Thursday, March 28, 2024

Government stops subsidizing fuel

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FINANCE minister Situmbeko Musokotwane

Finance and National Planning Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane has said the Government will no longer subsidise the fuel costs in the country.

Speaking in Lusaka on Sunday, Dr Musokotwane said Government’s continued subsidy on fuel would impact negatively on other key sectors of the economy.

Dr Musokotwane said the Government’s decision to stop subsidising fuel prices was in order for it to address other needy areas such as education, health and roads.

He said the Government had been spending so much on fuel subsidies leaving very limited resources for other sectors of the economy.

He explained that Government had been subsiding the fuel for a long time now at the expense of other needy sectors of the economy that have been lagging behind.

Meanwhile, United Party for National Development (UPND) spokesperson Charles Kakoma has said the move by the Government not to further subsidise fuel, would negatively affect the economy of the country.

17 COMMENTS

  1. This is Bull***t. Does he understand the consequences of this? spare us and give us a break from this nonsense

  2. Thats why we always tell you to tax the mines. They are getting our copper free of charge. You dull creatures listen to us for once. Tax the mines, that money can do wonders.

  3. INVESTMENT IS SOMEWHAT DRIVEN BY SOME SMALLER FACTORS LIKE FUEL.INCREASE IN FUEL MEAN THAT THERE WILL BE AN INCREASE ON THE COST OF PRODUCTION OF MOST GOODS THUS LEADING TO INCREASE IN THE GENERAL PRICES OF GOODS

  4. This is a good move. Any responsible government must do away with subsidies and allow market forces to prevail. This is what we do in the developed world.

  5. Can we please know what these other sectors are because as far as we are concerned the health sector which is really critical enjoys external funding! Please educate me sir.

  6. I am smelling some fish here (something fishy) during the time of Mwanawasa, the subsidizing of fuel had been stop that was like a few months before his dismiss. Now it makes me to wonder what happened after, because it was announced that there were no longer subsidizing fuel. Did RB re-introduce it? or is there someone who was getting it as there share…

  7. This is the best way to go. It may hit us hard in the short term but Zambia must get used to buying fuel at economic prices and save subsidy money for developmental projects. This is a brave decision.

  8. BBC 18Ma2010 reports:

    UK inflation hits 17-month high

    UK inflation accelerated again in April to hit its highest rate in 17 months, official figures show.

    On the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure, inflation hit 3.7% – well above the target of 2% and the highest rate since November 2008.

    On the Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure, which includes housing costs, inflation was up to 5.3% – its highest rate in 19 years. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said food prices in particular had seen sharp rises.

    The cost of food rose by 2.6%, the ONS said, thanks largely to rising transport costs over the last 12 months.

    Fuel costs have increased by more than 25% in that time, the ONS said.

  9. #9 contd

    Bank of England governor Mervyn King blamed rising fuel prices, the rise in VAT and the fall in the value of the pound for the rising trend.

    But he warned that these temporary factors were “masking the downward pressure on inflation from the substantial margin of spare capacity in the economy”.

    “If the recovery continues as expected, that will gradually erode the slack in the economy, bringing inflation back to target,” Mr King added.

    Inflation is expected to start heading down in the near term as temporary upward pressures start to unwind.

  10. 7 Trigo, ” Did RB re-introduce it? or is there someone who was getting it as there share… ”

    Situmbeko Musokotwane is as corrupt as hell. He is a former non-executive director of ZCCM-IH, during which time he helped the mining companies not only to not pay taxes, but to not pay dividends to their own shareholders.

    His only talent is in taking bribes.

    If the mines were paying $1.2 billion a year in taxes, this would not even be an issue.

  11. The so called government does not work in your interest. You are merely an asset to be used for more fiat money and paying interest to zionist bankers. Your politicians are just agents of a body corporate called Zambia and all they are doing is trying to turn a profit for the shareholders. Do not flatter yourself, you are not a stakeholder in this corporation until you realise that you are still living under a feudal slavery debt based system. Market forces… what a load of nonsense. Tell me Mr. Economist how 18 yrs of markets forces have worked out for millions of impoverished Zambians? The Bankers have a boot on your throats and tell you it is market forces … they lend you money from your wallet and call it market forces – free economy! Bah!

  12. What a move indeed, but you are forgetting that fuel cost in Zambia is higher than neighboring countries because of over-taxation. Reduce the taxation also to be at par with the neighboring countries to allow Zambians and Zambian products to compete favorably. Petrol in Zambia does not need your subsidies, its never needed them, what it needs is a break in your double taxation. Zambia is not in space, she is on Earth with other countries around to compete with don’t forget that. Your policies should be strategic and deliberate to make it favorable for the local would be investors to succeed.

  13. Tax the mines Mr. Minister. If the Investors run away… well our copper will still be there, won’t it. Unlike now you benefit nothing while the copper finishes. Remember one day all of you will be investigated and we will make sure somebody(you) pays for what you are doing. Its treasonable.

  14. Zambia, as usual, a day late and a dollar short. Stop subsidizing everything and improve on health and educatuion sector you numbskulls.

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