Lusaka Mayor Wilson Kalumba has proposed the introduction of a Street Lighting Levy that will help light out streets in the capital city.
Mr. Kalumba who recently proposed the introduction of a Garbage Fee that he now plans to introduce Street lighting levy to be collected through ZESCO top ups.
He said this levy will fund the cost of installing Street lights and pay for ZESCO units every month.
Mr. Kalumba recalled that Lusaka City Council currently spends K50,000 on buying electricity tariffs.
“Everyone benefits from street lighting especially that it improves security and safety. Depending on amounts raised LCC will be able to install Street lights in many areas of our city,” Mr. Kalumba said.
The Lusaka Mayor said Lusaka is too dark adding that his plan is to have residents pay the levy when they purchase electricity.
“I trust that you will support this plan. Each service provided must pay for itself. This will allow our residents to see how we are using the funds raised,” he said.
Go Lusaka! I am proud of this working government! Wina Hazaluza Hagain!
very dull mayor,why cant the city use solar panel system to light up the streets ,this will enable zesco to meet some of its residential electricity shortfall.whats wrong with zambia kanshi,everything is dunduna reverse sure.
The Mayor should tell us how much they are collecting from the vendors. These guys are making a lot of money on the street otherwise they would have left. They produce the most litter but pay nothing to keep the streets clean? He is using Kaponya tactics to raise funds for the council. A bus ride to Chelston has 6 pay stations of Kaponyas collecting money from the conductors. This is the approach the mayor is advocating. I am not surprised considering the party he represents. It’s better to sit quietly and wait to be voted out than to announce such absurd plans. This is a complete failure.
This guy is very dull. Mrs. Mwanawasa would have made a better Mayor.
This collection of fees through other services is illegal and should stop. Even paying TV levy through zesco is illegal constitutionally.
Come on Ba Mayor. The man in the street is in mortal haemerrage with the increased electricity tariffs and you now want to bleed him some more with more levys. Unbelievable.
we pay taxes for such projects.here in the usa,we pay federal ,state,county taxes and this money is put to good use as evidenced in many residential and cities.zambia should introduce provincial taxes which should vary % by province urgent needs.lusaka has alot of structures(houses) which the city should update to collect the much needed cash,but the main problem is that managers and directors at council gets alot of money in excess of k100,000 per director per month.cut wastefull expenditures and redirect the resources to such issues as gabarge and lighting system.next it will be planning to charge those who are married to meet blabla…
” next it will be planning to charge those who are married to meet blabla… ” kikikikikiki
The difference is that in USA there is accountability. Here we are being told to contribute more but the council is not declaring what they are using the collected revenue on. For instance, i hear Lusaka city market alone collects about K50,000 daily from levies. The question is, what is this money spent on?
Bwana mayor chill mate cool it. you are trying too hard to prove yourself to the powers to be; lol talk time chewed now for lights? lol what next for wearing four cornered shoes and platforms and stilletos? lol
This is a very good initiative Mr Mayor. We should stop this habit of enjoying free things !
Then you should pay for everyone.
We mbwa we
@ Brainless Njombe
We are already paying tax for this services. It is parasites like you who are not contributing.
Put up bins toilets with taps not with drums
This Bum will talk about everything expect the elephant in the room; street vending. This man has no brains whatsoever he is still stuck in the past…why can he not lobby central govt to increase funding, where does the road tax go to? Why can you not think solar powered street lighting?
You vote for empty tins you get medocrity!!
* except
BWANA MAYOR , START FIRST BY EXPLAINING TO US HOW THE CURRENT REVENUES FROM PARKING FEES, LAND RATES, SERVICE CHARGES FOR NEW PLOTS,MARKET LEVIES, BUS STOP FEES etc ARE BEING USED!! Then we shall KNOW if the problem is revenue or LACK OF WISDOM and PROBITY IN EXPENDITURE!! Further, the council does NOT just work, sometimes you see lights on another time off in the same road on different days!! Is that because of money??As said by @1.1 PLANZO, WHY USE ZESCO POWER?? You MAY USE ZESCO TO COLLECT BUT USE SOLAR POWER TO CUT LONG TERM EXPENDITURE ON ELECTRICITY!! In some countries, even traffic lights use solar so why are we failing to use this technology in Zambia and depend on ZESCO whose capacity has been declining??
WELL SAID BWAFYA
That is what Zambians must demand.. ..you can not go taxing on top of taxing without explaining where the collectionscare going to…..maybe the business rates and land rates collected are being used to pay for PF children schooling in UK or India
He is not doing anything about illegal plots mushrooming everywhere by PF cadres ..why does he not address those issues, clean up house before you can think of stealing more money!!
This is the dullest and *****ic mayor this Lusaka has ever had. Since he became mayor he just thinks about levy this levy that. What the hell do you do with all the road levies you already collect? Are those not meant to cater for the ponyoponyo you are talking about? This city deserve a better mayor mwebantu!!
Let the council collect levies at markets and stations instead of allowing illegal PF cadres who are illegally collecting levies, please it’s not right to add another tax when you have means of raising money
Our country has been run down because of educated fUULS like this mayor. Were is he getting this theories? He is trying to resolve issues with short cuts which may have adverse impact in future. Just sit down with the local government department and come up with realistic solutions. We agree Lusaka is dirty but you must first identify the real cause. All over the world refuse levies are collected from households and business houses so just find a system to do that. Your thinking is flawed and very theoretical. You will have more problems and fail to collect the money you are talking about.
Look at this man’s website – wilsonkalumba.com/ for someone with such a CV its shocking that he is coming up with such shocking ideas…he used to be Deputy Director in the Bank Supervision Department at BOZ…he is indeed an educated fooooool.
He doesn’t use his brains well.
Or is it biggest head with smallest brain in Lusaka?
This guy is a thief. He is making very dodge proposals. How is he going to account for the money? For what I know honest and credibility in Zambia is very rare commodity.
He is simply being very lazy ..instead of working out fair and independent revenue streams that will stand the test of time and the council is in full control he is jumping on others hard-work.
Is this man a resident of Lusaka? Why is he so out of touch?
What about the many solar powered street lights in Lusaka? Awe sure … ba Lusaka twasebana! Anyway, he’s putting PF on a fast track of of being unpopular.
Please someone direct this utter dunderhead to AKON Lighting Africa Project maybe LCC could partner with them…he is simply too out of touch and too dull to be a leader. Where are the LCC technocrats to advise him?
I think in all fairness this man does not understand what to be a mayor means. Does this man understand why people pay PAYE, PERSONAL LEVY, LAND RATES, VAT ETC. The national treasury must be used for things like street lights. Garbage levy is understandable not infrastructure development and maintenance bane. Apa pena mwaluba. What will all the taxes we pay be used for? Next you will say water pipe levy, next pot hole mending levy, next will be council workers salaries levy. Ba Kalumba nga namufilwa inchito kulanda ba bikapo bambi. I dont think if Mr Fisho Mwale or Mrs Maureen Mwanawasa would have been doing things like this.
Lungu and his large entourages need money to travel……
Frustration is evident. There must be certain obstacles that are distorting performance of routine tasks. The link between revenue collection and the budgetary framework is missing. There is need for stakeholders to face the challenge.
Lusaka is Gheto
somebody stop this fool before he empties our pockets even further. how about dealing with street vendors who have made lusaka SO DIRTY? I wonder which road this creep uses to get into town because all streets and corridors are CLOGGED. USELESS
The solar street lights that they installed are working very well. Why can’t they do the same in other areas? Should every service be about taxing us, the already impoverished citizens? Please give us a break!
somebody stop this f00l before he empties our pockets even further. how about dealing with street vendors who have made lusaka SO DIRTY? I wonder which road this creep uses to get into town because all streets and corridors are CLOGGED. USELESS
Mukabomba lisa ba Mayor? You have been proposing ideas from the day U got into office. Its time to get to work. We want results….. We are now tired of your ideas. You are too much of a book. Be practical. Whats your plan on cleaning the city of Lusaka?? Hope U are not proposing residents to contribute brooms???? You have a rich CV. Its time you used it…
How on earth was this man selected to stand on PF ticket and latter on scoped the seat.Politics aside Maureen Mwanawasa was an ideal candidate.The Mayor lacks innovations,technical know how to run the council.We can invest in solar for street lights the problem is that the man thinks Lusaka can only be light and cleaned up by levying its residents.To say the least,his ideologies are pathetic and not in conformity with the current economic conditions.
Financial management system at the Civic Center needs to improve its performance, so does the general assembly that allocates council revenue and approves council budget. Instead of sounding the alarm through sporadic proposals, it is necessary to appoint a consultant to draw a new organization chart for the Civic Center. This is a great opportunity for consultants to prove that a comprehensive strategy is necessary for improved service delivery. The rate of taxation must reflect the budgetary needs of the Civic Center.
Mr mayor, can you also consider a clean air tax, to tackle the too many polluting viehcals in Lusaka, that tax can be slapped on water rates.
Also a drainage tax since floods are causing misery during the rain season, this one can be slapped on every pair of shoes bought or brought into Zambia since it is the shoes that get dirty when we have floods….
Also the state of our footpaths are a disgrace….they need paving and revenues can be raised by installing toll gates for walkers so we have good walk ways.
I am sure these taxes will supported by the majority since we all want a better Zambia
ONE YEAR LATER!
Nothing to justify his continued stay in office. Zambians let’s wake up bane… this is unacceptable. We can accelerate development if we had the right people in key positions. I would like to assure everyone here… from what I’ve seen.. Lusaka will still be the dirtiest city in Zambia (if not Africa) come 2021.
Cadres have taken over the running of council facilities and clearly this mayor is too weak to go round that obstacle reason he is now coming up with new options to appear relevant. … the only problem here is, his ideas are CRAZY! This man needs help…
I thought we have a Consumer Protective Association in this country? why can’t they counsel this man about cost/price structures of goods and services? Or maybe his idea was to provoke exactly this kind of reaction and I hope he has learnt, as most of us have, that Street Vendors need to clean the dirt they are generating and that the Engineering department at the Council need to get off their couches and install Solar powered street lights, even traffic lights!
That Lusaka mayor needs a vote of no confidence he is a very hopeless chap.
The Mayor is so inconsiderate to the people that voted for him. I thought people are just recovering from high cost of living but there he goes on rampage to squeeze the little they have to survive on. From talktime to power levy??
Are we gonna have a levy for every public service? Separate levy for garbage, separate levy for lights levy for Street signs, levy for pedestrian walkways, levy for cycle tracks, separate levy for Grasscutting
Bwana Mayor, lets first deal with the corruption in your office where you have forcefully transferred qualified professionals and replaced them with unqualified girlfriends in high positions for which they don’t even qualify. Deal with that rot first then we’ll take you seriously!
This guy is mad. The LCC collects lots of money from everywhere. Starting with street vendors, to land rates to big multinational companies. Where does all that money go guys? Let them just clean up their books and their system and do there job properly before they start making more bills for us. Otherwise will be back in this same position with noting to show for.