Parly Speaker Mudenda refuses to debate Machakaire’s sentiments on country’s health situation

The Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda says the National Assembly does not debate issues brought up via either the mainstream or social media.

This was after Youths Minister Tino Machakaire implored President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa to attend to the country’s health system.

Meanwhile, there has been calls by some legislator for the National Assembly to look into the same issue, however Mudenda believes that would be against the way parliament works.

Read part of the Parliament of Zimbabwe Hansard below:

PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 7th May, 2025
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE ACTING SPEAKER in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE ACTING SPEAKER
DIPLOMATIC TRAINING WORKSHOP
THE ACTING SPEAKER (HON. TSITSI ZHOU): I wish to remind the House that the Diplomatic Training Workshop for the second group of Hon. Members will be at the Golden Peacock Villa Hotel in Mutare from the 8th to the 12th of May 2025, with the 8th and 12th being travelling dates.

All Members who were contacted by the External Relations Department and confirmed participation are advised to attend the workshop without fail as there are no slots in future groups. The bus will leave the new Parliament Building car park on Thursday, 8th May, 2025 at 1500 hours.

APPOINTMENT TO PORTFOLIO COMMITTEES
THE ACTING SPEAKER: I have to inform the House on the appointment of Hon. Members to the following Portfolio Committees as follows; Hon. E. Zvobgo to serve as the Chairperson of the Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Hon. C. Chiduwa to serve as a Member of the Public Accounts Committee, Hon. C. Moyo to serve as a Member of the Portfolio Committee on Environment, Climate and Wildlife.

APPOINTMENT TO THE CHAIRPERSON’S PANEL
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Hon. J. Tshuma joins the Chairperson’s Panel. Can I request Hon. J. Tshuma to take his seat? – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –
APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM MINISTERS
THE ACTING SPEAKER: We have received the following apologies: – Hon. Gen. Rtd. Dr. C.D.G.N. Chiwenga, Vice President; Hon. Col. Rtd. K.C.D. Mohadi, Vice President; Hon. T. Machakaire, Minister of Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training; Hon. O.C.Z. Muchinguri-Kashiri, Minister of Defence; Hon. Prof. D. Murwira, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Hon. T. Moyo, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education; Hon. D. Mombeshora, Minister of Health and Child Care; Hon. J. Paradza, Deputy Minister of Environment, Climate and Wildlife; Hon. R. Modi, Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce; Hon. V. Haritatos, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement.

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
HON. MABURUTSE: Thank you Madam Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Health and Child Care. I understand there is a lot that has been done by the Ministry of Health and Child Care. However, the social media is portraying a negative picture of the status of our healthcare. May the Minister update the House on the Government policies and programmes that have been done so far and the roadmap in improving healthcare?

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. DR. KWIDINI): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I would like to thank the Hon. Member for the good question of wanting to understand what the Ministry is doing on the roadmap to make sure that our citizens receive quality healthcare. On the part of the social media, indeed people on social media always talk about what is not happening in the Ministry but as the Ministry, we are doing wonders since 2018, to make sure the citizens receive quality care. What we are doing is only known by the patients, not the social media participants. As we speak right now Mr. Speaker Sir, our citizens are very happy with the service delivery that we are giving. As we speak, in the first 100 days…

HON. HWENDE: On a point of order Mr. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Point of order!
HON. HWENDE: Hon. Speaker Sir, the Minister must concentrate on responding not denigrating citizens on social media because even Parliament itself has already raised these concerns. I remember the Hon. Vice President when he was Minister of Health, invited Parliament to tour hospitals. So it is not people on social media. He must just concentrate on responding to the legitimate issues that people are raising. I thank you.

THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Hwende. Why do you not allow the Minister to proceed and if he has not concentrated on the response to the question, then we can ask supplementary questions?

HON. DR. KWIDINI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I was on the way to say the complaints were coming from social media. No actual person has come to the Ministry to complain directly to the Minister. Nevertheless, as we speak and as I said, the Ministry has improved a lot in terms of service delivery. As we speak, from the first 100 days of the first quarter of 2025, we managed to change some hospital equipment in the sixty-three districts; that is x-ray machine, theatre beds and so forth. We are working on other equipment which will be installed in the shortest period.

In terms of medicines and other sundries, the Ministry has tried a lot, working hand in hand with the Ministry of Finance to make sure all these things are now available but we know that in Zimbabwe we do not produce or manufacture most of the drugs and sundries. So, when we place orders, they are sourced out of the country. They take three to six months for them to be supplied but I assure this House that in the shortest period of time, we will see improvements because everything is now well known that our social media is almost attacking the Ministry of Health especially on issues of visitors, not the beneficiaries of the treatment like the patients.

I can assure you Hon. Speaker, that if people move around and ask the patients themselves who are receiving treatment, they are very happy with the service which they are receiving. I thank you.

HON. MATEWU: Mr. Speaker, we need to remind the Hon. Minister that social media is born out of our citizens who have lived experiences, including us as well. We know what is in these hospitals. My supplementary question to the Hon. Minister is that there is growing inequality. Most people who cannot access quality health services are those who cannot afford. So, the societal differences are born out of poverty for most people who go to our hospitals and are told that you have to go and buy a bandage, you have to go and get this medicine, they cannot afford it.

So, what is the Ministry doing to ensure that there is quality healthcare even to those who are less fortunate and cannot afford the exorbitant fees and who are asked to go and buy their own medicines in our hospitals and clinics?

I know from experience, people in my constituencies who come to me every time and tell me, we have been asked to go and buy bandages from the pharmacies. What are you doing to ensure that those people who cannot afford get quality healthcare from the Government, from the point of delivery? Thank you.

THE HON. SPEAKER: My recollection of Standing Orders, I do not know how the original question was phrased. If the source is from media, print or whatever and is not verifiable, that cannot be regarded as a source of information. So, I am not sure how the first question, the original question was verified. If it was based on social media or any other media source, that cannot be debated as a verifiable source.

HON. HWENDE: Hon. Speaker, the original source is actually your Minister of Youth, Hon. Machakaire.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order! I saw that and the social media was quoting the Minister who did not validate those statements. That is how I read it.

HON. MADZIVANYIKA: Mr. Speaker, my point of clarification is that we have got Government now using social media. Cabinet uses social media after their meetings. They go on to present their findings or their resolutions on social media. So, if we say we cannot rely on social media to validate issues of national interest, I do not think it is sustainable Mr. Speaker.

THE HON. SPEAKER: Order! Now, Hon. Madzivanyika, you quoted the Minister of Information, right?
HON. MADZIVANYIKA: The Minister of Youth and the Minister of Health both used social media to respond.
THE HON. SPEAKER: They did what?
HON. MADZIVANYIKA: The Minister of Youth raised this issue of problems in the hospitals on his Twitter account and the Minister of Health and Child Care used the Twitter account to respond.

THE HON. SPEAKER: Yes. Even then, that is not verifiable. Yes.
HON. MADZIVANYIKA: Mr. Speaker, Twitter has got verified accounts and unverified accounts. The Minister of Health and Child Care Twitter account has a blue tick, which indicates that it is a verified account. The same applies to Hon. Machakaire’s Twitter handles and above all, Mr. Speaker, can we be furnished with the Order that says social media is not acceptable? Thank you.

THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you very much. Can we be together? For this matter to be completely addressed, I needed to have Hon. Minister Machakaire and the Minister of Health and then I can interrogate them to make their statements accordingly. To me, that would be a verifiable source because they will be there in person. Thank you.