Back to Index , << Previous Page, Next Page >>

Zimbabwe Parliament debate on Operation Murambatsvina - Page 2
Extracted from Hansard Vol. 32, No. 5
Parliament of Zimbabwe
June 23, 2005

View list of 2005 Zimbabwe Parliamentarians

Jump to contributions by:
- MR MUSHORIWA
- MR. MZILA NDLOVU
- MR. MUTSEKWA
- THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF INDUSTRY AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (MR. CHIHOTA)
- MR. SIKHALA
- MR. MUGABE
- MR. MZEMBI
- MISS STEVENSON
- THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND PUBLICITY (MR. MATONGA)
- MR. COLTART

MR. MZILA NDLOVU: Thank you Madam Speaker, This motion raises a matter of serious national concern and accordingly, I would expect for the first time since 2000 that this House, in particular the colleagues from across, that they will join the Members of Parliament from this side in condemning this Government action without fear or favour. This is an illegal action by Government and therefore, as representatives of the people, we have the responsibility to intervene whenever people are being subjected to this sort of treatment that this Government has found it necessary to unleash upon them. Accordingly, also Madam Speaker, I have a couple of expectations today that in spite of the responses that I have heard during the presentation by my colleague, Hon. Mushoriwa who moved the motion, that for the first the colleagues across the House will certainly forego their usual diet of cheap ideological indoctrination that is often laced with hatred, malice, polluted with lies and out right thuggery.
[ MR. SIKHALA: Inaudible interjection ] - My second expectation is that also for the first time in history of post independence Zimbabwe, this Government will listen to the voice of reason and begin to wear a human face and halt this exercise forthwith. Thirdly, that also there will be consensus amongst Members of Parliament as representatives of the people of Zimbabwe in demanding for the first time a Parliamentary investigation into the conduct of those who are carrying out this exercise.

If we fail to do that in this House, we would have failed the people of Zimbabwe and can only bury our heads in the sand while the House burns and that is totally not in keeping with our role as Members of Parliament. Therefore, anything less than an out right condemnation of Government action or unanimous condemnation from this House directed towards the Government of the day, will be a crude betrayal of the suffering people of Zimbabwe. As well as being a bizarre demonstration of cowardice of the worst order, that can only serve the interest of the politics of patronage - [MR. CHINAMASA: Inaudible interjection ] - Most importantly, we need to closely question the real motive underlying this exercise so that the people understand why the Government is behaving the way they are.

What is clear to me though is that this exercise is part of a much broader political strategy divorced entirely from the so called fight for the restoration of the rule of law. If this Government is made up of born-again, such that they want to recount their crimes against the people of Zimbabwe starting with the 1980s, when crimes against humanity were committed by the same ZANU PF Government - If this Government is sincere in what it is doing, then let us see the perpetrators of the crimes of the 1980s not only in the Midlands and Matabeleland but also in Harare, when ZAPU supporters were being thrown out of their house brought to book. This is the same kind of spirit, the same kind of motive that has been driving this Government. We have to look at this in the historical context which tells us that this Government is driven by sheer evil. Why otherwise should a simple clean up exercise turn out to be as violent as this one?

Why should a clean up exercise produce such destruction? Why has such cost never been quantified. The same Government over the last four weeks has decided not to say anything to the Zimbabwean population in terms of the number of people that have been affected how many died in the process and how many are spending cold nights in the open.

If this clean up exercise was in the interest of the restoration of law, it could have been done in an orderly manner. If the really intention is to provide better housing or business facilities - the destroyed infrastructure would not have hindered this Government in any way from providing new structures. We hear that the new structures are not being built on the old sites so, where is the rational? Is this Government not putting the cart before the horse or let me say donkeys because there are no horses anymore. When you put your own scotch-cart before the donkeys. Why this reversal of roles?

Honestly, any sane person would have gone to the table and planned for such an exercise. What is clear is that this planned but not planned for the purposes of delivering service to the people of Zimbabwe but in terms of achieving this broad strategy that I am going to talk about at large. Also, one other factor that is clear about this Government is its habit of spending unbudgeted for money. We hear that new houses, market stalls and perhaps overhead train-rail lines will be built - but the question that has to be answered is, were these funds what ever the amounts, budgeted for or not?

If I remember very well, last year there was no mention about houses provided for people who had been displaced from their homes because that would have been senseless - as senseless as it is now. All I can say is that this is a classic insistence of bad economic management and the history of post independence Zimbabwe will tell us a lot about expenditure by the Government on unbudgeted for expenses.

For instance, this Government went into the DRC to fight a war that had no budget and the consequences are still with us today, they will be with our children and our grand children - because of the irresponsible Government. This Government paid out unbudgeted for pensions to the war veterans and we remember the 'black Friday' - the day the Zim dollar collapsed. Again as a result of unplanned expenses but does this Government take the people of Zimbabwe for granted but at the end of the day, it is the people of Zimbabwe who are suffering.

We think that this Government can only be looking at political expediency, we have to explain and identify the motive and expose this Government, expose the evil machinations of this Government. The exercise which they have undertaken has nothing to do with the so called clean up, sprucing up the image of the Government. You cannot do so at the expense of the poor people. I do not think that even those crawling on their stomachs to beg IMF for money will get it. The IMF, will not be impressed. It is being so hypocritical that the same IMF we have heard that it is disbursing in an imperialistic manner and the people of Zimbabwe broke away from the so-called imperialism and so they do not want that money. Yesterday, we heard from the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, that IMF blocked the credit lines. It is the same Government that says they do not need imperialistic money but, some of the members are businessmen now - whichever way they got to where they are. You have to know that you have to be nice to your banker. Go to your banker's office and behave yourself. You do not go to your banker's office and start scolding them. When you scold your banker, IMF, he will not simply let you get his money.

The truth is that our Government is trading in its own failures. The Zimbabwean economy has been limping for more than 10 years, but finally it is on its knees. These are the real issues that the Zimbabwean economy is in such a bad state that we cannot import fuel; that it is now normal for people to sleep in their cars in the queues waiting for fuel. Compare that with the failure to provide fuel; with the overzealousness of Government to execute such an exercise and say where this Government should be expending its energies.

The truth is that this Government have failed to deliver for the people of Zimbabwe. It is corrupt. The very corrupt which hon. men and women seated here, if I were to cite instances of corruption - they are too many. They will get 10 000ltres of diesel, so that they can work on their farms and none of that is being put to good use. This is the classic instance of misuse, of corruption that we are seeing. Yet people come here and stand up to say a lot of things so that they can begin to stand for the people that elected them.

Unemployment is hovering at about 80%. If you are talking about 80%, you saying anything about 80 out of 100 digits of people are unemployed. They have no clear means of livelihood. These are the people that the Government has targeted. The second case of bad economic management is that the economic capacity of this country has shrunk and people have lost their jobs. We have a portfolio of Small to Medium Enterprises which is a Government institution - this Government is following them and destroying their very means of livelihood. What kind of a people are there in Government who fail to understand target? They have failed to understand and analyse the circumstances of life of these people and at least to empathise. To empathise is to put yourself in the position of a suffering person. The Government should have empathised and say that when we begin this move, how is it going to affect the people, if this Government is sincere. They should have stopped to think and find humane ways of implementing this operation.

The health sector has collapsed. The educational standards are falling with people busy wanting to indoctrinate our children with long histories, the wrong objectives and wrong ideas. Our major institutions, socio-political institutions, as well as the housing projects, have collapsed. This Government has absolutely failed, even to measure up to Muzorewa who ruled for 2 years when they have ruled for twenty-five years.

Corruption is endemic. We are talking of Government ministers who will call managers of research stations and order 100 Nguni heifers and determine the price. These are Government ministers. Are they looters of our wealth? In fact, it is looting and it must be condemned. If the hon. gentlemen is hearing this, he should start investigating before those who are responsible for this corruption get away with it. Civil servants have been reduced to paupers.
Finally, there is the issue of looking at our policies and putting them into their correct context. We have heard that the Chinese economy is the fastest growing economy. What we do not hear from this gentlemen, is that the Chinese will give in inferior goods to inferior economies and inferior thinkers. If you go to New York, the Chinese products that you buy are competitive on the American market. You will not see these "Zhing-Zhongs". We should be looking at this policy. It is a dismal policy and the sooner the Government abandons this policy the better. The Zimbabwean people need to be told that and know that there is no hope anywhere.

Are we not sick and tired of seeing carrots being dangled by the Government? The Chinese will come their inferior goods because they want to do business. If you look at the collapsed trade agreements that this Government has entered into since 1980 - we were told of the Mao's socialism. Soon after, in the late 1980s, we were told about the ESAP. When that failed also, we were told about the Libyan Convention that we will be able to buy oil from Libya and we do not care about your imperialistic manner. The Libyans were here. They saw the land and the disease. The truth is that we bad debtors. We got the oil but we fail to pay. I f you fail to pay a debt when you make a barter trade, the barter is taken, it will be ineffective. Now you think telling Zimbabweans, we are moving from Mao's China to Libya to the West and then back to China, that is a very unsophisticated road map to a failed state. This is where this Government is taking this country to. This country has been described as a sixth "post of tyranny." We are to blame for the perception the rest of the world has about us.

We have lied about food situation in this country; we have lied about fuel situation in this country. These are the real issues. We have lied that we have enough food and also that the UN can bring in food as long as it does not attach strings to that yet this Government is the first one to attach strings when they say that you have to be a ZANU PF to get this food. But it is the United Nations and World Food Organisation which brings this food . . .

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, Hon. Mzila-Ndlovu, please withdraw that statement. It is not Government policy, could please withdraw.

MR. MZILA-NDLOVU: Madam Speaker, could I get the precise statement in question which I need to withdraw?

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: A statement that you need to be a ZANU PF member to get food. It is not Government policy. Could you please withdraw - [MDC MEMBERS: That is not true.]

MR, MZILA-NDLOVU: Madam Speaker, my dignity does not allow me to withdraw the statement. I came from a rural constituency; people are given food only if they are ZANU PF members. Madam Speaker, I am not going to do so.

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Mzila-Ndlovu, I have said it is not Government policy, could you please take your seat.

MR. MUTSEKWA: I noticed and realised that on the other side of this House, there is considerable number of female colleagues and I take that they are mothers. My experience Madam Speaker, is that when it comes to the issue where children are being affected by this barbaric exercise, mothers would be the first people to stand up and talk on top of their voices. I am perplexed to hear interjections from Hon. ladies from that other side as if they are not mothers. Madam Speaker, one thing that has ever surprised us on this side of the House is why this Government approaches the citizens of this country in a military fashion? Why do we need to have trucks and trucks of armed police and solders if they are going to do a noble exercise?

We have never understood, why this Government feels threatened by people whom it claims voted them into power. Also more difficult is why it feels that it can treat the people of this country in such a manner and expect no response. Madam Speaker, this Government knows that its time is over. We are surprised why this Government is buying ammunition when people of this country are suffering, they know that time is coming and one day people of this country will turn against them.

What also surprises me Madam Speaker, is the reason this Government gives for undertaking this barbaric operation. One reason is that they want to clean up dirt. Which dirt are they talking about Madam Speaker? Are they talking about dirt people? They also claim that it is because some of the houses were built out of plans, what plans have they produced?

Madam Speaker, talks about backyard shacks, it is this Government that starts doing so. It is this Government that has backyard ministries. People are now doing the same, they are copying from what these administrators are doing. Madam Speaker, after getting the citizens of this country into this mess, we have noble people who felt sympathy and they come in the form of non governmental organisations, what response they get from this Government - they cannot go straight to the people affected but they must go through the provincial governors. The provincial governors who were architects, now they have got to be seen as if they are doing a good job. Why is it that this Government has never been capable of finding solutions, but when solutions are created by other people, Government want to get a credit for it? Why would the NGOs go through the provincial governors? I wonder if we were all elected by people because of the way some of us behave. We begin to ask, Madam Speaker - [AN HON. MEMBER: Ambuya.]

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order we have Hon. members here, we do not have ambuyas you are new, I do not have your name.

MR. MUTSEKWA: Madam Speaker, the behaviour of the ZANU PF Government can only be equated to Hitler's Nazism. A Government that survives on votes would not treat voters in this fashion. The question that we now ask is - has this Government made up its mind that regardless of the opinion of voters they will still continue to rule by rigging? This is the answer that we seem to get because anybody who is cognisance of the fact that after five years, you have to seek a mandate from the electorate one would not treat the electorate in this fashion.

These people, these ones here - (Laughter) - how do they intend to come back to this Hon. House after five years if they are treading upon the electorate in the manner in which they are doing. We wonder but also we know that amongst the gentlemen and ladies seated across, there are some who think properly but they lack courage. We know that because we speak ton them informally. They are against this barbaric exercise of evicting people with no properly arranged accommodation. They tell us informally but they do not have the guts to speak about it in this Hon. House because they know that it is recorded and therefore, they will be asked to explain by their boss.

This is a national disaster and it is not even equated to Tsunami because Tsunami was not man made. It was natural. We need ladies and gentlemen of courage, who have got to stand up and get the character, combined with the force that is coming from this side of the House and tell the Executive that this exercise must stop forthwith because it is immoral.

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF INDUSTRY AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (MR. CHIHOTA): It is sad, unfortunate and disheartening to know that ladies and gentlemen of high credibility and integrity can stand up and say the removal of illegal structures is illegal. The question is whether or not those structures were illegal or legal. If indeed they were illegal, what normal move would a normal Government take to correct that situation.

My learned friend talked about sanctions and their impact. If our people had advocated for sanctions, if they were normal and reasonable people, they will be aware of the results those sanctions are likely to cause on the population. It is common cause that the definition of an indigenous person is one who has a rural allocated to him by virtue of being indigenous and a home one has acquired in an urban area because he has either bought it or it has been allocated to him by the State. To get in an environment where accommodation has not been allocated at least anywhere and let the authorities look at that without action would be unreasonable to any Government of sense and reason.

My friend talked about poverty in the rural areas and when you look at a wealthy person in any normal environment you are talking about a person who has his own water in front of his house, who has the ability to build his own house. This is what this Government has done through the land reform programme to empower its people by giving them wealth and strength. 90% of our people who have been voted into Parliament from the other side are not indigenous and the constituencies they talk about have no identity and recognition.

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, people who vote in Zimbabwe are Zimbabweans and that is their identity.

MR. CHIHOTA: I withdraw. It must be noted, respected and accepted that the Government has taken action to tidy up the situation for its people and more, so it has proceeded to identify reasonable and alternative accommodation for these people. It is common cause that in the past few days, the press has carried the list of people allocated stands where Government has taken commitment to ensure that they put up formal structures in a formal manner.

The Government has identified sources of cement and young men thus creating employment to assist Government with building. Government has taken commitment to ensure that some of the materials to be used will be done on site and that is noble because employment will be created and accommodation will be provided.

MR. SIKHALA: I also would like to contribute to this important motion which is the first motion to be brought before this House, in this Sixth Parliament. It is a crisis motion which needs the attention of the House. In my study of history, the chronology has been that the people the ones rising against the Government. The Government of Zimbabwe is a unique Government in that it is a Government which since 1980, has been rising against its own people.

I would like to support my argument with the following facts. After we obtained independence in 1980, the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe rose against the people of Matebeleland and Midlands where the first recorded genocide in Africa took place, where innocent souls were massacred that ended up claiming the father of one of our Hon. Members of Parliament, Hon. Professor Jonathan Moyo, when the regime rose against the people. Madam Speaker, the Government of Zimbabwe did not halt its rising against its own people. The sad chapter in our history that started in the year 2000 - the dark chapters in our history that were recorded from the year 2000 to the present day, when people could invade commercial farms, raping young women, torturing innocent citizens, maiming and murdering people.

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, Hon. Sikhala.

MR. SIKHALA: I have evidence, thousands of young women were raped during farm invasions. Several people have been tortured like Stephens and a lot of people lost their lives through what you call a revolution. Madam Speaker, today as we speak, the Government of Zimbabwe is continuing to rise against its own people. I want to give you a historical reference that the lessons we are having today or the chronological history that developed in our country since 1980 only happened in two African states, one which was under Emperor Bokassa, the other one under the Professor of Geography, Doda Idi Amin in Uganda. Madam Speaker, the Professor of Geography, Idi Amin . . .

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Debate the motion.

MR. SIKHALA: That is what I am doing. I am giving a chronological history of governments that have risen against their people same as ours. Madam Speaker, the current rising which your Government is doing against our people, depicts the evilness of this Government since its inception in 1980. It is a Government for example which Hon. Chihota tried to say we called for sanctions against this country. This behaviour of in discipline which this Government has been embarking on - this Government is highly indisciplined and it has to be disciplined by the court of the people of Zimbabwe. This behaviour is the one that invited sanctions against yourselves. Why do you think the international community would say that you are engaging in Operation Restore Order, whilst we are losing lives? Even your own Herald today had a sad story that in my constituency of St. Mary's, Terence Munyaka, died because of this operation.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Could you please stop referring to me as my Government.

MR. SIKHALA: The indiscipline of this Government has caused catastrophic consequences that we have today. We are losing lives. Do we deserve to lose lives in a noble operation? As we speak Madam Speaker, also in the report of The Herald, Farai Banhwa of House No. 11364 Zengeza 4, who was an 'O' level student at Seke 6 High School, lost his life because of the callousness of this regime .

The regime should be whipped into line. The indiscipline cannot continue to be tolerated by the people of Zimbabwe. Hon. Chihota alluded; that removing an illegal structure bad? My understanding is that the majority of these so loud mouthed Members of Parliament are the ones who have been responsible for the construction of illegal structures. In my own constituency of St. Mary's, Nyaruwata whom I defeated in the last Parliamentary election, I will defeat him again in the next Parliamentary elections, I will defeat him again in 2015 - (Laughter)

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Do not refer to people who cannot defend themselves in the House.

MR. SIKHALA: Nyaruwata has been constructing illegal structures along Seke road. All ho. members know that the former hon. member of this House Christopher Chigumba, constructed shacks that are not even worth to be kraals of goats in my rural village. You are masters of illegal structures that are existing in the country. Chihota made a dangerous statement that the land reform programme was for the empowerment of our people. That is a lie. We understand that even today, this operation is destroying people's homes in the same farms where people have been allocated land but we know that Mzembi's farm would not be demolished and we know that Patrick Chinamasa's farm would not be demolished but innocent citizens who are in need of land, their homes are being destroyed. So for you to claim that the land reform programme has been successful - it has only been successful to him, Chihota alone and not the general people of Zimbabwe.

Hon. Chihota also talked about patriotism. We have repeatedly said over and over again, that nobody has a monopoly over patriotism. If he is patriotic enough, how come his son is the President of the Zimbabwe People's Party which he Chihota is a defacto member? Why is he talking about patriotism?

THEDEPUTY SPEAKER: Order. Hon. Sikhala. His son is not here to defend what you are saying.

MR. SIKHALA: I just wanted to remind him that his son is the President of an opposition party. If he was patriotic enough, then he should have been able to pull his son into ZANU PF. Some of the arguments the Hon. Minister of Local Government have been advancing were that a lot of criminal activities are taking place within the informal sector. That is spurious. The economy of this country is dwindling to the extent that over 80% of our people are unemployed. The majority of our people have been surviving through the informal sector. You can even ask Hon. Leo Mugabe, that the capacity of our economy to sustain itself at the present moment is dangerous. Companies used to employ more than 1 000 to 2000 workers. Even when Hon. Leo Mugabe took over control of his company, he used to have more than 2000 workers but now you can ask him, he does not even have 18 workers at his company.

Criminal and illegal activities have been practised by the majority of these Hon. members on that side. If you go today to their houses, you will stakes and stakes of foreign currency. If these people are fully investigated - these people have been dealing on the parallel market exchange routes. I heard Hon. Chihota, when he was telling me about . . .

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, do not debate personalities.

MR. SIKHALA: No, I am trying to crush some of the points that he raised. The masters of foreign exchange in the black market are these guys. Can they stand up and defend that they are not engaging in black market foreign currency trade. I can mention names . . .
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, you are doing a disservice to this motion.

MR. SIKHALA: Why? The purpose of this motion is to talk about the destruction of informal traders. It is a fact. So we are now pointing the source of the illegal activities. The source is there. Even when I was talking to Hon. Chihota on how he is financing to order some of the import resources needed at his company. I asked him where he was getting his foreign currency. He said, "mwana wamai vangu, ndoiwana kupi kunze kwekumusika". These people are feeding themselves from there.

Our history so far since 2000, is that the majority of ZANU PF people are the ones who have been engaging in illegal activities, not citizens of this country. The people are innocent souls in search of an honest living. Hon. Chidarikire told me that he went to AMC to collect a pro-forma invoice to get a vehicle from the Parliamentary Vehicle Scheme and he said, I have the foreign currency. Where did you get that foreign currency because Parliament has not been allocated anything yet?

My aunt phoned me this morning today from Bulawayo, from Block 22700 in Bulawayo. She was telling me how her house was destroyed and I told her that it was the same here in Harare. I asked her whether Dr. Sikhanyiso Ndlovu's shebeen is still operational at Block 21300 and she told me that it was still there. Why did they not go and destroy Dr. Sikhanyiso Ndlovu's shebeen? - (Laughter)

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: We cannot allow you to do that. Stop attacking personalities - [MR. SIKHALA: I am not attacking, I am just . . . ] - No, you are defaming, taking advantage of this House.

MR. SIKHALA: Madam Speaker, I just want to continue . . .

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, you stood up just to defame people.

MR. SIKHALA: I am speaking facts. Let me round up.

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: We want to give time to people who are serious. You are not debating the motion, you debating personalities and we cannot allow that.

MR. SIKHALA: Let me remind my brothers and sisters that it is immoral for the Government to embark on destroying our mother's gardens and granaries. Where do you want our new Minister Vematura nezvirugu zvekumusha, Hon. Mnangagwa . . . -- [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections]

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: You may sit down.

Visit the Parliament of Zimbabwe fact sheet

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP