The Government has challenged those opposing the removal of fuel and maize subsidies to advance convincing reasons because the move was meant to ensure equitable distribution of resources.
Home Affairs Minister Edgar Lungu said yesterday that it was sad that some people had taken advantage of the removal of subsidies to cause chaos in the country.
The minister said the Government wanted to save money and provide facilities such as hospitals, schools and roads, especially in rural parts of the country where most vulnerable people were found.
“Those who are aggrieved with the removal of the subsidies should engage the Government and give convincing reasons why the move should be reversed,” Mr Lungu said.
He said he expected United Party for National Development (UPND) leader Hakainde Hichilema to advise students from universities to abide by the law rather than taking to the streets disturbing other people.
Mr Lungu said University of Zambia (UNZA) students were not peaceful in their demonstration because they even looted two shops at Arcades Shopping Mall.
“People should be honest, fair and give us chance to govern and they can judge after the first five-year term,” he said.
Mr Lungu said Mr Hichilema should not think that he was smarter than everyone because the Government was aware of what he was up to and 31 UNZA students who were apprehended on Friday would be screened.
However, Mr Hichilema has denied inciting students in learning institutions to riot over the removal of fuel and mealie meal subsidies.
The opposition leader has, however, pledged to hire lawyers if some University of Zambia (UNZA) students who were apprehended on Friday would be taken to court.
Mr Hichilema asked the police to release all the 31 Unza students.
Addressing journalists at the party secretariat in Lusaka yesterday, Mr Hichilema justified the protests by the university students, saying they were peacefully airing out their grievances against alleged poor Government policies and that demonstrations were a feature of any civilised society which must be allowed.
“I have asked friends of UPND, lawyers, to say if you are willing to represent Hakainde I am asking you humbly to represent the students. And I am confirming here that if Mr Sata doesn’t heed our demands to release the students, we will be there to support them,” he said.
Dear Edgar,
Your PF is a legion of pathetic failures that has practically lost moral, spiritual, intellectual, political and economic authority leaving you chaps without a platform to even start wasting your drinking time shoving a load of drivel of rational Zambian.
You have betrayed, insulted, risked, failed and abandoned Zambians enough. Its 11:45 hrs before the hour reckoning. Change or face a critical mass of Zambians from all walks of poverty.
The questions that need to be answered are the following;
1. How did MMD manage to build the Levy Mwanawasa Hospital and the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium with removing subsidies on fuel and maize?
2. How come MMD managed to do this even without the eurobond?
3. If the savings from the removal of subsidies is mearnt to bring about infrastructure development, what is the use of the loan (eurobond) PF has commiteed future generations to pay for?
4. Where did PF take the reserves that were left by MMD?
We would appreciate it if Edgar Lungu can answer these questions honestly.
It is just a pity that people properly versed with economics like HH himself are failing to tell the people the benefits of this bold move taken by the government.Zambia is not the first country to experience backlashes from people because of the introduction of subsidies.Nigeria experienced a similar thing last year.Greece is another example where the government had to take extreme measures in order to cut back on some costs,which angered people leading to nationwide strikes.We know this move by PF is unpopular, but i think to is high time we as Zambians learnt how to sacrifice a little for our nation.Development doesn`t come easily.I kind of understand it though ,because us as Zambians we tend to first think of Nshima before anything else.
@masala market
experience like nigeria and Greece?.. really??? you are educated , well exposed to high life in europe!!!! nigeria situation is different and worst off! Greece situation is very, very different!
No disrespect! you are off mark on this one
Government claims the move take was to save money if that was the true intention why not do away with the unnecessary costs that they are creating like by-elections moreover pipo like HH was and still is on ground offering fear and fair convince reasons all efforts forfeited, lungu dont lie to us even if heavens open now you will still give it a deaf ear just accept you are not a listening government.Viva Viva HH
Be warned that Zambia has an army of majority unemployed youths daily seeking an answer to their fate of hopelessness. These have no economic hope in their lives. I thought you got fillers at the Army recruitment exercise in Emmasdale. You didn’t understand the the implication of the pandemonium? This a clear and present danger your dangerous incompetency will soon have to deal with. It is a powerful latent force just about to implode than those you are abusing in the uniform ordering that if they say “fa, fire, fe, fire”. Sad that poor police are being used to violate the rights of majority dissatisfied citizens sending vital fillers that you change or face the wrath of a massive commoner on the street.
Senior Citizen, you are correct in what you say. When I visit Zambia, it saddens me to see so many youths in the small towns away from the Capital and the Copperbelt with nothing to do………. such a waste. Zambian people by there nature are friendly and not aggressive, however I see dark days ahead…….
It’s time university students start to engage on issues affecting the nation intellectually, offer alternative option in ways worth of a learned person and not these undirectional, impulsive demostrations. On a political perspective, would PF scarifice it’s popularity by making such a suicidal move on something that will hurt the citizen most? After all every party what to be popular. These guys might mean good, it’s just that the removal of subsidies has been rather radical.
What meaning well? In case you r under 10 years old, the PF has spent all the money in coffers on unbudgeted byelections, firing and hiring (do u know that fellow comedian will be paid handsomely after being appointed and dismissed) etc. The only source of money they can have is thru increasing cost of everything (less money in pipo’s pockets). Ni CNP zowona iyi.
i thought this scambag HH was stil in the indian/paskistan controlled kashimire nursing his secretive wife. Bloggers! Who knows scumbag HH’s wife. This is the most secretive couple on earth only north korea comes next.
Home Affairs Minister Lungu is mentally so sterile that he cannot appreciate the concept of subsidies as it applies in f economics . All the senior Ministers who have visited Cuba should have learnt how Cuba applies the concept of subsidies to cushion the welfare of the poor.
UK, despite being governed by alternate Conservative and socialist parties, has consistently maintained the application of subsidies on the price of bread to cushion the poorest of its peoples. Besides the unemployed Britons get weekly free grants called the ‘Doll. raised from tax-payers money.
Sata & Scott resorted to remove subsidies just to please Western govts that contribute to the budget. Instead the PF Govt must stop its bye-election Project and revisit its Tax Revenue policy on the Mining companies.
Zambians hate these liars mongering bastards with no moral conscience!
Lungu & Sata & all PF govt leaders only deserve death by hanging & shooting in front of State House! They are well known criminals with conviction records at Zambian courts!
This Moron Chimpanzee who forged his plagiarized Law qualification should be ashamed to open his FOUL SMELLING MOUTH. His face looks puff like an alcoholic whose liver does not function well!
How can a convict and a liar like Edgar Lungu lecture suffering hungry Zambians who are dying of HUNGER & Preventable diseases!
The only person Lungu can lecture is unintelligent person like Sata and his evil PF corrupt govt leaders with Low IQs who are criminals like Lungu & Ngoma (who is now stealing money@ZESCO).
boi you are really bitter ai? check your personal life as well. yours is a sad existance
Cut your over bloated cabinet from from an alarming 80 ministers to 18 ministers only.
2). Cut the rubbish of posting 3 Permanent secretaries per ministry to 1 PS per ministry.
3). Stop the amoral inducement of expensive bye-elections each costing ZK5.5 billion. If you believe there was something wrong with the 2011 election, immediately dissolve your Government and call up for a General election to get a clean public mandate. This would we solve the rubbish of bye-elections
4). Stop these rubbish tribunals on the orders of criminal bebtors deserving to be declared bankrupt.
I remember UNIP dictator when he arresting innocent Zambians through his feared murderers Special Branch agents (shushus), he took them to Mumbwa under ground torturing ground base!
Kaunda failed & almost ran away with his Indian magicians!
Sata & your PF corrupt criminals u should know that arresting innocent Zambians protesting against your unjust subsidies removal from Mealie Meal, Sata u will soon be HANGED!
Everyone including animals at Statehouse have risen against Sata! Sata”s torture chambers wont work this time u PF Kaponyas
Once we the Zambians people arrest Sata, Lungu, Kabimba & all PF criminals should be taken first to Mumbwa ZAF military base where we will connect electricity to their IMPOTENT TESTICLE for the torture they have done to students
After acting as republican president, Lungu had sobored up but over weekend he relapsed and has had too much alcohol I guess. My advice is he should confine himself to rehab and make statements after he is clean. How can increasing cost of living that has resulted due to removal of subsidees be good for the poor? Where do these people live? On Mars? Don’t they have relatives in Zambia who are feeling the biting cost of living? And also the recent plea by these Pathetic Fimofimos thru Guy scot and now Lungu to give the until 2016 to rule and be judged does not make sense at all. Running a state/govt is not like running Kantemba, it it serious business. From the start we are monitoring and evaluating their syrategies, implementation, expenditure, priorities. All I wrong. 2016 is far.
in physics a body wants to continue moving in the same direction even when the vehicle it is on is changing direction, PF this subsidy issue means well, but citizens needs to be advised so that they follow and look out for the benefits.tranparency on cash saved will help gain confidence from even critics.do your best leave the rest to God.
Who is supposed to convince the other, because we not the ones who used to move around with a container saying we shall reduce fuel, moreover you are the ones who removed the subsidy. Clearly you have failed to convince us.
Clearly Hanziba you are a Tonga and support HH, who will never be president of Zambia- mulekeni sata ateke
Ubwato you are a tribalist youself. There is nothing about tribe in what Hanzibu has stated. The same pipo that claim Tongas are tribalists are the ones perpetrating it. Sorry.
Govt should seek middle ground on this issue.
The only empirical reason is that pf has no money for 5 etc by elections, paying bloated cabinet, politicaly motivated tribunal. Subsidies are a feature of social responsibility of a gud government of the pipo, pf ‘s abandoning the pipo.
Lungu. You are mad and INSANE combined if the two do not mean the same. You do not need to go to school to lean that Policies are introduced gradually. Reduce your blotted cabinet, stop BYE elections then we shall believe you that you mean well. Moreover this was not in YOUR MANIFESTO….. IF IT WAS THERE AND YOU PREACHED ABOUT IT…NO ONE WAS GOING TO VOTE FOR YOU………SHAME ON YOU……VIVA HH AND STUDENTS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. VIVA BLACK FRIDAY
Z ths govt serious? r thy telng us tht thy dont kno y the previous govt cam up wth subsd n th frst plc? OK MR Mnster here r th resns
1.Frst serious gvts com up wth subsids wen ther z a shock n de economy whch cn lead 2 worsening living standrds 4 ordinally pipo coz some economic indicators r too weak 2 wthstand the shock
2. so as a short 2 medium term measure, gvts try 2 buy off pipos extra cost of living untl the identified WEAK economic indicators r worked on
3. frm ths bckgnd cn th PF tel ZEDIAN whch economic indicators led the MMD 2 com up wth de subsids if thy kno?
4. And r thoz indicators strong enogh 2da wen compared 2 de tym subsds were put n plac?
NB: Its nt my fort if u ve no idea of economics bt subsds r meant 2 mek lyf bearable 4 ordinally pipo contraly 2 yo belief n PF
What rubbish is this where you are increasing your own salaries, benefits, daily increasing ministerial wage bill, overhead costs, building your own Mansions prematurely, donating billions Kwacha commodities in fuel, and subsidized maize in the region, but withdrawing subsidies from a poor Zambian’s food?
Do you expect poor Zambians to stomach this rubbish?
Look at the moral leadership of President Obama in the USA who has forfeited to the national treasury a significant percentage of his salary in face of a national fiscal crisis.
The fact remains that (as usual) the timing and lack of strategic thinking and implementation is the cause of the people’s genuine disapproval and evident response. No one is arguing that TOO many subsidies on commodities are bad for the national coffers but removing them on impulse and without sensitising the public is a recipe for anarchy as we have witnessed. Govt should have first “floated” the idea and after the “heat” from debate has died down, propose a fazed approach to removing subsidies. That would “cushion” the impact and people would not experience the immediate negative impact. As it stands Govt with its deceptive approach, induced by elections and extravagant leadership has dug its own grave and no one will believe the subsidy removal will benefit the common Zambian.
Hikainde is the last person i expected to complain about the subsidy removal.He is an economist am sure he knows better the benefit of the move the government has taken but again i kind of understand why he is doing what he is doing.In politics one has to jump on a band wagon which has popular appeal.Sad that the brother has prefered to play to the gallery than helping the average Zambian understand and know the benefits of the subsidy removal.
“People should be honest, fair and give us chance to govern and they can judge after the first five-year term,”
Mr. Lungu, people are honest, actually angels when compared with your lot. As to waiting for five years in silence whilst the country cultural, civil and economical structures are plundered and destroyed by the bunch of incompetent thieving political prostitutes interested only in their own interest, it is equivalent to suicide.
You been given the chance and you misused that people trust for your own benefit.
Nothing which you my do until 2016 will change opinion of the huge majority of honest Zambians that you have deceived them prior to election.
If you think that you still have mandate by the people to govern, call general election and let people say what they think.
iwe ka lungu boyi, since you don’t know why your govt removed subsidies, then reverse your decision and open up dialogue. Are you serious to ask zambians to convince you or is it not your responsibility as govt to articulate govt policies and sell them to the people the same way you did before the general elections? You are caught in your web of deceit because now zambians know what this govt is all about. lies and deceit. bufi.
Extract from ZEDIAN on Zambia watchdog it fits ell here.
I am also convinced that this PF government is up to no good. Zambia is at cross- roads and no sign of hope, vision and faith exists. tightenin belts would have meant introducing windfall tax, reducing the size of cabinet to 12 or 14, avoidance of bye- elections, reduction of salary of the president (just like Obama did due to austerity reasons), and avoidance of pronouncements not backed by budgetary provision etc. so, i for one, can’t be fooled by these guys. their lack of strategic planning, foresight, visioning etc has landed them in fire and the worst is yet to come.
PF in the Copperbelt says mining companies are paying students to riot. In Lusaka PF is claiming that HH is sponsoring student, surely there Lunacy in these guys. We need another Mwamba Luchembe or Captain SOLO type, we need a revolution to put brains in these chaps. viva HH and Captain SOLO
what can we do. SHAKA is annoyed that he does not want to hear to word PF, sata, Gay scort, etc. mwandi it annoys. 80 cabinet ministers.
EIGHTY as in EIGHT TENS AND A ZERO…? I rest my case. We already have a very small tax base and those 80 fools are not producing anything except waking up in parliament when it is time to go home… We need even a symbolic show of reducing the bloated administration.
. In 2013 budget would have had almost 35% going to salaries. However, with the wild decisions by the PF government out of 32trilllion National budget over 60% of it is going to salaries.
To makes matters worse! then came the unbudgeted tribunals that cost billions in matters that we all knew answers to; creating of districts that need officers, creation of a province, the firing and returning almost all diplomats worldwide at the same time costing billions, the giving away of 5million tones of fuel to Malawi, rebasing, the never ending By elections, the increase in the number of ministers to 88 costing over half a trillion per annual.
With the above reckless expenditure it created a deficit and became impossible to sustain subsides on Maize and fuel. So Sata had to fund money and…
The increase in commodity prices n transport z not as high as i was expecting, 4 our unemployed people yes they can cry bcoz 2 find a ngwee is a problm but de workng class in well payng companiz de impact is minimal. Pf think 4 de poor majority.
To makes matters worse! then came the unbudgeted tribunals that cost billions in
With the above reckless expenditure it created a deficit and became impossible to sustain subsides on Maize and fuel. So Sata had to find money and the and the easiest solution to him is starve people as a result of is recklessness decisions. Yes so of the actions like minimum wage and over 25% of public works salary increase might have been noble but it was a very dull move. Now days a country should be run like a business and family at the same time, how do increase salaries without money?
This is the truth written by “Nkonkomalimba Kapumpe” taken from Watch dog and pasted here for Edgar to check the facts
how can people giv you convincing reasons when you are intorelable and dictatorial.didnt sata snub the students who wanted to see him over the same and only to order an arest for them?a good leader must have listening skils.and how com subsidies were sustainable under mmd just 18 months ago?edgar we are crying because the cost of living has sudenly gone up.you may build schools,roads but where the cost of living is high no one wil apreciat you.
Reasons?
1) Because fuel subsidies benefit all Zambians – especially farmers in remote areas where transport costs for inputs and outputs are very high.
2) Because cutting the FISP by half and introducing vague ideas about bartering for inputs three months before the next ag season is likely to cause chaos and lead to a much reduced harvest at everyone’s expense.
3) Because urban people are poor too and spend a lot of money on mealie meal and transport.
4) Because everyone was used to the former system and Lungu’s “listening government” did not engage in any public dialogue before announcing the new policy.
5) Because this govt. has not demonstrated it will spend the money any better on other things and if anything appear to be wasting money on salaries and elections.
Brave face I would want 2 call u Braveface intelligentmind coz ur raised issues re true reflection of wat is on de ground. Pf can nt c that farming n harvest will go down n pipo will suffer even more beyond PF expections. All dey re doing z guess.
In short: Subsidy removal is to cover reckless unbudgeted spending by PF
LETS STOP CRYING. THE SOLUTION IS REVOLUTIONS.
DR MARTIN LUTHER KING (USA ACTIVIST’) WROTE AND I QUOTE
” WE HAVE LEARNT FROM EXPERIENCE THAT FREEDOM IS NOT GRANTED VOLUNTARILY BY THE OPPRESSORS, IT MUST BE DEMANDED BY THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED”
. SO ZAMBIANS, PICK IT IT UP FROM THE STUDENTS AND NGOS LET THE BLACK FRIDAY BE A BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION. LIBYANS- DID IT, EGYPTIANS- DID IT, SO WE ZAMBIANS CAN- ALSO DO IT AS WELL. THE BALL IS IN OUR HANDS
We are sick and tired of you PF thieves. Just go to bed!
This subsidies ends up with thieves, and its your job to make sure this is stopped, so do your job and we will have no problems.
We will lock up this drunkard once PF loses power. Shut up you drunkard.
why is Lungu even commenting on issues he clearly knows nothing about and are not in his portfolio? Where is the Minister of Finance so that he even explains why he didnt wait for the next budget cycle? He doesnt know why the previous govt came up with subsidies? Can he call the USA, UK, CUBA, BRAZILIAN, SOUTH AFRICA and other serious country embassies and ask why they still have subsidies on certain products and goods and also why they generally practice ‘protectionist’ policies in certain sectors like agriculture etc. This is not a joke people, these guys are actually a collection of retards!
Because they are richer than Zambia, so they can manage subsidies.
Those not seeing that the removal of subsidies will bring hardships to a common man need A brain JUMPSTART. Which development are they planning to bring? Let them account for the Eurobond first
What will the roads be for if we wont be able to drive our cars on them due to high fuel prices? What will be the universities you are building be for if we wont be able to send our kids to them? Explain ka Edgar. By the way you campaigned to reduce fuel and the cost of fertilizer manje vavuta bwanji lelo?
They will last longer and that would save us a fortune. And you think am happy subsidizing fuel on your Japanese scrap?
A very good call indeed.
What the PF regime is doing in terms of removal of subsidies is not necessarily bad for the Zambian people. We have running an artificial economy for far too long.We have to face reality and bite the bullet, if we have to move forward. Politics of appeasement should be a thing of the past.
whch economcs ve u studied??? subsds ve alwayz and wl alwayz b ther if & wen neded my frnd go back 2 sch and learn. thts hw com u ve subsdz evn n USA 2da. y do u pipo want 2 analyse issues u dont understnd??
The PF and their cronies should be confined to the dust bin at the next elections. We need to make sure that all those jumping ship to PF should never serve the Zambian people again for the pain they have inflicted on us. These reckless thugs have taken us 10 years back in a space of one and a half years. What will they do in the next 3 years if they have the guts to do this in their first term of office. They think by the time it’s election time, Zambian’s would have long forgotten about these useless policies. They are fogetting that the long term effects of their recklessness will take beyond 3 years to heal. Every day is becoming a sad day in the papers for our country. The lastime we had this type of feeling was during the Chiluba days and Sata was at the helm.
i have not read a single comment above offering an alternative as requested by the minister.all pipo are doing is insulting.that is how lazy and dull us zambians are! to show pipo that u are educated u resort to shooting.
WELCOME BACK MR PRESIDENT WE MISSED YOUR LEADERSHIP IN THIS TIME OF NEED!!
“I have asked friends of UPND, lawyers, to say if you are willing to represent Hakainde I am asking you humbly to represent the students…” Clearly HH was thinking in his native language, whatever that is, when he constructed this sentence! The sayin “You can take a man out of the village, but you cannot take the village out of the man” comes to mind.
Kaya @ 37, ditto that bro. Forever insulting; no offer of solutions! Not even bad solutions!
@ Masala Market as long as your government continues to spend colossal sums of money on unnecessary bye-elections, no one sane Zambian will be able to buy this lame explanations from UKWA and his minions on the issue of subsidy removal, no matter how much you try to sugar coat your arguments. Even your claims that bye-elections were budgeted are flawed at best and hollow because you are not telling us how you estimate the number of MPs that will die or defect to the ruling party for you to be able to provide an amount. So whilst most Zambians, including HH understand the danger of subsidising consumption, the removal of the subsidies in Zambia, on essential commodities for that matter, was not done in good faith. It only goes to show how misplaced the priorities of this government are.
meant these lame explanations.
How is the removal of subsidies on fuel and maize meant to ensure equitable distribution of resources when resultant government savings are directed at fueling costly bye-elections and funding a bloated and useless cabinet? It is the government that is supposed to provide better reasons for the removal of these subsidies. Otherwise they should just admit they have failed to rule and quit the corridors of people because if things continue the way they are going, someone is bound to be uprooted from power before the end of their 5 year term. Mark my word!
We need to convince our people by reducing on the number of deputy ministers and induced by-elections
For over 40 years Zambians have enjoyed subsidies from the Government. These subsidies have never helped Zambians to come out of poverty and develop the country. Subsidies have created negative impact on Zambian economy, made some enable men to be lazy or parasites. Dr. Kenneth Kaunda gave free cattle to some of the people in Northern Province, Luapula Province etc. so that they have cattle keeping – dairly and beef, but ate all cows. Subsidies and free things have never worked good for Zambia. The Gov. has done the best thing to remove subsidies. What is HH compaining about who is an economist. Students should appreciate what the gov. is doing. People in rural area have benefited very little from subsidies compared to people in towns. so to say you’re speaking for the voiceless is…
@SEE ,”People in rural area have benefited very little from subsidies compared to people in towns.”
Ignorance is an illness my brother. Rural people grow maize using agric subsidies. This creates food security for their families and the nation.
“Let those opposing the removal of fuel and maize subsidies advance convincing reasons-Lungu ” Let Michael Sata resign, we hold elections and people with solutions rule Zambia. We have ideas but are not willing to tell you damn heads.
We are not even 2 years in Government you start asking for elections, please swallow some saliva at least 8 and a bit years more to go mate. PATIENCE
The convincing reason is that you are not affected by it. You for one are alcoholic and hop from one bar to another using fuel supplied by the tax payer
The majority of Zambia’s poor live on less than one dollar a day. When you remove the food subsidies, are you going to provide them coupons or food stamps with which to buy food? Or are you simply devoid of a conscience?
Wen u re debating u must respond logically but wat i have read from o these against the govt is irrelavances. ln short it only shows lunacy at its worst on dese creatures claiming 2 b wiser.When u say u will harm MCS do u dink our hands wil b folded?
“…it only shows lunacy at its worst on dese creatures claiming 2 b wiser.When u say u will harm MCS do u dink our hands wil b folded?” Better use your head now than opt to use your hands later. Otherwise, I would consider you more of a lunatic.