New Heritage Party leader Chishala Kateka has urged the government to be transparent and consultative as it advances its agenda on subsidies especially from electricity.
Mrs. Kateka said that the process of removing subsidies from electricity should involve the government being transparent and consulting stakeholders including the consumers, in the process, it wants to take.
The opposition leader added that government should interrogate ZESCO’S operational and investments costs, consider restructuring options for ZESCO that may optimize the operations of the company, and consider other means of capitalizing the institution.
Mrs. Kateka stated that if the need to cut subsidies still prevails, the government should then consider a stepped approach to ease the nation into the none subsidized tariff situation and that if only about 2% of the electricity is consumed by the ordinary and vulnerable, people who are genuinely supposed to be subsidized, then the government should also stratify the subsidies and remove them selectively while leaving the ordinary and vulnerable people out of the equation.
Mrs. Kateka said that there is a need to consider establishing a ZESCO committee composed of mostly former managing directors of the company, because they understand the business plus three other top-class engineers to be chaired by the ZESCO chairman, who is an accountant, to look into this matter.
What Zambians need is changed mindset. Believe me, free education, free medical services and possibly free relief food next year as a result of the likely drought will just make us very lazy people. Meanwhile the removal of subsidies from economic drivers just to satisfy people lazing around will get us in trouble. Subsdize production and consumption.
They are actually very transparent on the issue. The subsidies should be removed if they have not been removed already. Zambia is a poor country and needs capital for development. We are not going to raise this capital if we continue spending billions on subsidies. Prices of every good and service should reflect it’s real value and not be distorted by government subsidies. We cannot eat our way to a better future for our children. The time for that sacrifice is now. We have wasted 60 years lying to ourselves. There’s no easy walk to prosperity.
You must be naive to expect hh to be transparent. This is the guy who has failed upto now to explain the sources of his ill gotten wealth
As for me, I don’t belong to any political party, I just voted to remove the PF, and my objective was achieved. What happens there after I am least concerned, whatever UPND does or does not do does not worry me, however if they will behave like PF, I will also come and sort them out, though so far they look serious
The only Opposition Leader to follow.
My president Chishala turns me ON!!
UPND has always stated to favour cost-reflective tariffs, it was and is in their manifesto. So don’t start crying now when he does what he preaches. And we need that IMF loan, so we can pay off all those corrupt and fraudulent loans that the incompetent president Edgar China Lungu gave to the Chinese!
Honest.
You don’t know why you need a government in place, the government is there for people and should find the means that citizens are not harmed by anything, that is the reason why you have the defense forces and you have the police and other security wings it is all about the citizens and that is why governments must be elected by people.
Subsidies is the work of the government to protect them in every country in this world there are subsidies to help people live comfortably and not to subject them to poverty and malnutrition.
Zambia can not be any different from any other country , PF worked hard to have people subsidized now we have a careless and merciless government people will suffer.
Zambians must be protected from any manner of pain , the people of this nation have employed this government to do good for them and not to subject them to the evils of this world.
If you don’t know the developed world guard their people jealously and not how our people are treated like rubbish by these politicians who lie to them , promising them mountains and doing nothing , however these same people have a democratic right to remove any leadership that doesn’t care about them.
Honest
Zambians are not lazy unlike other nationalities who only depend on their governments in Zambia you find un employed youths doing very difficult jobs pushing ” ifi bala” carrying cement on their shoulders to just support themselves , when in fact it is the government that should create jobs for them, the money for their job creation comes from fellow Zambians who pay tax to the government every now and then, that tax is for Zambians to benefit from and not to those politicians but the common Zambians and not the president but common Zambians and the poor Zambians not those cadres but every Zambian.
+260768140469 for bitcoin investment Dm me on Whatsapp
I agree with the madam that subsidies should be removed selectively leaving out the ordinary and vulnerable… if you imagine the impact that this may have on the ordinary and the vulnerable it is so devastating therefore there is need for government to rethink…my friend life is tough in the city these youths wake up on chimbala to go and do hard labour jobs just to earn K35 now if you break down that amount it does not make any sense what then if the cost of goods goes up???
After putting in a hard day’s work , this youth will need to relax and eat a decent meal and also maybe take a big mosi or castle just for them to sleep…now if this guy works for a lousy K35 he will be short of meeting a decent meal or just getting that big bottle to relax himself…and some have huge families…