Government releases update on usage of the $750 million Eurobond

1. You have a lot of issues to deal with if people have to benefit from this money. To start with you did not borrow the right way in that you borrowed and later decided what to do with the money. The right way is find what you want to do, cost it and then go and borrow the exact amount. I will leave that for later.

   Here are some of the issues:

   1. Misapplication of of billions of funds has been reported in the AG report and nothing is being done to correct it. That tells me its not a problem of availability of resources but application.

   2. Corruption is still rampant and no one is suggesting new controls or any measures to counter that. So isn’t it reasonable for someone to suggest that big percentage of this money though correctly allocated and released will end in people’s…

   • Looking at this report, and if one studies it with a Hawk eye, you will notice the transparency and exquisite care the way the money has been sent.

     This goes to prove the good work this government has embarked on and their goals are within reach I also notice their braveness in showing these expenditure shows their willingness for us to trust them.

     Please give credit where it is due, this is fantastic and we should all wish this transparency continues and they continue their good work.

     I am impressed, and I hope you are.

     Thanks

   • What a beautiful fabrication! Good luck knowing the real truth!

   • You Mushota, typical African, what hawk eye ?
     Zesco is the only supplier of malyti in Zambia, and they too are borrowing millions of dollars for expansion and rehabilitation, why should they get more manee from GRZ ??? this is where they steal, by double borrowing and double allocating. With *****s like you who think they know all with out looking at the whole picture ,can you blame them ?

   • This report does nothing to soothe the suffering of the people who are facing an increasing cost of living.

     The good news people expect is that of Mealimeal and fuel price reduction. All these dressage is nothing to a family in matero, chawama, bwacha etc.

     It is evident that this report has been cooked to give PF minions some hope that PF is not misapplying and stealing the funds.

     So far it seems the government raised no revenue domestically in 2 years. Most of their spending was funded by the borrowed money. Or they stole most of the money raised domestically and decided to rely on borrowed money.

     On salaries if what he is saying is true then why do civil servants continue to face salary delays.

     My analysis of this report confirms that its all BUFI.

     Sata + PF = BUFI

   • Mishota, transparency is not the same as accountability. If you we borrowed cash & u gave me K500 and I told used it to buy 4 crates of Mosi. I may be transparent but not accountable. Simple, bcoz how will 4 crates of beer repay the K500 borrowed cash? Rephrased: L ook at ZR section; how will $120m given to ZR be repaid if all we are told is 4,000 jobs created rather than “measurable” deliverables that have been obtained (such as 10 locomotive engines) with each potential to carry 40 wagons = 40 trucks per day?

   • @ Mushota you are really an assho!e.

   • Secretary to the Bond!
     We have very little to show on the ground equivalent to what has been spent.
     What we have on the ground however is cadres and their newly formed companies amassing wealth at an astronomical rate!
     Judgement day is fast approaching for you guys and you may not live to enjoy ill-gotten wealth.
     For stolen water is sweet indeed but it leaves the mouth full of gravel!

   • Something is wrong here, it seems this economy is all about the Euro bond (kaloba). How can a govt be proud of borrowing? It would be great to give us audited accounts of the said projects and a list of company names having contracts with corresponding names of directors and shareholders. Then we can judge is this is benefit a lot of people equally across board and not just another scheme to benefit people with correct names…

   • From the USD750 ($750) only USD734 ($734) and $16 million is not indicated whether its still there or not. But if it is still there why start using the $1 billion before finishing the first Euro bond. Something is smelling here. Let this report be redone or edited and otherwise CNP and Chumbu Mushololwa and family will pay using their noses.

   • Out of the above disbursements of funds, I can only agree with the modernisation of power generation infrastructure and expansion of output. With this at least you are guaranteed an ROI, in the medium to long term.

     @ Mushota, your claimed qualifications such as MBA should have taught you to critically analyse things and not just take whatever you are told at face value. There’s always something more than meets the eye.

   • If you do not under even little economics it is better to remain silent than mislead the masses.

2. @ euro.
   Euro, ka? Fifty years down the road and you are still bedded?

   • Cosmetic gymanastics. This borrowed Kaloba has but been stolen.

     Zondwa realised he had nothing to show except 7 guys, a Cressida and Countless Children for the 50 years he has been in Government and came up with a Plan to STEAL.

     A bunch of thieves that will pay dearly soon.

   • 7 Guns I meant

3. what! You borrowed money to pay us salaries? Borrowing money for consumption as a Nation! People get serious even just a bit….

   • This how you people fail simple exams. You don’t read the whole sentence and start answering. The salaries were released from locally generated income! Yaba katwishi ngabukopo nangu nibu cadre! Ama dunder heads nayena yalechonga.

4. This Quack called “mushota” is at it again. From the dislikes you get, your thick skull should be able to determine that yo comments are very irrelevant. It only shows tht common sense isnt common after all.

   • Today Mushota is a quack simply because her views are totally opposite to yours. This is a democracy bwana. Just concentrate on what you will do for the people if voted and not insulting the Govt that is refurbishing the lost country. If PF brings down the price of mealie meal, you will all collapse.

5. Tone down ur language mushota if anything knows better Zambia is at ruins, its a disaster ciuntey me en women, the only thing u luck is a ci situation, kk,Chiluba , Mwanawasa , Banda and now Sata have all failed ciz the country lucks, the right constitution. HH, Mumba, Chipimo haven’t got answers to police, Ratsa, ERB, zesco, agriculture, health, manifucture, and education reforms. Constitution first.

6. reading this in diaspora things Zambia shall be better in 20 years time (key sectors = energy and transport)
   what am not sure how ar things on the ground. could they agree with this report

7. If this accurate then the pf is investing sensibly esp in the energy sector, the only problem is I don’t have a sense of trust in this government. Close to half of the mani invested in the road sector was used to repay a loan, this is evidence that using borrowed mani for construction of roads is a bad idea. The allocation to the energy sector should be alot more, we can export that energy. I have seen alot from Zambia Railways, seems they have bought new cars and cleaned up the place, not busy transporting goods.

   • He can say this on paper but when go through this this data with a fine tooth comb you will find that there is alot of single sourcing of contracts, misappropriation, wastage. ….which is no different to stealing.
     I mean can they give us the names of 32 companies that won those contracts.

   • *32 companies at ZRL. ..

8. Another piece of evidence this Government is broke. How on earth Government paying civil servant on borrowed money ?.

   • I think generated revenue isn’t the same as borrowed funds.

   • Another blind cadre

9. @Mushota
   You are so gullible. You call this transparency. What proof this is how it was allocated let alone utilized. I am not impressed because I know this is meant to hoodwink weak souls who lack analytical skills. They say the devil is in the details and for sure you will see that this is just a cadre enriching scheme. Time alone will tell.

   • Do you have any evidence to contrary? Budgetary Allocation and how the money is finally spent/utilized are two separate issues. And I don’t think that’s the Finance ministers job to tabulate how the money was ultimately spent at say ministerial, provincial, district, or local level. We have Govt bureaucrats at these levels we should be asking these questions. A good start would be the Member of Parliament for your constituency. If he/she doesn’t know how this money (euro bond) was spent, time to fire them at the next elections.

     These are the issues MPs should be spending their time on. It is what they were sent to parliament for. Not to go and stage walk-outs when their egos are bruised. In fact, I agree with @Mushoto, compared to previous Govts, this is a refreshing change!

   • Go and get evidence yourself man of little faith.

10. We must think of this situation like this: the projects on which this money is being spent will help move our economic performance to a higher level, such that in 2022 and 2024 at repayment we shall not fail. So, is it true that energy and transport investments will help improve Zambia’s economy? Definately yes. In Luapula province, it is not possible to put up major processing or manufacturing industries due to low voltage. But if this can improve, then we may see a sugar factory, mango juice making, mansa batteries, oil palm converted into palm oil in Luapula. Why not when we should have educated and healthy Zambians as we are building more schools/ universities, improving/building hospitals? Roads for opening up our countryside for commerce, trade, tourism and investment? Railways?…

11. BRAZIL today IS in turmoil with protests over the massive expenditure on FIFA at the expense of improving the country’s infrastructure.

    This government, our government, has its priorities right. They have ‘plans’ after all.

12. There are a lot of terribly horrible doomsayer bloggers on here. We must tell geography through engineering that Zambia is not land-locked but land-linked! We must also improve our agriculture by mechanising! The handhoe and human labour will never take us to another station. Our land tenure system also needs radical change. We need to empower our people with land! Of course in an orderly way with physical planning. I personally do not personally see the importance of chiefs apart from conforming to tradition and political expedience. Chiefs have no civic role whatsoever in terms of public health and cleanliness in villages. They have lost their relevance, save for dispensing justice over village adultery cases and charging chickens and goats.

13. Good evening

    Thanks you fort availing us this very important update LT.

    Government expenditure is not an easy nut to crack anywhere in the world. There will always be criticism from every angle and constituency in the country no matter how the money is handled. Even here in Germany where coffers are bursting with surplus and unemployment is almost non-existent, there are citizens who are constantly complaining about the financial politics of the government.

    Moral: the ears of a driver will take in many words concerning his way of driving but it is only when he keeps his eyes on the road and his foot on the pedal that he can reach his destination.

    • Zoona muliku Germany. here things r bad. Zambia railways they are reporting about is an experiment. its has so far proved not to be reliable copper transporters and other bulk transporters are shunning it. Even government it self shunned it to transport fertilizer last year and this year.to cut the story short the minister of community development visited her constituency she was seen on ZNBC TV telling her subjects in a water logged area where the people were pleading for loans for seed of rice. Then she responded that we will also give you seed for maize and sweet potatoes.Then the children laughed at her.

    • @mpombo, surely it is only logical to expect any rail system (anywhere in the world) to be unreliable after almost two decades of neglect, don’t you think so!? And when did rehabilitations works on ZR begin again? Please let us not try to run ahead of ourselves here—first thing first!

14. So.. from the $750 million $734 million has been ‘used’ but where’s the remaining 16 million. In any case, this is some bogus figures, we gotta be stupid to believe this as fact when there is no equivalent, tangible evidence.

    • Evidence like what? A “Kafue Gorge Lower Power Project” in less than a year of acquiring the bond? Yeah, yeah, yeah, ama politics are making a lot of Zambians d@mn, really!

    • Haven’t you ever heard of charges? Loans come with charges and so that 16 million you are asking about is part of the charges that came with the bond.

15. This is how they steal, didn’t zesco also borrow manee for the same projects ? and also Zesco has billions, the are the sole suppliers of expensive electricity in Zambia, where is their billions ?

    • And why do Zambia experience POWER CUTS/OUTAGES if ZESCO has billions to play around with? Do you realize that Zambia has always had a POWER DEFICIT since Zambia has been in existence? This is the reason why the Zambian Govt is now contemplating importing electricity from Botswana—to compensate for the deficit while local capacity is being boosted.

      By the way, the reason why electricity in Zambia is expensive is because it is always in short supply. And every time a commodity is in short supply, the economic laws of supply and demand come into play—and usually prices go up! Also the power distribution infrastructure is not adequate nor modern enough to supply cheap electricity to consumers. These are some of the issues the EURO BOND MONEY is targeting to address at ZESCO.

    • Do we know why there is a constant shortage? Here are the facts: the installed energy supply approx is 1985MW; total demands 2000MW giving a 200MW deficit. according to ZESCO (Newsletter- 2013)“Currently, the national demand of power is far above 1,780 MW at peak; however, ZESCO has the capacity to generate around 1700MW giving a power deficit of about 165 mw at peak time which leads to load management.” The cry is not against the use of money to improve/increase electricity generation but that lack of smartly managed investment. Electricity in Zambia is actually cheaper than most countries in Africa BTW; it’s more of a corrupted supply network and ill managed utility with too much Gov. interference.

16. There are lots of discrepancy as most of the
    Projects have been omitted eg construction of
    Of the second retirement mansion off Kafue Road
    Dora and team allowance to keep up with their campaign
    And many more.

17. @Yambayamba the cost of the Lower Zambezi project is US$2b, the $186 billion could have been used to repair the existing Kariba dam facility which is in need of repair of assets at the existing 6 plants. Don’t gloss over details in favour of impure data that again, has no tangible structure. With the junk status rating by Fitch and S&P means that the value of this loan has reduced in value to about $US600 thusly affecting current projections. The $16US Mil are not fees, those are charged in the the repayment costs (hence the $US42 annual repayment till 2022). There is still no concrete sustainability plan, other than the over reliance on copper. The current effort is lopsided and haphazard at best.

18. Please be results oriented and tell us what you have achieved with the money not this rubbish report you are giving us.We are not all cadres whose reasoning is in the belly.

19. Only foolish people like yambayamba, dull Mushota believe such a report, if this bond was wisely spend then our economy should have responded favorably which is not the case, audit reports carried out so far showed a lot of discrepancies, unbudgeted expenditure. This report is supposed to be backed up with real results otherwise we are
    deceiving ourselves with a feel good report that doesn’t translate into real results, the economy is a good way to measure if it’s a success or not, unfortunately the economy is telling us something is wrong somewhere.

20. Civil servants get worried you will soon go without salaries once the eurobond is finished. These are signs of failure, Iam sure we can get paid from local taxi generation. Please manage our resources well. You have over committed yourselves unnecessarily.

    I am really concerned

21. Meanwhile, from domestically generated revenues, the Ministry of Finance last Friday released K168 Million grants to various institutions of government to facilitate their operations and efficient programme implementation. The Treasury has also released K84 Million for road maintenance, rehabilitation, and construction. K20.7 Million was released to the Ministry of Local Government and Housing for water and sanitation programmes.

    A further K166 Million was released for salaries for civil servants in various government institutions, compensation and awards, and for emoluments for personnel in Zambia’s Missions Abroad. Consistent with government’s objective of strengthening cash and treasury management, all civil servants salaries are on the Direct-Debit and Credit Clearing [DDAC] System…

22. All this borrowing you guys are doing is like pouring money into a leaking bucket. Look at the AG’s report and prosecute somebody! Isnt that why we have abuse of office laws? Every day government workers are stealing. Its like I pay taxes to fund a bunch of theives and then to make things worse they go and kongola kaloba on my behalf so that they can party on my behalf. One is not amused. Bu kabwalala ba GRZ muleke!

23. PF GOVERNMENT IS INDEED MAKING POSITIVE CHANGE IN ZAMBIA AND WILL CONTINUE RULING US BEYOND 2016

24. I WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE THE TREASURY FOR BEING BRAVE TO GIVE US A TABULATION OF HOW THE USD750MILLION IS BEING SPENT. IF THEY ARE LYING AT LEAST THEY ARE GIVING US A CLUE WHERE TO CHECK THEM WHEN DOOMS DAY COMES

25. The state of affairs is scaring indeed. Is it true maybe cizungu chanipita do we borrow to pay workers? If in any case we fail to pay back and are black listed from borrowing what will happen to the workers in this country? Where does money from copper, revenue authority, tourism natural resources go if we cannot even afford to pay our workers. Whoever is miss using which ever money for this country should be audited make sure he/she pays the price for this mismanagement since when did Zambia face such economical hardships? Do we want to leave credits to our future generations or what do we want?

26. @ simonmfula. You are just looking for a job from PF. We have shared all the jobs. Wait for 2016.

27. leave simonmfula alone! He has every right to say what he has observed! The problem with blogs in zambia is you want every one to think the gvnt is not working! Lets give chance to every1 regardless of which political party they like!

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