This is confusion!

The things that are happening in our governance system indicate that we have confusion in our midst. Many times I think that our leaders must be very happy that our people don’t have a reading culture and that we actually forget very fast. If we had the character of reading and holding our leaders accountable, am sure by now the ordinary citizens could have stated asking some difficult questions. Yes some people are beginning to sense danger but only talk when under the blankets due to paranoia.

I have spent the last few weeks observing and trying to understand where we are going as a nation. My feeling is that one can’t tell whether we are going forward, backwards or sideways. The only thing I know for sure is that our head of state is being told a lot of lies by those close to him or he himself is not interested in sorting out the mess we found ourselves in.

[pullquote]The only thing I know for sure is that our head of state is being told a lot of lies[/pullquote]

Just a reminder, currently every Zambian citizen owes the international lending institutions that provided us with the loans approximately 800 USD (ZMK 8,000) through the debt we have accrued in the last four years or so. We are expected to start paying back this debt in 2022, meaning that as we are ‘pretending’ to be feeling the pressure now, we may only be able to feel the real heat starting from 2022 and beyond. The problem our country is faced with therefore is not a small matter that our MPs will just laugh and joke about in parliament.

When opening parliament, the president stated as I quote “Our efforts to move the economy from its current heavy dependence on copper, to one based on agriculture, livestock and fisheries and their entire value chain will continue in a more robust manner”. This statement means that as a country we will put our focus on improving and strengthening the country’s agriculture sector. Many people including some senior citizens have argued that Hon. Dora Siliya is better suited to be the minister of agriculture. Their logic I don’t understand.

I find it strange that after making such a powerful statement regarding making Zambia a food basket, the president went ahead and appointed Hon. Siliya as minister of Agriculture. This is someone who does not even understand whether ZAMBEEF keeps cattle or not. For heaven’s sake we are talking about a person who won’t dare step in the mud with her high heeled ‘skuna’ and yet we put her in charge of the dustiest ministry and expect that she will perform miracles. Did we really have a shortage of individuals who can man that ministry properly? Am I wrong to suggest that it is a contradiction to think that we can make the agriculture sector the backbone of our economy and yet we get a minster who I believe is better suited under ‘pencil’ ministries?

“My government will continue to undertake austerity measures to stabilise the macro economic situation and build greater investor confidence. Further, we will ensure that our macro-economic policies are consistent and predictable, to enable the public and private sector plan effectively in the medium and long-term”. This is a direct quotation from the speech the president presented to parliament.

The term ‘Austerity measures’ refer to official actions taken by the government during a period of adverse economic conditions, to reduce its budget deficit using a combination of spending cuts and or tax rises. With this pronouncement, the president went ahead and created four (4) more ministries, an indication that he either did not understand what he meant by ‘austerity measures’ or such pronouncement was just another political rhetoric. Creating new ministries does not show signs of seriousness by government to reduce government expenditure as stated by the president himself and the Minister of Finance. At a time like this unfortunately it becomes very difficult to believe what our leaders say.

Almost two (2) weeks ago, the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) announced a sharp rise in fuel prices. Petrol increased to K13.70 from K9.87 while diesel was increased to K11.40 from K8.59. The ERB attributed the upward adjustments to the volatility of the kwacha which has fallen by 30 percent against the US dollar since the last price adjustment was announced in July 2015. On the other hand, government stated that the increase of fuel was as a result of the removal of subsidies. So far we don’t know who is telling the truth and who is lying, all we all is that the price of fuel increased and the ministers got more money in their pockets through their fuel allowances. The increase is despite government signing a very good oil deal with Saudi Arabia, a deal that was initially going to drop the price of fuel to at least K 5.5 per litre. Such is life and I believe we better get used and get going.

Before the August elections, load shedding reduced and even ended in most parts of the country on the premise that Maamba Collieries had started the generation of about 150 MW electricity. A statement was made to this effect on July 25 2016 indicating that load shedding was going to be the thing of the past by December 2016. Again this must have just been another statement since the exact opposite is now happening. We have more load shedding and no one is issuing a long statement to tell us whether Maamba Collieries plant has collapsed or we have new challenges in the energy sector altogether.

Good governance with good intentions must be the hallmark of the government. Implementation of policies with integrity should be the core passion of our leadership. The fact that we are going through a crisis is an opportunity for Zambia to be more coordinated and more integrated. There never is a good time for tough decisions. There will always be an election or something else happening that prevents politicians from making the right decisions. President Lungu must therefore pick courage and do the right thing. He must stop listening from those telling him ‘Boss’ things are okay because things are not okay, our people are suffering in the communities. Governance is about taking tough and sometimes even unpopular decisions. We don’t need a bloated cabinet when the country is going through real hardships. This is no time to please everyone but time to do the right things and shake up the heads.

If the president does not change his style of conducting business then this country is headed nowhere. There is real need to show leadership and President Lungu must surely rise up and be that leader. Not what we are seeing. I call the status quo ‘CONFUSION’

God Bless Zambia.

By David Kapoma