The Patriotic Front (PF) in the Northern Province has extended an invitation to embattled senior Movement for Multi Party Democracy (MMD) members who have been stripped of their positions to join the ruling party.

PF Provincial Secretary Everist Chellah said the MMD former National Executive Committee (NEC) Members of Dora Siliya, Michael Kaingu, Brian Chituwo and company who were striped of their positions yesterday should join the PF.

Mr. Chellah noted that there is no need for the former MMD NEC officials to continue clinging to the former ruling party.

He said MMD is dead and will by no means bounce back into the power in the near future.

Mr. Chellah said the former MMD members will be whole heartedly welcomed to join the PF.

The PF Provincial Secretary said this during the PF District Conference in Kaputa district today.

The District Conference was attended by PF officials from the ward,constituency,district and provincial committees , Kaputa Member of Parliament Maxas Ngonga and his counterpart from Chimbamilonga in Nsama Chansa.

Others included district officials from Mporokoso, Kasama, Mpulungu and Nsama.

Meanwhile, Mr. Chellah has charged that the opposition has lost direction and has nothing else to attack the PF government on.

He said this is why the opposition has now resolved to attack the PF on the Constitution.

He has however reiterated that the PF is committed to deliver a constitution but will only do that in 2016.

Mr. Chellah said the country has a functional Constitution which has existed since the time of President Chiluba and does not need to be changed until 2016.

He claimed that delivering of the constitution now will mean making government non functional and this might call for an early election.

He has since advised PF members to ignore calls of the Constitution and instead talk about the many developments taking place.

He cited the roads and other infrastructure developments which government is undertaking as some of the things which has rendered the opposition useless.

And PF Acting Provincial Chairman Peter Mwansa has urged members to sacrifice in capturing more members through intensive party mobilisation.

Mr. Mwansa noted that party mobilisation is cardinal for the overall growth of the party.

He further called for unity in the party with particular emphasis on old members to welcome new members to the party.

Veteran Politician Dr Mbita Chitala says time has come for Zambia to reintroduce foreign exchange controls.

In an article posted on his Facebook page on the depreciation of the Kwacha, Dr Chitala stated that foreign exchange controls would help stabilise the local currency.

He said introducing a new policy exchange rate regime of pegging the exchange rate will not be sufficient unless the Zambian Government considers introducing capital controls.

Dr Chitala argued that there is historical evidence all industrialized countries utilized capital controls successfully over long periods adding that Zambia should follow suit.

Here is Dr Chitala’s full article

Many Zambians are disturbed that the Kwacha has continued to depreciate raising the spectre of compromising our economic performance and further increasing the poverty and inequality of our people.

The free fall of our Kwacha has been on account of three reasons. First, the PF government exchange rate policy inherited from the MMD government of using market-determined (termed floating) exchange rates where the value of the Kwacha is determined by market forces ; Secondly, the unfettered international private capital flows such as the Euro Bond and other foreign bank borrowing, Portfolio Investment, Foreign Direct Investment and other Transnational Corporations activities, and ; Thirdly, the lack of confidence in our economy managers occasioned by the costly introduction of SI 33 and the suspension of SI 33 and SI 55 without altering the content of our economic management.

The introduction and later suspension of SI33 and SI 55, has resulted in large capital outflows (termed capital flight) which has been putting pressure on the Kwacha and resulting in its depreciation.

As all students of economic theory know, the decrease in the demand of our Kwacha is central to why it is depreciating. This has been occurring because the Mining Companies together with all other investors including our own nationals have been selling their assets or relocating them offshore to secure jurisdictions. This capital flight has further induced a vicious circle of additional flight and Kwacha depreciation, debt service difficulties and the reduction in stock or other asset values.

This is because the panicked investors have been selling their assets en masse to avoid new capital losses brought about by anticipated future depreciation of the Kwacha or asset values.

This capital flight has aggravated Zambia’s macroeconomic vulnerability and financial instability which has culminated in the present exchange rate crisis.
It is important that the government takes up urgent measures and considers changing the current regime of floating exchange rate policies and introduce the pegged exchange rate system in which the value of the Kwacha will be allowed to fluctuate only within a narrow band (pegged exchange rate).

However, introducing a new policy exchange rate regime of pegging the exchange rate will not be sufficient unless our government considers introducing capital controls. Capital controls or the measures to manage the volume, composition or allocation of capital flows and or maintenance of restrictions on investor entrance or exit opportunities.

There is historical evidence all industrialized countries utilized capital controls successfully over long periods. This is true today for China, India, South Africa, Botswana , Brazil as it was for all European countries after WW II, the USA in 1963, Japan and South Korea in 1960s, Malaysia in 1994 and 1998.

In our country, it would be advised that these capital controls could presently target our specific vulnerability, namely, the capital flight and use and identify the specific ‘trip wires’ and ‘speed bumps’ in various domains such as the Kwacha collapse, flight of capital and then take steps to curtail these risks by activating a target capital control- the speed bump. It is in this vain that windfall taxation of our natural resources such as our base metals and emeralds should be seen.

Capital controls are beneficial to Zambia because in our small and underdeveloped economy, First, the controls will promote our financial stability and prevent our social and economic devastation; Secondly, capital controls will promote desirable types of investment and financing arrangements; And Thirdly. Capital controls will enhance our democracy and national independence.

Lastly, It is important that that the bad image that our economic managers at the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Zambia are responsible for, namely, of having introduced SI 33 in particular which prevented investors and owners of assets from using them freely in Zambia, is urgently addressed.

It is apparent to all and sundry that it will only be a foolish investor who will bring his assets to Zambia if the management is still in the hands of those who caused so much damage to investors and the country in the first instance.

Mbita Chitala PhD

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) secretary general Wynter Kabimba has urged ruling party members in Kitwe and the Copperbelt in general to embrace team work and reconciliation.

Speaking when he addressed PF cadres at Kitwe Civic Centre yesterday, Mr Kabimba who is also Minister of Justice said there was need for party members to work together if they are to attract new members and retain the confidence of old ones.

“Bickering and lies should be a thing of the past. As PF, we need to be stronger now than we were in the opposition,” Mr Kabimba said.

“Do not listen to people who tell you that the S.G. (Secretary General) does not like you; such statements are fabricated lies from demons.”

Mr Kabimba further urged members to be selfless and realise that as a ruling party, they had the responsibility of looking at the welfare of over 13 million Zambians and not just themselves.

[pullquote]“People are laughing at us. They are telling us that when they were in Government they used to live well. We also need to be empowered,” one cadre said.[/pullquote]

He emphasised the need for the ruling party to get organised and be seen to be organised if Zambians are to show them the confidence that they did in 2011.

Mr Kabimba also urged PF members to embrace new members from other political parties because the party was an open group and not a closed one.

And PF cadres said they want to be empowered by the party.

“People are laughing at us. They are telling us that when they were in Government they used to live well. We also need to be empowered,” one cadre said.

But Mr Kabimba said empowerment could only come through team work and organisation.

He said the party could not empower its cadres through corruption but that it could only do so through transparency and encouraging team work, reconciliation and love for one another.

Some cadres also told Mr Kabimba that they want Kitwe district commissioner Elias Kamanga to be removed from office because he is allegedly arrogant and boastful.

The cadres also emphasised the need for the party at national level to respect their choice for people to stand as parliamentarians in 2016. Mr Kabimba said he had taken note of their concerns and promised to return to Kitwe for party mobilisation programmes.