Thursday, March 28, 2024

ERB levy collection from customers is backed by the constitution-Kabimba

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Patriotic Front Secretary General Wynter Kabimba
Patriotic Front Secretary General Wynter Kabimba

JUSTICE minister Wynter Kabimba has clarified that there is nothing wrong with the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) to collect Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fund from consumers.

Mr Kabimba said the funds were being collected in line with the ERB Act which mandates it to do so in accordance with the law.

He said the money collected goes towards the development of the energy sector in Zambia and for the use of the board for other programmes.

Mr Kabimba said this in a ministerial statement yesterday and in response to the Point of Order raised by Jack Mwiimbu who wanted to know why the ERB was collecting a levy from consumer on each litre of fuel bought.

He said section 20, Sub section two, Sub section c of the Energy Regulation Act chapter 436 of laws of Zambia gives power to the Board to charge and collect fees in respect of programme seminars and other services provided by the board.

“There is nothing sinister about it collection as it is backed by the constitution,” he said.

He said Article 114 sub article one of the constitution gives a provision of these article taxation shall not be imposed or altered except by or under an act of parliament.

He however state that the constitution has authorised parliament to delegate some of its powers of imposing or altering taxes to other bodies.

“Article 114 sub article two of our constitution provides the following except as provided by article 3 and 4, parliament shall not confer on any other person authority power to impose or alter otherwise than by reduction any taxation.

He said under clause three, parliament has been authorized to delegate some of its power to the president, vice president or minister who may impose or alter tax by way of an order.

This power has been delegated under the provision of the taxation provisions charging act cap 364 of the laws of Zambia.
He said when power delegate its power to another body is known a levy or user fee for a specific purpose.

The user fee is a money paid by an individual for particular services or facilities. Residents pay rate to council to provide services to enable council provide services to those residents.

He said it was under this law that the ERB collects funds for the use of the purposes above.

33 COMMENTS

    • All politicians are liars and thieves. Apparently we cant do without them. There should be a government to govern any given country. What people should learn is to just work hard for themselves and their families. Do not depend on these corrupt politicians for handouts. You will just be frustrated forever. Just remember “to give to Caeser what is due to him/her”.

    • “There is nothing sinister about it collection as it is backed by the constitution,” he said.

      Actually the constitution still exists under this bufi govt…..

  1. Jack Mwimbu research before you ask irrelevant questions for the sake of being seen to be contributing to debate/asking…sha!

  2. PF kabimba/GBM your days are coming. put your house in order. If you can not run PF can we trust you with national affairs? you guys are a disgrace. i really regret having voted for you. PF behavior is causing more apathy on voting

    • O, grow up! Is all you dream about Party politics? Even when the topics at hand has nothing to do with party politics you still just have to drag politics into it, right?

      Kabimba has just schooled Mwiimbu on Constitutional matters that he (Jack Mwiimbu) supposed to be familiar with as Member of Parliament, and all you can think to talk about is party politics—my, my, my!

      When are we going to stop this trend of unfounded hatred towards one another and try instead to concentrate on building our country and each other up for a change?

  3. What was it that PF “got rid of” in the first month of coming to power?

    I thought it was the Strategic Pretroleum Reserve Fund which they said was nothing more than a corrupt MMD slush fund …..right?

    • Actually they thought they could run a govt without taxes, which was a clear sign that they had no clear understanding of how govts operate. Now they know the value of taxes, and now understand that more money in the pockets was actually nothing but a dream. The million dollar question is, do they have a plan to address the tax issue? The answer is simple, NO. Hence they are quickly and quietly re-adopting every tax policy MMD left in place. In other words it is MMD reloaded without a plan.

  4. More taxes and more institutions will collect use fees. I think i should be charging students for user fees in my class for the intended porpose of use in class

  5. The law is made for man, and not man for the law; and therefore the citizen has the mandate to amend or change the law that appears draconian or stops to serve his interests!

  6. The question shoul have been, how much did ERB collect as fuel levy during the last financial year and what the money used for?

    • Part of the answer is it was used to pay sitting allowances, conference packages, consultants and board members sitting allowances.

  7. “He said section 20, Sub section two, Sub section c of the Energy Regulation Act chapter 436 of laws of Zambia gives power to the Board to charge and collect fees in respect of programme seminars and other services provided by the board.”

    You mean we came up with a monster called ERB to charge us fees “in respect of programme seminars and other services provided by the board”? It is an unnecessary cost then. I repeat, Ministers must think before they speak and act. He should have emphasised more on the Strategic bla bla bla, rather than Semaniars and the associated pediem and food!

    • @kbm,pf government is just a kantemba pakulila mudala wandi we have no government pa zed,that one we can bet,serminars just to get allowances,we are cursed wether you like it or not,not a caring government at all

  8. There are just too many of these agencies, councils, organisations that are feeding off the poor Zambian on top of paying taxes.

    What we need is to hear of how the UPND or indeed NAREP would handle such agencies.

  9. You people have short memory. Is It not the same PF that said 10% fuel levy on motorists was making fuel expensive…..so why is PF defending fuel levy now. Shame………..PF thinks people are not alert.

  10. LT,,you keep on disappointing the masses you keep on giving us useless stories full of hatred. Give us more of that story of second hand vehicles where the government has been loosing huge amounts of money through a few selfish small people in those government offices.This was in the Post yesterday ,I used to question myself as to why council secretaries and the likes could be flying into UK and start the procurement?And the thugs could drink.

  11. Kabimba is lying. Firstly, the fuel levy collected by the ERB is not for any service
    Provided by the ERB. The strategic reserve fund is a tax on consumers and as such the constitution requires that such a tax be approved by Parliament. The story about delegation does not arise. Delegated power has to be exercised in accordance with the constitution. Kabimba is simply misleading the Nation. The fee collected by the ERB is collected illegaly and should be stopped.

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