Friday, March 29, 2024

Musokotwane’s appointment signals big business as usual and will not help eradicate Zambia’s poverty

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SOCIALIST Party general secretary and first vice-president Cosmas Musumali says that although the appointment of finance minister Situmbeko Musokotwane has been greeted with “euphoria” by many people, it spells big business as usual and will not help eradicate Zambia’s poverty.

Reacting to Dr Musokotwane’s appointment, Dr Musumali said the new finance minister had been received with a lot of good will.

“Many people have applauded President Hakainde Hichilema for an appropriate appointment. I would say that in some quarters there is even a sense of euphoria over his appointment looking back at the track record he left behind in the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) government.

“So firstly we should appreciate the fact that this is one of the first appointments the new president has made. Our economy is deteriorating by the day and it needs quick action.

“Dr Musokotwane is one of our best and most experienced economists, his appointment is therefore not surprising from what we know from the ideological orientation of the United Party for National Development (UPND), which is pro-big business, especially pro-South African, pro-American, and European multinational cooperation.”

Dr Musumali said that although Dr Musokotwane had “a bright spot” for big businesses, he was not pro “the poor part of our society”.

“Years ago we predicted that micro-economic instability coupled with poor governance would be the downfall of the Patriotic Front (PF) government, and we were spot on with that prediction. Today we are confidently able to predict the downfall of the UPND government.

“The UPND government will, in the medium term stabilise the economy through tight monetary policy
and a more prudent fiscal situation.

We expect increased foreign direct investment in this country. It may even set the economy on an average of five per cent per annum, but this will not be sufficient and it will also not be different from what was achieved by the MMD government.

“This was stability and growth that did not take the masses of our people out of poverty. It was the growth that favoured multinational corporations. It was the growth that favoured the rich, it was the growth that distributed the wealth of this country more to the rich.

“The disparities in terms of income distribution grew as a result of that policy. We are back to the growth, to the stability that severely marginalised the poor, our women and the youth.”

Dr Musumali said the UPND would be following the same policies.

“So let’s forget and ignore the rhetoric that is coming from President Hakainde Hichilema. Let’s listen more to what the finance minister is saying. He is talking about mining, he is talking about big businesses and, as we know, these are industries that are no longer creating sufficient jobs for our people. They are also not decisive in eradicating poverty in Zambia. They are not contributing the revenue that this country needs to improve our wellbeing. In other words, the UPND and Dr Musokotwane are for the rich, they are for big international businesses.

“The masses of our people who voted for the UPND in their millions hoping for a change will sooner or later realise they have been duped again.”

Dr Musumali said that in time the economy might seem to be doing well but that the Zambian poor would not benefit from it.

“The economy might seem to be stabilizing, but the masses of our people will have nothing in it and this is going to be the downfall of the UPND government. This appointment already shows us the direction this country will be taking.

21 COMMENTS

  1. The Socialist Party? It sounds more like the Communist Party! The Lord knows I’m not a fan of Musokotwane, but this is going a bit far!

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  2. Modern life is led in a money economy. If u cannot have a job or employ yourself as an entrepreneur, there’s no way u can fight poverty. Those peasants Musumali and M’membe are fond of aren’t wealth producers because they hv not mastered how to be productive farmers and cannot be a model for poverty alleviation.

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  3. How do you come up with that without looking at the budget? You call your selves socialists yet there is no socialist ideology in your history…look at Meembe he was not paying tax all the profits he was making at the Post he invested in various capital ventures like Haulage.

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  4. What does Dr. Cosmos Musumali that even if the economy is going to stabilize the poor will not see the benefits what a contradiction. When the economy becomes stable will result into more jobs and more taxes to the treasury hence the govt being able to deliver efficient services. There is something wrong with very educated people like Dr. Cosmos Musumali. His theories are upside down.

  5. Dr.Musumali don’t beat about the bush just say what is coming with IMF .
    IMF don’t help Africa to go anywhere, but comes to kill African economies and control everything full stop.
    This Musokotwane is a greedy poor gumbler who knows what is coming , poverty in Zambia as it has been happening in previous governments, unip , MMD , and now he wants it in UPND, and it will be heavy to carry for Zambians and indeed the grave yard for UPND.
    Mark my words.

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  6. Socialist party trying to be relevant by talking rubbish. The Zambian people will decide when to retire Bally. Zambians are wide awake now.

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  7. #5 Tarino speak one language. When Mmembe lost his Post Newspaper you people said Lungu was victimizing him and yet you knew that the guy was a tax defaulter (which you have mentioned in the #5). It’s this moving target that has , is and will always make Zambians not achieve anything. Wrong is wrong don’t justify it just because it’s coming from someone you like. Right is right don’t condemn it just because it’s from someone you don’t like.

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  8. Tip : if you know that the will fall one day in future, dont waste your time talking about it, just organise and position yourselves as an alternative option for the people.

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  9. Can u lift a country out of poverty with peasant agriculture? Can Musumali and M’membe answer this question preferably with examples of a country where that has happened?

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  10. We don’t want to go back to mwa Kaunda. Free market economy is about competition. H.H. has come up with a new ministry to address small and medium size enterprises. He is the boss, and you say we ‘ignore the rhetoric’ and listen to Musokotwane?

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  11. Who is honest?Each and everyone has some
    Weaknesses.So let’s give him a chance.
    Zambians want miracles overnight.Rome was
    Not built in a day.give them five years.

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  12. Nemwine, if you don’t know in Zambia it is the same small scale farmers who feed the nation, those farmers doted around the country means a lot to feeding Zambia.
    The reason why these agricultural merchants go round the country to buy out maize, so they need to be respected than those farmers people continue to dream about , who are just there to exploit the local communities.

    Zambians small scale farmers are the backbone of the food basket in Zambia , never underestimate them they feed those millers with their produce in towns and get peanuts from their produce.
    These millers don’t do any farming yet ripp -off our poor farmers who do all the work on their small scale farming

  13. Nshilimubemba @16, yes small scale farmers feed Zambia but at what cost to themselves? They do it because they’re trapped there.

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  14. #17 Nemwine. I’m one of them. Okay I get enough inputs from FISP but I suffer from tractor or labour hire and crop transport not to mention what comes in between. The price of the grain leaves with a very marginal profit. So I simply take it as hobby. But what about those who make it as a source living?

  15. Kikikikiki Forward iwe !!!….Forward kuti…malabishi yeka yeka…..someone now doesn’t want to keep his hands dirty by wearing surgical gloves….why wasn’t he wearing surgical gloves during campaigns…notice how I put a spotlight on Mutinta…now am sure she’s been told to chill….she was all over the place with all those tasteless outfits….she thought she was part of the Cabinet

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