The Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) says the 2009 national budget has not met its expectations in terms of tax relief to workers.
ZCTU President, Leonard Hikaumba complained that the raising of the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) exempt threshold from last year’s K600, 000 to K700, 000 per month this year, a difference of K100, 000, was not enough, considering high cost of living in the country.
Mr. Hikaumba told ZANIS that workers getting a monthly salary of K700, 000 would still not be able to feel the relief because prices of basic commodities have risen.
He feared that the proposed hike in electricity tariffs would provide a more painful economic pinch to workers than  what they were feeling currently.
Mr. Hikaumba, who is also Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union of Zambia (CSAWUZ) president, said government should have raised the exempt threshold up to K1, 000,000 in order for workers to enjoy the PAYE exemption.
On education, Mr. Hikaumba observed that although the budget to the sector has been increased and number of classrooms increased, there was no mention of incentives for teachers this year.
He said teachers needed decent accommodation and wages for them to be motivated enough to teach children.
He said current economic conditions were suggesting that poor Zambians would remain poor because they stood slim chances accessing education in order to come out of poverty and illiteracy.
Mr. Hikaumba has since suggested that government should reconsider halting  tax on terminal benefits because people were already paying tax when they are working.
ZANIS/KSH/ENDS
Do not forget the intellectual stracture in this years budget
The taxation system is a joke. Heavy taxation on those in formal employment and virtually no tax in the informal sector. The whole system needs to be changed.
Thats what they always do.
Tax the Soweto businessmen as well they make more money than teachers and nurses but they still get free medical care and education for their children.
Money allocated to NCC is too much.
Education should receive a bigger share
Let’s get rid of the copper briefcase for budget day, copper has gone down. Let’s diversify!
There is no proper reasoning in making the budget because all our leaders are very old and tired with life!!moneni ba finance minister balipwa kwatitabalya!!!lol
Please revise the tax laws of Zambia to start refunding Tax payers with personal tax refunds, no wonder money is misappropriated in certain Departments because there is no serious planning and accountability, that money can go back to Tax payers by encouraging donations to charity, Education deductions, Medical deductions etc. LT there is only one day remaining before the assessment of the 90 day probabation of this Govt we want to know what they have accomplished so far and what they have failed to accomplish so far ,even in formal employment there is performance evaluation after the 3 months probation and employees don’t cry to their employers to give them more time.
😕 we’ll see
ok
The budget looks just fine to me but I believe that there’s need to encourage the culture of hard work in our country. Allocating billions more and cutting taxes for government workers at this moment won’t make no difference at all because these galuz are the worst I’ve seen, they are lazy and arrogant galuz I’ve ever seen,
This years PAYE exemption threshold increase is a joke!!!
K100,000?
Thats less than 2 bags of 25kg mealie meal!!! =:)b-)
Tuleshinikisha kuli aba bamulya pungu…..What a budget!
Ba Cutey mulishani?
#15, Ine Iam good..
Hope you are good too.
Twapusuka ku heat ya yesterday….
;;);;);;);));));))8-}8-}8-}8-x8-x*-:)*-:)
It is a pity that Zambians who fully understands the running of the government they voices failed to be head during last years election. This is what the working sector was and is against. The people who voted MMD, as I always say are grade 7 and 9s who have no salary to per PAYE. Mwilafituminako impiya ngafyamulomba muletila ‘balituputula tax.’ so that they may learn one or two things!
HiKaumba what you are saying here makes a lot of sense.But sometimes you fear the government to speak on behalf of the workers. What is K700,000? Surely can a person survive with this amount. Proper accommodation, school fees,water and electricity bills twabikapo no kulya bwino. This ka amount is nothing cant do all what i have mentioned.But unfortunately pa Zed some even get k150,000 as a salary.And its time for misappropriting the money by the thieves in various sectors.Since the budget is out kaili.
Ba Cutey,heat ya shani iyo nomba?
Ala fwaku tamba fwe!
To make the mattress wet, I mean to make maters worse, the only formidable competitor to DSTV has closed shop. So the govt needs to adjust the budget figures because there will be no revenue coming from Gateway Television, there will be no one going to watch soccer at the pub, there will be no one drinking beer in the pub, so there will be no excise tax from beer…..I think thats why aba sungu ku States voted for a black man, ati tu ba mone, bala tukka sanna insele mu ghetto. Yabbaaaaa! 🙂
How is everyone guys? Ala tuleposhana guys. Not ukufika fye twa amba ukulanda pali ba mukukulu aba.Aba shakwata amatwi nangu tulande shani.We are brothers and sisters,so its us first then ukusoka ba mukulu aba.
Leonard, the reason is simple. The NCC for which you’re the vice president gobbles too much money. Ino wambanzi mwana ukwesu?
This budget is useless. No meaning in it.
#19,
Heatwave,
It has killed 18 people so far… :o*-:)*-:)8-x8->
#9,
Tax refund pa Zedi??…still a dream away..|-)|-)
Ba Leonard, kwena mululya better ku NCC. No wonder you dont critisize the hefty monies you get from there.
Baby C, Jamaco, 3Rq, and others, where art thou? Are you still in bed or there is no net at your homes, so you only blogg when at work and sadly it’s saturday. Nowonder you are always at the top when blogging. You still company time blogging all the time. I’ll tell your bosses. :)]
we zambians we easly forget.leonard just shut up.
can someone tell me has happened with GTV no explanation has been made???????? Hope its not the budget :((
Will you ever run out of your complaints or is it a way of life
Useless budget. How do you budget without money. Who are our cooperating partners? I thought they were in recession.
Leonard Hiccup Hikaumba can never slam Govt any further than he has because he has already been compromised by the NCC.
imagine with the current situation in the our country instutions like ZISC are increasing rentals up to more than 100% to their tenants.wil people like teachers ever live a good life with these taxation.only God knows.**==
MULTICHOICE FOR LIFE !! :o)
2009 Budget has come without incentives for blogging, but has zero-rated agricultural equipment in order to boost the sector. It’s time for bloggers to cut on blogging and instead start investing heavily in agriculture. We have this Golden opportunity of duty free agricultural machinery. What an opportunity to mechanize the production system in the land! Bravo GRZ!
Multichoice with 20 percent English Premier League not good enough for me ba Maureen mwe.Gtv used to keep me home now what will i be doing home,let hope the government has no hand in this.
Leonard the bootlicker. You have become a let down. you always tow GRZ line as if yuo are an MMD cadre. Why complain now? Just shut up and enjoy the NCC loot
Too bad for the poor civil servants. They will continue suffering and more corruption.
Hikaumba should be the last person to mnake such statements on PAYE.Where has he been all this time?The budget is not tilored in one day,it goes through a long process.He would have enganged people concerned a long time ago than for him to start making noise after the budget is announced in parliament.He now wants to pretend to be so concerned with workers welfare.This man is total failure and a betrayer.His days are numbered at ZCTU.
For sure the threshold is to small,why not k1000 000 and exempt the final package for pensioners.This govt has no interest for its pipo,its not fair what are doing! >:)>:)>:)
I only hope that the Govt will listen. In other countries Civil Servants are better of than people in the private sector but with ZED awe mwandi.
What are you talking about Hikaumba you have been compromise by accepting the NCC,you are partly to blame for tax payers money wastage.Shame on you and you have over stayed when are the elections for ZCTU SO THAT YOU ARE CHACKED OUT! >:)>:)>:)
The budget is actually fine. Why are they complaining.
Please come up with a budget that will be beneficial to all the pipo of Zambia.Thanks to all who laboured to prepare the same budget,My prayer is that may our Gracious heavenly father provide the finances that will be used to meet all the things that have been budgeted for.
Matworld.
LT award winner for :-j:-j:-j
Hohoho, happy MMD. After their sleepy man, even in finance its the resurrection of the old ghosts. They have little intellect to improve much in Zambia despite all the copper produced in so many years. Its a shame! How have the western guys developed? Simple through hard and smart work. Plent of land,resources,manpower etc but the brains-corrupt and myopic full of petty jealous and burry your heads in believing God will provide even when we know that God helps those who help themselves by working hard! This budget is meaningless, only the editors were excited about it. Its already gone, history and belongs to the past. The present is how to work hard and make Zambia better by all.
Rashid
How are you my dear?
All the bloggers,
Mwashibukeke?
mwauka bwanji?
Mu zuhile cwani?
Mwabuka buti?
Fellow zedians in SA,
Khungani?
LT Award winner for
:-j:-j:-j
Bring the GTV Story mr LT
Was watching a game yesterday then suddenly GTV went off on me but i just paid for it. How am I gonna get a refund.
Zambians need to do something on these expired politician imagine the billions lost from home affairs,foreign & other ministries.If it was possible we could suspend the operation of these ministers & prosecute them.Budget is just a formal thing.
🙂
**==
NCC should tighten their belt.Stop paying ZNBC 4 de courage which very few pipo watch
And looking at the body language of the minister in the picture,balemoneka kwati balechaya ka sikechi kamu drama at chibolya primary :d
Hikaumba long abandoned the workers for a few pieces of silver from the MMD. Its even supprising that he has opened his mouth this time around.
Gone are the days when we had a vibrant Labour Movement, during the time of FTJ, Timothy Walamba, Chitalu Sampa etc. When they spoke, State House Shook and the worker’s rights were respected.
Hikaumba must resign on moral ground and seek a post in the Moribund MMD Government.
Its was not supprising to me when I heard that he was the unmentioned person seeking the MMD Presidency. Everybdy thought it was Maureen. What a snake we have as the ZCTU President
48. your flag Shi Mulase Kwipaya
What has your Comment to do with the issue here?
If you says that others (like Jamaco) make comments that are out of the topic then check yourself.
Leave Jamaco alone imwe!! kanshi shani!! I read your comment on the Pictures Thread. I posted a good answer for you on that on!!
So check it out and reboot your ego hater!!
I will stop formal employment so that I enjoy being businessman. I do not think we have workers at heart, zero.
All the 15 point chakuti-chakuti trillion will go missing by February this time around. And nothing will have been achieved in Zambia.
“On education, Mr. Hikaumba observed that although the budget to the sector has been increased and number of classrooms increased, there was no mention of incentives for teachers this year.
He said teachers needed decent accommodation and wages for them to be motivated enough to teach children.”
Great observation. However, Im glad that education is receiving the much needed attention.
—
[KJV Bible] Philippians 1:21 For to me to live [is] Christ, and to die [is] gain.
Let us halt retirement packages for politicians because political jobs are supposed to be at the same level as casual daily employees. Polticians have no contract with anybody other than the manadate from the people which can be terminated at any time. They should know that politics is not a career but a service for people who really want to help national development and not failures who want to cheat people and make money easily. How can you explain a person like Willy nsanda surely to be entitled to a bigger pension than a Prof. just because he threw stones for Sata? What message are we sending to the children?