President Edgar Lungu has been urged to begin the gradual but cautious reopening of key sectors of the economy during this COVID-19 pandemic period.
In a statement released by Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), Government has been reminded that the continued partial shutdown of some sectors continues to adversely affect Zambia’s socio-economic sectors which are vital for national development.
YALI President Andrew Ntewewe said his organisation was alive to the fact that the partial shutdown is having a toll on the ability of citizens to live normal lives and that the effective functioning of the formal sector is directly dependent on a thriving informal sector.
“We recommend the reopening of schools to pupils in examination classes, colleges and universities and the sale of alcohol in bars, night clubs, lodges and hotels with adequate space on a take-away basis,” he said.
YALI said it supported the scaled-up approach by Government based on fact that Government took into account the plight of ordinary Zambians who depended on the informal sector for their daily living.
“It would have been naive for Government to succumb to pressure from those who have never run Government before, to effect a total lockdown based on emotions rather than the evidence-based approach and logic advocated by the President,” said Ntewewe.
Mr. Ntewewe said having seen the evolvement of the pandemic, it was clear that the government strategy was well-informed and intelligent.
“It has become apparent that we all must change our way of life by adopting the new normal as there is no telling when the COVID-19 will come to an end, he said.
YALI has warned that the continued shut down of the informal sector will hurt the Zambian economy further and make businesses fail to survive the post COVID-19 period.
I support this call 100 percent!
Lives have crumbled in this country. I think we must begin gradual re-opening!
That cases Mutewewewe is disgusting.
Thanks young men and women in yali. We received this request or rather propsal and it will be tabled for discussion with his excellency. We will keep you updated and respond in due course. Kz
Informal sector very well. I totally agree.
How does selling of beer in hotels and lodges come on the informal sector!!!
Beer is a wastage and curse especially how many of our people drink.
The drink up a good portion of the salary after being paid before reaching home. So please your Excellency, consider other things, not the sale of beer.
Examination grades in school also is very well. Universities and colleges also in understandable the question is do we have enough space in the classrooms and lecture halls for social distancing?
This is the most sensible statement I have ever heard from Ntewewe
Mr Ntewewe has spoken well. People in the informal sector are suffering. Please Mr President, allow bar operators to start running. By closing bars you are allowing shops like choppies to be more rich at the expense of the poor Zambians.
Zambians must adapt to the New normal.
1. It is time to change the way we mourn the dead. This idea of a small house congested by women mourners on the floor should stop . I welcome the new normal of only a few people sleeping at the house. Secondly the practice of trucks and buses full of people heading to the cementry must also stop. Allow only a few people .
The new idea lining up in shops and banks should continue.
It is also time to have a new approach to alcohol. Regulate the opening time of bars 16 to 20hours on Saturday only. No Sales on Monday to Friday. No Sales on Sunday.
this ***** riff raff nima rubbish yamunthu. i was just having a chat with a friend at some cafe whose asking me about my heart loved country zambia and he was so shocked to learn that denmark,sweden etc have stopped funding our health sector cz of corruption. He, really emphasised that they is need of getting rid of crooks& i told him about my biggest prayer for my president ecl that God should separate him from people who feel they are important like kz,lusambo etc. ecl is a good man but some people around him are wrong. bye my fellow country men. I love u all.
A diplomatic way to tell the president to open bars. Informal sector is operating normal-Soweto and other markets, bus stops, minibuses are operating fully. Only bars, gyms, betting halls and casinos were shut. If you say second hand clothes vendors, dry fish and such goods vendors who sold to bar patrons as informal sector, yes. GB above is 100% right, Choppies, Shoprite, PnP, Rwandese shops are getting very rich while Zambians who own over 90% of the bars get whipped by Bowman when they try to sell!!!
Some economic activities closed not because were told to but closed due to lack of customers. For instance hotels closed because of lack of customers.
Just Politics : a govt caught in between humility and hubris
The people voted for the Patriotic Front government simply because most of them believed that the PF would form a government for the poor, and the downtrodden. In fact, the late president Mr Michael Sata was seen by many as a man who came from a humble beginning and could relate with the poor and the forgotten. Therefore, in 2011 the PF won a decisive victory promising lower taxes, more jobs and more money in people’s pockets. Unfortunately, Mr Sata would not live long enough to see his promises delivered to the Zambian people. Whatever your opinion may be of the late president Sata, one thing is clear that the man is a significant figure in our political history with some who think highly of him and others who despise him…
The informal sector, informal economy, or grey economy is the part of an economy that is neither taxed, nor monitored by any form of government. Unlike the formal economy, activities that are engaged in the informal economy are not included in the gross national product and gross domestic product of a country.
SINCE WHEN DID SCHOOLS,HOTELS, LODGES , CASINOS AND BARS BECOME INFORMAL SECTOR? AM ONE FELLOW WHO WAS NOT IN SUPPORT OF SCHOOLS, BARS AND CASINOS CLOSING SINCE THIS VIRUS HIT ZAMBIA AND HAVE BEEN CALLING FOR THEM TO BE OPENED SINCE DAY ONE OF THEIR CLOSURE BECAUSE THE ARE FORMAL AND ORGANISED COMPARED TO THE INFORMAL MARKETS LIKE SOWETO THAT WERE LEFT OPEN. BA YALI BUSINESSES LIKE AIRLINES HOTELS AND LODGES ARE STRUGGLING WITH LACK OF CUSTOMERS THATS WHY MOST OF THEM OF CLOSED,…
“It would have been naive for Government to succumb to pressure from those who have never run Government before, to effect a total lockdown based on emotions rather than the evidence-based approach and logic advocated by the President,” said Ntewewe.
NTEWEWE ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT WHEN YOU HIT BELOW THE BELT, THE JUDGES WILL ALWAYS DEDUCT POINTS FROM YOU SCORE CARD.
Ntewewe is making sense and the President must consider this
Kalaba, are you telling me that bar owners only eat one day in a week? your suggestion is wrong because even you cant afford to have one meal in a day mambala iwee!
Zambia is only conducting under 500 tests per day and you foolishly call for the reopening of the economy.Look at South Africa,they are doing 10,000 tests per day and know the full extent of the spread.
When the infection rate and spread starts increasing exponentially in Zambia(1000+ cases every 2 days) , the same people will be crying for the country to be locked down again.
May God protect our families from such irresponsible people in our country.
What is formal about the informal sector to open? I dont think these people understand this covid-19 fight where numbers continue to raise…this is where you would want to hear from MOH officals and Chilufya advising otherwise but he is just happy receiving donations.
39 cases with rapid recovery can not cause the whole sectors to calapse, CV19 is not a deadly disease in Zambia and Africa at large. Let us not kill what we have built, it’s high time that all sectors should be nomalised. Cifinefye ici.
Watch as the Covid 19 cases spike sharply up.
Thanks to Covid. We now know Zambia’s biggest industry and that is the Beer Industry. The second one is the Church Industry. Isn’t it time to start taxing these two industries given that mines are dying?
Mr President this is going to be the new normal. We have to move forward but let us make sure all our people are safe from the pandemic.
Let us start by ensuring we can produce basic COVID-19 public protective materials
1. Let us make it mandatory for local Sugar Companies to use 10% of their resources to produce 70% Alcohol grade Ethanol for hand sanitizers.
2. Thanks to you Mr president Mulungushi textiles are bulk producing masks but increase production as, schools are re-opening soon.
3. Trade Kings should focus on producing lots of soap and final produce of sanitizers and fumigation chemicals. Country wide supply chain.
Then we are READY for the NEW NORMAL for STARTERS.
On a serious note, Ntewewe is right here. I also feel we are doing fine under the circumstances. If anything, we have people with covid but recovering on their own otherwise we would have noticed the deaths. It is a complete lie to say the masking and social distancing is what is working here.
I hate it when people alarm the situation as if we are in a doom situation. Those bent on seeing failure in this situation will be surprised by how well it is being handled.