For Immediate Release,
21st April 2015.
FDD RESPONDS TO CABINET’S CHANGES TO THE 2015 MINING TAX REGIME: the 2014/2015 BUDGET HAS COLLAPSED.
The 2014/2015 National Budget has collapsed and we call upon the Minister of Finance to immediately present an Emergency Budget to Parliament. The reversal of the mining tax regime mid-way after the presentation of the National Budget is an indication that the country is running without a Budget.
In the last six months we as FDD have consistently been advising our colleagues in the PF Government to widely consult all relevant stakeholders and come up with a win- win situation for both the Zambian people and the mine owners. We have equally belabored the point that my brother, Hon. Alexander Chikwanda was not the right person to head the Ministry of Finance but as usual our humble advice has been met with insults and insolence.
Hon. Chikwanda does not listen to anyone’s advice, be it the President, his staff, the World Bank or any other stakeholder such as the opposition political parties. Even his own secretary to the cabinet Mr. Fredson Yamba has admitted that this lack of consultation has resulted into serious inconsistencies in the governments’ policy pronouncements and implementation.
The reason Mr. Chikwanda is still Minister of Finance is only known to the appointing authority because as far as performance is concerned my elder brother Alexander Chikwanda has been a disaster. Surely, Zambia has no shortage of capable men and women who can effectively preside over the Ministry of Finance.
This merry- go- round policy implementation is seriously hurting our economy and has calamitous effects on the National Budget. No investor is willing to invest in a country whose policies are not consistent and predictable.
It is clear that Hon. Chikwanda’s intentions were to run the mines aground so that he could later sell them to his preferred bidders. But in the process the Minister has brought the whole country down to its knees.
For three years running, Hon. Chikwanda has failed to manage a single budget. He claimed the 2012/2013 National Budget was not his, it was the MMD Budget; He based the 2013/2014 Budget and now the 2014/2015 Budget has collapsed.
The collapse of the 2014/2015 Budget is not an indictment on Hon. Chikwanda alone but the entire Patriotic Front Government. This is testimony that the PF lack the necessary leadership tools to manage our economy.
The PF government lacks the intellectual disposition and a clear sense of judgment needed to run a country.
We want to reiterate that consultation and listening to advice are key to successful leadership. Umwana ushumfwa aile na mafi kubuko.
Issued by:
Edith Z Nawakwi,
President,
Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD)
Nawakwi,,,,very good at talking.Her time as finance minister was a disaster.Zambian coffers ran empty….our currency was free flow.She ended up selling the mines cheaply to fill the empty confers.
You are a wrong woman to comment on money issues.You sold this country……….now we are suffering..
I thought the response was to detail whether the mine tax changes made, the thing Nawakwi has been urging all along, is good or bad. But, alas, what I see here is a discussion on Chikwanda and his BIG HEADEDNESS (as Nawakwi sees it.)
For God’s sakes, isn’t it Nawakwi who has been on Edgar Lungu/PF’s throat on this issue? Now the Govt is a “Umwana ushumfwa aile na mafi kubuko” after listening and responding to people like her and HH’s concerns? One would have thought that by this action alone the Govt of Edgar Lungu has shown exemplary responsiveness to people’s concerns.
Worse still, Nawakwi has not even attempted to analyze whether the new 9% is the correct rate or not. If so why or why not. Instead she simply launches into attacks on PF & Hon Chikwanda. Go figure!
Is it a typo or you mean what you said as umwana ashenda aile namafi kubuko.
Edith you have spoiled yo good article by ending with a bemba proverb which sounds like you re insulting the elders.
I thought she was going to talk about technical issues, but alas she went to attack Chikwanda!
Two things which were not budgeted for happened which swallowed up the a lot of money in our coffers.
1. Satas funeral
2. Presidential by elections.
And to add other one the fall in copper prices Which largerly contributed to the disturbance to our nation budget.
If your reasoning is centred around these issues then you can be a good economic commentator. These are the challenges that PF is busy sorting out not what everyone of you is yapping about.
How much was the cost of the presidential by elections? I know the international community contributed 3.9 million USD. At 8% mineral royalty tax, mines still contributed a large percentage of the GDP. Now a hike of 12%,surely this should mean the contribution was meant to be even larger. I still think the reversal has a greater impact than what you have outlined. Unless the pf used government coffers to fund campaigns..
@Sponge bob
I hear what you’re saying, but that is no excuse given a fact that what you have mentioned could have been avoided in the first place.
Had the pf government given the Zambian people a constitution as per 2011 campaigns, the issue of presidential by-election would have been avoided.
If Sata wasn’t as selfish and self-centered as he was, he would have stepped down on medical ground thus saving this country expensive medical bills and state funeral.
If pf government had a vision when they took over from mmd, they would have tried to diversify the economy instead of relying heavily on copper.
All I have to say is that the government lacks vision as well as political will.
What is wrong with this woman? She yaps without thinking. Which diversification did she do when she was Minister of Finance under MMD govt?
Which budget has collapsed? The govt took time to react and took care of all her imaginary fears here.
Why do you hate Chikwanda so much? He may not be the best, but he is more mature than you- a Husband grabber.
PLEASE GIVE US A BREAK!
Without data,PF cadres want pipo to believe that madam Nawakwi’s reign at MOF was a disaster,that’s not true.Go to the PRO and get data that will show you that HIPC discussion where handled by this lady at the most important stage.Dont argue without data.
ba nawakwi ala insoni ebuntu!! you had your time as minister of finance and chikwanda has performed far much better than you did….fact. you have no moral obligation to comment on the budget. you and your boyfriend chiluba presided over the worst govt in zambia. Please spare yourself from shame.
The Budget is need of adjustment. The reason for this exceptional measure is external shock to which Mining Tax is also added. This challenge is surmountable. Supplementary expenditure or not, a Budget can within legal parameters be adjusted in response to fundamentals.
…what Edith is trying to say is that there are so many factors to the economic doldrums we may be facing but the biggest culprit in this equation is ABC…..morally, ABC should have resigned ages ago to avoid the embarrassment of being fired….Edgar steel feels as a junior to ABC hence the hesitance out of respect he has for him not to fire him…..the 2011 campaign funding from ABC still dictates….that’s how difficult it was for the late to get rid of GBM…..
…where on earth has the decisions of the Finance minister been reversed the number of times like we have witnessed on ABC…??…SI 33, 55….decision to allow mines to export raw material(concentrates)…now this mine tax…..what other reasons would one need to resign…??….
@ Nawakwi: You are trying to copy HH in the recent constructive financial statement he offered the govt but you entered the scene unprepared. You have cast your net so wide in issues you can’t substantiate and finally lost relevance thereby becoming too personal upon the minister. What consultations are you asking for? You could have offered your ‘alternative leadership’ in your statement if really you had any but oops! Your recent one-on-one attacks on individuals including Lungu bring doubt in your scincerity in your statement. Drop this personal differences and remember that your past record in the govt is still fresh in Zambians’ memories before you declare yourself as a SAINT. Learn to walk the talk, your scorecard is below average. Stop imaginary wars that you can’t win…