Zimbabwe Parliament- What they said about the Belarus fire tender deal- Part 3

HON. NDUNA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I withdraw the statement that murungu uyu haana basa sezvaari.

HON. CHOMBO: Thank you Hon. Speaker.  I did not pinpoint the Hon. Members but when I responded to Hon. Porusingazi’s question, if all the equipment was going to be the same, I thought I addressed Hon. Nyabani’s question.  If all the fire tenders are going to come as one and I said we have specifications that are provided by local authorities through their chief officers.  We have the response with us which we can also provide to the august House.

HON. NYAMUDEZA: Thank you Mr. Speaker.  My question to the Minister is that she mentioned that the machines are durable, which brand are the machines?  Secondly, the Hon. Minister said Allied Timbers confirmed that these machines are strong, for how many years have they have been using this brand of equipment?

Lastly, in this region for example South Africa, if we are to buy a fire tanker in South Africa there is no need for someone to go South Africa and undergo training because it can just be brought and the driver can operate.  I want to find the logic of acquiring these fire tankers from a far away country instead of within the region.

HON. MAHLANGU: It may sound as if we are attacking the Hon. Deputy Minister.  I think it is high time Hon. Minister July Moyo should come and answer.  I am a woman, it is unfair for me to attack another woman but I have no choice because July Moyo is always away.

Hon. Deputy Minister, may you kindly unveil to the House all the stakeholders that were present during the consultation.  If you consulted communities, let us as Hon. Members know those communities that you consulted because I understand in each and everything that you are doing, especially in communities there are priorities.  If there are communities who prioritised fire tenders, let it be known so that this House ihlaliseke because we are not happy about the way your Ministry is doing, no wonder why we end up saying it is more corrupt than any other Ministry.

HON. MUCHENJE: I want to check with the Minister on the fire tenders that they have sought from Belarus. Firstly, you said you consulted councils and they requested the fire tenders that you are talking about. In rural areas, are they the ones who requested for the fire tenders because there are no road networks where these can ply? Can they request for these when the roads are in bad shape?  How many rural councils requested for the fire tenders? The Minister mentioned that the fire tenders are the same throughout, are you saying that they are tailor-made even for the mountainous areas or dusty roads or they are only suited for urban areas? If you go to Manicaland, it is a mountainous area and Matebeleland the roads are sandy. We want to know if the vehicles are the same, can they be tailor-made to suit the different areas they will be operating in?

On training, when you engage in training you said some will be trained here and others in Belarus. Where will the money be coming from because our councils are facing financial challenges and even the communities are facing challenges in paying the utility bills? We notice that corruption is rife in the Ministry of Local Government.

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