By Dingindaba Jonah Buyoya

“How dare he speak ill of the President? Stay in your lane! Aba nabo!” That’s the tone I expect as feedback from this article; largely because the country is incredibly polarised and quite heavily politicised. This is actually quite fair, seeing as most of the country’s leadership is either by politicians or people close to politicians. As a consequence, supporters of said people tend to defend their own, and passionately so.

This will certainly not stop my article. I was fortunate to be one of the people that attended President Hakainde Hichilema’s presser at State House on the 18th of May, 2023. But no, I must add that I have actually attended all of President HH’s (as I like to call him) briefings. I have had the further privilege of being given the chance to ask him some questions, alongside other journalists.

At all his briefings, President HH seems to spend a decent amount of time registering his successes – which like anything else are quite arguable, but he can have that. Dare not ask him about his predecessor! Unfortunately, this incredibly reduces the chance for the press to ask their critical questions as there’s little time, but even if they did, it’s not like the President will give definite answers. With decades of experience, President HH has very solid experience as a politician and this tends to work well for him in evading questions with rather very general responses that for some reason seem to impress his supporters.
While this is the case, it might appear that President HH is living a different reality. It is important to mention that unlike what the President may believe, Zambia is certainly not a utopia, after he assumed office. Quite the contrary if we’re keeping it a hundred (pardon my slang, I’m trying to keep my young friends in the loop – like the President often does).

In examining President HH’s tenure, it is important to acknowledge his achievements while recognizing that they alone are not the solution to Zambia’s challenges. One notable accomplishment is the commendable Napsa 20% partial withdrawal initiative. However, it is crucial to question whether this measure aligns with the President’s perception. Despite this withdrawal option, the majority of Zambians still struggle to afford housing even with their entire NAPSA pension, let alone with a mere 20%.

Meanwhile, as the President and his health minister focus on allegations of drug theft and engage in political battles, the non-functional state of the Cancer Diseases Hospital continues to claim lives. Since mid-last year, the hospital has been without a functioning Linear Accelerator. While the minister of health is occupied defending herself against criticism, people are losing their lives.

An overarching issue lies in the President’s inconsistency. His words often outweigh his actions. Last year, his administration promised to procure new linear accelerators by the year’s end, yet no progress has been made. Similarly, he assured the nation that the issues surrounding KCM would be resolved by the first quarter of 2023, yet the situation remains stagnant.

Mining plays a vital role in Zambia’s economy, and any disruptions in this sector have far-reaching consequences. Despite the President’s promises of a swift resolution to the challenges faced by the mining industry, several months have passed with no tangible progress made.

Furthermore, senior government officials are disregarding media freedoms by giving uninvited interviews, a matter the President has chosen to ignore completely.
While the President believes that the lives of Zambians have significantly improved, it is vital to question this narrative. As a journalist interacting with numerous individuals, their experiences don’t always align with the President’s assertions. It raises the question: Is the President residing in a different reality altogether?

At the first briefing, I raised a crucial question to the President regarding a leaked audio involving two high-ranking officers within his administration. The conversation revealed a plot to undermine the independence of an opposition political party, which has effectively been reduced to insignificance. The President assured that an investigation was underway, but to this day, no progress has been made. It appears that the matter has been conveniently forgotten, perhaps reflecting our collective tendency to have a short memory.

In the beginning of 2022, the President and his government pledged a seamless farming season with timely and sufficient delivery of agricultural inputs. Regrettably, this turned out to be a catastrophic failure. How can the President’s assurances of timely input delivery be trusted now, considering his past bold statement during a BBC interview, where he claimed his choice for the Bank of Zambia governor would astonish citizens, only to ultimately appoint Edgar Lungu’s former candidate?

Speaking of Edgar Lungu, it begs the question: When will President HH move beyond his feud with his predecessor? This ongoing rivalry serves no purpose for the nation and is rather tiresome. It is time for the President to focus on substantive issues and prioritize the needs and aspirations of the Zambian people over personal animosity.

In conclusion, while recognizing the President’s commendable achievements, it is essential to critically evaluate his actions and the realities experienced by the Zambian people.

Unaddressed concerns regarding the leaked audio, mining challenges, failed promises in the agricultural sector, and an incessant feud with his predecessor highlight the need for a more consistent and proactive approach from President HH. Only by confronting these issues head-on and aligning rhetoric with concrete actions can Zambia truly progress and achieve a brighter future for all its citizens.

The Author is is a multi-award-winning Zambian journalist, winner of the BBC Komla Dumor Award 2022 and television presenter at Diamond Television, a leading private TV station in Lusaka Zambia

By Sean Tembo – PeP President

1. The issue of pricing maize, and by consequence mealie meal, is as controversial as the chicken and egg paradox. Which one should be prioritized over the other? Should Government set a low floor price for the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to purchase maize, in order to ensure affordable mealie meal and consequently force the rural farmer to subsidize the town dweller? Or should Government set a high floor price for FRA to purchase maize and by consequence punish the town dweller with high mealie meal prices while allowing the rural farmer to rejoice in a windfall?

2. Or perhaps Government should walk a tight rope and ensure a balancing act by setting a maize floor price that achieves both objectives of given the rural farmer a decent return on their investment while at the same time allowing the town dweller to purchase mealie meal at a reasonable price? If so, what really would a rural farmer consider a decent return on their investment, and in the same breath, what price would a town dweller consider reasonable to purchase mealie meal? Or perhaps is there a fourth option, and if so, what is it?

3. In order to objectively and accurately answer the questions raised above, it is necessary to look at the past? Obviously the maize – mealie meal pricing paradox was not there during the KK days, largely because mealie meal prices where heavily subsidized. In fact, at that time, the majority town dwellers never used to buy mealie meal, but Government would give it to them free of charge using what was known as Coupons. However, even after FTJ took over in 1991 and liberalized the economy into a free market where price ceilings and price floors were removed, the maize – mealie meal pricing paradox was not there. Even in most of Mwanawasa’s presidency, to the best of my recollection, the maize – mealie meal pricing paradox was not there. This paradox only arose somewhere between the last years of the Mwanawasa administration and the early years of the RB administration.

4. It is worth noting that when FTJ privatized (or perhaps the most accurate term is “sold off”) most of Zambia’s parastatals, he deliberately did not sell off certain strategic State corporations that included ZESCO, ZAMTEL, Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia (NCZ), etcetera. Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia had for a very long time supplied all the fertilizer needed by our farmers at a very low price. Whether this low price was cost-reflective or subsidized, is a debate for another day. However, somewhere in-between Mwanawasa and RB’s administrations, Government told us that the machinery used by Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia was old and rusty and could not produce all the fertilizer needed by the entire nation, and that some of the fertilizer needed to be imported.

5. My expectation at the time was that the importation of some fertilizer would be a temporal matter, and that subsequently Government would pump money into NCZ to modernize it and increase its capacity so that it can once again supply affordable fertilizer to the entire nation. That was more than 16 years ago, and four administrations later, we are still told the same story that NCZ equipment is too old and does not have capacity to produce the desired quantities of fertilizer needed by the entire nation. All the raw materials we need to produce fertilizer is readily and cheaply available, but 16 years later the Government under 5 different Presidents, does not want to buy the needed machinery at Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia in Kafue.

6. The importation of fertilizer increased the price at which it is supplied to farmers by more than 5 times, compared to when it was locally produced by Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia in Kafue. When this happened, the cost of production of maize by farmers skyrocketed, and the rural farmer cried for Government’s protection from briefcase buyers who were exploiting them. Government responded by entering the market through FRA and setting up a floor price every farming season. At that point, the maize – mealie meal pricing paradox was born, and ever since, successive administrations have sought to walk the thin line of balancing between the plight of the rural farmer who is the producer, and that of the town dweller who is the consumer. In some years, the rural farmer gets a raw deal and in others, the town dweller gets a raw deal. The pertinent question which the Zambian people must ask, however, is whether there is a solution to this maize – mealie meal pricing paradox?

7. The answer to the above question is a definite yes, but it requires a sincere and honest administration in office. From my several decades experience as a Statutory Auditor, l can tell you that there are three main areas where most administrations steal public funds with relative ease, which are (i) fuel procurement (ii) infrastructure development and (iii) fertilizer procurement. To an innocent Zambian out there, the solution to this maize – mealie meal pricing paradox is for Government to simply buy the needed machinery at NCZ, and since we have all the required raw materials, produce fertilizer at a price as low as K150 instead of the current K1,000 at which farmers are buying fertilizer. Once NCZ is able to supply fertilizer at the average price of K150 for a 50kg bag, then the farmer would be able to sell a 50kg bag of maize at as low as K100 at still make a good profit, which would allow the town dweller to buy a 25kg bag of breakfast mealie meal at as low as K80. It is quite simple if Government officials have no hidden motive to enrich themselves at the expense of the masses, both rural dwellers and town dwellers.

8. Put simply, the solution to the current maize – mealie meal pricing paradox lies in reducing the cost of production for the farmer, by supplying cheap fertilizer which is produced by a state-owned corporation such as NCZ. The solution can never be to unreasonably increase the floor price of maize to say K280, as we have seen the UPND administration do in the 2022/2023 farming season. Such a move might please the farmer, but will skyrocket the price of mealie meal in urban areas, and by consequence increase the already high cost of living. With a 50kg bag of maize selling at a minimum of K280, it means a 25kg bag of mealie meal will sell at between K250 and K300 when you factor in costs such as transport, insurance, financing, storage, processing, handling etcetera. The question is how many town dwellers can afford a 25kg bag of breakfast mealie meal at K300, given the current high levels of unemployment?

9. Ever since ascending to office in 2021, President Hakainde Hichilema and his Vice President Mutale Nalumango have constantly and continuously promoted a new private fertilizer manufacturing company, as if it is Difikoti promoting a Trade Kings new lotion. They say that in the 2023/24 farming season, fertilizer will not be imported but will be bought from this newly established private company. I want to take this opportunity to warn the Zambian people that this is a scam. I know the players behind this company, and they are all affiliated to the President in one way of another. I can assure you that the price at which this private company will supply fertilizer to Government will not be significantly different from the exaggerated price at which Government has been importing fertilizer in the past. That means the cost of production of maize will still be high, and the maize – mealie meal pricing paradox will still be with us come the 2023/24 marketing season.

10. If President Hakainde Hichilema was as upright as he often claims to be, the right thing to have done should have been to refurbish Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia in Kafue so that it can produce all the fertilizer needed by the nation. Even if, for arguments sake, NCZ was not able to produce fertilizer at cheap enough a price to enable both the rural farmer to get a good return on investment as well as allow the town dweller to pay an affordable price for mealie meal, and that there was still need for Government to subsidize the value-chain, it would be more economically effective to subsidize fertilizer production at NCZ than it would be to subsidize privately procured fertilizer to the farmer or to subsidize mealie meal consumption to the town dweller through FRA maize. But President Hakainde Hichilema knows all this fully well, so l am preaching to the converted. The only stumbling block preventing the President from making sound decisions for the nation regarding the maize – mealie meal pricing paradox is his vested interest in the newly established private fertilizer company. But for how long should the Zambian people suffer, just so that you can accumulate more personal wealth Mr. President sir? Is this part of the reason why you refused to declare your assets? So that you can be Zambia’s first dollar billionaire?

A Summary Reflection on the Presidential Press Briefing for 19th May 2023 By Dr. Chris Zumani Zimba

After closely watching the press briefing by our Republican President, HH, I carefully picked the following issues:

1. He repeatedly said Zambians must like him because he is “the good cat that catches rats in the house.”
2. “You may not like me, but I am the cat that catches the rats; you need me. Don’t focus on the color of the cat, whether blue, orange, white, or black, as long as it catches the rats,” he said.
3. To start with, I must commend our President (the cat) for creating time to address Zambians through the media. Yes, a good cat must report to its hosts and update them on how many rats it has killed so far.
4. At this press briefing, our journalists openly confirmed that the Zambian cat talks too much and enjoys traveling to other houses around the village but does less work.
5. To me, this was honest, patriotic, and courageous feedback for the Zambian cat to know and take note of. It’s a free and fair performance appraisal for the hired cat.
6. The hosts and villagers were simply saying the cat is not catching enough rats as expected, and the rats are now multiplying and tripling too fast, destroying house treasures and ornaments.
7. If the cat continues to believe that catching 2 or 3 rats per month is a good job, while the hosts want a cat that catches 2 to 5 rats per day since the house has thousands of rats, the cat risks eviction sooner or later.
8. While the cat was proudly hired by the host to fix the rat problem, the cat must know that it is not the first nor the last to work in this house. Six other cats have worked here.
9. And it is important for the cat to know that this house has too many rats, and previous hired cats were killing rats at a supersonic speed. Some previous cats are still celebrated in this house for the job they did compared to the new cat.
10. Today, these hosts want the new cat to catch and kill all the rats in the health sector because Zambians are dying from too many rat bites. It’s a true crisis.
11. How many rats has the newly hired Zambian cat killed in our hospitals and clinics so far? While the new cat could have employed doctors and nurses, there are no medicines to treat people and save their lives.
12. In the past, Zambians had hired cats who performed tremendously well in the health sector, including building hospitals and clinics in almost every district.
13. In the education sector, the new cat has done very well by killing many known rats, such as abolishing school fees and doubling enrollment rates. Here, the new cat has worked very well, just like the decentralization policy, which is on point, although with some teething problems.
14. But the new cat must never celebrate merely visiting UNZA or CBU as any meaningful achievement at its level. The previous cats built UNZA, CBU, Hone, Mulungushi, Levy, Makasa, etc., but never boasted in the house. The new cat is not the first one to introduce meal allowances at universities.
15. While the 20% partial NAPSA withdrawal is commendable, our new cat must know that this policy has backfired in South Africa.
16. In South Africa, there is now more poverty and vulnerability among such people than before, as many merely danced with the money and now curse the government.
17. While many Zambians want HH and ECL to openly meet, talk, reconcile, and unify the country, our good cat missed catching the rat and was talking about their ‘secret talks,’ which happened before the birth of Jesus Christ. The hosts want true political reconciliation, dialogue, and unity, Your Excellency!
18. In this house called Zambia, the hired cat must be reminded that there are thousands and millions of rats waiting for its services. Some rats are so big, some so deadly, and indeed some are viciously dangerous.
19. In the mining sector, the cat has done zero killings of those big and fat rats. The KCM, Mopani issues, and the big rats of tax holidays around mining investors are so annoying to everyone and may force the affected hosts to chase the cat in 2026.
20. Did the new Zambian cat say something about the flying of gay and lesbian flags by the EU, US, Sweden, Finland, Germany, etc., this week to celebrate homosexual day?
21. If our newly hired cat missed this Western offensive and deadly rat, then the Zambian cat is in trouble, and its days will be numbered in the house. The hosts want this rat caught and killed at once.
22. Generally, I have an impression that the cat does not understand the expectations of the hosts, although the cat over-promised to the hosts during job interviews and when entering the house.
23. So, the cat has forgotten that while it is catching rats, the rate at which it is doing the job is both worrisome and annoying to the hosts based on expectations.
24. Another problem is that this specific cat seems to be liked and praised more by neighbors in the UK, US, and France while being highly criticized by its hosts in Zambia for underperformance.
25. And the survival of the new cat in this house depends on the happiness and appraisal of Zambian hosts and has little or nothing to do with far neighbors overseas.
26. While 2026 seems far away, our newly hired cat must be reminded that the host is religiously monitoring and evaluating its performance without patience.
27. Next time, our hired cat must be informed that Zambians are not interested in graphs, statistics, and mathematical analysis of GDP and inflation rates. That’s not the big rat they want the cat to kill in the house.
28. The main deadly rats the hosts want to be brutally caught and urgently killed by the cat are the high cost of living, looming starvation and hunger, high fuel costs, high ZESCO and water bills, high dollar and Kwacha rates, high prices of mealie meal, maize, fertilizer, and less circulation of money in the economy.
29. Our hired cat must know that the IMF will not be the only and main solution to our debt crisis and economic malaise. It is a big hole the US and Europeans have made to trap and kill our cat and its hosts economically.
30. Therefore, let’s all remind and help our newly hired cat catch the most dangerous and wanted rat. Don’t put rat killer poison for now because we have hired a new cat.
31. Look, getting bigger shares in the mines and levying the right taxes on our minerals and underground mining resources must be a policy position our hired cat must prioritize to catch and kill most rats.
32. Zambians hired this cat to catch and root out these rats each day as they are in thousands and millions in the house. And the cat must know that its hosts called voters are so slippery, highly moody, and dangerously unreliable.

Dr Chris ZUMANI Zimba is a Political Scientist, Researcher, Author & Consultant specialized in Comparative Global Governance and Democratic Theories. He holds a PhD, MA, BA and Cert in Political Science. Zimba was President Lungu’s Political Advisor from December 2019 to August 2021.