Zimbabwe Parliament- What they said about the Belarus fire tender deal- Part 1

Confidentiality of communication

I wish to point out that the habit of placing official communication on social media is unacceptable.  When the Ministry sends circulars and letters to local authorities, who are a lower tier of the same Government, we expect professionalism and respect for basic confidentiality and the provisions of the Official Secrecy Act.  The trend we are witnessing is not acceptable.  I thank you.

HON. BITI:  Hon. Speaker Sir, I want to thank the esteemed Minister of Local Government for her Ministerial Statement on the fire tender situation.  Madam Speaker, I am concerned with the law.  The law must be followed.  The first thing that the Hon. Minister says is that the fire tenders were contracted as a result of a bi-lateral agreement between the Republic of Zimbabwe and Belarus.  That agreement, according to the Minister’s Statement, imposes financial obligations on Zimbabwe.  Any agreement, treaty or convention that imposes financial obligations on Zimbabwe must be approved by this Parliament in terms of Section 327 (3) of the Constitution.  The approval Hon. Speaker Sir, if you read Section 327 (3) is prior approval.  So, before you sign, you actually need the prior approval of Parliament for any agreement that imposes financial obligations on Zimbabwe.  Certainly Hon. Speaker Sir, this Parliament did not approve this particular agreement.  Therefore, it is completely null and void.

The second thing Hon. Speaker I have a problem with is that if she makes reference to an agreement, she must disclose to this House that agreement.  So we request that the Hon. esteemed Minister lays before this House a copy of the agreement between the Government of Zimbabwe and the Government of Belarus or the companies in Belarus in respect of those fire tenders.  I hope you will issue that directive.

The third thing Mr. Speaker Sir, relates to the use of devolution funds.  Devolution funds do not belong to the Government.  They belong to provincial governance, which are Mash Central, Mash East, Mat North, Mat South, Midlands, the two metropolitan provinces or Harare and Bulawayo.  If you look at the Constitution, Government has no role other than as an allocating authority.  Government of Zimbabwe and the Ministry of Finance cannot pay Belarus funds that do not belong to them.  Those funds belong to local authorities and provincial governance.

Mr. Speaker Sir, we have been harping on this issue for a long time. Section 304 of the Constitution says an Act of Parliament must provide how devolution funds are to be distributed.  That Act of Parliament is not there.  Chapter 14 of the Constitution which deals with provincial and local governments says there must be an Act of Parliament to provide for the provincial structures of devolution.  We have elections next year.  The Constitution was enacted in 2013, almost ten years later that law is not there.  People like Hon. Norman Markham who is here have been to court to compel the Minister of Local Government to come up with that law.  The Minister said I will give you an Act within six months.  Six months ended in March, 2021.  We are now in July, 2022 and that Act is not there.  On what basis are disbursements being made in the absence of these two laws? The one setting up the devolution structure in terms of Chapter 14 of the Constitution and the one providing for the distribution of finances by the Minister, the equitable allocation formula spoken of in terms of Section 304, another illegality.

Mr. Speaker Sir, I now come to the procurement.  Section 274 of the Constitution says local authorities are run by those that are elected in council.  That means the Minister of Local Government, Hon. July Moyo and his Deputy, Hon. Marian Chombo cannot run local authorities.  They are run by those that elected them.  That means that the decisions on procurement and policy on whether to build clinics, hospitals, to buy fire tenders or build schools lie essentially with local authorities.  In this case, there is not a single local authority in Zimbabwe that said as a priority there is a desire for fire tankers.  So the Ministry with its own ambitions, shall I say corrupt ambitions, has created demand and went and bought things that the local authorities then considered as a priority.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MUTOMBA): Hon. Biti, I think I have given you enough time.

HON. BITI: I am now concluding Mr. Speaker.  So in the absence of resolutions by local authorities making a decision to purchase, the decision by the Government to acquire fire tenders is a nullity.  Local authorities are procurement agents, so they are bound by the State Procurement Act.  Sections 31 and 32 of the Procurement Act are very clear.  The acquisition of any goods or services must be approved by the Procurement Board.  Therefore, the acquisition of these fire tenders is illegal.

In conclusion, we cannot have a Ministry and a Minister that is now so hell-bent extracting and looting Zimbabwe.  This fire tender is coming on the heels of the PomonaGate scandal.  It is a shame Hon. Speaker and I hope that this House can resolve that Minister Chombo must reconsider her position.  I thank you.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members. This window that I have given you is for you to ask questions and raise points of clarification, not debating.  I am sorry, maybe I am actually going to control the House but do not force me to do that.  I do not enjoy it.

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