HON. LILIAN ZEMURA: Thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am. We are looking at the Ministry of Public Service and Social Welfare and Skills Audit but looking at that, the crux of the wealth of people comes from their well-being. If we look back, social welfare is where people would run to, especially those people living with disability. They were given allowances; they would queueto get their money but now there is nothing. People are living sad lives because if money is being budgeted, it is not being dispensed.
We are saddened when we are faced with hunger, for those who have been registered because of hunger, many were registered but there is a backlog and they did not receive the food. They did not get the food on time. It is much better this year, owing to the good rains and the number of people receiving food is low. So, we hope that the few who need food assistance will get the food.
Looking at BEAM, it is a real challenge because we have seen how it has affected the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. Many children who were supposed to benefit from BEAM, their fees were not paid. Schools had come up with their budgets, taking into consideration that the BEAM funds were going to be released. The minimum that is being paid by those who are able is a mere drop in the ocean. In many schools, you find that most children fall under BEAM and that has hampered the development of schools.
When School Development Committees come up with projects, they cannot embark on the projects because the few that are paying fees are assisting those who fall under the BEAM project so that they move together. So, we are pleading that if this money is being disbursed, it should be disbursed timeously so that the downfall of schools will not be blamed on the BEAM project.
Coming to skills audits, we were very troubled when we heard that many people working in the Ministry are mostly in acting capacities, they are not substantive officers. You know how it is when someone is acting, they are placeholders, they do not work and they do not put much effort. Even if I come to Parliament in acting capacity, acting is just acting; you are not the one who has been given the mandate to do the work. So, it is better for all workers to be employed substantively. They should work to their best ability because when someone is acting, they will not put much effort into it. This acting has caused a lot of people in ministries to spurn their expertise because they know that they will get the post.
What we also came across is that a lot of money is spent on administrative matters. A lot of money is being channelled towards buying furniture because they want to sit pretty in the offices, they want to be comfortable instead of working hard because the staff complement is not enough, whilst waiting for Government to fill the vacant posts.
I want to thank Hon. Malinganiso and Hon. Bajila. They have articulated well the challenges within the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, that many times the money that is supposed to be used in the Ministry is not there. They only get 30% of their budget annually. I thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am for according me this opportunity.
People are living sad lives because budgeted money is not being dispensed
