you on your election as the first female Speaker in the history of Zambia and, indeed, for being the first female Speaker to preside over the affairs of the House. I wish to extend the congratulations to the First and Second Deputy Speakers, respectively.

 

Madam Speaker, this is the first time I am speaking in the House. I thank the President for according me the opportunity and chance to serve in his Cabinet as Minister in-charge of mines and minerals development. This is an onerous task as the mining industry is in confusion. We pledge to work with His Excellency the President and the New Dawn Government to try and bring back sanity in the mining sector.

 

Madam Speaker, in addressing the Motion before the House, let me start by stressing that the mining sector still plays a key role in accelerating the country’s development agenda. It was, therefore, gratifying to hear the President provide timely direction to the country in general and the mining sector in particular. The encouragement of the participation of the small and medium scale miners cannot be overemphasised. I think that it is a direction in which the country should go. We must be able to own the mines as Zambians and I thank the President for giving direction in that area.

 

Madam Speaker, the world has witnessed a number of emerging issues with regard to mining development, which include, among others, but not limited to the following:

 

1. the energy transition, which provides for a great opportunity to critical mineral mining;
2. access to resources, resulting from the need for new technologies for mining and processing; and
3. social contracts for mining to ensure real benefits for communities around mine sites.

 

Madam Speaker, the Government of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, attaches great importance to the mining law reforms and mining sector growth. It is against this background that we will consistently be engaging in wide consultation with various stakeholders to define a legislative and policy framework on mining reforms to ensure wide local participation, transparency and accountability, a stable and consistent mining fiscal regime, job creation as well as taking into account emerging issues affecting the mining sector.

 

Therefore, Madam Speaker, as soon as consultations with all the stakeholders and all procedural requirements are exhausted, we will bring the Bills to this House. I urge all hon. Members of Parliament, including those on your left, to support the Bills, considering their national importance in ensuring sustainable mining.

 

Madam Speaker, we cannot overemphasise that the mining and minerals sectors play a critical role in economic development, attracting investment and employment generation in the country. As such, the growth of the mining sector is entirely dependent on an enabling legal and economic environment.

 

Madam Speaker, a number of external factors continue to influence the mining industry, creating both opportunities that require the strategic need to unlock the potential of the mining sector and challenges. The demand for various minerals will continue to grow given the various emerging issues in the mining industry globally. On the other hand, the mining sector needs to prepare for the challenges in view of the increasing demand for critical mineral resources to meet the challenging technological demand.

 

Madam Speaker, as the New Dawn Government, we remain committed to harnessing the opportunities available in the mining sector, as this is central to economic revival and growth. In this regard, we shall review the existing institutional framework to enhance operations and ensure efficiency in service delivery to the sector.

 

Madam Speaker, with regard to emerging issues in mining, energy transition has become a global phenomenal that requires decarbonisation of the energy system to mitigate or, indeed, evade greenhouse gas emissions. As such, there is a more mineral intense shift from fossil fuel based, providing a tremendous opportunity to critical mineral mining, an opportunity this Government will definitely enhance. As the global economy transitions to a low carbon future, there has been an increase in the demand for new technology for mining, processing and, indeed, completely novel ventures, which creates an opportunity to search for high-grade ores and other critical minerals.

 

Madam Speaker, as emphasised by the President, the Government will promote the optimal utilisation of Zambia’s mineral resources for its industrial growth and socio-economic development. As such, the Government will develop the capability to access techno-economic policy options and input for critical issues such as value addition, mineral beneficiation, venture capital, high technology exploration, strategically critical minerals, recycling processes and technologies and mine closure, among others.

 

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

 

Ms Kasune (Keembe): Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to add the voice of the people of Keembe to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address. I will begin by appreciating and congratulating you as the first female Speaker, which makes history for our country, and your two Deputies.

 

 Madam Speaker, I also congratulate Her Honour the Vice-President, Mrs Mutale Nalumango, for being the Leader of the Government Business in the House in this Thirteenth National Assembly, and the many Zambians who ensured that His Excellency, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, who was once believed could never rule the country, became the Seventh Republican President. 

 

Madam Speaker, in adding my voice and that of the people of Keembe Parliamentary  Constituency, whom I am dearly grateful to, it is a testament to all of us in Parliament to never belittle anybody in life because, at the end of day, you just do not know who will become the President of the country as we have seen in the life of His Excellency, Mr Hakainde Hichilema.

 

Madam Speaker, may I also add that the narrative of violence that was perpetrated by the Patriotic Front (PF) Government was uncalled for. We know very well that violence was very rampant when the PF was in Government. However, the President will ensure that anyone who will be found wanting, would be brought to book, regardless of his/her political affiliation.  In so doing, it sits well with his call in his speech where he talked about creating an environment that will support the business sector so that our economy can grow and we can recover from the deficit that we have and hopefully one-day record a surplus.

 

Madam Speaker, it is important to note that for any country’s economy to prosper, the situation must be peaceful. I know that we have talked of those who died, may their souls rest in peace, and I do not want to mention their names again. However, because of the violent regime that the PF was, one of the things that we saw was the use of pangas. In many constituencies, we saw cadres using pangas in broad day light. I think that was uncalled for and it creates an environment that is not conducive for business. Hence, it is important for all hon. Members to support the President when he talks about creating an inclusive environment, which is supportive to business, and peace sits as a biggest asset to that.

 

Madam Speaker, I want to speak to the fact that, as a country, we need to take responsibility. The President, in his speeches elsewhere, alluded to the challenge we have in terms of gender representation. The President has continued to speak of intentions to create an equal playing field for equal participation regardless of one’s gender. As the Deputy Chief Whip, I note that there has been a decrease in women participation, especially in Parliament. In the Twelfth National Assembly, we had about 19 per cent women representation from both parties. However, it is sad to note that in the Thirteenth National Assembly, we only have 14.6 per cent women representation. This calls for not only the President of the nation, but for each one of us as hon. Members of Parliament to search why there is a reduction in women participation, especially in governance as it relates to Members of Parliament, and also at the local government level, in terms of our councillors.

 

Madam Speaker, I will paraphrase Ban Ki-moon’s statement that countries that have had women in governance have by far developed than other countries. So, as we strive to become a middle income country, it is all our responsibility to use our political and leadership influence so that we can see to it that the girl out there, no longer has to be the first Deputy Whip of the National Assembly. As women activists and Members of Parliament, we are tired of always being the first. We hope that, through this Parliament, some Statutory Instruments (SIs) can be introduced so that we can look forward to a 50/50 per cent representation and can no longer be first-timers. It is enough of women being first-timers, and we want to normalise the participation of women as well.

 

Madam Speaker, in the President’s Speech, not only are you congratulated on your coming to Parliament, the President also talked about the equal allocation of resources. This is so critical for the President and the New Dawn Government, and this should set the United Party for National development (UPND) Government apart from the PF Government. In so saying, I call upon new Members of Parliament to take this opportunity and use it wisely because out of 18 million Zambians, they emerged as one of the few out of the 156 constituencies.

 

So, it is within this office of Whips, supporting the Office of the Speaker and the Office of the Clerk, that we render our services. In particular myself, especially, being your Deputy Chief Whip and a female, I will continue to speak for all hon. Members regardless of their political affiliation, but just for the fact that they are Members of Parliament. We will also continue pushing the gender agenda because at the end of the day, as women, we have a bigger responsibility out there. Many of the voters were youths, but also women came out in numbers to make sure that the United Party for National Development (UNPD) won and His Excellency, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, became the Seventh President of Zambia.

 

Madam Speaker, I would be failing in my duties if I did not speak to the other constituency that I represent, the over 1.3 million people living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) out there. I hope that I will continue to speak for them. Even though I have been HIV positive for almost thirty years now, I can contribute to the nation. Therefore, every man and woman out there living with HIV/AIDS should feel proud of himself/herself. They should never allow stigmatisation or discrimination because they are equally playing a critical role for this nation to develop. 

 

Madam Speaker, it is with these few words that I continue to remind all the ministries that in the backdrop of the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19), it is easy to forget that there are other causes out there such as HIV/AIDS that we should not forget about.

 

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

The Minister of Transport and Logistics (Mr Tayali): Madam Speaker, I thank you for according me this rare opportunity to contribute to debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Speech.

 

Madam Speaker, I join my right hon. Colleagues as well as the other hon. Members in congratulating you on your historic election as the first woman Speaker for this august House. I have no doubt in my mind that you are equal to the task as you have already demonstrated in maintaining the rules, traditions and decorum of this House.

 

Madam Speaker, further, I equally extend these congratulations to your First and Second Deputy Speakers for their election as well. Indeed, Madam Speaker, it can only be God in his infinite wisdom that I am allowed to stand here before you on the Floor of this august House to add the voices of the constituents in Ndola Central, in particular, and the people of Zambia in general and to allow them to have their say through me.

 

Madam Speaker, for the record, I pay tribute to a number of people that have contributed to my election to this august House in one way or another, including, but not limited to the strengthening of my persona.

 

Madam Speaker, firstly, to my wife and our four children who have endured the long sacrifice of the fortunes and misfortunes of the gruesome nature of politics in the Zambian context. The  sort of politics where on one particular day, 23^rd December, 2020, they almost witnessed my public execution when a blood thirsty police officer pointed a fully loaded gun, an AK47 riffle at me threatening to shoot me albeit without me being armed or posing a threat to anybody.

 

Madam Speaker, in the Zambian context where police arrest you and throw you behind filthy police cells for conduct likely to win elections; where, as a victim of political vandalism, you are told that if you address the press to complain, you will be arrested; where you are told that your branded truck should be parked everyday during campaigns at 18.00 hours because your political campaign songs are tantamount to noise pollution.

 

Madam Speaker, to my mother, special thanks for her tenacity and strength in raising me to be a man who loves, cherishes and respects women.

 

Madam Speaker, politically, I will be remiss at this juncture, if I do not pay special tribute albeit posthumously to the founding President of our great party, the United Party for National Development (UPND), Mr Anderson Kambela Mazoka, whose vision and inspiration has finally come to bear on the Zambian people. To me, Madam Speaker, Mr Mazoka remains the President that never was. I always fondly remember him say to me:

 

“What shall it benefit a man to adorn himself in the best perfume yet sit on a garbage dump…” Further, that, “there was no point in living in an ivory tower yet be surrounded by people living in squalor…”

 

Madam Speaker, these are values that our founding President espoused during his lifetime and I stand here as a living testimony of how, today, these values still live on.

 

Madam Speaker, to our President, His Excellency Mr Hakainde Hichilema, I would like to thank him for his steadfastness and indefatigable spirit that has led to a fifteen year incessant struggle to liberate the Zambian people from the bondage of poverty, disease, unemployment and the general decline in the dignity of our human spirit occasioned by years of neglect and deprivation, especially, espoused by the previous regime.

 

Madam Speaker, thanks also to His Excellency Mr Hichilema and, through him, to the party members in general and team Tayali in particular, for their support in my adoption process which resulted in my being the candidate for the Ndola Central Parliamentary Constituency.

 

Madam Speaker, at this juncture, I voice my support of the President’s Address to this august House which was delivered on 10^th September, 2021. The address was, indeed, insightful and has instilled hope for a better Zambia. As this Government strives to transform the economy, I firmly echo the President’s sentiments of maintaining professionalism and zero tolerance to corruption in the manner that the Government conducts its business.

 

Madam Speaker, I also firmly stand behind the need to uproot cadreism which was one of the biggest challenges in road safety enforcement. The vice of cadreism made it very difficult for one of the key institutions in my ministry, the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RSTA), to effectively enforce road safety regulations. I am glad that this vice will be no more.

 

Madam Speaker, while I am still on the matter of road safety, let me take this opportunity to assure the country that the pronouncement by the hon.  Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security to reduce the number of road blocks on the roads will not hinder road safety enforcement. The RTSA and the Zambia Police Service will utilise Information and Communications Technology (ICT) developed in-house to conduct enforcement without the need to stop a vehicle. In the new portfolio that has been bestowed on me as Minister of Transport and Logistics, I will ensure that the ministry plays its central role as a catalyst in economic development. This Government will take keen interest in ensuring that all modes of transport are developed equally unlike the trend hitherto, which mostly focused on roads.

 

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Madam Speaker: Hon. Members, as we continue debating, let us make sure that we mask up properly. There is a threat of a fourth wave of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). We have made several announcements to this effect.  So, let us ensure that we mask up properly, please.

 

The Minister of Finance and National Planning (Dr Musokotwane): Madam Speaker, I join others who have congratulated you and your two colleagues on your ascension to the office that you occupy now. I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever that you will bring a breath of fresh air even in this institution.

 

Madam Speaker, I also congratulate His Excellency the President, Mr Hichilema, and his very able Vice-President, Mrs Nalumango, for winning. This was not an easy election because, as my colleagues have indicated, there was unprecedented violence in this country. It was like we have never seen before.

 

Madam Speaker, there was what is called ‘gerrymandering’. This is when you try and influence who can vote and who cannot vote. In this particular case, there were certain provinces in which it was deliberately so planned that the number of registered voters went down.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Speaker, the vote buying that we saw in the past election is unprecedented. It is no wonder our colleagues were always saying that as far as they were concerned, they had already won. They knew that they had planned all the moves to rig the election and cause violence. However, the good thing is that the Zambian people said no to dictatorship. No matter where you try to import it from, if you try to bring it to Zambia, Zambians will say no.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Speaker, I am thankful to the good people of Liuwa Parliamentary Constituency for voting for me for the third time to be their representative here in Parliament. I love the constituency and its people.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Speaker, there is something that is very interesting about the people of Liuwa. They voted for the United National Independence Party (UNIP) in 1964, just like everybody else. In 1991, they voted for the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD), just like everybody else. However, in 2011 when many people were voting for the Patriotic Front (PF), the people of Liuwa and the Western Province did not vote for the PF. It is the only Ruling Party that has never been voted for, and for good reasons. The rest of the country saw why the people of the Western Province rejected the PF.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Dr Musokotwane: It is a party whereby in 2019, when there was savage drought and hunger and the hon. Ministers would be told in here, they would laugh. We would tell them that people were starving and the hon. Ministers would laugh and say they did not vote properly.  How could they expect these people to vote for them?

 

Mr Kampyongo: Question!

 

Hon. Government Members: Shame!

 

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Speaker, on issues of development, you heard some colleagues boasting that they have seventeen secondary schools in their constituencies, proudly so. For the people of Liuwa, the high school which was left in Libonda in 2011, for ten years, did not get any brick added to it. How do you expect people to vote for you like that? 

 

Madam Speaker, I think my colleagues have been given time by the people of Zambia to reflect, reform and become better citizens. That is the chance that the people of Zambia have given to them.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Speaker, I now wish to say something about the speech of the President. Since time is limited, I will cover two issues which are free education and youth unemployment.

 

Madam Speaker, the colleagues across the Floor were implying in their debates that after winning, the UPND would forget about its promises for free education and youth unemployment. They were talking like that because that is how the PF was operating.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Speaker, in 2011, when they were campaigning, they were talking about having universities and roads everywhere as well as money in our pockets all the time. When we reminded them of their promises in here, I remember one of them saying that, “You people, you are still talking about those things? Do you not know that there are gimmicks in politics?  We just said those things so that we win.

 

Mr Kampyongo: Question!

 

Laughter

 

Dr Musokotwane: That is what he said in here.

 

Madam Speaker, the UPND is not like that. When we promised that there will be free education, it meant that we were going to do it. When we promised that there will be youth employment en mass we mean exactly that. It is not a gimmick.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Speaker, for now, of course, if they say “Where are these things?” the answer is very simple. The Budget that we are implementing now, where these things are supposed to be embodied, is a PF Budget.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Question!

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Dr Musokotwane: In that PF Budget, there were no issues of free education or youth unemployment, except for the money that they were using to buy off the voters.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Dr Musokotwane: So, all I can say to my colleagues is that they should wait. The UPND Budget is coming very soon ...

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Madam Speaker: Order! Let us listen.

 

Dr Musokotwane: ... and in that Budget, we are going to strongly deal with the issue of free education. We are going to deal with it. In that Budget, we are also going to deal with issues of youth unemployment and create jobs for the people.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Dr Musokotwane: Madam Speaker, the issues of gimmicks to win elections when you do not mean what you say because you believe in ‘don’t kubeba’, ended with our colleagues who have been given time to rest and reflect.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Sing’ombe: Now stand up and ask!

 

Madam Speaker: Order!

 

Hon. Members, as the hon. Ministers continue to debate, I remind them again that in accordance with Standing Order 57(7), they shall, at all times debate in their official capacity and not as hon. Member of Parliament for a specified constituency. Due to constraints of time, we will miss the opportunity to address the policy issues. Kindly be guided accordingly.

 

Hon. Opposition Members: Hear, hear!

 

The Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security (Mr Mwiimbu): Madam Speaker, thank you for according me this rare opportunity to debate the Motion that was ably moved by the hon. Member for Mufumbwe pertaining to the President’s Speech that was delivered to this august House.

 

Mr Mwiimbu placed his mask under his chin.

 

Madam Speaker: Hon. Minister, your mask, please.

 

Mr Mwiimbu adjusted his mask.

Mr Mwiimbu: Madam Speaker, I thank you for your guidance.

 

Madam Speaker, as I interrogate the statements, which were made by my hon. Colleagues on your left pertaining to the speech by His Excellency the President, I would like to echo the statement by the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning pertaining to the promise which we made to the people of Zambia when we were campaigning. I would like to state and agree with the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning that as the United Party for National Development (UPND) and the New Dawn Administration, we will deal with issues to do with governance on the basis of the laws of this country.

 

Madam Speaker, the laws of this country through the Constitution and the budgeting processes require that before you spend any money, there must be a budget, and if you do anything outside the budget, you are engaging in an illegal act, and we are not used to doing things illegally. So, we shall wait until the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning presents the Budget this coming month. As the House may be aware, the Budget Cycle is from 1^st January to 31^st December of each year. So, for this year, we are unfortunate that we are still carrying the burden of the Patriotic Front (PF) and using the PF Budget, which we passed in this House. I would like to state that when we implement our Budget, I can assure my hon. Colleagues who were in Government that they will never come back ...

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

 Mr Mwiimbu: … because the people of Zambia will appreciate the intentions of the UPND Government.

 

Madam Speaker, the speech which was delivered by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia was quite novel. I have been in this House for the last twenty years, and I have never listened to any President’s Speech on the Floor of this House which can be equated to the speech that was delivered by His Excellency the President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Mwiimbu: As a result of the well-thought out speech, which was made by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, I will strictly limit myself to issues that affect my ministry. As Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security, my officials in the ministry and I shall ensure that effective from the date we assumed office, the Zambia Police Service shall be professional. We will ensure that we enable the police officers to perform their functions of policing and protecting the lives and properties of individuals of this country. We will not allow impunity to reign again in this country.

 

Madam Speaker, I am aware that my hon. Colleagues on your left were talking about violence in this country. My hon. Colleagues who were in Government should bear in mind that political violence in this country started in 2001 in Chawama and the originators of that political violence were the PF themselves. From the time of the PF to date, we have been having political violence, and the people of Zambia have said no to political violence, hence, their decision not to vote for them again.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: Madam Speaker, I would like to state that as UPND and the New Dawn Government, we shall ensure that there is law and order in this country. The rule of law shall again prevail in this country. We shall ensure that there is transparency and impartiality in policing and we will not allow party cadres to reign supreme over the police in this country as it used to happen. We will not allow that.

 

Madam Speaker, His Excellency the President indicated here that law and order shall be the anchor of the New Dawn Administration. We will ensure that if a member of the public goes contrary to the laws and finds himself/herself in police cells, if the case is bondable, he/she will be given police bond unlike in the past when there was no privilege of giving police bond to members of the public who found themselves wanting against the law. Even when they were taken to courts of law, the processes were lengthy and prohibiting. We will not allow that to happen again.

 

Madam Speaker, we will not allow discrimination pertaining to issues of Zambians accessing National Registration Cards (NRCs). An NRC is a very important document which entails that a person who is a holder, in particular, of a green NRC is a Zambian. We will allow every Zambian to have access to NRCs without restrictions as it was in the past. Having an NRC is a right and the New Dawn Administration will ensure that that right is enjoyed by all Zambians in this country.

 

The hon. Minister’s time expired.

 

Madam Speaker: Order!

 

Mr Mwiimbu: You can give me more time, Madam.

 

Laughter

 

The Minister of Green Economy and Environment (Mr Nzovu): Madam Speaker, I wish to thank you sincerely for according me this opportunity to debate His Excellency the President’s Speech delivered to this House by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Hakainde Hichilema during the Official Opening of the First Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly.

 

Madam Speaker, allow me also to congratulate you and other Presiding Officers on your well-deserved victories. Having two female officers as Speaker and First Deputy Speaker is, indeed, a huge milestone in our pursuit for gender equality in the country and I have no doubt that you will steer this House steadily during its life. I also thank the people of Nangoma for giving me the honour and privilege to represent them. I thank my dear wife, Shezippie Nzovu and my five children for their unwavering support. To all of you, I pledge to serve you with honour and integrity and I pray that God Almighty gives me wisdom and strength.

 

Madam Speaker, from the outset, I wish to indicate that I support the Motion as moved as this is an eloquent and visionary speech with a clear roadmap to resolve the economic problems left behind by a visionless regime. The theme of the speech delivered by His Excellency the President to this august House was entitled, “Creating a United, Prosperous and Equitable Zambia: Restoring Economic Growth and Safeguarding Livelihoods.” Therefore, His Excellency the President spoke to a wide range of issues affecting our great nation ranging from unity, prosperity, economic growth and people’s livelihoods.

 

In outlining the broad policy direction of his administration for the next five years, the President listed four pillars, which will anchor his economic transformation. I will concentrate on pillar number three, which is on environmental sustainability. I am concentrating on pillar number three in order to educate my fellow hon. Members, especially those on your left who did not seem to understand the speech.

 

 Madam Speaker, in addressing this theme, the President emphasised that his Government was committed to fostering environmental sustainability and promoting a green economy. He also went on to explain that a well managed environment was critical for achieving economic recovery, sustainable growth and improved livelihoods for our people. The President explained that it was for this reason that he has placed a high premium on dealing with serious threats posed by climate change.

 

Madam Speaker, to emphasise the importance the President attaches to issues of environmental sustainability and mitigating negative climate change impacts, he has since created a new ministry, which is the Ministry for Green Economy and Environment, which I am privileged to lead.

 

Madam Speaker, in order to fully understand his intentions, it is important to unpack the concept of a green economy.

 

Madam Speaker, according to the United Nations (UN) Environmental Programme, a green economy is one that results in improved human wellbeing and social equity while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. In other words, a green economy is an economy in which economic growth and environmental sustainability work together in a mutually reinforcing fashion while supporting progress on social development. Green growth, therefore, means fostering economic growth and development while ensuring that natural assets continue to provide the resources and environmental services on which our wellbeing relies. It focuses on the synergies and trade-offs between the environment, social and economic pillars of sustainable development.

 

Madam Speaker, in practical terms, the green economy entails that we use our natural resources efficiently in our development process, ensure social inclusion, conserve biodiversity and address the challenge of climate change. Additionally, a green economy also requires that we reduce the waste that is generated and discarded in our production processes so that they become inputs in other production processes. In other words, a green economy is a resource efficient economy which is also referred to as a circular economy.

 

Madam Speaker, the innovations required to run the green economy from the alternative renewable green energy to the recycling processes and reusing of waste mean that jobs, especially for the youths, will be created. This is where the social inclusion component that the President spoke about comes in. The green economy will therefore, help us create green jobs.

 

Madam Speaker, this august House must be aware that climate change is a serious global threat to the achievement of economic recovery, sustainable growth and improved livelihoods for the people. Scientific evidence indicates that we only have a short window of opportunity to avoid facing a climate change crisis. It is also an established fact that if we do not address climate change seriously, it will reverse all the gains that we have achieved so far. A stark reminder of this reality is the loadshedding the country experienced a few years ago.

 

Madam Speaker, the subject of climate change is receiving so much attention at the global level that issues such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS), terrorism and even the recent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) are being overshadowed because the global agenda is towards environmental sustainability.

 

Madam Speaker, our own country has not been spared with the climate change sensitive sectors such as water, agriculture, and energy being the waste affected. As the President indicated in his speech, the ultimate effect of the threat of climate change is that the growth of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been seriously affected.  As a new ministry charged with the responsibility to coordinate the implementation of climate change projects and programmes, I can confirm that there are a number of interventions being undertaken in various sectors to address this challenge. However, the scope of threats we face from climate change requires that we double our efforts as guided by the President. We will work to scale up these efforts and ensure that we make adjustments where necessary to enhance our efficiency and effectiveness.

 

Madam Speaker, this House may agree with me that we cannot effectively address climate change without taking care of the forestry sector. As hon. Members may know, trees play a critical role in absorbing carbon dioxide, which is a principal green house gas.

 

Madam Speaker, we will be bringing several pieces of legislation to help us manage the environment. I can only ask the hon. members to support us in this respect. Education and awareness are key components to ensure that our citizens learn about environmental sustainability. I, therefore, ask all hon. Members to look at this as a non-partisan issue. We need to come together as a country to ensure that we develop our land sustainably.

 

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Hear, hear!

 

The Minister for Lusaka Province (Mrs Mulyata): Madam Speaker, may I start by warmly congratulating you on your election as the first female Speaker of the National Assembly of Zambia since independence.

 

Madam Speaker, may I also take this profound opportunity to congratulate the First and Second Deputy Speakers on their election. I also congratulate His Excellency the President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema for his overwhelming and resounding election as the 7^th President of the Republic of Zambia. I salute his Excellency the President for his courage, tenacity and ability to see light at the end of a long tunnel.

 

Madam Speaker, congratulations further go to Mrs Mutale Nalumango, for her election as Vice-President of the Republic and consequently assuming the role of Leader of Government Business in the House. My sincere congratulations are further extended to all the elected hon. Members of this august House and  appointed Ministers.

 

Madam Speaker, I am further grateful to the President for appointing me as Provincial Minister for Lusaka. I look forward to working hand in hand with fellow Ministers in actualising the vision of the UPND Government.

 

Madam Speaker, I would be failing in my duties if I do not thank the people of Rufunsa Parliamentary Constituency for electing me for the second term as their Member of Parliament. It is trough their vote and support that I today serve in this Government. I give almighty Jehovah God the honour and glory for His everlasting mercies. I also want to thank my family, my loving husband, let me thank the provincial, district and constituency teams.

 

Madam Speaker, allow me now to address myself to the President’s Address rendered during the Official Opening of the First Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly by His Excellency, President Hakainde Hichilema. During the address, His Excellency the President made very important and reassuring pronouncements bordering on policy measures, which have set the tone and direction for Zambia’s developmental agenda over the next five years.

 

Madam Speaker, the broad key policy measures include:

 

1. economic transformation and job creation;
2. human and social development;
3. environmental sustainability; and
4. good governance environment.

 

Madam Speaker, one of the key components of the UPND Manifesto is strengthening decentralisation. Currently, the income distribution in the country remains extremely inequitable considering that two thirds of the Zambian population, especially in the rural areas, live in abject poverty due to the corruption of the Patriotic Front (PF) Government. The over centralisation of resources meant for development, especially by the previous Government has only widened the developmental gap between the urban and the rural areas. President Hakainde Hichilema’s commitment to ensuring that resources trickle down to the provinces, districts and constituencies for effective implementation of development interventions is therefore, quite reassuring to our people in Feira, Chiawa, Mpanshya, Bundabunda and Shikabeta in Chongwe and all other rural parts of our country. We believe, as Lusaka Province, that decentralisation is the only way to reduce developmental disparities between the urban and rural areas. It is also the surest way of reducing poverty because we will be putting money where the mouth is.

 

Madam Speaker, His Excellency, the President, however, in his address clearly highlighted the need to ensure that resources and opportunities are shared equally across the country. The President has indicated that no part of this country, including Luapula Province, will be denied development, all because they did not vote for the United Party for national Development (UPND), like we saw in the previous Government.

 

Madam Speaker, the UPND Administration is alive to the fact that a lot of support has been rendered by our cooperating partners such as the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), Africa Development Bank, to mention but a few, in laying a foundation for the devolution process. Indeed, as the UPND, we wish to salute our cooperating partners for the achievements made thus far. Our desired goal is to ensure that decentralisation is strengthened and actualised in all its forms. Therefore, as Provincial Minister for Lusaka Province my desire is to see that our developmental effort and energies are directed to respond to local community needs, and this will be my focus.

 

Madam Speaker, wish to reiterate His Excellency, Mr Hakainde Hichilema’s call for zero tolerance to corruption. As Provincial Minister, I will work to ensure that corruption in all its forms is eliminated, and there will be no sacred cows. The President’s firm commitment to fighting corruption in the past, present, and future Governments was previously lacking in the Patriotic Front (PF) Government. This is why they were shown the door and booted out.

 

Madam Speaker, his promise to ensure that every coin belonging to the Zambian people that may have found itself in the pockets of some of the former Government officials is recovered, has the full support of the people of Lusaka Province, as it is these same funds that will support the provision of free education, among other services.

 

Madam Speaker, on our part as Lusaka Province, we are in support of the President’s agenda. We will ensure that pilfering of fertilisers under the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) meant to benefit our farmers will be a thing of the past. Further, pilfering of funds meant for social schemes employed to mitigate the impact of poverty amongst the marginalised people in our community as it was in the previous administration, will also be a thing of the past.

Madam Speaker, one of the key deliverable for the UPND is to grow the economy and create jobs for our youths. We believe that this is possible with proper harnessing of our inherited potential in tourism, mining, and agriculture.

 

Madam Speaker, Lusaka Province has a lot of such potential in areas such as...

 

Madam Speaker: Order.

 

Hon. Minister’s time expired.

 

The Minister of North-Western Province (Mr Lihefu): Madam Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity. I wish to thank His Excellency Mr Hakainde Hichilema, President of the Republic of Zambia for the clear and focused speech,which he delivered to the nation on the First Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly.

 

Madam Speaker, the wonderful people of Manyinga, and North-Western Province at large convey, through me, a very special congratulation to the country’s Seventh President His Excellency, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, the second female Vice-President, Her Honour Mrs Mutale Nalumango, and the UPND Alliance Partners for the overwhelming majority victory in the August 12, 2021 elections.

 

Madam Speaker, like many who have already congratulated you, I am equally sincerely congratulating you on your historic election as the first female Speaker on the soil of our land. Your two Deputy Speakers are surely warmly congratulated as well.

 

Madam Speaker, let me thank the following: my family for their tireless patience, tolerance, and glowing support. Politics demands many sacrifices by family and friends. Without their being with me, I would not have emerged victorious. I thank my campaign manager and the team, the district chairperson of Manyinga, and the constituency chairperson of Manyinga: byamba bakulu mwitabenga.

 

Madam Speaker, apart from representing my constituency in this august House, the President of the Republic of Zambia His Excellency, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, had confidence in me and appointed me as Minister to represent the North-Western Province. I take this appointment as huge honour of my political career.

 

Madam Speaker, as an hon. Member of Parliament for a rural district and hon. Minister of the North-Western Province, I stand here very disappointed. I heard from our hon. Colleagues on your left boasting that they have taken development to all parts of the country without leaving anyone behind.

 

Madam Speaker, I am yet to learn which people were on board in this pronouncement because despite my province having three giant mines, it has remained one of the least developed provinces in Zambia. It is for this reason that the people of Zambia gave the UPND a resounding victory in the 12 August 2021 elections as they believed that it was the only party that could be capable of turning the tables round to meet their expectations.

 

Madam Speaker, I do not see the reason the North-Western Province could be this undeveloped to lack even township roads, when it has all these natural resources like timber and various minerals, including the recently discovered gold. It is very disappointing that the area where this gold is mined has aeroplanes flying in and out of the province to get this gold. There is not even a 1x2 classroom block, borehole, and clinic. It is a shame.

 

Madam Speaker, the people of my constituency and the North-Western Province, as a whole, fully support this Speech of His Excellency, the President of this Republic of Zambia because it means well, not only for us in the North–Western Province, but  for every Zambian. The speech was not segregative.

 

Madam Speaker, the North-Western Province has eleven districts, and most of them are rural and undeveloped. The tone set by the Republican President in his speech to this august House, together with the UPND Manifesto, is aimed at opening up rural districts to investment and economic activities which also call for a changed mind-set and different ways of thinking.

 

Madam Speaker, as businessman myself, this policy direction could not have came at a better time than now. As an hon. Member of Parliament from a rural district, this rural development policy direction is anchored on decentralisation. It calls for a paradigm shift in the allocation of resources in our Budget from ministries to districts, where development is done through the provincial administration. This is the bottom up approach which the New Dawn Government of His Excellency, the President of this Republic, Zambia, Mr Hakainde Hichilema wants to embrace and it is very important.

 

Madam Speaker, development, especially in the areas of agriculture, construction, manufacturing, tourism, mining, hospitality, commerce, trade, and industry can do well, thereby developing the province.

 

Madam Speaker, under road infrastructure, the North-Western Province has the huge responsibility of providing road infrastructure in the urban and rural areas for easy movement of goods and services. My province is largely rural and the only way to open it up is by rehabilitating service roads such as the Solwezi/Mwinilunga Road, Manyinga/Mwinilunga/Ikeleng’i/Jimbe Road, Solwezi/Kipushi Road, and Lumwana/Kambimba Road. These roads connect this country to – (inaudible).

 

Madam Speaker, our hon. Colleagues that you see on your left did nothing to these roads. So, the only hope is the President who is there now. The people of the North-Western Province have hope in Mr Hakainde Hichilema, the President of this country.

 

Madam Speaker, as I conclude, it is with great appreciation that I acknowledge that the New Dawn Government of His Excellency the President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, has brought hope to the people of this nation.

 

Madam Speaker, with these few words, I thank you.

 

Interruptions

 

Madam Speaker: Order!

 

If you are not on the Floor, please make sure that your microphone is off.

 

Mr J. E. Banda (Petauke Central): Madam Speaker, to God be the glory for me making it possible that I stand here to represent the people of Petauke Central. I thank the people of Petauke Central for entrusting me to represent them in this august House.

 

Madam Speaker, I thank my campaign team in Petauke for working tirelessly throughout the campaign period to make sure that we got our message out. I say a special thank you to Mr Moses Katongo Mutale, my campaign manager; Mr Rizwaaan Daudi Patel, my deputy campaign manager, Mr Wilbase Tembo, Mr Emmanuel Musasu, 40-40, Mr Mike Tembo, the constituency chairman; Kennedy Tembo, Adam, the constituency chairlady for our tractor team, Amai Mtonga, Mr Levi Nyendwa Chilima, the late Nixon Tembo, may his sour rest in peace, the independent council chairperson, and all councillors who stood with me on our symbol, the tractor. I wish to congratulate them all for carrying the day.

 

Madam Speaker, I also thank all the chiefs in Petauke District for the words of encouragement they gave me when I was left out in the adoption process. I also thank all the indunas and headmen for their words of encouragement. To my well-wishers across the nation, I say thank you for their financial and material support and words of encouragement.

 

Mr J. E. Banda: Madam Speaker, special thanks go to my predecessor, Hon. Dora Siliya, for accepting defeat and not petitioning my victory, and to my wife and children for the sacrifice they made prior to, during, and after the just ended elections, even when we were emotionally challenged due to many attacks that were targeted at making my candidature questionable and all sorts of character assassination which was directed at me. To my extended family, I thank them for standing by me through it all.

 

Madam Speaker, special thanks also go to my mother, who needed comfort during the same period when we lost dad. Thank you for understanding that we had a task to deliver on. To my father who passed on shortly before elections, may his soul rest in peace. I thank him for his mentorship and guidance.

 

Madam Speaker, I join the rest of the hon. Members who have congratulated you for your election to be the first female Speaker in our land, mother Zambia. Congratulations, Madam Speaker.

 

Madam Speaker, I congratulate His Excellency the President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, on his victory to be the Seventh Republican President of Zambia. To the Sixth Republican President, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, thank you for upholding the norm that indeed Zambia is a beacon of hope on the continent and that democracy is at the centre of our existence in this great nation, Zambia.

 

Madam Speaker, I stand here today filled with a sense of duty and humbled by the task before me. I am humbled that the people of Petauke Central have entrusted me to serve them as their hon. Member of Parliament. Despite all the challenges along the way, the will of the people prevailed. His Excellency the President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, has reminded us on several occasions that power belongs to the people.

 

Madam Speaker, indeed, people are the true custodians of power in a functioning democracy like ours. I thank the people of Petauke Central for entrusting me with this power. I pledge to use it to serve them and represent their interests. The message from Petauke Central which was communicated through the ballot is clear. People want development. Nati, ofuna chitukuko banthu baku Petauke.

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 

Madam Speaker: Meaning?

 

Mr J. E. Banda: Madam Speaker, it means the people of Petauke Central want development. I am here to ensure that this development is delivered to the people of Petauke Central. They have waited long enough. Now, the wait is over.

 

Madam Speaker, Petauke Central Parliamentary Constituency is full of potential. If this potential is well utilised, it can accelerate economic development in the constituency and the nation at large. Petauke is blessed with favourable climate, suitable for agriculture, abundant land and water resources, a young population, and mineral deposits, to mention, but a few. One then wonders why the people of Petauke are still living in poverty. Why is Petauke District still underdeveloped? This is unacceptable and it needs to be addressed immediately. We cannot have such abundant resources and not create wealth. These resources must be put to good use, so that we can transform Petauke Central into ‘Peta-UK’, like we promised during campaigns.

 

Interruptions

 

Mr J. E. Banda: Mark my words. Petauke Central will be transformed from a ‘resource-rich’ to a ‘money-rich’ constituency.

 

For this to become a reality, we need the support of the Government. As an Independent Member of Parliament, I want to put it on record that I am ready to work with the Government of the day, the United Party for National Development (UPND) Government, ...

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr J. E. Banda: ... in order to deliver development to the people of Petauke. However, I want to make it clear that working with the Government will not undermine my ability to provide checks and balances to it when necessary. Defending the interest of the people of Petauke Central, who I represent in this august House, demands that I do both. In fact, I urge my fellow Members of Parliament in the Ruling Party, the Opposition and fellow Independent Members of Parliament not to engage in debate and vote on issues based on political party affiliation, but they should challenge the Government objectively and examine the matters that will be brought before us and assess them based on how they affect the interest of the people we all represent. Let us place the people’s interest above our own political personal interests.  That is true servant leadership.

 

Madam Speaker, allow me to speak about the critical issues that the people of Petauke Central raised. As we know, agriculture is the backbone of Petauke’s economy. Unfortunately, the sector is still facing many challenges and these include, low productivity, poor market access, high cost of inputs and lack of value-addition. The high cost of inputs is particularly critical. The farmers in Petauke are seriously concerned by the rising cost of seeds and fertiliser, which has put their livelihoods at stake. Farming inputs must be affordable for all farmers, whether commercial or small-scale. Our farmers in Petauke cannot afford to buy a 50 kg bag of fertiliser at K800, yet their maize is being bought at only K150 per 50 kg bag. The maths does not add up. Yes, the subsidised inputs under the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) have helped cushion farmers from the full input price, but these are not –

 

Madam Speaker: Order! Your time for the maiden speech is up.

 

Mr J. E. Banda: Madam Speaker, let me now come to the President’s Speech, which His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, made during the Official Opening of the First Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly.

 

Madam Speaker, I have four issues to address from the speech, namely, the youth, agriculture, education and water.

 

Madam Speaker, on agriculture, diversification in the agricultural sector will help increase production in the nation, especially in Petauke Central. We urge the Government to partner with us in our effort to promote non-traditional agricultural activities, such as fish farming and poultry farming. This initiative will particularly help the elderly and other vulnerable members of our community who cannot keep up with the physical activity that crop farming demands. That way, we will promote economic inclusion of marginalised groups in society, while increasing agricultural inputs.

 

Madam Speaker, on the youths, I appreciate what the President said about creating jobs for the youths. In Petauke Central Parliamentary Constituency, we have been exporting jobs for our youths and I am one of them. However, we have resources like timber. Instead of exporting jobs to Lusaka, we can make furniture such as the one we use in this House, in Petauke. We have enough timber and I can see that the furniture in front of me was made using mukwa.  So, this good Government should help us open resource centres like the one we have, Petauke Youth Training Centre, which was confiscated by a certain Indian by the name of Rashid, who wanted to take advantage of the youths.

 

Madam Speaker: Hon. Member, desist from mentioning members of the public who are not in this House. Please, withdraw that name.

 

Mr J. Banda: Madam Speaker, I withdraw the name.

 

Madam Speaker, with regard to agriculture, we have been exporting jobs by transporting maize to Lusaka, instead of having plants that can produce things such as cornflakes. So, we ask the good Government of His Excellency the President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, to open up milling plants and other plants, so that we can create jobs for our youths.

 

Madam Speaker, small-scale miners have been stopped from working in the Copperbelt Province, Petauke and in Zambia at large. However, those small-scale miners would feed their families and send their children to school through their jobs, but they cannot do that. I am sure the crime rate in Zambia will soon increase because of lack of jobs for the youths. I am the victim because they sent me to represent them.

 

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

 

The Minister of Education (Mr Syakalima): Madam Speaker, let me join those who have congratulated you and your two Deputies on your election as Speaker, First Deputy Speaker and Second Deputy Speaker, respectively.

 

Madam Speaker, I stand here to agree with many things that the President said during the Official Opening of Parliament. I know that our colleagues said that he said nothing. I read what he said about education and I saw that it was really said                                                                                     in simple English and I do not even know what to say beyond what the President said. The President said:

 

“We will also ensure that the girl-child has an equal opportunity to access education by addressing the challenges faced by female learners.”

 

So, what can you add or subtract from this? It is simple English. The President further said:

 

“The reform is aimed at ensuring that learners who have potential to excel, especially the girl-child, but are unable to afford to pay school or university fees are supported.”

 

Madam Speaker, what else would I add? Our education system standards have gone down because we had a government of greedy and selfish people. How else would you explain keeping money in homes, which is supposed to go into education? People did that because they are greedy. Never again should Zambians entrust power with greedy or selfish people.

 

Madam Speaker, our education system standards have gone down. We need to do a lot of reforms in the education sector. It is so painful to see that some people were educated properly, but because of some greedy people, others are not learning very well.

 

Madam Speaker: Order!

 

Business was suspended from 1640 hours until 1700 hours.

 

[MADAM SPEAKER in the Chair]

 

Madam Speaker: Before the hon. Minister continues debating, let me just remind the hon. Ministers as they debate, what the Standing Orders state about the manner in which they can speak.

 

Standing Order 58 states that:

 

“ (4)     A member shall not read a speech during debate but may make reference to notes or quote from a document.

 

(5)     Despite paragraph 4, a –

 

(a)        minister moving a motion or rendering a ministerial or policy statement shall read the speech.”

 

In view of that Standing Order, I would like to remind hon. Ministers to ensure that they have a written script as they are delivering their policy statements. I believe there is a reason hon. Ministers should read written speeches and this is to avoid contradicting themselves. So, hon. Ministers, as you deliver your speeches, please, ensure that you have a written script before you. It is amazing that the people who are not allowed to read whilst debating want to read, but those hon. Members who are allowed by the Standing Orders to read, want to speak off-the-cuff. Let us comply with the Standing Orders.

 

May the hon. Minister of Education continue.

 

Mr Syakalima: Madam Speaker, the President explained everything in his speech. On page 36 of the speech, the President said:

 

“To further improve the quality of education, we will recruit and deploy teachers equitably to all schools across the country.”

 

Madam Speaker, the key words here are equitable and quality. There was no quality education in the previous Government. For our children to have quality education, we need to provide desks in schools. You will be shocked to learn that in many schools especially rural schools, there are no desks, yet we are endowed with a lot of timber and there are many trees dotted around the country. So, it is unacceptable or, indeed, immoral to fail to provide for the children who need to go to school. I want to emphasise that the Government should find money to support all the children who are unable to go to school due to lack of money. In the land of plenty and where there are so many minerals, our children are unable to access school.

 

Madam Speaker, children are thirsty for knowledge and we must provide that knowledge through taking them to school. As it is stated, the best economic policy is actually education. If you cannot educate your people, how can you invest in agriculture or minerals? The cutting edge of the 21^st century is to support the girl child and those who are unable to find money to go to school.

 

Madam Speaker, as I endeavour to finish my speech, the President promised the Zambian people that education shall be the cutting edge of the 21^st century.

 

Madam Speaker, with those words, I thank you.

 

Mr Daka (Chadiza): Madam Speaker, thank you for giving me this rare opportunity to deliver my maiden speech. Before I proceed, I thank the Almighty God for making it possible for me to be a Member of Parliament for the great people of Chadiza Parliamentary Constituency against all odds. Without Him, I would not be standing here to speak for the wonderful and warm people of my constituency.

 

Madam Speaker, I congratulate you, on your election as the first female Speaker of the National Assembly of Zambia. May I also extend my accolades to the First Deputy Speaker, Mrs Attractor Chisangano, and the Second Deputy Speaker, Mr Moses Moyo, on their respective elections.

 

Madam Speaker, even though my victory in the just ended parliamentary election was sweet and well-deserved because of the message of hope that I gave to the people of Chadiza, my journey to Manda Hill was full of trials and tribulations. To start with, I lost both my parents within a space of nine months. The first to die was my beloved hero, my father, who died on 21^st October, 2020. As if that was not bad enough, my queen and mother, died on 8^th July, 2021, just a few weeks before the voting day. May the souls of my beloved parents rest in eternal peace.

 

Madam Speaker, the two tragic events happened nine months apart, meaning that I had to abandon my campaigns to attend to the two important funerals. Unfortunately, during my long absences, my opponents had no serious message to the voters, but resorted to tribal and hate speech to try and dissuade the people from voting for me. I suffered the worst form of tribalism in my motherland just because my father comes from Chipata, another part of the Eastern Province, while my lovely mother was from Chadiza. I would not wish the tribalism that I experienced during my campaign upon anyone, not even my worst enemy, if at all I have any. Nobody should suffer tribal hatred. It should never happen to anyone in this country. I repeat; never again should tribal and hate speech lay their ugly heads in Chadiza.

 

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Daka: Madam Speaker, fortunately, the voters refused to fall prey to such messages and they elected me overwhelmingly as their Member of Parliament, for which I am externally grateful.

 

Madam Speaker, I would be failing in my duty if I did not recognise the efforts of my wife and children for their unfailing understanding, moral and emotional support during my long periods of absence during my campaign. I thank His Royal Highness, Chief Zingalume of the Chewa people and all his headmen and indunas, His Royal Highness, Chief Mulolo of the Chewa people and all his headmen and indunas and His Royal Highness, Chief Mwangala of the Chewa people and all his headmen and indunas.

 

Madam Speaker, coming to the Clergy, I thank Father Godfrey Mwanza, Father Kwaku and all the Catholic Priests in Chipata Diocese. Special thanks go to Reverend Ngulube of the United Church of Zambia (UCZ), Reverend Mbanza of the Reformed Church in Zambia, Pastor Lewis of the New Hope Bible Church in Zambia and Pastor Milanzi from the Bread of Life Church. In short, I thank all the pastors who supported me.

Madam Speaker, I also thank the Patriotic Front (PF) Central Committee under the leadership of the Sixth President of Zambia, His Excellency Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, for adopting me as their parliamentary candidate for Chadiza Parliamentary Constituency.

 

Madam Speaker, special thanks go to my campaign manager, Mr Gezani Phiri, and the whole campaign team, my youth team comprising musicians J. Kings, J. Mix, Soul Anthony, Chipo Star and the dancers.

 

Madam Speaker, Chadiza Parliamentary Constituency which I am blessed, honoured and privileged to represent in this august House as Member of Parliament is located in the eastern most part of the Eastern Province bordering Mozambique and Malawi. It is one of the poorest constituencies in Zambia, according to my assessment, with a mainly poor rural population largely dependent on peasant agriculture and farming. Ironically, the constituency is at the same time richly endowed with natural resources such as huge tracts of agricultural land, assorted precious and semi-precious minerals, abundant water resources and, above all, a great and hardworking people who have a rich cultural heritage.

 

Madam Speaker, all the aforementioned attributes make Chadiza Parliamentary Constituency potentially one of the most promising rural parts of Zambia in terms of its ability to be transformed and developed from a poor rural constituency to one of the richest in the country at par or better than most urban constituencies.

 

Madam Speaker, despite being the second oldest district in the Eastern Province, Chadiza has lagged behind in many areas, the biggest bottleneck being the lack of proper road infrastructure network. The Chipata/Chanida Border Road, which passes through Chadiza and the Katete/Chanida Border Road are vital development arteries, which are in a deplorable state.

 

Madam Speaker, the Katete/Chanida Border Road is a highly economic road for our country that leads us to the Port of Beira in Mozambique. Beira is the nearest port to Zambia. Most of our exports, including copper, go through this port. The Chipata/Chanida Border Road via Chadiza if upgraded to bituminous standard will stimulate trade between Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique as this route will reduce travel time and distance to the Port of Beira.

 

Madam Speaker, the PF Government started upgrading the Chipata/Chadiza Road, but along the way, the project was abandoned due to the lack of funds. Regrettably, the Government proceeded to embark on other newer road projects elsewhere abandoning this important road.

 

Madam Speaker, these two road projects are a must do in Chadiza. They are the single most important reason our party, the PF, lost the presidential election in Chadiza Parliamentary Constituency whilst I won as a parliamentary candidate.

 

Let me sound a warning to my colleagues on the right. If they fail to upgrade the Chipata/Chanida Border Road and the Katete/Chanida Border Road to bituminous standards, they will only have themselves to blame. I repeat this: If they fail to upgrade the Chipata/Chanida Border Road and the Katete/Chanida Border Road, they will only have themselves to blame in the 2026 General Elections. They will only have themselves to blame if our President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, loses the presidential vote in Chadiza in 2026.

 

Madam Speaker, I appeal to our colleagues on the right to learn from the mistakes of the previous Government. They should get wisdom out of the failures that they experienced. That is when they will proceed.

 

Madam Speaker, Chadiza has only one boarding school which was constructed during the colonial days. Further, there are is a measly eight secondary schools against more than fifty primary schools. The scarcity of boarding schools coupled with poor teacher ratios has led to high illiteracy levels and early child marriages in my constituency.

 

Madam Speaker, child marriages are a detriment to the psychological and physical wellbeing of our children, especially girls. It is said that if you educate the girl child, you educate the whole village. Therefore, the Government must take a keen interest in the concerns that I have raised. With regards to the shortage of school places, it should take immediate measures –

 

Madam Speaker: Order!

 

Mr J. Daka: Madam Speaker, let me now shed a little light on the President’s Speech. Being an expert or a consultant in road construction, I want to go to page 30 where the President highlighted a financing model for road infrastructure development, the public-private partnership (PPP) investment model for which I am glad because in this House, the hon. Minister of Finance and National Planning then in the  Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD), initiated this agenda.

 

Madam Speaker, during the time of the PF Government, this model of financing infrastructure development did not record successful scores. For me, it is a very good model which I support, but it is important that the Public-Private Partnership Act be re-looked at. 

 

Madam Speaker, the other issue that I would like to tackle from the President’s Speech has to do with the development of infrastructure, especially rural roads. Being a Member of Parliament who comes from a rural area, I would like to emphasise that if we want to record meaningful development in this country, we need to provide an adequate and reliable road network, especially in the peripherals of this country.

 

Madam Speaker, road infrastructure is cardinal to the growth of any economy. You know very well that for any development to happen, be it in health, education or agriculture, a reliable road infrastructure has to be dealt with first. Therefore, Madam Speaker, I urge our colleagues on the right to take the president’s directive made in his speech very seriously. All rural constituencies need adequate road infrastructure, which is currently lacking. I am sure my colleagues will agree with me on that one.

 

Madam Speaker, I also want to talk about the impact of road infrastructure development as it brings about positive economic impact, especially on the unemployed. Most of our rural communities are unemployed. They depend on agriculture which is seasonal. In Chadiza constituency, for example, we do not have any commercial activities in agriculture. So, people only have an income in one season. Therefore, such types of interventions have a trickledown effect on poverty alleviation in rural constituencies.

 

Madam Speaker, there are other issues that have to be critically looked at as we construct our infrastructure. My colleagues on the right have to learn from the mistakes that were made by our Government, the PF Government. Most of the contractors in this field are foreign. The PF Government came up with a very positive mechanism to deliberately empower Zambians by implementing 20 per cent sub-contracting, but what did Zambians do? They are granted that 20 per cent sub contracting and they still sell it to foreign contractors defeating the whole purpose of the intervention. My colleagues on the right should get the positives that the PF came up with and improve on them.

 

Madam Speaker, the other factor that has killed this industry to some extent is the lack of payments. A Zambian contractor is awarded a job and has to get a loan to finance the project. For someone to get a commercial loan from a bank, one needs collateral. What happens to the collateral if one fails to fulfill the obligations of that loan? So, these people are coming out of the industry poorer than they went in there because most of them are losing their collateral. So, please, the New Dawn Government team should look at this issue and make sure that it corrects some of the mistakes that our Government made.

 

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

 

Mr Ngowani (Mpongwe): Madam Speaker, I thank you for this opportunity. I will start with the maiden speech.

 

Madam Speaker, I bring warm greetings and a message of goodwill from the people of Mpongwe. I also inform this House that in line with the spirit of oneness of our great nation, the people of Mpongwe will continue to cherish and uphold the “One Zambia, One Nation” motto not just as a slogan, but also as a practical lifestyle.

 

Madam Speaker, even as we engage in the matters of the House, we must reflect in our lifestyle as being from “One Zambia, One Nation.”

 

Madam Speaker, today, it is my rare honour and privilege to stand in this House to signify the clear start of my five year mandate bestowed on me to voice out and to represent the will and aspirations of the people of Mpongwe Parliamentary Constituency. It is a clear and exciting, yet burdensome mandate that in the last ten years of the Patriotic Front (PF) misrule, the people of Mpongwe Parliamentary Constituency lived under the dark veil of underdevelopment.

 

Madam Speaker, it is against this background that the expectation for development among the people in my constituency under the capable New Dawn Government is very high.

 

Madam Speaker, I am individually standing here today yet carrying the burdens and suffering of hundreds of thousands of the people of Mpongwe Constituency. I am a steward of the people of Mpongwe, who will bring to the House the burdens and sufferings confronting the people. I am clearly carrying the dreams and aspirations for the great development of women, children, youths and men of Mpongwe Parliamentary Constituency.

 

 Madam Speaker, I proceed to express my heartfelt appreciation to the President of the United Party for National Development (UPND) and now duly elected President of our great nation, Zambia, His Excellency Mr Hakainde Hichilema, and Her Honour the Vice-President, Madam Nalumango, the UPND National Management Committee, the Copperbelt Provincial leadership, Mpongwe District and constituency party leadership, the campaign team led by Mr George Kapu and, generally, the people of Mpongwe Parliamentary Constituency. To all these great key stakeholders, I thank you for the trust in my capacity as a leader and in your choice of me to represent you in this august House.

 

Madam Speaker, I now address the development wills and aspirations of the people of Mpongwe Parliamentary Constituency for the period of 2021 to 2026. May I also express my great appreciation to my wife, my extended family, my friends and the great support rendered to me during the campaigns. My wife and my family, I thank you for your support and the time you allowed me to conduct the campaigns which, at times, demanded my absence from home for a very long time. I thank you.

 

 Madam Speaker, I also take this time to congratulate you on your election as the first female Speaker in Zambia. Your election is significant and a clear demonstration and indication of the UPND’s deliberate pragmatic intentions to ensure equal opportunities for all of us as well as recognising the critical role of all to include women in the governance of our country. I further want to congratulate your Deputy Speakers on their election. The people of Mpongwe Parliamentary Constituency are not in doubt, given your pedigree and that of your Deputy Speakers. You together possess requisite credentials to successfully preside and guide the business of the august House with great impeccability.

 

Madam Speaker, Mpongwe is one of the districts that attained the district status twenty-four years ago, in about in 1997, yet the district has seen the least development ever since. The district is probably the only district without a Government-run hospital. Currently, Mpongwe has only two mission hospitals namely the Mpongwe Mission Hospital which is run by the Baptist Church and the Ibenga Mission Hospital which is run by the Catholic Church, suffice it for me to note that under the PF Government, the two hospitals did not receive sufficient support to strengthen the district specific health delivery system that carters and reaches the people even at the lowest level. In this regard, in the last ten years of the PF in the Government, the people of Mpongwe have experienced the worst kind of deprivation in terms of development. The women, children and the youth have experienced great challenges in the constituency.

 

 Madam Speaker, the PF in the Government under the Ministry of Health worked on the slogan, “Providing Health Service Delivery within 5 km Radius in Each District Catchment.” For Mpongwe, this remains a far-fetched agenda, a slogan that only became a reality in selected parts of our country. For instance, the people of Mosofu, Shingwa Mabando, Musangasha and Machiya and Luswishi, to mention but a few, members of my constituency always walk over 40 km to find a nearest health facility that also either lacks medicine or appropriately placed health provisions.

 

Madam Speaker, clearly, there is overwhelming evidence that with the PF in the Government, the only quality health care in Mpongwe was seriously comprised by various challenges that impacted negatively on health care. Decline in quality health care caused the public in Mpongwe to lose trust in the health care system. As a result of their challenges, the people of Mpongwe, in this year of 2021, decided to voice out their frustrations for the lack of development which contributed to the removing of the inept PF Government replacing it with the capable UPND Government, which can deliver to the full expectation of the people of Mpongwe District.

 

 Madam Speaker, this was a powerful disciplinary committee which disciplined the PF. I further confirm that under the ten years of the PF Government, the majority of the people of Mpongwe Parliamentary Constituency were denied access to education in general due to a myriad of challenges. Amongst them includes the lack of qualified teachers and infrastructure in Mpongwe Parliamentary Constituency.

 

Madam Speaker, it is, therefore, my conclusion that the PF in the Government, being the custodian of public interest, must have ensured that every citizen is given access to education regardless of their location, urban or rural. A clear case in point is that the PF Government, by pronouncement, upgraded eight primary schools to secondary school status, yet in practice, the PF Government did completely nothing in terms of investment in infrastructure, teacher recruitment and building teachers’ houses for accommodation.

 

In this regard, Madam Speaker, I feel extremely safe to conclude that the PF in Government had no plan whatsoever, to educate the people of my constituency. It is my sincere belief that under the New Dawn Government, the people of Mpongwe will definitely see the light in terms of accessing quality education in their constituency under the leadership of the Republican President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema.

 

Madam Speaker, as you may be aware, agriculture is the mainstay of the people of Mpongwe  Parliamentary Constituency. Yet under the PF in Government, farmers productivity had remained low and their poverty levels have remained high. Low adoption levels of agricultural technologies that technocrats espoused as having the ability to enhance agriculture productivity eluded the people and farmers in my constituency. The following subsequently characterised farming households in Mpongwe: low productivity and high poverty levels, among others.

 

Madam Speaker, the present challenge of low agriculture productivity associated with small holders farmers and farming household needs to be investigated to draw out lessons that could be useful for addressing the said challenges. In my constituency with the PF in Government, the farmers experienced the late delivery of farming inputs. In instances where they introduced legume packs –

 

Madam Speaker: Order!

 

The hon. Member’s time for the Maiden Speech expired.

 

Mr Ngowani: Madam Speaker, I will now comment on the President’s Speech.

 

Madam Speaker, allow me to express and share the joyful reaction of the people of Mpongwe as they were elated by the Speech of the President that was made in this august House on 10^th September, 2021.

 

Madam Speaker, the pronouncements made in the speech by the Republican President, which I believe will change the quality of life of the people of Mpongwe for the better brought much joy and hope as the speech transcended all sectors of the economy.

 

Madam Speaker, in his speech, the Head of State indicated the desire to turn the economic fortunes of our country. Thus, rebuilding the economy was top of the agenda as that is what will deliver jobs and better the livelihoods for our people. In the speech, the President outlined the broad policy direction of the UPND Government. He talked about the proposed Ministry of Small and Medium Sized Enterprise Development as an initiative to enhance the prowess of small businesses in both urban and rural areas. Indeed, this will foster the development and support of such businesses in our country, including in rural and urban areas and that will equally carter for places like Mpongwe.

 

Madam Speaker, the clear recognition of the agriculture sector as a critical sector in driving the growth and creating employment opportunities and contributing to the prosperity of our country is a clear mark of leadership of how the President wishes to empower rural farmers to include those in Mpongwe Parliamentary Constituency. The President further spelt out a clear roadmap on how the Government will ensure that the girl child has equal opportunity to access education by addressing the challenges faced by female learners. It was clear and also pleasing to note that the President called for the education curriculum to be reviewed to ensure that in line with the required artisan skills and our development agenda. This approach will empower rural pupils with skills to continue with life even in the unfortunate event that they drop out of school.

 

Madam Speaker, the President’s call for reduced socio-economic disparities among rural and urban regions was elating in that rural regions such as Mpongwe have predominantly lagged behind due to high inequalities in the sharing of resources of our great country. The President’s call to ensure that the resource opportunities are provided equitably across the country based on need and economic potential climaxes the arrival of the New Dawn Government in the governance system of the country.

 

Madam Speaker, the call by the President to establish fast track courts specifically to deal with the plunderers of our country’s resources and wealth is a welcome move as this will help recover stolen assets and resources as well as deter would-be criminals from engaging in national plunder. I, therefore, support and commend this pronouncement as it will greatly benefit our country.

 

Madam Speaker, the President also talked about constructing and upgrading of rural roads. This is cardinal in the development of rural constituencies. Building of roads only in Lusaka is not enough. Lusaka is not Zambia and Zambia is not Lusaka. We all need an equal share of our national resources.

 

Lastly, Madam Speaker, the President also talked about climate change. We hear a lot of measures and interventions from the New Dawn Government to curb issues of climate change. Being from a rural constituency, which depends on agriculture, we expect the New Dawn Government to put up more weather stations in order to prepare our farmers so that they may know when to plant and which type of crops to plant in that particular year.

 

With these remarks, I thank you.

 

Hon. Member: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Samakayi (Mwinilunga): Madam Speaker, allow me to congratulate the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, President Hakainde Hichilema and the Vice-President for trouncing, walloping and humiliating the Patriotic Front (PF) and its candidate, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, the former President.

 

Madam Speaker, allow me to congratulate you and your team of Presiding Officers for ascending to those lofty positions. I have no doubt in my mind that you will be able to perform with the utmost faith and diligence to your country. May I thank my President, Hakainde Hichilema and the party leadership for giving me a second chance to serve the people of Zambia in general and in particular, the people of Mwinilunga. May I thank my family, my wife Evelyn, my children, Helen, Newton Junior, Engineer Ernest Sakwanda, Teddy and Linnet for the support they have given me over the years. I also thank Dr Kuliye, my uncle and my young brother Steven Mulembeka for the support they gave me during the elections.

 

Madam Speaker, I will be failing if I forget to mention the support from Elina Izemba, Mrs Sinjanganga and Jovena for the support they gave me when I was indisposed during the campaigns for two weeks.

 

Madam Speaker, special tribute goes to my campaign team led by Arnold Katen’ga and Webster Samakesa, who formulated strategies that could not be desolated by the PF despite them having taken a lot of money into Mwinilunga and momentarily grew the economy of Mwinilunga for that short time.

 

Madam Speaker, we humiliated the PF despite having reduced the registered voters in Mwinilunga from 55,000 to 48,000. We manage to garner 36,400 votes out of the 48,000 registered voters.

 

Madam Speaker, I will preface my maiden speech with a question, which I am going to answer, which is : How do we remember PF as the people of Mwinilunga? We remember the PF as a party that raped our resources and our gold, ...

 

Madam Speaker: Order!

 

Hon. Member, withdraw the word ‘rape’.

 

Mr Samakayi: Madam Speaker, they misused, ...

 

Madam Speaker: Hon. Member, withdraw the word ‘raped’.

 

Mr Samakayi: Madam Speaker, I withdraw the word ‘raped’ and replace it with misused or wasted our resources, of course, that is an understatement.

 

Mr Sing’ombe Masholi.

 

Madam Speaker: Order!

 

Mr Samakayi: Madam Speaker, regarding gold, we want the gold mine at Kasenseli to be closed in the sense that the company that is there, which is the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines-Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH) has no capacity. It has failed to provide a robust security system to protect the gold and the lives of the people in Mwinilunga. We all know that world over gold it a cursed mineral. It brings a lot of problems and debts. We are already experiencing that in Mwinilunga. We would rather Kasenseli Mine is shutdown immediately and a forensic audit carried out because we do not believe in the figures that are coming out from there in terms of production that has gone on from last year. We are at 122 kg of gold which has been sold to the Bank of Zambia. We do not believe in those figures. We believe that the production is much higher than that.

 

Madam Speaker, how do we remember PF? There are no roads in Mwinilunga, like the road to Kalumbila. It did not build schools during its tenure. There are no teachers and there was burning of markets. It did not provide clean water and there was gassing of people. They militarised cadres that came with it. There was violence, brandishing of guns and pangas. The PF has been very violent. It is a violent party, and it wants to paint the United Party for National Development (UPND) as a violent party. It cannot have that way. Not now.

 

Madam Speaker, right now there are no grain bags in Mwinilunga and the rains have started. Last night, the people’s maize was socked. I urge the Government to take grain bags there as a matter of urgency so that people’s maize can be protected.

 

Madam Speaker, I now move to debate the President’s Speech. I found the speech by the Republican President quite inspiring, well stitched, co-ordinated, well focused and on point on most of the issues. However, before I go into it, let me remind the Zambians that the PF had neither political nor economic acumen to manage the affairs of this country. This is why we are where we are today. What it had to its credit is pride with no value to the nation. It focused on enriching itself. It is for this reason that I encourage the Government and the Executive to ensure that it follows up on all those who dipped their fingers in the national Treasury or any other resource that belongs to the people of Zambia. It is not witch-hunt. It is called restoration, putting you back to your earlier state. The Government should put the nation to its earlier state with all those resources that have been privatised. All those which were privatised will be put back in their original state, where they are supposed to be.

 

Madam Speaker, no wonder, when our hon. Colleagues were in Government, they did not want to legislate lifestyle audits. They refused. Unfortunately, they are on the other side and those of us who supported lifestyle audits are now on the right side and we are going to push for that. We will advise the hon. Minister of Justice to quickly bring a Bill to the House so that there is a law regarding personal accountability of leaders in this country.

 

Madam Speaker, the President talked about the transformation of the public services and the development agenda through decentralisation via devolution, devolving resources to the provinces, districts and the constituency.

 

Madam Speaker, there is political goodwill at presidential level. We have seen it before, from the days of late President Mwanawasa, may his soul rest in peace. He talked about the same. President Banda talked about the same, President Sata talked about the same and President Lungu talked about that same. The difference is that President Hakainde Hichilema has the time and advantage of doing what these other Presidents failed to do.

 

Madam Speaker, the problem we have with the implementation of the National Decentralisation Policy, lies in greediness of those who are in power and the technocrats.

 

Madam Speaker, they failed to provide what we call political will, which the President has offered and it must transcend to those in the Cabinet. Hon. Ministers must toll the line of the President in terms of implementing the national Decentralisation Policy. At the level of Cabinet this is where we meet the folk in the road because they are not ready to give up power to the lower echelons of our governance system. They are not ready. The technocrats are also not ready to devolve their technical and administrative power. This is where we have a problem. We have been talking about decentralisation for eighteen years, but still no progress at all. Why is that so? It is because of the things that I have mentioned. Some people do not want to give up power.

 

Madam Speaker, the President has given matching orders to the hon. Ministers and the entire Civil Service to decentralise. My advice is that if by the second year no ministry is decentralising and the programme fails, the President should just issue a decree to the hon. Ministers that whoever fails to decentralise must be fired. That is what happened in Malawi and that is how our colleagues there managed to decentralise public functions.

 

Madam Speaker, if we do not do that, we will be singing about decentralisation and nothing is going to happen. The longevity of the United Party for National Development (UPND) in Government will be determined by how fast we are going to decentralise the functions in the Public Service. I am convinced by that fact because when the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) lost power, the former Vice-President, Mr George Kunda, may his soul rest in peace, was asked a certain question when he was being interviewed. He was asked what it is that the MMD Government did not do that would be done given a second chance. He did not waste time to answer that question and he said, “If we have decentralised, I am sure things would have been different.”

 

Madam Speaker, I was watching the PF and I thought they would decentralise quickly. If they had decentralised, they would have been in power even now, but they did not. This is now the chance for the UPND to do that. We need to take the power and resources to the people. If we decentralise, we will be in power for the next twenty years. If we do not decentralise, then we are digging our own grave. I want to be here up to the next twenty years. So my party should decentralise so as to help me stay here up to twenty years.

 

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

 

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

 

Mr Sampa (Matero): Madam Speaker, thank you for giving me these eight minutes to debate the President’s Speech. Allow me, first of all, to ride on the congratulations from the Sixth President, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, to the Seventh President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, on ascending to victory. Indeed, as the saying goes, “Lesa wabonse”, meaning everybody as long as they are Zambian, they have the equal opportunity to rise as a leader, either as a councillor, hon. Member of Parliament or indeed the President.

 

Mr Kamondo: You have now agreed?

 

Mr Sampa: Madam Speaker, in his speech, the President also thanked President Edgar Lungu for the smooth handover. However, I wish to point out that the smooth handover just happened at that top level.

 

Madam Speaker: May the hon. Member mask up.

 

Mr Sampa: Noted, Madam Speaker. With old age, there are breathing issues, but I will do my best.

 

Madam Speaker, I was saying the smooth handover was just at the presidential level, from one President to another. The entire world looked at Zambia and said, “Wow, that is the way it should be.” Indeed, we should commend Mr Edgar Lungu, the former President, for that gesture. He set the standards high. In Africa, it was unprecedented. Say whatever you want to say about the former President, but that gesture was commendable. In front of everybody booing, he went there majestically and handed over the powers of the Presidency.

Madam Speaker, I hope the next President will do the same. This is because we are not in these positions forever. There is always that day that comes that you have to handover. I hope those that will need to handover will also do it in that way.

 

Madam Speaker, I enjoyed the President’s Speech, but then let me just tackle two things. First of all, the President spoke about job creation, which is very important for this country. People keep on talking about jobs. People want jobs, especially the youth graduates. However, for me the speech was a bit general on that topic. It did not go into specific jobs. Who is going to be employed and when and where are they going to get those jobs?

 

Madam Speaker, we have about 2 million unemployed youths out there, the ones that are commonly called cadres. These are the same ones who were there in the United National Independence Party (UNIP). They used to wear red and would take over markets and bus stations. When the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) came into power, they just changed from wearing red to blue. When the Patriotic Front (PF) in 2011 came into power, they just changed from blue to green. When the United Party for National Development (UPND) has come into power now, it is the same ones who will join the Ruling Party, trust me. They will now just change from green to red.

 

Dr Kalila: Crossing the Red Sea kaili.

 

Madam Speaker: No running commentaries please.

 

Interruptions

 

Mr Sampa: Madam Speaker, the youths gave the UPND and President Hakainde Hichilema unquestionable votes. I am told it was 2.8 million votes and we had 1.8 million as the PF. That is a difference of 1 million votes. Do people know where that difference came from? It is the same cadres and beyond. It was actually from the executive cadres or students. I will come to jobs at the end – no, I am talking about jobs. The student or man who voted wearing a gown, I wonder where he is now. I hope by now he has been given a job. I am reminded of a certain mayor, as I said last time, who promised free Wi-Fi. He did tremendous things and people were clapping.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Sampa: Even when he just greeted, people were all clapping, but they never forgot to remind him of the promise. They repeatedly kept asking about the free Wi-Fi.

 

Madam Speaker, let me underline that we are here on this side, or your left, to give checks and balances. We are not here to praise. On behalf of the people of Matero, Kalomo, and the entire country, our job is to remind those on the right about the promises they made before ascending to power. It is like dating a young girl at college. If today you promise her that you will bring pizza for dinner, but you do not, she will dump you the next day and find another boyfriend or be it another sugar daddy.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Sampa: Madam Speaker, if the jobs that were promised to the youths are not given, the youths have no time to negotiate, this Government will be dumped. The youths will find another sugar daddy that might be on this side, somewhere in the front row. Our job is to repeatedly remind the hon. Members on your right to deliver. They will not get away from it. The more they get upset or change the goal posts when they are reminded, the more time runs out. Let them take it from me, the youths will keep reminding them about jobs.

 

Madam Speaker, lastly, the free education that hon. Members on your right promised should be fulfilled. They have only been in power for only two months and have four to five years to go. They should find way of how to implement the free education because they will never run away from it. Money should be found.

 

Interruption

 

Madam Speaker: Order! Hon. Members.

 

Mr Sampa: Free education should be given. If they will not provide it then it will haunt them. They should not forget and not take everyone for granted.  Members on your right should not be arrogant like the UNIP, MMD or the PF did. I remind them that UNIP ruled for twenty-seven years, the MMD for twenty years, and the PF for ten years, others said we, the PF were going to rule for fifty years, but we were also surprisingly out.

 

Laughter

 

Mr Sampa: It is a case of reducing balance, from twenty-seven, to twenty and to fifteen; it only means that the UPND will only rule for five years, if it does not deliver.

 

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

 

Mr Mukumbi (Solwezi West): Madam Speaker, it is with a great sense of honour and duty that I am here to give my maiden speech in this House as a Member of Parliament for Solwezi West Parliamentary Constituency in Kalumbila District. This is my first speech to this House.

 

Madam Speaker, permit me as everyone has done, to congratulate you and the other presiding officers on your election. Your personal credentials speak volumes, the more reason our colleagues on your left side failed to challenge you candidature and that of the other presiding officers.

 

Madam Speaker, allow me to express special gratitude to the people of Solwezi West Parliamentary Constituency for having accorded me this opportunity to serve them. May I also equally appreciate my very beautiful wife, Chileshe Mubanga Mukumbi, and my lovely four children, Beatrice, Bupe, Nicholas Jr, and Lusekelo, for their understanding and support during the campaign period.

 

Madam Speaker, I am also greatly indebted to all my family members and friends who supported me throughout the election period, to our victory and continue to do so even now.

 

Madam Speaker, most importantly, allow me to render glory to the Almighty God for making this moment possible, more especially, for giving me a wonderful father, His Royal Highness Senior Chief Mukumbi of Kalumbila, who also served this constituency for three terms. He is a very inspirational figure to my life.

 

Madam Speaker, I pay special tribute to my President His Excellency, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, Her Honour the Vice-President, Mrs Mutale Nalumango, and the entire party leadership for according me this rare opportunity to represent the people of Kalumbila in this august House.

 

Madam Speaker, may I finally thank the following people from my constituency, Senior Chief Musele, Senior Chief Mukumbi, Chief Mumena, and Chief Matebo, for allowing me to interact with their people in the constituency.

 

Madam Speaker, in addition, I thank my district chairman Mr Katenga and his team. My constituency chairman Mr Lushipi and his team, the council chairperson Mr Munjunga and all the councillors from Kalumbila, my campaign manager and the stores personnel that we worked with in the campaigns, and my drivers who tirelessly drove miles in the campaign without any single accident. May I also say well-done colleagues, to the media team that was part of our campaign team.

 

Madam Speaker, eleven years ago, I decided to quit my job, having worked for sixteen years as a civil servant, to join active politics. I made my first attempt in 2011, but I was not successful. In 2016, my party, the United Party for National Development (UPND), decided to field me as Mayor for Solwezi, a position I served for five years up to 2021. I am grateful to the people of Solwezi; they mentored me, protected and showered me with love. They lifted me at my lowest point in life and made me a great person. For that, I say God bless them. I am now in Kalumbila District. They should continue working with the new Mayor for Solwezi the same way they you worked with me.

 

Madam Speaker, in 2021, the people of Kalumbila gave me a fresh mandate because I continued to side with them. I live with them and appreciate the challenges that they face. There were many of us that vied for this same seat, but I was nominated. I know that I was not the best of all of them but one day, after my retirement, somebody else will come and lead the same people that I am leading now.

 

Madam Speaker, in my constituency, access to education is so hard that many of our children are out of school. This is so because of an extremely low number of teachers in most schools. In some situations, we even have a lone teacher managing classrooms from grade one to grade seven. Surely, how can that person give quality education? Our children deserve better and deserve to go back to school and I promise to actualise that.

 

Madam Speaker, Kalumbila being a new district, established six years ago, happens to be a mining district, which hosts two large mining companies, namely: Lumwana Copper Mine, and Kalumbila Mine. The economic boom in our constituency has come with its own challenges.  The population has gone up without matching the resources and this has culminated into many social vices such as crime, drug abuse, and prostitution, among many. We also face very high unemployment levels, a poor road network, lack of electricity, lack of health personnel in clinics, and very few teachers in many schools. 

Madam Speaker, some communities outside the active mining areas do not have clean water, the more reason Kalumbila Town Council under the Patriotic Front (PF) then, managed to procure a drilling rig to sink many boreholes in our constituency, but the PF Government refused to allow it to employ drilling operators. We are hopeful that the New Dawn Government will quicken the pace to employ drilling operators so that we can sink boreholes in many of our communities. Our people need water because water is life.

 

Madam Speaker, let me also highlight some of the notable strengths in our constituency. We have enough copper reserves, two big mines, and I know some will be opened shortly. In Lumwana, we have uranium, semi-precious stones, a bird-sanctuary in Jiundu, very good rainfall and fresh water. Surely, if all that is well harnessed, we should be talking of encouraging tourism in our area. I do not just understand why the past governments never took advantage of this rural town to ensure that it is well developed. The people there were greatly marginalised by the PF Government. For someone to get a voter’s card, it was a very big issue, and people were not given National Registration Cards (NRCs). However, we thank God that the people decided to vote against the PF. They are now history, and never should they come back to manage our resources.

 

Madam Speaker, as I conclude my maiden speech, I urge the New Dawn Government to look into commercial farming in this particular area because we have very good rainfall and arable land suitable for farming activities.

 

Madam Speaker, permit me now to delve a little bit in the President’s Speech. I must state from the onset that I support the President’s Speech in totality. What a wonderful speech that was. For the first time in the history of this republic, we saw taxi and mini bus drivers in all the towns in Zambia glued to their radio sets listening to their President speak. For the first time, wives in homes and civil servants in offices were watching their President on television sets. The people who were in the galleries busted into clapping and even hon. Members of Parliament did that, which is against the Standing Orders, because the speech was so inspiring.

 

Madam Speaker, on page 20 of the speech, the President said that:

 

“We will ensure increased copper and other mineral production, as well as maximising the benefits from various minerals such as gold, cobalt, manganese among the others.”

 

Madam Speaker, what does that mean? When you increase production in the copper or gold industries, you are also increasing the productivity of other factors that are related to mining. For instance, the supply chain involves those colleagues of ours who are in the business of supplying sulfuric acid, ammonium nitrate, sample bags, fuel in bulk, tyres, Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) and feeding the mines. This means that if you increase production, there will be an increment also in the supplies, and those colleagues doing those businesses will be making their money out of that particular increment. That is the meaning of that statement. Surely, that is good for us who are in business. If you increase production, we also increase our supplies as businessmen. For instance, if I supply 1,000 tonnes of sulfuric acid, I would probably increase to 1.5 million tonnes. That increment is good for business.

 

Madam Speaker, on the same page, the President spoke of promoting further exploration as well as value addition. When you increase exploration, there will be skills transfer. Nowadays, we use modern equipment for explorations. Surely, the people working in such companies will have the skills which they can utilise countrywide in case they want to explore the ground for other minerals anywhere within our country. That skills transfer is very important. Exploration also comes along with employment opportunities for people who will work in such companies. During that particular time, our people in those areas might just discover other potential areas. We have the Kasenseli Mine. Surely, if in Angola, which is next to Chavuma, they are able to mine gold and diamonds, can we fail to find diamonds in those sandy areas in Chavuma? Can we fail to do that in the Western Province? It is only through explorations that we will be able to find other hidden treasures that are there in the ground.

 

Madam Speaker, on value addition, the President spoke of building companies that will add value to the raw copper that is being produced in Kalumbila and Lumwana mines. Surely, if we had a semblance of another Metal Fabricators of Zambia (ZAMEFA) built in Kalumbila that would be able to add value through the production of probably copper wires, that would create employment for our people in our district. We need to encourage that.

 

Madam Speaker, on page 21 of the speech, the President said:

 

“We will ensure that our people receive their fair share from the mineral wealth.”

 

Madam Speaker, we have two big mines of the five mines that are in Zambia. If we were able to receive a fair share as the people of Kalumbila, that would go a long way in ensuring that the economic value is enhanced in people’s homes. We really need to encourage that. Kalumbila is a mining town and the people need to benefit from the local resources that are being produced from their areas. We do not want a situation where we only remain with ditches for life that will not add value to those who will come after us. We do not want that to happen. We need to quicken the pace so that the people in those areas begin to get the benefits out of their mines.

 

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

 

The Minister for Northern Province (Mr Mbao): Madam Speaker, thank you for this opportunity to contribute to debate on this very important Motion.

 

Madam Speaker, first of all, I congratulate you and your two Deputies on your election into those very important offices.

 

Madam Speaker, I wish to begin by congratulating His Excellency, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, on his election as the Seventh President of the Republic of Zambia. The overwhelming votes that were given to His Excellency the President by the people of Zambia was a demonstration that they wanted change, as they felt marginalised by the vanquished party. Also, the people of the Northern Province made history by being part of this revolution and are happy that the results of the 12^th August 2021 Election were a true reflection of what they desired and that change has come.

 

Madam Speaker, I am greatly humbled and honoured to be given this opportunity to serve this House, the people of the Northern Province and Mpulungu Parliamentary Constituency as their Member of Parliament. I am grateful today to represent the Northern Province as Provincial Minister. Therefore, I cannot proceed without expressing my gratitude to His Excellency the President for identifying me, among many people of calibre, and appointing me to serve as a Provincial Minister for the great people of the Northern Province. 

 

Madam Speaker, I am highly indebted to the President and I wish to assure the people of the Northern Province that I will represent our great province to the best of my ability, as the good Lord grants me strength and wisdom to do so. I am, indeed, humbled to be given this opportunity to help shape policies and programmes, make Zambia better and improve the wellbeing of our people as we head towards actualising the Vision 2030 and fulfilling of the manifesto of the United Party for National Development (UPND) Government. The Northern Province will give maximum support to the New Dawn Administration to ensure that the vision that His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia presented is actualised.

 

Madam Speaker, as clearly stated in the President’s Speech during the opening of Parliament, our provincial administration will take an inclusive approach whereby it will not treat anyone unfairly based on ethnicity, tribe, language or colour. Everyone will be treated equally as we are “One Zambia, One Nation”.

 

Madam Speaker, the Northern Province has twelve districts and a population of 1,345,412 inhabitants. The House may wish to note that the province is the second fastest growing province after Lusaka, which stands at 4.6 per cent. It has no major industry and its primary economic activity is agriculture. Farming, fishing and trading are the mainstay of the majority of the population.

 

Madam Speaker, I profoundly thank you for affording me this opportunity to say a few words in support of the President’s Speech during the ceremonial opening of the First Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly. As we are aware, the speech highlighted the following focus areas:

 

1. economic transformation and job creation;
2. social and human development;
3. environmental stability; and
4. good governance.

 

To Achieve Economic Transformation and Job Creation

 

Madam Speaker, in supporting the President’s pronouncement under this thematic area, the priority programmes and projects in the province will continue to be in agriculture, tourism, energy generation, infrastructure development, health, education, roads, communication and transport sectors, among others, as guided by our UPND Manifesto, the Eighth National Development Plan (8NDP) and the Vision 2030. Through this, we hope to open up rural areas for investment, increase agricultural production in order to reduce poverty and improve the wellbeing of the people in the province.

 

Madam Speaker, the focus area for the province continues to be agriculture and tourism as it is endowed with many natural resources such as rivers, waterfalls and wildlife, to mention but a few. The province would also like to appeal to the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock to come up with programmes and strategies that will improve the livestock population as the current numbers in the province are quite low, with the Kalungwishi Breeding Centre having less than sixty animals.

 

Madam Speaker, the House may wish to note that the province has more than 200,000 ha of land under Kalungwishi Farm Block that was surveyed. We intend to actualise it through Public-Private Partnership (PPPs) programmes as we have investors who have expressed interest in investing in agricultural production and processing.

 

Madam Speaker, the people of the Northern Province are elated by the Government’s pronouncements under the able leadership of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, to open up the Northern Circuit to tourist investors. The province will realise its potential in the tourism sector once all the lined up strategies are implemented.

 

Madam Speaker, the Northern Province has some of the most beautiful waterfall sites such as Chishimba Falls, Lumangwe Falls, Kabwelume Falls and Kalabo Falls, to mention but a few. The province also has historical sites such as Kasaba Bay, Motomoto Museum and Mwela Rocks that used to attract international tourists. However, these sites remain inaccessible due to poor road networks, lack of network connectivity, lack of electricity grids and lack of airports and airstrips, among others. My administration will work closely with the Ministry of Tourism and other stakeholders to make tourism in the Northern Circuit a reality by attracting serious investors once infrastructure inadequacies are worked on. With the enormous tourism attractions in the province, we can raise revenue and contribute towards the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of this country.

 

Madam Speaker, there is a perception that was created by the PF Government that the province had received massive infrastructure development, yet all the infrastructure development embarked on either remains incomplete or abandoned by contractors due to lack of funding. The much talked about Link Zambia 8,000 km Road Project was just on paper as nothing visible was done in the road sector. The only road was that were embarked on was on the Kasama/Mporokoso Road, which remains incomplete ten years after it was started.

 

Madam Speaker, travelling on the Great North Road remains a nightmare and continues to be a death trap. The people of the Northern Province, therefore, resolve to support the Government of –

Madam Speaker: Order!

 

The hon. Member’s time expired.

 

Mr Chisanga (Lukashya): Madam Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to deliver my maiden speech. I would like to start, like everybody else, by congratulating you and the other Presiding Officers for your well-deserved election to the Office of the Speaker of the National Assembly.

 

Madam Speaker, I thank God and give him all the praises for helping me to secure the victory that granted me the mandate to represent the people of Lukashya Parliamentary Constituency as area Member of Parliament and, through this office, to be an active participant in the provision of leadership in the Republic of Zambia.

 

Madam Speaker, allow me to thank their Royal Highnesses who not only blessed me and my campaign team at the start of our campaign, but also gave me sufficient counsel and guidance during the six months that I occupied the office of Member of Parliament for Lukashya Constituency. His Royal Highness Paramount Chief Chitimukulu handled me with fatherly love and helped me in various ways during my last tenure of office. I must also mention Senior Chiefs Mwamba, Nkole Mfumu and Munkonge, Chieftanesses Chanda Mukulu, Mumbi Mukulu, Mumbi Mfumu and Kasonde Chisuna, all of whom won my admiration and respect for the passion with which they demanded attention and excellent service from my office on behalf of their subjects. I want to assure their Royal Highnesses and their respective headmen and women of an even better working relationship with them as I set out to provide leadership in the constituency that comprises their chiefdoms.

 

Madam Speaker, I am particularly saddened by the relegation of their status and will undertake to be their spokesperson in delivering their messages to the Government on various matters that they would wish to be addressed, at least until due recognition of their status can be returned to them. I must emphasise that royals are born with a lifetime right and duty to lead their communities.

 

Madam Speaker, I wish to register my profound appreciation to the immediate past President, His Excellency Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, the immediate past Vice-President, Her Honour Madam Inonge Wina, and all senior members of the Patriotic Front (PF) Central Committee, in the Northern Province, the district and Lukashya Parliamentary Constituency committees, including all the wards and branches for the confidence they have again reposed in me by giving me this humbling opportunity to be a Member of Parliament for Lukashya Parliamentary Constituency in the just ended election.

 

 Madam Speaker, I must register my sincere thanks to all the members of the PF of all ranks who came out in their numbers to support our team during the campaign and ensured that we recorded this resounding victory. Special mention must be made of my campaign manager, Mr Daniel Bwalya, my secretary, Mr Passmore Chishala, and the executive committee of the Lukashya Parliamentary Constituency led by Mr Mathews Mumba, Monday Bwembya, Alice Kaluya, Delphister Lesa Felikini Sikileya, Loveness Nsokolo, Moses Kaluya, Lupando Silolani and Miselo Mwila and other members of my team who braved everything to make that campaign a success.

 

Madam Speaker, I would also like to thank my family which was pioneered by my mother, Mpazi Chisanga, my brothers, my sisters and my nephews who gave me unwavering support by being part of my campaign team. To my children; Bwalya, Kangwa, Yuma, Mpazi, Mukanu and Numba, I wish to thank you all for permitting me to be of service to the people of Lukashya and through Lukashya to be a leader in the country.

 

Madam Speaker, may I also extend the message of gratitude to the people of Lukashya, both those who voted for me and against me for exercising their civic right and responsibility of selecting a person they wished to represent them as Member of Parliament.

 

Madam Speaker, as I start my tour of duty, I do so with an inescapable realisation that I am now a servant and a voice of the people of Lukashya and have a solemn duty to serve all of them without discriminating between those who did not find it fit to vote for me and those who voted for me.

 

Madam Speaker, the PF, on whose flagship I was elected prides itself as a party that has made brave efforts in achieving the economic gains that had been lost by the country at the advent of our journey to multi-party system. The party, in its implementation of pro-poor policies, has worked to open up and link the country undertaking robust infrastructure development projects by particularly creating linkages between rural communities and urban communities and easing the movement of people and goods and services around the country and beyond.

                         

Madam Speaker, I am here speaking as a proud representative of a constituency that largely comprises of a rural community. For this reason, I am greatly honoured and privileged to belong to a party that has made these visible achievements and which consistently reflects the interest of the Zambian people at the centre of the governance system throughout the republic without leaving anyone behind.

 

 Madam Speaker, Zambians will always be proud of the works of the gallant men and women who were earlier assembled by our founding father, the late President Mr Michael Sata, may His soul rest in peace, and was later succeeded by former President, Edgar Chagwa Lungu.

 

Madam Speaker, as I take my seat in this august House, I intend to work hard and ensure that as an elected representative and others, we all employ our collective wisdom and effort to achieve the objective of meeting the aspirations of Zambians by making our country a self-sufficient nation through the implementation of the policies that speak to now the seemingly growing divide between those who are considered comfortable or rich and those who are considered the poorest of the poor. In achieving this vision, I shall be an attentive and effective legislator and I will not shy away from consulting all relevant stakeholders who are likely to be impacted by the legislative process which will be undertaken by this House under my watch and with my participation. The people of Lukashya Parliamentary Constituency must, therefore, continue to be rest assured that this deliverable is going to be met by their area Member of Parliament.

 

Madam Speaker, allow me to make a brief observation on the just ended 2021 General Election in the country. The elections were undoubtedly competitive, involving and took place under the most challenging environment. The greatest challenge of our time was holding these elections under the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and attendant problems which resulted in the deaths of our loved ones. In addition, nay sayers made an unfortunate prediction that the elections were going to be the most violent and would take place under an atmosphere which was not free and fair. In the face of these challenges, the PF, under the then Republic President, ensured that the campaigns, at least, in Lukashya were peaceful and that all political players complied with the directive given by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) and the Ministry of Health aimed at preventing the uncontrolled spread of COVID. Unfortunately, even after these clear guidelines were insisted upon, the country experienced a number of violent incidences. The assailants of these incidences are unknown and it is our expectation that the law will be properly applied in the resulting court proceedings. It is unthinkable that at our age and the development of our country, one should meet their fate during electioneering and at the hands of somebody they consider as their brother and sister.

 

Madam Speaker, based on this brief observation, Zambians must be lauded for coming out in their numbers in exercising their civic responsibility of choosing their preferred leaders. Although my party lost in the presidential vote, I would personally want to thank the Zambian voters for responding to this constitutional imperative that was designed for keeping our democracy alive. I also wish to pay due tribute to His Excellency the Sixth Republican President for raising the country’s governance profile high as a beacon of peace on the African Continent by engaging in a peaceful handover of leadership at the presidency and by taking brave steps of demonstrating his love for the nation by attending the inauguration of the incoming President, His Excellency Mr Hakainde Hichilema, even in the face the well crafted scheme that was designed to embarrass and pour scorn on him as he discharged this mandate.

 

 Madam Speaker, Mr Lungu will be kindly remembered not only as a true statesman, but also one who undertook such a huge assignment with bravery and resolve as we saw him do to place the interest of the nation above himself. I also would like to extend my thanks to those of our senior compatriots who had accompanied Mr Lungu to the inauguration and who ended up being confined and kept away from the purview as a way of isolating Mr Lungu and having him paraded as a public loner.

 

Madam Speaker, lessons have been learnt by the PF arising from the last election. Sentiments have been made in public that the PF Government seemed to have gone ahead of its citizens pursuing its robust economic programmes of infrastructure development aimed at opening up the country and linking communities with each other. In a harsh judgment that has been made against the PF by stakeholders, they lamented that people do not eat roads, hospitals or schools. These lamentations were louder in urban areas, Madam Speaker. Not even the party’s explanation of the need to open up our country and provide a social safety net for citizens living in rural communities could convince voters to vote otherwise.

 

 In addition, the geopolitical conflicts between the East and West also featured very high in the political development of our country that was being pursued by the PF Government and it is undeniable that the pro-poor policies which we pursued in partnership with the Republic of China also posed a challenge for our former colonial masters and other cooperating partners from the West. Add to this, the Government’s brave decision which curtailed the undesirable mining operations at the Konkola Copper Mine (KCM) and the unexpected handover of the Mopani Copper Mine to the Government by its shareholders …

 

The hon. Members time expired.

 

 Madam Speaker: Order!

 

As you continue to debate, please, ensure that you are properly masked.

 

Mr Chisanga: Madam Speaker, I am sorry. In the interest of time, on the President’s speech, I will just make a few comments because I know my colleagues have made enough comments on it.

 

Madam Speaker, the first comment I would like to make regarding the President’s Speech is to acknowledge that as I sat to listen to the President, I realised that most of the content of the speech were actually extractions from the PF Manifesto. I waited to hear whether the President was going to acknowledge that he was actually reading from our PF Manifesto for between 2021 and 2026. I also observed that the content of the speech was not sufficient enough to give directives and deliverables of when the timelines which were being stated in the speech were going to be achieved. Very few points, Madam Speaker, on what I considered was important.

 

On the corruption fight, I heard His Excellency the President repeat what we must have gone through under the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) Government by suggesting that we were going to have a specialised unit, which was going to pursue those who are involved in corruption.

 

Madam Speaker, at the time of this speech, Zambia had already gone through a transformation in terms of policing commercial crimes. We have in place the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) and now the Financial Intelligence Centre FIC. Added to this, we have a transformed National Prosecutions Authority which is headed by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP). What we waited to hear is how these institutions were going to be streamlined and operated to ensure that they all report into the Office of the DPP.       We have heard, Madam Speaker, that a new institution has actually been created which will be reporting directly to the President. That is an usurpation. The constitutional mandate of prosecuting offences lies with the DPP.

 

Hon. UPND Member: Question!

 

Mr Chisanga: We expect that these institutions will be allowed to report to the DPP’s office and not to the Presidency. Added to that, we waited to hear of what shape the fast track courts are going to take.

 

Madam Speaker, our suggestion is that we already have existing judicial institutions. What we needed to do was basically create a special unit within the High Court to ensure that we are declaring the fight against corruption as a matter of national survival. If these steps are taken, we are going to succeed in the fight against corruption. The point to make is that we now need to have a permanent structure that deals with corruption regardless of which political party is actually in power.

 

Madam Speaker, on energy, we expected the speech to address itself to the massive infrastructure developments that have been undertaken by the PF. All we heard was that there was going to be an implementation of what is called ‘cost reflective tariffs’, which poses challenges. What are cost reflective tariffs? The definition must differ depending on who is being addressed. In the commercial sector, you can talk about cost reflective tariffs because you want to maximise the returns for the investment, but now we have our citizens who live in rural areas and I am privileged to be a Member of Parliament for a rural area myself. What are ‘cost reflective tariffs’ when you go, for instance, to Shang’ombo or Lukashya Parliamentary Constituency where I am privileged to be a Member of Parliament? We expected the speech to address itself to how the Government is going to provide a social safety net for those who live in rural areas to still be able to afford electricity.

 

                                                                                                                       

Madam Speaker, we have just finished a programme under the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) whereby we have put some people in villages on the grid. We expect that we can go back to them and explain that now, they will have to start paying what are called ‘cost reflective tariffs’.

 

On mining, Madam Speaker, we heard the President mention that we need to have policies which are stable, which are consistent and predictable given that mining takes too long in terms of a return on investment. This only represents one side of the coin. Mining is both about profits and how you look after communities that live within the mining area.

 

Madam Speaker, I believe that now time has come for Zambians to own these mines in the real sense. Mines are a demonstration of our inheritance. We should show that we are a sovereign State.

 

I expected the President, Madam Speaker, to mention that we are now going to allow an investment structure whereby 50 per cent of a mining investment is going to be kept in the hands of Zambians. We have done too much ping pong with investors. Right now, we are lucky. By the time the new Government was taking over, the Konkola Copper Mines was in the hands of the Government and Mopani Copper Mines was also in the hands of the Government. What we were expecting the President to tell us was what was going to happen in terms of investing in the mining sector. Yes, we need investors, but we need parity.

 

Madam Speaker, I also expected the President to address himself to the issue of the principle of shared value. What we keep seeing on the Copperbelt mines, is our relatives, our brothers and sisters, who keep going to operate from dumping sites in the mines. This is happening because we have not addressed the issues surrounding local investments in the mines. If we try to implement the principle of shared value, which goes beyond the principle of corporate social responsibility, that will make our mining towns become much better than they are right now and we will reduce these problems that we are seeing with our brothers and sisters who keep thinking that mining from dump sites is the best way to earn a living when they can actually get true value by operating as shareholders or even other kinds of investors within the mining sector.

 

Madam Speaker, on the rule of law, just very short remarks, the President has been on record of wanting to ensure that the rule of law is what is going to be insisted upon in the administration by the UPND. In fact, the President has made these comments at several fora including when he gave the President’s Speech in Parliament.

 

Madam Speaker, by the time the President was making that speech before Parliament, we had been already treated to social media information and scripts which were showing that the UPND cadres have taken it upon themselves to start punishing the people who they think were PF cadres who had been punishing them. There is retribution in communities. I saw this firsthand myself when I went to Kasama. By the time I was driving from Kasama I had gone to the police three times to go and have our cadres released because they had been arrested by vigilantes and deposited in police custody.

 

Madam Speaker, my take is that the President should have addressed himself to the need for us to comply with the rule of law regardless of who is involved. The situation appears very sweet now because the PF cadres are being punished seemingly by the UPND cadres. However, I must say that the bells that are tolling on the PF cadres today will also toll on the UPND cadres in 2026 if the PF comes back to power in 2026.

 

Hon. UPND Members: Question!

 

Mr Chisanga: This vicious cycle must be avoided because chickens will always come back to roost.

 

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

 

Hon. PF Members: Hear, hear!

 

Hon. Member: Well spoken!

 

Hon. UPND Members: Question!

 

Mr Kamondo (Mufumbwe): Madam Speaker, I want to thank all the hon. Members of Parliament from both sides of the House for debating the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Speech with passion.

 

Madam Speaker, a total of 124 Members have contributed to this Motion and I am grateful to note that both sides of the House spoke in one language, that of hope to see democracy and development take root in the country.

 

Madam Speaker, allow me to pay special tribute to Her Honour the Vice-President and the hon. Cabinet Ministries for clarifying various issues that were raised by hon. Back Benchers and reassuring the nation of the Government’s resolve to tackle the many challenges affecting the society.

 

Madam Speaker, among the challenges affecting our nation is the issue of youths; our gallant youth and people from all parts of the country. As indicated by the President in his speech, the New Dawn Government understands the challenges affecting the youths, and as such, it is fully prepared to deal with these challenges in a systematic way, be it through education, entrepreneurship, sports and arts to mention, but a few. I want to assure our young people that your listening Government is equal to the task of addressing your challenges and will not let you down.

 

Madam Speaker, finally, I wish to urge the nation to rally behind the new Government and offer constructive checks and balances in order to grow our democracy, economy and country.

 

Madam Speaker, I thank you.

 

Hon. Government Members: Hear, hear!

 

Question put and agreed to.

 

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ADJOURNMENT

 

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

 

Question put and agreed to.

 

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The House adjourned at 1849 hours until1430 hours on Thursday, 30^th September, 2021.

 

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