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PF Deputy Secretary General Mumbi Phiri addressing the public of Mano Ward in Bangweulu Constituency in Samfya District at Kasoma Banweulu Primary School during campaign the rally
Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) Eastern Province Provincial Chairman Jacob Mwanza has reported that the Patriotic Front (PF) led by Deputy Secretary-General Mumbi Phiri are in the province trying to organize fake defections of MMD members to the ruling PF to be led by expelled Sisinje Ward Councilor Samuel Lugomo.
Others who are expected to be used and are to be paraded before President Chagwa Lungu include the disgraced Chembe Daka who was disciplined on a nuisance charge for publicly urinating at the Chipata council premises during the January 2015 presidential election.
In a statement to the media, Mr. Mwanza has said that this desperate attempt by the PF will not work because the people of Eastern Province know very well that the PF Government has destroyed agriculture in the province and have brought untold misery to the once prosperous province with their fake “90 Days” promises and lack of experience in managing affairs of this country.
He said during the 2015 Presidential election, many people in Eastern Province were hoodwinked by the false PF campaign promises they would get double the seed and fertiliser support compared to what the MMD government used to give when in power. As it turned out, these were the usual PF lies and instead of doubling the quantities they actually cut the support in half that used to be given previously by the MMD Government and farmers are now languishing.
Mr. Mwanza further said an advance MMD mobilisation team from Lusaka are already in the province and have proved for themselves that PF are in the province plotting these fake defections.
He warned Zambians to be suspicious of all defections to the PF taking place during this period because they are being stage-managed out of desperation to hoodwink Zambians that PF is popular when they know very well that Zambians have lost all confidence in the PF and want the MMD to come back.
President Lungu with Vice President Inonge Wina at State house
Vice President Inonge Wina has revealed that Government has not procured any presidential jet for President Edgar Lungu as reported by some online media outlets.
Mrs Wina told Parliament this morning that Government has no intentions of buying a jet for the Office of the President.
She was responding to a question from MMD Sinda Member of Parliament Levy Ngoma who wanted to clarify reports that Government has proposed the acquisition of a new long haul G5 presidential jet at a cost of K50 million to avoid commercial flights by President Lungu and his delegation.
‘Zambia is now becoming famous for speculation and speculative information and we adopt that as the gospel truth. As far as i Know, this Government has no plans to procure a jet for the President,’ Mrs Wina said.
She added, ‘ Mr Speaker, we have a bulky yellow book, if you can peruse through the yellow book and tell me where that money will come from, then i will agree with you but as for now Government has no plans of buying a plane.’
1Zambia Arm Western Regional Commander Col. Davies Luwaya (l) arrives with his counterparts at the venue during the commemoration of Remembrance Day Parade at Mongu Civic Center Cenotaph
2A combined parade of Zambia Army, Zambia Air Force, Zambia Police, Zambia National Service, Zambia Prisons and School Cadets during the commemoration of Remembrance Day Parade at Mongu Civic Center Cenotaph
3Angolan Vice Consul General to Zambia Belarmino Adriano (r) with Western Province Permanent Secretary Mwangala Liomba (l) following proceedings during the commemoration of Remembrance Day Parade at Mongu Civic Center Cenotaph
4Western Province Permanent Secretary Mwangala Liomba (c) laying wreaths at the Cenotaph during the commemoration of Remembrance Day Parade at Mongu Civic Center
5Western Provincial Joint Operation Committee (PJOC) during the commemoration of Remembrance Day Parade at Mongu Civic Center Cenotaph
6Ex-service men Col. B. Makumba (l), Col. T. Simuyawa (c)and Maj. Mutukwa (r) during the commemoration of Remembrance Day Parade at Mongu Civic Center Cenotaph
7President Lungu at The remembrance Day in Lusaka
8resident Edgar Lungu at the Remembrance day at National Cenotaph in Lusaka
9MAMA KANKASA-PRESIDENT LUNGU
10President Edgar Lungu Meets Members of XE-services League at the Cenotaph in Lusaka
11PRESIDENT LUNGU-AMBASSADORS
12PRESIDENT LUNGU -Aaron Katongo
13President Lungu Matches to Lay wreaths at the cenotaph to make rememberance day in Lusaka
14PRESIDENT LUNGU-MAMA KANKASA
15PRESIDENT LUNGU-MAJ GEN TOM FALA
16President Lungu ate remembrance Day
17President Lungu talks Home Affairs Minister Mr Davies Mwila and Mr Amos Chanda
18President Lungu Greeting Senior Citizens
19President Lungu greeting Scouts
20Two Members of the Ex-services League at the Cenotaph in Lusaka
21Scouts and girl Guides at the Remembrance day at the National Cenotaph in Lusaka Day
22Zambia’s Service Chiefs
23The War Veterans
24President Lungu greeting the Youths
25Zambia army Armour at the Remembrance day in Lusaka
26Zambia airforce General at the Remembrance Day at the National Cenotaph in Lusaka
27World War Vets at the National Cenotaph in Lusaka
28Zambia national Defence Forces Commanders take salute at the Cenotapy in Lusaka
29Zambia army General at the Remembrance day at National Cenotaph on Independence Avenue
30Zambia army Deputy Commader Ge Bubala and Deputy Air Commander Gen Muma at The Cenotapy in Lusaka
Before we get started on today’s awesome recipes, I just wanted to say a big thank you to the readers that gave their various Nshima suggestions, on my previous article. I was quite inspired by them and I will be sure to feature some in my future columns. Whilst we are on the subject of inspiration, one of the suggestions was nshima porridge or mealie meal porridge; admittedly mealie meal porridge is not something that I ever ate as a child; however it is something that I have enjoyed before. Anyway, one reader mentioned how they never enjoyed nshima porridge when they were younger, so that inspired me to share a recipe with you that might change your mind. I would imagine that nshima porridge is something that you can eat for breakfast and this inspired me to write about…yes, you guessed it…breakfast.
The weekend is fast approaching and for some of us Saturday will be our first day off of the week. What better way to enjoy your day off than with a beautiful breakfast served in bed, the birds are singing, sun is beaming, the beautiful smell of bacon and eggs is wafting through the air. The sensational aroma hits your nose and puts a wide smile on your face….you get where I’m going with this. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day; and as my aunt would say “Eat Breakfast like a King, Lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper”. So take a look at some of these fun and delicious ways to make your breakfast more interesting. Whether you are making this for ‘his or hers’ Birthday, an Anniversary or for Valentine’s Day, this is a great way to show some love to your other half. These recipes are not only mouth watering and delicious; but they are also healthy and the perfect way to start your day. Eggs are full of protein and just what you need to build up those muscles; nshima porridge is equally nutritious, and mixing it with peanut butter, honey or fruits takes the nutrition content even higher. So enjoy and try out one or two of these recipes to impress your special someone.
Preparation & cooking time: 30 mins
Serves: 4 people
Ingredients
For the mealie meal porridge
1 ½ cups (180g) of mealie meal
60ml of cold water
470 ml of boiling water
A pinch of salt
Peanut butter/ Sugar/ Honey (optional)
Sliced banana/Berries to top it off (optional)
For the French toast
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons butter
4 eggs
59ml milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
8 slices white bread or brioche, halved
118ml maple syrup or honey, warmed
Berries and Strawberries or other fresh fruit, chopped or sliced (optional)
For the poached eggs and bacon/ham
1 or 2 eggs per person, at room temperature
1 tbsp of vinegar (optional)
Slices of wholemeal bread (1 or 2 per person)
Butter for spreading (or any other low fat spread that you want)
2 rashers (slices) of bacon/ham per person
Salt
Ground black pepper
Method
First prepare your mealie meal porridge. Boil your water. In a pot mix your mealie meal and cold water together to make a paste; add your boiling water, whilst stirring simultaneously and bring it to the boil. As soon as it starts to boil, cover the pot and reduce the heat; let it simmer for 15 minutes. If it is too thick add more water to get the consistency you would like. After 15 minutes add a pinch of salt and stir. If you are using peanut butter only add it at the end, just before serving, because this will ensure that you get the most nutrition from the nuts. Pour your porridge into a bowl and add sugar or honey to taste, or sliced banana or berries.
Whilst the porridge simmers, prepare everything else as follow;
French toast; in a pan, melt the butter over medium – high heat. In a small bowl, combine, cinnamon, and sugar and set aside. Whisk together the cinnamon mixture, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract and pour into a shallow container; dip bread into the egg mixture. Fry slices until golden brown on both sides. Once cooked, place them on paper towel to drain any excess butter. Pour your warm honey or syrup over them and add your desired fruit.
Eggs and bacon – preheat the oven to 200 ? C and cook the bacon for 6-8 minutes. Once the bacon has been cooking for about 2 minutes toast your bread and start poaching your eggs. In a kettle boil enough water to fully submerge your eggs. Add your water to a pot and turn the stove to high heat to simmer the water. Add your vinegar and mix with a spoon – the vinegar helps to keep your egg together in the water. Crack your egg into the water and poach it for about 2 minutes. You can cook more than one egg at a time, and if you want your eggs to be firmer cook them for up to 4 minutes. Place your toast on a plate, with the bacon on top; remove the eggs from the pot using a spoon, and drain any excess water, place them on top of your bacon and toast. Sprinkle some salt and pepper over them to taste.
Serving
Your breakfast is perfect and ready to be devoured – serve your porridge with sliced banana or berries for extra flavour and decoration. Tuck into your thick, crunchy French toast, drizzled with warm syrup/honey and sliced fruit. And to finish off, wolf down your healthy wholemeal toast, layered with crispy bacon and topped with your soft poached eggs; garnish with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Don’t forget to wash down this amazing meal with a glass of freshly squeezed orange or sweet mango juice, or a lovely glass of milk.
Enjoy!!
Kanta Temba is a cake maker and decorator. She is also the owner and founder of Kanta Kakes – cake shop.
You can find her work onwww.kantakakes.com. Follow her on twitter @KantaKakes and Instagram @KantaTemba.
Transport, Works, Supply and Communications Minister Yamfwa Mukanga (right) shakes hands with new Zambia Railways Board Chairperson Davies Chama at his office in Lusaka
Twenty six people have applied for the vacant position of Chief Executive Officer at Zambia Railways, Board Chairman Davies Chama has revealed.
Mr Chama who is also PF Secretary General said in an interview that a Committee set up to scrutinise the applications will today meet to come up with shortlisted candidates.
Mr Chama said he is hopeful that the Board will finalise the appointment of a new CEO for the state railway firm soon.
‘We want to conclude this process very soon. Infact, the Board mandated a Committee to go through all the applications, we received 26 applications for this post so we have to shortlist a few and see where we take the process further,’ Mr Chama said.
He said the new CEO will be appointed purely on merit.
‘You know, Zambia Railways is a strategic asset for this country, so we need to entrust it in the right pair of hands,’ he said.
On June 1 2015, the Managing Director Professor Muyenga Atanga tendered a 90-day notice of resignation.
FILE: The five presidential candidates during the live radio and television debate at Mulungushi International Conference centre
By Kalima Nkonde
In all my previous articles, I have focused on analyzing the economy; criticizing the ruling PF and giving them solutions and I have just mentioned Opposition Parties in passing. I have , however, noticed to my great disappointment that even in the light of the economic crisis, most of the leaders of the Opposition Parties have been quiet and not providing proper checks and balances to the ruling Party. The majority of the Opposition parties have not been making comments or analyzing the economy apart from the UPND and to some extent the FDD in order to provide necessary checks and balances to the ruling Party!
The ruling PF has been criticized left, right and centre by commentators, analysts and the Post Newspaper but Opposition Parties have been the holy grail of Zambian politics. I would like to depart from this and criticize the opposition as a collective so that I give them a nudge to provide better, more aggressive and effective checks and balances to the ruling Party. It is only Opposition pressure that will ensure that the ruling party is kept on its toes and is prevented from making such reckless and outrageous expenditure decisions like Chartering an aircraft for seven days to New York with the alleged 256 people on board!
Zambia has so many Opposition parties to such an extent that I have lost count but the top twelve off the cuff are: UPND led by Hakainde Hichilema, FDD led by Edith Nawaki, MMD led by Nevers Mumba, Rainbow Party led by Winter Kabimba, National Restoration Party (NAREP) of Elias Chipimo jnr,Heritage Party by Brigadier General Miyanda, National Movement for Progress (NMP) led by Ng’andu Magande,National Revolutionary party(NRP) of Charles Milupi, Green party of Peter Sinkamba and 4th Revolution (4R) led by Eric Chanda, Liberal party of Sakwiba Sikota and Dr Ludwig Sondashi led Forum for Democratic Alternatives (FDA).
The majority of the above parties have neither a single Councilor nor a Member of Parliament and you never hear them say anything and only appear during the general election! The question one asks is what is their motivation for forming these parties and continuing with them when they have no chance of winning and they are hardly contributing to the political discourse? What comes to mind are words like ego, selfishness, delusion, pride, eccentricity, publicity but certainly not public service? My guess is that they get a kick out of being called Presidents! The Donor grants such as the European Union’s grants (money) for successfully filling in for the Presidency during the general election could also be another major motivation.
Zambia has been going through the largely self inflicted economic problems brought about by the PF administration and one would have expected that all the Opposition Parties would be falling over themselves to tear the ruling Party apart! The only parties that have been consistent on exposing the economic mess are the UPND, Rainbow and the FDD! When did you last hear about General Miyanda, Eric Chanda, Nevers Mumba, Elias Chipimo , Dr Sondashi or their advisors and others talking or writing about the economy? It is very rare indeed. One can conclude that these parties lack depth to such an extent that the majority of the Opposition Party leaders do not understand the basics of the economy and are scared to expose their ignorance!
How do they expect to run the country if they took over? They are more comfortable talking about politics like the PF. In the age of social media, they could have been posting articles giving their positions and pressurizing the Government in the process. As a commentator, I have written more and criticized the PF economic management more than the majority of the Opposition parties!
One of the major weaknesses of the PF government is the reckless expenditure and waste which has led to a huge budget deficit and an astronomical public debt. If I was the opposition strategist, I would have been researching to obtain the facts and figures and exposing to the public for example the Constitutional holders salaries and benefits, personal to holder vehicles for ministers and their wives, the costs of each trip the President takes, air time allowances, petrol allowances, the daily per diem of Government Officers so on and so forth to sensitise the public about the gravy train that has made Zambian politics an industry with sub sectors of per diem, corruption and tenders. This will be providing proper checks and balances and act as a deterrent to wasteful expenditure but at the same time promote the Opposition’s brand as an alternative government.
The other issue of concern to the public is that the Opposition Parties are so divided that they hardly talk to each other and they fail to share notes or cooperate even on common ground issues. The latest case in point is the Charter of the plane by the President to New York. One would have expected that they could have jointly agreed to hold a press conference and insist on getting the total cost of the trip.
This would have put pressure on the Executive and acted as a deterrent for the future. The other missed opportunities for showing a united front include the Kaizer Zulu shooting incident, the creation of new ministries when we have huge budget and the purchase of 156 vehicles for District commissioners. They could be many more public interest recklessness in expenditure which would expose the ruling party to the electorate who are hurting with the prices of commodities having doubled recently!
Another issue that they could have seized upon as opportunity to show unity, caring about the economy and project themselves as more responsible is the opportunity the President provided them by refusing to hold an economic Indaba amidst economic crisis. They could have organized an economic conference themselves, sourced sponsorship from the corporate world or from the Donors and scored immense political goals. I have mentioned in some of my articles that Opposition parties do not have strategists and are not innovative . My suspicions is that there is no intra party democracy in most of these parties and there are no thinkers apart from their “ great leaders” who are considered omnipotent and the rest of members are passengers and merely follow the leader without contributing constructive ideas.
There is also another problem about Zambian opposition political parties. They do not carry out research to find out the actual needs and concerns of voters on the ground and using the same findings to carve out campaign messages that will resonate with the voters so as to win hearts and minds. In addition, they are allergic to big data!
In 21st Century Politics, in order to have a competitive advantage you have to carry out research, collect data and make use of technological tools to analyse the date as a basis to formulate a winning campaign strategy. This would include doing in house scientific opinion polls. The UPND’s recent Business survey is the way to go. As a result of lack of research, the Opposition campaign messages are superficial and are based on their perception of what is important for voters not targeted on issues important to voters and therefore ineffective resulting in voter apathy as the electorate is not fired up to vote.
I would like to challenge some Opposition Party leaders to rethink why they are in politics. Are they there for public service or for selfish personal reasons? If they are in politics for public service and they figure out that they are not making any impact, there is no need for them to reconsider their Parties’ existence and think of merging with the bigger ones so that they can contribute to the country more meaningfully.
The Zambian opposition landscape is so fragmented that they are unlikely to win any election in the near future, divided as they are. The smaller parties, some of them with leaders who are among the best brains in Zambia should think seriously about their future. Some of their leaders have so much economic, legal and political experience that Zambia needs and they should seriously consider merging with the bigger parties and contribute more positively to the nation if indeed they love this country.
In the event they do not, for egoistic and selfish reasons, posterity will not be kind to them. In politics, there are no permanent enemies ; politics is all about compromise. In my previous articles for the past nine months, I have provided the ruling PF administration enormous free of charge, well researched economic advice which they have largely ignored. In order to be even handed, I will write a few articles advising the Opposition on various issues and this article is the first in the series.
In my next article, I will advice how the Opposition can increase their chances of winning the 2016 election exponentially!
Government has announced that it has opened an Account with ZANACO where members of the public can contribute towards the construction of an Interdenominational church to be known as the House of Prayer for all Nations Tabernacle.
In a statement, Secretary to the Cabinet Dr Ronald Msiska said in Lusaka that the Account will be domiciled in Lusaka and that those willing to contribute towards the construction of the Tabernacle can deposit the money in Account Number 1996712300387.
Dr Msiska said the opening of the Account follows the laying of the Foundation Stone and Groundbreaking Ceremony of the House of Prayer for All Nations Tabernacle by President Edgar Lungu.
He has since appealed to the public, the private sector and other stakeholders to support Government in constructing the Interdenominational Tabernacle by contributing towards the cause.
Dr Msiska said the construction of the Interdenominational Tabernacle reaffirms Government’s commitment to upholding the declaration of Zambia as a Christian Nation as enshrined in the Republican Constitution.
House of Prayer for all Nations Tabernacle will be situated in the Woodlands Forest Reserve land along Burma Road in Lusaka.
THE Parliamentary committee on legal affairs, governance, human rights, gender matters and child affairs yesterday expressed disappointment with the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) for failing to appear before it.
The committee which is headed by Choma Central Member of Parliament (MP) Cornelius Mweetwa, has been receiving views from various stakeholders on the Constitutional Amendment Bill and concludes its work today.
Mufumbwe MP Steven Masumba, who is a member of the committee, said it is disheartening that the UPND has shunned the sittings when the opposition party has been calling for a people-driven constitution.
“I wish to commend UNIP for coming. Some parties like UPND and PF did not appear before us despite being invited,” Mr Masumba said.
And speaking in an interview at Parliament, Mpongwe MP Gabriel Namulambe said the PF did not need to appear before the committee because it is the PF government that took the Bill to government.
“This is a PF paper through Government,. so PF did not need to be here,” Mr Namulambe said.
And making a submission to the committee, UNIP deputy national secretary Alfred Banda said the country’s oldest political party is committed to seeing a new constitution that will stand the test of time.
Mr Banda said UNIP is in agreement with almost all the clauses in the draft constitution.
General Education Minister John Phiri says the ICT examinations that were written by grade nine pupils will not be part of the requirement for selection to grade 10.
Dr Phiri says the ministry will only grade pupils on the best six subjects that they have written.
And Dr Phiri says it is unfortunate that pupils were examined on computers until the next morning because of limited equipment and load shedding.
He said the ministry has resolved to let computer exams run for three days to allow pupils to write exams in a conducive environment.
Dr. Phiri however, maintained that computer studies remain a compulsory subject but will not be graded until the ministry shows direction.
The Minister disclosed that the ministry will award computers to 300 schools once the 2016 budget is approved as a way to improving the pupil’s access to computers.
He further said that the ministry wants to accord over 2000 teachers an in-house training service to build their capacity in computers.
Finance Minister Alexander ChikwandaFinance Minister Alexander Chikwanda
The Zambian and German Governments have signed two bilateral agreements for Financial and Technical cooperation worthy approximately 120.5 million Euros.
The two agreements comprise commitments of 94 million Euros for financial cooperation and 26.5 million Euros for technical cooperation.
Forty million Euros will go towards concessional financing for the rehabilitation and extension of the Chishimba Fall Hydro Power Station.
Speaking during the signing ceremony in Lusaka today, Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda thanked the Germany government for the support rendered to Zambia.
Mr. Chikwanda says the signed bilateral agreements are timely and will help substantially to fill some resource gaps.
He notes that currently Zambia has significant challenges in its economy principally due to the external induced shocks arising from the global economy particularly as they relate to low commodity prices.
And Germany Ambassador to Zambia Bernd Finke, who signed on behalf of his government, says the signed agreements are based on the bilateral government negotiations on German-Zambia development cooperation which took place in November last year.
He says the 120.5 million Euros worth agreements attest to the fact that Germany has now doubled its funding to Zambia.
Mr. Finke says this also signifies an increase of around 5 percent compared to Germany’s last commitments in 2011.
The envoy has since assured the Zambian government that Germany will continue to be a reliable partner in good and in less good times.
ECZ Chairman Essau Chulu receiving the petition from Dr Mumba
The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has extended the mobile voter registration exercise by 21 days starting from the 23rd of November, 2015 to 13th December, 2015.
The mobile voter registration exercise came to an end yesterday 11th November.
ECZ Chairperson Justice Esau Chulu has told a stakeholders meeting in Lusaka today that the extension of the exercise will cost the Commission K68.5 million.
He explains that the exercise will cover about 4,000 carefully selected registration centers countrywide.
Justice Chulu says these centers will be selected by the district registration officers taking into account the population and the turnout during the 60 days exercise that ended yesterday.
He has however pointed out that the voter registration exercise at civic centers in all the districts countrywide will continue as scheduled until 31st March 2016.
Justice Chulu has appealed to civil society organizations and other stakeholders to take advantage of the extension to encourage eligible voters to register.
He has further appealed to political parties and church organizations to call on all their members to turn up in large numbers to register as voters.
And the ECZ has warned political parties to desist from displaying their campaign materials in public places until when the campaign period commences.
This follows complaints of early campaigns by some political parties.
Justice Chulu has also reminded political parties to ensure that they are in good standing with the registrar of societies and their party symbols are those approved by the commission to avoid being prevented from taking part in next year’s elections.
And Lusaka province Police Commissioner Charity Katanga says Police were not instructed by anyone to remove the UPND campaign regalia on the streets of Lusaka.
She explains that Police act according to the law and not by instructions from anyone.
Ms Katanga states that it is a notorious fact that that political party regalia are all over public places with both the UPND and PF being the culprits.
FILE: President Lungu greets UPND president Hakainde Hichilema during the memorial service of the Late President Michael Chilufya Sata at St Ignatius Catholic Church in Lusaka
UPND Leader Hakainde Hichilema has said that Zambians are now agreeing with him that the PF Government is a one term project as they are on the verge of exiting power.
Mr. Hichilema said that it was very clear that most Zambians have given up on the PF for running the country without a plan.
Mr. Hichilema said that keeping the PF in office beyond 2016 will be suicidal for Zambian people.
Mr. Hichilema pointed out that one of the things that will cost the PF is the fact that President Edgar Lungu has decided to bring back the people who were rejected by the Zambian people in 2011 for non performance.
The UPND Leader said that it is illogical for the PF to think that by bringing finished politicians who were part of the MMD Zambians rejected they will win next year’s elections.
The opposition Alliance for Development and Democracy (ADD) has accused Government of concealing the magnitude of the problem in the mining industry.ADD President Charles Milupi said he suspects government has also realized that there is very little it can do about the problem in the mining industry.
He said that this is evidenced by how President Edgar Lungu has now taken a political route by issuing statements to show that he is doing something about the problem when in fact he is not doing anything.
[pullquote]what is even more unfortunate is that the PF government missed the opportunity to raise enough reserves when global copper prices were high by refusing to introduce windfall tax[/pullquote]
Mr. Milupi told Qfm News by telephone that this also explains why mining companies have continued on path of winding up operation despite the recent meetings the President held with them.
Mr. Milupi said that by laying off workers and placing their operations on care and maintenance, mining companies are merely making business decisions.
He said there is need to address fundamentals of the economy that are causing sectors of the economy such as Mining, Agriculture and Manufacturing to be under stress.
He said that what is even more unfortunate is that the PF government missed the opportunity to raise enough reserves when global copper prices were high by refusing to introduce windfall tax.
Mr. Milupi said that had these taxes been introduced in the mining industry, the government would have had enough revenue to intervene in the economy and save jobs in the Mines.
We have been receiving a lot of queries regarding the happenings on our economy. May we not be lazy in reading what we said and foresaw a long time ago before all these problems but we were called all sorts of names and hate speech was used against us yet we really love this country and have been offering solutions. We advised our colleagues in the PF on what needed to be done on exchange rates, load shedding, mining taxation with a view to creating sustainability, borrowing and many other issues even in the subsequent statements such as economic diversification programmes in order to generate wealth and create jobs locally.
Below is the UPND press statement released on 19th October 2012
The United Party for National Development Preliminary response to the 2013 National Budget
1.0 General Overview
1.1 The UPND recognizes that the Patriotic Front Government is responsible for the 2013 Zambian budget framing and implementation. Irrespective of the party in government, the budget, as an important tool for generating public revenue and directing expenditure priorities, affects in many ways citizens, residents and others who do business in or relate with Zambia.
1.2 Our summary comments on the 2013 budget are presented below.
1.3 Many people were looking forward to the second national budget presented by the PF Government. The PF made a lot of election promises which many people expected would be fulfilled through the 2013 national budget. The overall picture emerging from the budget presented by Finance Minister, Mr. Alexander Chikwanda is that the budget did not address a number of key concerns of the Zambian people and has to a large extent failed to depart from the past in approach, content and value add to the quality of Zambian lives.
2.0 Key Economic Policies
2.1 Many people were looking forward to a significant change in economic policies. An examination of the fiscal and monetary policies outlined in the budget indicate that there is no real departure from the past. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), inflation, exchange rate, debt, taxation and interest rate policies and targets have largely remained similar to those of the past Movement for Multi Party Democracy (MMD) Government with a few exceptions.
2.2 GDP Growth Rate – The PF’s projected GDP growth rate of 7% per annum is too low and inadequate to provide meaningful impact needed to create more employment, reduce poverty and improve people’s overall standard of living. For us in the UPND we believe that in a country with high unemployment and poverty levels, what is needed is a GDP growth target of 10% or more. This project is real and achievable given Zambia’s substantial resource endowment and geoposition. The missing link currently is the PF’s inability to provide clear political leadership to achieve visionary economic and social gains that are possible which the UPND team is better placed to provide.
2.3 Interest Rates– Although some commercial banks have reduced their lending rates actual credit to small/medium scale enterprises and individuals has largely remained high, around 23% depending on the bank’s risk perception of the borrower. To this end nothing much has changed under the PF as this high level of cost of funds is what was obtaining under the MMD. It is the UPND’s considered view that more measures are necessary to lower the cost of loanable funds to interest rates below 12% in kwacha for an average business/individual. This is what will trigger increased economic activity and job creation. The budget lacked additional measures required to make lending accessible and affordable to those who need credit the most.
2.4 Exchange Rates-From September 2011 when the PF took over government, the Kwacha has continued being volatile and has depreciated by over 12% from a rate of exchange of about K4700/US $ to todays rate of around K5270/US $.In our view and according to some commentators, against a background of improved copper prices and other developments the depreciation of the Kwacha reflects the glaring uncertainties in the PF policy direction including the return of nationalization being effected quietly. This is clearly one of the indicators of the loss of confidence in the economy. The developments in the foreign exchange market are also linked to the statutory instrument banning transactions in forex in Zambia. To be specific, despite the PF government’s praise songs about Statutory Instrument No.33 of 2012 (SI 33), the Statutory instrument amounts to a silent reintroduction of exchange controls with immediate, medium and long term damage to stability in the forex market and disruption to the business operating environment in general.
2.5 Eurobond and total debts
Through the 2013 budget, the PF Government has demonstrated its appetite for irresponsible borrowing as opposed to raising revenue through available prudent fiscal measures. Foreign debt and grant financing amounts to K5.6 trillion while local borrowing is K1.8 trillion. This Eurobond is clearly another rushed project which the PF has exaggerated the over subscription to mean confidence in their government when the opposite is the case. The capitalistic investor are looking for higher returns which are not available in the traditional markets which are experiencing low yields due to struggling economies in Europe and America. Currently LIBOR is around 1.5% and the Eurobond was pegged at over 5% which is still high. It is clear that if parliamentary oversight and other controls on borrowing are not effected immediately, the PF government’s approach to balancing the budget through borrowing will undoubtedly lead Zambia into another debt trap which the country can ill afford after the last painful experience the Country went through prior to debt write-off for which, Zambians paid a heavy price. The US $ 750 Million Eurobond was unnecessary if the government had listened to people’s cry to reintroduce the windfall tax which at conservative levels is projected at US$600 million per year. Worse still, the full terms and conditions for the Eurobond such as arrangement, legal, disbursement and other fees have not been disclosed by the Finance Minister.
3.0 Taxation of the Mining Sector
3.1 Many people are demanding that the Zambian people should benefit from the country’s mineral wealth. The 2013 budget indicates that direct mining tax will only contribute about 6% of total revenue for a sector accounting for over 60 % of the economy.People were expecting the PF Government to adequately tax the Mining Sector to generate financial resources in order to provide better roads, schools,hospitals and other infrastructure. As indicated above the people were calling for the re-introduction of windfall tax on mineral revenue. With copper prices remaining above US$7,500 per tonne, the mines are still gaining unexpected income which is above the planned threshold of US$2,500 to US$3,000 per tonne to make profit. The PF campaigned on the platform of re-introducing the windfall tax. What has changed?
Over the PF’s five year term, Zambians will experience a lost revenue opportunity through windfall tax of around US$ 3 billion (K15 trillion) which funds could be applied to job creation, reduction in poverty ,load shedding, better roads and social amenities.
3.2 The people of Zambia deserve to derive benefits from the mineral wealth of Zambia through windfall tax and share with owners of the mines the supper normal profits. If the PF Government have been deceived into believing that they will tax profits of the mining companies to generate more treasury revenue, they are in for a rude shock as the mines would continue to declare minimal profits or losses for a long time to come due to various practices such as international transfer pricing, sophisticated tax planning mechanisms and higher than normal production and operational costs which this PF Government has no capacity to monitor and control.
3.3 While the mineral royalty at 6% is noted, it is insufficient to raise the amount of revenue expected from the mining sector. Mineral royalty itself is treated as an expense rather than a tax. It will still be deducted from total mining revenue for tax purposes. The net revenue gain by the government will be minimal. We would like the income tax act amended to reflect mineral royalty as non deductable for tax purposes.
3.4 To illustrate the missed opportunity, only K1.9 trillion revenue is expected from the mineral royalty in the 2013 budget. In comparison, if the PF Government had introduced windfall tax the additional treasury revenue would have been in the region of K3 trillion. In simple language, the PF Government has lost the people of Zambia K3 trillion by failing to introduce windfall tax in the 2013 budget.
4.0 Electricity Blackouts
The persistent power failures are worrying and unacceptable. Clearly, the government has failed to deal with the problems in generation, transmission and distribution of power in Zambia. Everyday, people who are connected to the national grid are being blacked out by Zesco thereby inconveniencing them, destroying their appliances and disrupting normal family life and businesses. For the rural areas which are not on the national grid they are tired of hoping against hope that some day they will be connected to the electricity grid.
The PF government expenditure allocation to this area (K0.98 trillion), Zesco’s inefficiency and their suggested measures to alleviate the sufferings of the people are insufficient. Zesco will fail to connect users who need power, and electricity load shedding or power cuts will continue.
