Vice President Mutale Nalumango has called on critics of the Government not to mislead citizens by saying that the United Party for National Development (UPND) during campaigns pledged never to borrow.
Mrs Nalumango said that the new dawn administration promised not to borrow recklessly and that it would restructure the country’s debt.
Mrs Nalumango said that Government is changing the way the country will handle its debt and that the IMF programme should be viewed as a grant due to its low-interest rate.
She said this during the Vice President’s Question time in the National Assembly in response to a question by Zambezi East Member of Parliament Brian Kambita who asked for a comment on public debates on the IMF programme.
Vice President Mutale Nalumango has justified Government’s move to enter into an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) saying the programme is the only remedy for the country’s debt crisis.
Mrs Nalumango said that Government incurs an extra debt every month to run national affairs as the national expenditure is higher than its income.
Mrs Nalumango said that the commercial loans acquired by the Patriotic Front (PF) Government have become impossible for the country to repay as the interest rates are too high.
Mrs Nalumango said that the IMF interest rates are lower at 0.75% and that this will allow the country to repay the loans on flexible terms as well as over a longer repayment period.
And Mrs. Nalumango said it is not the intention of the Government to have INDENI employees lose their jobs as Government has a programme for the company.
She said INDENI employees will continue to work while reforms take place at the Company and that Government will in due course make known the way forward.
Mrs Nalumango said that the Government is not closing the company per se but that it may not continue to operate fully.
And the Vice President reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to providing free education from primary school up to secondary level and that it will fill the gap that will be created by the abolishment of fees that learners have been paying.
Mrs Nalumango said that Government wants to provide relief to vulnerable members of society who have been struggling to pay fees for their children.
This was in response to a question by Bwacha Member of Parliament Sydney Mushanga who asked if Government has any plans on how schools that were dependant on PTA fees will manage to carry out their activities with the abolishment of the fees.
And the Vice President said the Government has NOT appointed any cadres to serve in the new administration and that those who have been appointed have the relevant qualifications for the positions.
She said even mature democracies have political appointments at a certain level but that does not entail appointing cadres who are not qualified to serve in certain positions.
This was in response to a concern raised by Bangweulu Member of Parliament Anthony Kasandwe.
Meanwhile, the Vice President has called on persons holding on to Government vehicles dressed with private number plates to surrender them as the law will visit them if they fail to do so.
Madam just get down to work otherwise you will end up losing your energy on explaining and justifying your goverment’s actions.
you promised never to borrow you guys, only that us as citizens have come to agree ati politician temunobe, the mouth of a politician whoever iit is dangerous, full of lies, lacks humility capwa. Bwafya bane ubufi buya nokubwela , you promised too much lies.
VP with due respect, don’t forget that whatever you said was recorded and filmed. People are only replaying those tapes. As an affected person I can only wish that the IMF loan harshness will be brief both in duration and intensity. I’m pray for your success because it will be to our benefit.
Just what is Nalumango saying kikikikiki in this modern day of technology we have all the recordings from your interviews….HH being interviewed by Costa Mwansa clearly said UPND will never borrow…..it’s now official this is Chipante pante Government and I have a feeling Nalumango will be fired…..UPND will splinter…..these guys have failed and it’s becoming clearer by day ………one term Political party….I don’t think Zambians wants to deal with this UPND nonsense for the next 5 years..soon you will start seeing protests just like in Malawi
Mwebantu we have not forgotten it is meant to be free education from grade one up to University level that is why many people got wooed to vote.
It is too early to forget this campaign promise.
Kikikikiki Nalumango doesn’t have anything to say….HH promised never to borrow again and Zambians voted for UPND…… Costa Mwansa can you please air your interview with HH so that dull Nalumango can see it…so she doesn’t know what message HH was promising Zambians….really laughable..anyway Zambians have already made up their minds 2026 UPND out of government
PF are in this game of lying, assuming HH said he was not going to borrow, he still has the right to change his mind and borrow, there is no offence here, let your colleagues rule please, they have the mandate
Back in the days before Technology Politicians used to get away with lies because there was no way of recording and keeping their fake promises but with modern day Technology it has become very difficult for liars….even now it’s very easy to catch your girlfriend/wife cheating…..Technology no good for liars and dishonest people like HH
There is hardly a nation that survives without borrowing. What is at issue is misapplication and mismanagement and yet, too, theft at an industrial scale as Prof. Lumumba aptly puts it. It would be gullible of any leader to promise not to borrow. It is production that makes borrowing meaningful and that is what HH said throughout his campaign. Let’s keep our memories sharp. Even pa nyumba ati muzayenda mu mvula sinitenga car loan … useless parent.
You got the votes because of what you promised the electorates.
You even went on to say that you will sell the jet but this is the same jet the new dark president is using to dine and wine.
Everything you said is on record.
We waited for money in our pockets from PF for ten years, nothing came through, So what moral authority do you have as PF to question your friends promises or what they said
“IMF programme should be viewed as a grant due to its low-interest rate”. Is she kidding or doesn’t understand? I take she isn’t serious. Iwe Nalumango there is nothing to ‘view’ but all there is realtime high cost of living. The angry youth will chew you alive.
HH is at liberty to borrow, changing his mind is not a sin. Crying on every thing. Just acclimatize to the new progressive reality, you blew up your chance and left every economic statistic in negative. You said more money in our pockets, did we see anything like that in ten years?
Whether what UPND said is on record or off the record is irrelevant. PF promised more money in our pockets and there was none by the time they were ejected and its on record, so what?
LT where are my comments?
So many lies, never to borrow? Nobody said that . You borrow and with low interest and use the money properly. No you borrow Eurobond at kaloba rate and topping it you loot the money. Results, you know
Politicians cannot be trusted. They keep on changing the goal posts. Let us wait and see in 5 years.
I wonder what that is: not to borrow recklessly
Liars 2026 is coming
As reality dawns the hh administration, the u5s are trying to shift gears. In the lime light, is the IMF and their demands; in the dark corner is hh and his team buying more time and now Nalumango with pain trying to lie to Zambians.
A promise is a promise. I can, with this recklessness, safely say th@t only 29% of the budget will be fulfilled at this pase and with this falsehood. IMF wins.
Borrowing is borrowing, recklessly or not. In any case how can you call borrowing from resultless and fruitless IMF not reckless?
Many miners and their children suffered and died because of the IMF programs forced on Zambians under the MMD where Madam Nalumango and hh served. INDENI decision is as the result of IMF stringent sanctions on the country. INDENI employees would suffer the same way Miners suffered. You can’t sugarcoat the cruel facade of Privatization or Care & Maintenance.
Learn to say the truth when in Government, it borders on integrity. Isn’t Kajoba a upnd cadre pastor’s wife?
Madame Nalumango you are already feeling the heat ka? My advice to you is to avoid responding to these statements because no one is accusing you of promising what you did not promise. HH said that the UPND will not borrow, It is on record. So stop embarrassing yourself like that. You have a lot of work to fulfill the many promises your boss made to the Zambian people. You can’t afford to waste time engaging yourself in childish debates or arguments like that. Some of us really want you guys to succeed for the good of all of us. Get serious.
Next time Witna Kapembwa will tell us that when they condemned the PF corruption they didn’t mean that they won’t be corrupt themselves! The message is clear, never seriously take what politicians say because they don’t mean it