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{
    "id": 351407,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/351407/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 400,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "I want to make very short comments in two areas that the President spoke about very eloquently. That is on education and maternal health. On education, the President made a statement that touched and made me love the Speech. But again, it has sent cold shivers down the spine. He said that the Government will not tolerate or allow a person who is under 18 years to drop out of school. I think that is a great thing because this is the youth whose education should be promoted. However, I am wondering, what if you are above 18 years? What happens? These are still young people. The age of youth start from 19 years to 35 years. These young people are in the universities. Does the President mean that he does not care about education of the young generation above 18 years who are university students? The Higher Education Loans Board gives loans to university students, but the money is never enough. It is too little for the high number of students in the universities. So many students drop out of school. Will this Government not care about these students? So, this statement is worrying me. If you concentrate only on the youth who are 18 years and below and you forget about those who are 19 years and above, you will not make it. As a Government, we will still lose out on development and what we have set out to achieve will not be realised. So, that is a critical generation that must be considered in terms of education and we should not allow them to drop out of school. The policies that we will make here should capture their interests as well. Hon. Deputy Speaker, the second comment is on maternal health care. The President talked about free maternal health care, which is good. But it is also important to look at the history of some of these problems that we have. Previous Governments have always said that education and health care are free and so on but that has never been realised. The Government has never achieved free education and free medical care. So, if you will give free maternal health care, which is a good idea, then you need to put in place certain things. What should be done right now before that service is made free is to ensure that there are services, doctors, nurses and drugs in those hospitals. The hospitals should also be clean and have beds where mothers will sleep. This is because if you go to public hospitals, you will find mothers sleeping on the floor. During my campaign period, I went to a certain area and found a hospital nearby. I was told very clearly that when complications arise when a woman delivers, the family begins to dig the grave because they know that she will die. This means that there are no doctors, nurses or even medicine. The Government is making this service free before it sets up the place. I would like to see a Government that sets up the hospitals first. It should ensure that we have enough doctors, nurses, medicine and all that is required to look after a pregnant woman. After that is done, the Government should make the service free. You cannot make it free before you put in place these requirements. I feel that the intentions are good but there are many loopholes that we need to seal first before we make education or maternal health care free. Still on education, people are asking: Is primary education still free in this country? This aspect was not clear because it was not stated. I have received three calls asking me to ask these questions. Is primary education still free because this was started by the previous Government? That education was never free as people were made to believe. How sure are we that this Government will make education and maternal health care free? Those are the questions."
}