Friday, March 29, 2024

HH says high prices of goods due to lack of vision and bad leadership coming from State House

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President Lungu greets UPND president Hakainde Hichilema during the memorial service of the Late President Michael Chilufya Sata at St Ignatius Catholic Church in Lusaka
President Lungu greets UPND president Hakainde Hichilema during the memorial service of the Late President Michael Chilufya Sata at St Ignatius Catholic Church in Lusaka

United party for National Development (UPND) President Hakainde Hichilema has said that the unacceptable price rises under the Patriotic Front (PF) Government are hurting the majority of Zambia and are the result of a lack of vision and bad leadership coming from State House.

In a statement released to the media today, the UPND leader said that his party will bring down the prices by starting with a defined vision that will quickly be followed up with a number of targeted interventions.

Below is the full statement

OFFICIAL STATEMENT

Combating High Inflation – The UPND Way

The rate of inflation has risen from around 7% when President Lungu’s was elected to 21.1%. A rate we have not seen in Zambia for more than 10 years. This, in simple terms, means the fritters you used to buy for 50 ngwee are now being sold for K1.50. The unacceptable price rises under the PF are hurting the majority of our people and are the result of a lack of vision and bad leadership coming from State House. Mealie meal was 35 kwacha, now people are buying mealie meal for 100 kwacha a bag.

The negative impacts of this inflation range from increasing malnutrition, escalating inequality, and diminishing local business competitiveness.

There is a reason the UPND puts the economy and economic turnaround at the centre of our plans for the country. This is because a healthy, growing economy is the only sustainable source of wealth, jobs and funding for social services across the country.

So how would the UPND fix inflation? How can we bring down the cost of living in Zambia? Our response to such a challenge starts with a defined vision that will quickly be followed up with a number of targeted interventions.

We would first inform our solution by taking a closer look at the driving factors. In this case food price increases are a big part of the picture and here there is a lot of scope for making changes that will feed through into lower inflation and reduced prices.

One of our first interventions would be targeted at increasing productivity, so that each farmer is able to produce more output at a lower unit cost. Interventions would include enhanced input distribution, reintroduction of farming training centres and the provision of extension services for both livestock and crops. It is scientifically proven that some varieties of maize can produce 10 tons per hectare (200 bags of 50kg maize) against the national average of 2.3 tons (46 bags) a hectare for the same amount of inputs. The other important aspect is eliminating wastage. Under the PF prices have often needlessly risen when ton upon ton of maize has gone to waste. In fact, under the PF in 2012/2013 alone the amount of FRA maize spoilage was estimated to be 32%, which equates to some US$450 million.

We would also prioritise the promotion of value-addition industries. Not only would this contribute to growth, raise revenues and create jobs, but producing goods locally such as canned fish and cereals would reduce our reliance on imports and reduce inflationary pressures. Actually Zambia would be an exporter of finished and not raw products. This will create jobs and more revenue for Government through VAT and Pay As You Earn (PAYE) due to increased employment and better salaries and conditions of service.

These are just two examples of interventions that would bring multiple benefits, including a downward pressure on prices. For success there must be vision followed by action, but for now we continue to see little evidence of either.

Hakainde Hichilema
UPND President

26 COMMENTS

  1. HH has spelt out exactly some of the solutions for combating inflationary price rises affecting food and commodities prices.

    This a simple and straight forward pragmatic solutions ,but PF can not do it because its members’s priority is to enrich themselves first before thinking of implementing sensible solutions to help the people who voted for them.

    • These things are very workable the problem with Pf is that they have concentrated so much on petty things n their main focus is winning an election but the problem is it might be too late for them to implement these policies wen they win an election cos it’s not all roses for them

    • OMG Kalanga !!!
      And this is the problem with you guys in PF, when people say you are shortsighted and you dont see in the future, this is it.
      HH is outlining a strategic plan / vision and you are talking about tactical or implementation stuff. Do you think if he talks about improving agriculture, he will not consider irrigation? What type of thinking is this? arguing for the sake of arguing.
      Ata, kabiye uko.

    • @ General Kanene there are many more who think like Kalanga and what you say will not even help to open their eyes a bit wider or help them improve their understanding

  2. President HH. Have you forgotten you EC110? Inflation is monetary problem which requires a monetary solution. The 21per cent rate of inflation was not caused by low productivity but by what everyone knows by now depreciating kwacha. for example the cost of maize ( farm gate price) remained the same so whether you increase productivity or not that will not change as the price is set by GRZ.

    Your second solution Sir of creating employment does not reduce inflation but actually increases it because as the economy to full employment there will be a lot demand and according to demand and supply dynamics, the goods that are high in demand will see an upward increase in prices thereby creating inflationary pressures.
    Sir, go back to first year and read about inflation and its causes.

    • Inflation is too much money chasing after too few goods and services. In such a scenario, prices go up since there’s too much demand for few goods and services. High production reverses inflation by having too much goods and services with little money or demand for them going down. You might want to revisit your source of understanding inflation.

    • @Kumwitu. HH doesnt need to go anywhere. You on the other hand, need to go back to grade one to learn what education is all about not this parroting you have been doing at UNZA
      You have failed to explain how this inflation is a “monetary problem” for laymen like me to understand. You contradict yourself by saying, the maize price is fixed by GRZ, which can be affected by “monetary inflation” but not by “productivity inflation”.HH has clearly explained I do not need to repeat. Please read again!!
      The second solution HH has offered is NOT creating employment but value addition and reduction of imports leading to a mitigating of your “monetary” problem cause of inflation. Employment is one of the multiple benefits of the above among many others. This type of inflation caused by…

  3. Even my grandmother knows those text book solutions hh is lambwazing about! I laugh at hh, he thinks when he posts bookwish sample he is the only learned man in Zambia. That’s cheap economics for grade 2’s like abena Wanzelu. Zambia is on the right track to balance technocrats from a certain region who have bn frustrating the growth of the country by their purpoted hegemony.

  4. Thought agriculture produce can be exported which in turn will brings forex that will ease depreciation of the kwacha which according to you will ease inflation. Then its only the maize & rice price that is fixed by grz, they don’t do that for soya, beef, pork which also are agriculture produce. But then I don’t know what EC110 is. Just thinking.

  5. Ntaulu,
    That is a Grade 9 definition of inflation and not EC110. Is that how your economics lecturer defined inflation? I said inflation is a monetary variable that is why everywhere in the world it falls under the ambit of central banks.
    Secondly productivity is very different from production. HH was talking about the former and my response is about the former.
    Kindly read and then you can make an informed contribution.

    • Causes of Inflation
      Economists wake up in the morning hoping for a chance to debate the causes of inflation. There is no one cause that’s universally agreed upon, but at least two theories are generally accepted:

      Demand-Pull Inflation – This theory can be summarized as “too much money chasing too few goods”. In other words, if demand is growing faster than supply, prices will increase. This usually occurs in growing economies.
      Cost-Push Inflation – When companies’ costs go up, they need to increase prices to maintain their profit margins. Increased costs can include things such as wages, taxes, or increased costs of imports.
      Both types lead to high demand for goods and services with fewer availability of the same.

  6. And when is the time frame for the country to return to economic boom which the Supreme Leader HH has tied…or is it easier said than done…

    • The 4 Years PF have been in power is enough to lay strong foundations for the economy to resist external shocks and to go into production. Unless you only think of spending and stealing you will have no attinability.

  7. Victor Urs Is Just Opposing When Will U Learn To Apretiate Sence? When H H Says Sence U Call Him Supream leader Learn To Listen /Read Otherwise U Will Findout That U A The One Dreaming Ok

  8. The god of some region has spoken. Well said supreme leader. May we all rise up and shout “All hail the king and supreme leader of our region for he is the alpha and omega of knowledge.”

  9. The time HH you were selling our mines you did not have vision that Zambians will suffer for this action.
    Zambians especially ,us in Copperbelt people will never forgive you. Stop pretending like good man , you have killed us.

  10. Again HH? We know those things ba HH Underfive, what can you teach or is it cheat us?
    Ati: “……We would first inform our solution by taking a closer look at the driving factors……”.
    So he does not even know those driving factors? What if he found that the driving factors are beyond his ability to solve, e.g. falling prices of copper on the world market, poor rainfall and drying hydro power dams and power deficit?
    By the way, do you agree with what your running mate Dr Canissius Banda claimed that when you HH come into power all the retrenched miners will be reinstated? Are you also worried like your Lifwekelo about the Grade 12 Clause? To me it’s clear that uPMD leaders neither read nor understand anything. If the solutions to our economic challenges were that simple, surely…

  11. To me it’s clear that uPMD leaders neither read nor understand anything. If the solutions to our economic challenges were that simple, surely does HH think that all those sharp economic brains in government like Dr Kalyalya etc are no match to HH?

  12. I thought that HH started off very well as a potential breath of fresh air in our economic set up and governance. Someone who would bring a new way of doing things. I actually supported him then for I saw some sense in him. But boy was I wrong!
    The HH we see now is just like the usual failed and recycled Grade Seven kind of Zambian political material. All in a desperate effort to assume power, he has reduced himself to thinking and acting like he has seen the inside of university. Even Hon Chishimba now sounds smarter, which is why during the Sunday Interview he suggested that if HH indeed has an economics qualification, then he needs to go back to kindergarten. Absolutely true and well stated!

  13. Correction:
    All in a desperate effort to assume power, he has reduced himself to thinking and acting like he has NEVER seen the inside of university. Even Hon Chishimba now sounds smarter, which is why during the Sunday Interview he suggested that if HH indeed has an economics qualification, then he needs to go back to kindergarten. Absolutely true and well stated!

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