I have been listening passionately to what Hon. Cross and other Members on my right side, members of the opposition have been saying. Yes, I feel their pain and the issue that they are pointing at ..
HON. MLISWA: On a point of order Madam Speaker, I am on the right side but I am not opposition but an independent candidate. Can he withdraw his remark?
Hon. Mliswa having stood between the Chair and the Member. debating.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Mliswa, if you revisit your Standing Order Number 76 concerning standing between the Chair and the Hon. Member who is debating, it will explain to you that when you want to make a point of order, you cannot stand between the Chair and the Member debating. You have to use another mike which is not between the Chair and the Member debating.
HON. MUKUPE: Thank you for protecting me Madam Speaker. As I was pointing out, when you look at some of the concerns that the public and members of the opposition were basically pointing out, you would find out that most of the concerns are coming from legacy issues. When you look at the National Incomes and Pricing Act as well as the Institutional memory in terms of probably what happened during the hyper-inflationary times, where you had members of the commission that was administering the Act basically setting up prices and going to some of the retailers, you would hear issues of confiscation of goods and so on. However, I am happy that we have come up with this Commission, which is a product of the Minister and the people that he is working with having gone around and basically saying how do you make right the wrongs of the past and coming up with something that is going to take the country forward. I think what we have to come up with is a situation where we ask ourselves what it is that we need to do in this country for us to be able to make sure that our country becomes prosperous.
Everyone has been crying out about the issue that there is not enough money to go around in terms of making sure that Government carries out its business. MPs are crying out that we are the least paid MPs in the region and I think all those things can only be improved if we have got a functioning economy which is dependent on a situation where we have got revenues flowing into Government. These revenues only flow into Government where the situation is that the businesses are competitive and are able to produce goods and services in an efficient and competitive manner.
So, I am actually perplexed when someone stands up and says that they have got a problem with this Bill which is looking to improve the social ills and the economic ills that we have got in this country. Let me tell you one thing I am really happy about, this Bill actually addresses everything that has got to do with the supply side of the economy. Not only does it do that but it also addresses the fiscal issues that we have got because some of the fiscal issues are issues of not having enough money and that is what this Bill is trying to address. For me, when you address the problems that it is trying to address, it is about fiscal issues. Not only is it addressing the fiscal issues, we are saying that when you are looking at all the impediments that are hindering businesses from progressing, they are going to be looking at the import tariffs, at export tariffs and the issues of why petrol and diesel is expensive in this country.
Continued next page
(533 VIEWS)
