Parliament meets for only 22 minutes

Parliament today met for only 22 minutes before adjourning to Tuesday next week apparently because most of the motions were for Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa but he or his deputy were not in the House.

It resumed sitting on Tuesday after a month’s break. Here is the entire debate:

PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE

Thursday, 15th May, 2014

The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two o’clock p.m.

PRAYERS

(MR. SPEAKER in the Chair)

MR. SPEAKER: Hon. members, there are notices of motions standing against the name of the Hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development, I was hoping that the Deputy Minister would be here as well but unfortunately, he is not in. So, I will stand guided by the Chief Whip.

MOTION

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC WORKS AND NATIONAL HOUSING (DR. CHOMBO): I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 11 be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of. Motion put and agreed to.

MOTION

REPORT OF THE CONFERENCE OF WOMEN PARLIAMENTARIANS ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS

Twelfth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report on the Conference of Women Parliamentarians on Parliamentarians responding to Violence against Women and Girls in Africa.

Question again proposed.

MS. MPARIWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Let me take this opportunity to thank hon. members of this august House who debated this motion passionately. It reflected that, as a nation we also associate ourselves with resolutions of the African Union and we also express our sympathy to our women across the political divide.

Mr. Speaker, we pay special homage to all those girls that were abducted in Nigeria. Let us place this on record that we sympathise with the parents and with Nigeria. Any steps that they might take to get those girls back in safety will be very much appreciated. As a nation and as a Women’s Parliamentary Caucus of Zimbabwe, we sympathise and place that on record. I want to thank the men who stood up and spoke on this motion, thank you very much – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –and women as well, who supported this motion. I believe Mr. Speaker, as a nation for us to move with development and to move as a united front, it is the only thing that we can do as a Parliament. Therefore, having said that, I move that this motion since it is a take note motion be accordingly removed from the Order Paper.

Motion put and agreed to.

MOTION

SOCIAL DIALOGUE DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN GOVERNMENT, BUSINESS AND LABOUR

Thirteenth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Tripartite Negotiating Forum.

Question again proposed.

MS. MPARIWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Let me begin by thanking the mover of this very important motion, Hon. Hlongwane.

This is on the priority list of Parliament and business.

Mr. Speaker, it would not have come at a better time. I, as the immediate previous Minister of Labour and Social Services in the Inclusive Government from 2009 to 2013, I was the Chairperson of TNF and I want it recorded that we are not reinventing the wheel. The structures of the TNF – I think we have moved them forward in terms of the set up and the apparatus. When you want to introduce something, even a house, you look at best practice on how others have done it. In the region, we have South Africa which has a secretariat through the National Economic Development Labour Advisory Council, that is NEDLAC of South Africa. I was one of the delegates that went there in 2010 on an Inter-ministerial nature to study the independence of the secretariat, effectiveness and functions of that particular institution.

Mr. Speaker Sir, when we came back, we actually proposed that we need to move in the same direction. South Africa is quite advanced in terms of the Tripartite Negotiating Forum. I believe that the spirit that we are actually trying to proffer as Parliamentarians is that ,the speed that Government has to move with should not be business as usual because there are several other issues in terms of collective bargaining, honouring the discussions and offering information. There has to be privacy in terms of the information that they discuss in the negotiations but there has to be ownership as well.

Mr. Speaker Sir, once they do not have any secretariat to do the work because what has been happening is that the secretariat in the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, there would be the secretariat to the Tripartite Negotiating Forum. But, there would be suspicions amongst the social partners, that is business, Government and labour because these officials would come from the Ministry of Labour. The other social partners, that is business and labour would not appreciate having secretariat that is coming from Government. In short Mr. Speaker Sir, the apparatus of an independent secretariat to the Tripartite Negotiating Forum is quite placed. I left the apparatus in place.

The other issue is on the TNF Act which I left having been actually proffered and the Cabinet having been given a go-ahead to the tabling of that Bill. I hope and trust that my successor will bring that TNF Bill to Parliament so that whatever is discussed under the Tripartite Negotiating Forum will actually become binding and respectable. Others will actually be accountable to whatever action they do. Let me go back slightly that during the proffering of the TNF agenda and everything, business had its responsibilities that they were assigned to do; the Government had its own as well as labour, so that everyone would played his or her role. With that Mr. Speaker, I believe that we would actually form one of the best tripartite setups in the country, should we then follow and bring this discussion to its conclusion. I thank you hon. Speaker.

THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC WORKS AND NATIONAL HOUSING (DR. CHOMBO): Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that the debate do now adjourn.

Motion put and agreed to.

Debate to resume: Tuesday, 20th May, 2014.

On the motion of THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC WORKS AND NATIONAL HOUSING (DR. CHOMBO), the House adjourned at Twenty-three Minutes to Three o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 20th May, 2014.

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