The former ruling Patriotic Front (PF) has said that the United Party for National Development (UPND) budget presented to parliament last week, in its entirety, is not only a hoax but also an illusion that is not tenable and a deception hiding the real intention of its authors.
Speaking at a media briefing today, the party’s Vice President Given Lubinda further said that the 2022 budget is retrogressive as it rolls back the many gains that have been achieved and are a total breach of the fundamental campaign promises upon which the UPND was voted.
Mr. Lubinda said that most importantly that the 2022 budget is pro-capital and against the poor.
Mr. Lubinda said that the figures in a budget ought to balance first within the two aspects namely the expenditure side and within the revenue side and between the two aspects and as the nation had already been made aware, the 2022 budget has a discrepancy of K37bn on the expenditure side and question why such expenditure was hidden.
Mr Lubinda also wondered the drastic increase of the budget from K119bn in 2021 to K 173bn in 2022 representing an increase of 45% and yet UPND have proposed increases in consumption and reductions in revenue such as the Mineral Royalty Tax, Corporate Tax, and customs duties.
“As though this is not enough they have decided to utilise a onetime revenue stream in the form of the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) of $1.2bn to finance recurrent expenditure.
“We challenge the UPND government to explain how these recurrent expenditures to be financed by this one-time gift shall be paid in 2023 and subsequent years.
“Has anyone assured them that this gift shall be perennial?” he asked.
Mr. Lubinda said that this was is an illusionary budget that cannot be implemented.
“We would like to ask the UPND Government how SDR which is meant to be the balance of payment support can be transformed into budget support?
“As far as we know SDR can only be sued to finance foreign exchange payments outside the country after the government has provided the kwacha equivalent to the Central Bank, he said.
Mr Lubinda accused UPND of being anti-poor by increasing the tax-free threshold by a meagre K 500 which translates in savings of only K 50 and at the same time they have reduced standard corporate tax from 35% to 30% and have made Mineral Royalty Tax-deductible thereby introducing a revenue loss of more than $600m (more than K 10.2bn) in 2022 alone.
“This amount given to capital owners is almost double what this regime is allocating to Social protection through Social Cash transfer (K3.1m), Public Service pension fund (K2m) and Food Security Pack (K1m).
“This is money they are putting in the owners of capital at the expense of the poor Zambians. Going further, this regime has decided to subsidise the export of maize to the eventual benefit of the importers by removing 10% export duty on maize.
“Their promise to reduce the price of mealie meal is to be fulfilled in the DRC which imports maize from Zambia.
“How will this increase the price of maize to the poor small scale famers?, he asked.
Mr Lubinda wondered how many small scale famers export maize and said that, rather than encouraging value addition on maize by maintain the 10% customs duty this measure shall encourage the setting up of milling plants in the countries that import maize from Zambia and accused UPND of is exporting the much-needed jobs
please provide an alternative budget
The budget is way too complex for me to understand comment on. I know ba Given and Co will always find something to say. Please Bally is not money to be loved by everyone.
It never struck me before on value addition of maize exports. We are supposed to value -add( make mealie-meal) first and then export it as a finished product. We could benefit from the bran that results from miiling. So sad!
They stole a lot of money and because the process to catch them is taking long, they are happy to speak out. It’s easy to correct this.
The sponsor of Bill 10. ECL, wamuyayaya principle? I am afraid, you need to reconsider your strategy. Farmers MUST be free to sell to the highest bidder. not sure what you mean by the so called pro-capital budget after you have just finished downing Moet & Channon. A socialist consumer of everything western. You are a liar and hypocrite. Why did you want ECL to rule forever?
“…Mr. Lubinda said that most importantly that the 2022 budget is pro-capital and against the poor..”. Are you freaking kidding me right now? Note how he is silent on the CDF and other progressive items in this budget. Bo Lubinda go home kwa hae please and get a hug from your grandma.
However, Mr Lubinda is right though about revenue and where the money will come from to fund this extravagant spending. They should have given enough emphasis to revive manufacturing in Zambia to create jobs for the youth. But there is no budget which is 100% perfect. So Bo Lubinda please either present a better alternative budget or shut the funk up and sit down!
We Warned you about capitalist hh. Enjoy the suffering that awaits once imf restructure program kicks in
Mbuzi
This freak also!
Kaizer you are usually at Chita lodge Kafue in your white Range Rover with a white woman, who is she?
You can’t understand UPND budget before you understand crypto currency, bitcoins, stocks etc
The late PF is still talking, how is that? After inflicting untold miserly on Zambians. You were rejected over whelming and so is any comment, suggestion or talk from you. Anne Kansime would have advised you to lie low and very low. Anyway, nobody is hearing you out, who listens to people rejected, no body
This is really overating himself, who listens to PF these days please. PF is gone, burried and forgotten. why not wipe your tears in silence
There is completely nothing that Given Lubinda can offer our party, worse chi Kambwili,
Give us a break! Pf is gone!
Lungu has come clean and says we made mistakes as PF, but the people who made him loose elections despite chewing his money, government money of course are still talking. Given, go and sleep, nobody is listening to you and even yourself is not listening to yourself
Ah Ah, isn’t this an anomaly, Is PF still there, I hear people who made Edgar lose have already started positioning themselves to take over this carcass called PF
Lubinda needs to be taken for mental assessment. When has PF been pro poor when the only goal and achievement they had was massive looting of public resources. If any, the PF had a budget for corruption as Lungu was legalizing it. There is nothing PF did other than bring both financial an social misery. If you have nothing to say please keep quiet
Lubinda alone is more intelligent than the two in UPND HH and Musokotwane, these guys cannot think enough for the disadvantage they are creating on Zambian people , as he has said about minerals under Zambian earth which these foreigners will take freely without paying royalties nor taxes since they will never make any profits as they have done before.
what HH and Musokotwane would have done is to promote industrialisation in our country that would create jobs for our youths roaming streets of urban areas.
Either like some people or not when they have a correct point you have to agree with them because you cannot change the truth.
Some good books you have read because you agreed to what you have read, as for governance these guys may have made some mistakes yes mistakes are human, even now we are overwhelmed by the mistakes being made by the little god HH and his team we just wonder weather they will ever reach the goal of 2026 !
That is a point Lubi is equally a Zambian and he has his rights to talk about the politics of Zambia, just as you have you don’t have to intimidate him.
No one cares what you think PF , except of course, your thieving cader thugs……
Tito don’t be f00Iish. That has nothing to do with you. My Regina is fully aware of my business partners. You are wasting your time. Its your wives who I see at these lodges
It has dawned upon me that this new dark Government has given us a theory based over-ambitious budget seeking to impress.
The first two quarters of next year will review alot on the failures of these Cimbwis.
There is no way the IMF can fund Zambia with the policies they are fully openly against and discourage. If the budget’s mining untaxing approach is anything to go by, then IMF is fvcking us in a more obscure manner and will be doing this in more ways than one.
Ala ukulanda kwalyanguka!
We’re watching this space.
Bo Lubinda please, the budget is way too complex and way above you educational pay grade, ikami lyanganisa feela mukulwange. Leave these complex matters to Bo Situmbeko kapa Bo Aka!
2.8m rejected the so called pro-poor policies of PF. After 10yrs, the Zambians realized that PF was putting money into selected pockets of citizens like Faith Musonda. Mr. Lubinda, step aside and allow the party to have a crop of new leaders. You cannot rebrand the party with the leaders that were unanimously rejected by the Zambians.
Disgraceful Good you are out of Office. Lubinda, shut your mouth if you don’t know how Economic Growth works. What the HELL do you think that Increased Revenue only comes from Taxes??? By the way, High taxes kill Economies. The New Dawn has a plan to close loopholes and effectively collect more. See the councils you had killed them with your cadres. No money to be self-reliant. Zambian Budget should not be dependent on Tax Revenue Collections only but many other streams. Toll gates you PF people were sharing the money. Keep quiet and Criticize what is true than your fake propaganda.
These PFools criticize the budget while they destroyed Zambia’s economy.That’s like criticizing someone on a dollar spending while you overlook where you lost $100 .
For 10yrs PF destroyed the economy yet they have the temerity to advice others on budget? Its like taking walking advice from a blind person.
If UPND cadres you are as intelligent and smart as you claim and portray yourselves prove it by answering the questions Mr Lubinda has raised. Don’t resort to insulting him and calling him names. He has put issues point by point from the budget. Please answer them and advise him and readers where he is not understanding the budget. I am particularly interested in the making mineral loyalty tax a deductible expense before corporation tax is paid. FQM was paying CT now they will be deducting the MRT can someone explain how this will benefit Zambians. Don’t tell me about addition investments because copper is profitable and every genuine business person takes risk to invest in profitable ventures. No developed country has given such an incentive to mining companies so where is our Finance…
LUBINDA ZIP IT !! YOU HAVE NOTHING TO OFFER THE COUNTRY OR PF FOR THAT MATTER
SOME WANT EXPLANATIONS TO LUBINDA ARTICLE
NOW TELL ME HOW DOES ONE COMMUNICATE WITH A F000LL
When my neighbor and were having a beer. I told him. that i plan to spend. K560 on beers, K5000 on my wife, K12,000 on school fees. Me I am surprised how my neighbor would be very concerned on how i will do that or where will i get the money. the case of Zayelo!!!! stop behaving like Lawino. Yours is to just say OK
When I see a catch colour commenting on matters that he was in position of implementing.i get bewildered. Some galus when they were there made a pro theif budget to a point where Lucifer’s concubine had a ministry of education budget in the house.may you live long enough
PF stooges are saying:
” We warned you that you will suffer under UPND”
Guess what – we are so happy under UPND. Happier than we ever could have been under PF.
Those suffering are crooks that stole under PF.
We are looking forward to a wonderful 5 years and then another.
HH ALIPAMPANDO ALETEKA
PF cadres should brace for a long 10 years.
They talk and talk and talk but – hakuna
The wish and wish and wish and wish that IPND fails but their standards were so low being the worst government- ever!
Tribalism, violence, incompetence, cadreism no money in our pockets- awe suwa.
They actually feared that lungu would lose them the elections bit continued to lick hoping that they would rig elections.
This time there was to be no rigging. They knew that the moment ballots were to be counted from poling stations – ha ha ha ha ha ha
Ati we have 8 lawyers ready to challenge results if HH wins – the party in power with tails between their legs
it is BID, not balanced, pro rich, senseless, the worst in Zambian history…. Ba PF awaee mwandi !