Friday, March 29, 2024

Chipata Mayor calls for Bicycle levy re-introduction

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CHIPATA Mayor Sinoya Mwale has suggested that the collection of
bicycle levy should be re-introduced to assist enhance revenue
collection in the district.

Mr Mwale said that the re-introducing of the levy would benefit
Chipata District.
He explained that bicycle levy was introduced in Zambia during late
republican president Levy Mwanawasa’s reign adding that re-introducing
it would be a good idea.
Mr Mwale was speaking on Friday at a full council meeting in Chipata.

And Kanjala ward councillor William Phiri argued with the idea saying
the collection of the bicycle levy would not be fair to local people.

Meanwhile, civic leaders in Chipata have adopted a proposed K40
million for 2017 budget for Chipata Municipal Council.

This was after a tough debate among civic leaders during a full council meeting.

Some civic leaders observed that they were not given enough time to
study the budget.

And some civic leaders disagreed with a decision to allocate K540, 000
towards sports saying the money should be used for other developmental
projects because the council can easily get sponsorship for sports
from elsewhere.

But Mr Mwale said the Local Authority was behind time because the
budget has to be submitted to the Ministry of Local Government and
Housing soon.

He said that it was the mandate of the council to support sporting
activities adding that there was no need to divert funds allocated to
sports to other projects.

This left the civic leaders with no choice but to adopt the proposed
budget, which would now be submitted to the Ministry of Local
Government and Housing for approval.

 

17 COMMENTS

    • We are back to hut tax days of the colonialists. These councillors should have voted down the budget if they did not have enough time to scrutinise it or did not agree with it. Don’t approve anything under duress. It just shows that a very incompetent but manipulative executive is running the council.

    • WE ARE NOW NOT FAR TO THE POLL TAX OR COUNCIL TAX IN MODERN WORDS. THERE ARE THINGS WHICH ALL ZAMBIANS MUST ASERTIVELY REFUSE TO ACCEPT BY ANY GOVERNMENT WHETHER IT BE THE CURRENT PF GOVERNMENT OR ANY OTHER FUTURE GOVERNMENTS AND THESE ARE AS FOLLOWS: BICYCLE TAX; POLL TAX; MANDATORY/FORCED HOUSE INSURANCE; ALL FORMS OF DIRECT CHILD BENEFITS FOR SINGLE PARENTS THROUGH CHILD BEARING, OTHER THAN OTHER FUNDS SUCH AS CEEC,YOUTH BLAH BLAH BLAH; ENTICIMENT BENEFITS (such as money paid to people to stop smoking); THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS FOR MANUCIPAL COUNCILS WITH INNOVATIVE CITY/TOWN FATHERS TO MAKE MONEY.

  1. Of course it’s sensible at this time to divert the Sports budget because we are struggling economically, and that sports is for pleasure with health benefit, but one can walk or jog. Not a necessity. The Fuel price just went up, so people with bicycles are using common sense and being environmentally intelligent not to drive. Putting a Levy on bikes at this time while spending on unnecessary expenses is really OFFENSIVE. Thus Mayor needs a common sense check. It’s people exhibiting that kind of thinking that will make Lungu’s tenure in office extremely unpopular. ITS TIME TO TIGHTEN UP. No unnecessary leisure budgets.

    • A rare moment of sense from you @Patriot Abroad. The aloof approach to govt of Lungu, apart from his harassing HH, will indeed “make Lungu’s tenure in office extremely unpopular.” This is a well thought out prognosis of Lungu’s time in office!

  2. This chap is crap. He is the one who fought against this when Siwakwi was Town Clerk. I remember very well that he went behind Siwakwi. He went to meet Mwanawasa at night, The following day, Mwanawasa abolished the dog and bicycle levy. Now he is for this because he wants a source of money to steal from.

    Remember, you won the elections not because you were a better candidate, but that most Easterners voted for PF. Shame on You. There are plenty was of raising money. Take for example, how much money do marketeers pay in Kapata, Mchini, Magazine, Navutika,Saturday Market, down shops etc. Does the council account for this money or it goes into people’s pockets? We may have a broad resource base, but for as long as we do not account for the money, Zambia will never go forward. In one…

  3. In one country not far from Zambia, there is an express court for all public money thieves. The case takes a maximum of two days and you are locked up after being forced to pay. The ,minimum sentence is 6 months imprisonment with hard labour. Let PF and Edgar introduce this and we will have minimum theft of public funds. Zambia is very rich. There is enough for everyone, but some people are to greedy to let go what is supposed to go to others.

  4. Next jogging levy and those that are single but enjoying things that married person enjoy, pre-enjoyment levy

  5. Just find other means of revenue. Is the levy for owning a bicycle or for riding a bicycle on the road? And just why should you pay for riding a bicycle on the road? I don’t get it.

    • I understand that Chipata has the highest density of bicyclists in Zambia. This is the way of screwing anybody with money in site in the town. Most bikers cannot even use their bikes on these unsafe roads. What a rotten council that is mentally bankrupt.

  6. This is more than ridiculous. I’d rather live in a country without a government than to experience this. Bicycles keep people healthy and they are a green means of transport so they should be promoted by all means to avoid congestion in cities and to reduce healthy problems among citizens.

  7. Folly of the highest order…other countries are encouraging people to use bicycles not only for the benefits to the environment ie traffic decongestion but to ones health as well but this empty tin is doing the opposite…go to Netherlands and see what is happening there. How can you talk of a levy when you do not have dedicated bicycle lanes, parking bays, moreover countries that offer them dont even ask for a levy.

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