Reuters reports that President Rupiah Banda expects the ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) to score an easy victory in this year elections which he said will be coming in a matter of months.

Speaking today in Johannesburg at the Reuters Africa Investment Summit, President Banda said that he hoped to win with an even larger margin.

“I expect to win. My wish and my hope is that we win with a larger margin than what happened the last time when I stood as president,” he said.

President Banda would not give a date for the poll but said it was coming soon, indicating it would take place before September.

He described the PF-UPND pact as a concern, but said his administration’s economic record, with last year’s growth rate of 7 percent, and should be the same this year, should see him through comfortably to a second term. “We should come out with a bigger majority,” he said.

Mr Banda also said that, this year, he expected the economy to grow a rate of between 7.1% and 7.5%. “7.1 percent is what we are hoping to get and we are hoping it could go up a little bit more,” he said. “7.1 to 7.5 percent is what we are hoping for.”

With a B+ credit rating obtained from Fitch last week, Mr Banda said Zambia would proceed with a $500 million global bond before elections due by September. The proceeds of the bond would be earmarked for infrastructure, in particular transport, power and housing.

“We need the money now to continue developing our infrastructure. Our economy is growing and is going to need good roads,” he said. “We are going to need to fix electricity,”

Mr. Banda also said the government would focus on diversifying the economy, which remains heavily reliant on copper mining, and growing industries such as agriculture and tourism.

[pullquote]”The issue of windfall tax is a major issue. Everybody is talking about it in the country. The opposition are hoping to use it as a major tool against me but I think we will be able to explain it to the people,” he said.[/pullquote]

The President also said that Zambia is seeking to encourage foreign investment in land, in particular for biofuels to offset its heavy fuel import bill, although he said that he was aware of the pitfalls and would ensure that land was “not given away”.

He also said that he would also seek to increase competition in the power sector to try boost efficiency at dominant state electricity producer ZESCO.

Privatisation of inefficient state enterprises was also a possibility, he added, citing last year’s sale of state-run fixed line operator Zamtel to Libya’s LAP Green Networks that led to a reduction in call charges.

“It is not government’s role to own industries and try to run them,” said Banda. “We’ve tried it before and it was a disaster.”

WINDFALL TAX

On windfall tax, the president reiterated Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane’s last night statement that government would not impose the populist windfall taxes on copper mining companies.

The President ruled out windfall taxes for mining companies currently enjoying record copper prices, saying that changing the rules for foreign investors was plain bad business.

With an election looming in the next six months and copper at $10,000 a ton, Banda is under pressure to maximize revenue from the sector, but said he would not be lured into a move that would damage the country’s long-term prospects.

“There are agreements between us and the companies. When they come, we agree to the ground rules for them to be there,” he told the Reuters African Investment Summit in Johannesburg.

“It is not good for business to keep shifting just because the prices have changed. We have got to have principles and lines which we are going to follow.”

[pullquote]”We have done an audit of three mines and that is going to bring us more money after the audit,” he said. “From one or two of these companies we already have in excess of $200 million.”[/pullquote]

Copper fell to below $3,000 a ton in late 2008 — shortly after Banda came to power — but has since recovered sharply on the back of a resumption in demand from resource-hungry Asian economies, most notably China and India. It hit a lifetime high of $10,160 on Feb 14.

“The issue of windfall tax is a major issue. Everybody is talking about it in the country. The opposition are hoping to use it as a major tool against me but I think we will be able to explain it to the people,” he said.

Banda also said a tax audit of mining companies conducted under the umbrella of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, a voluntary minerals code, should allow the government to recover more than $200 million in unpaid dues.

“We have done an audit of three mines and that is going to bring us more money after the audit,” he said. “From one or two of these companies we already have in excess of $200 million.”

Reuters

The Committee of Citizens has advised Zambians to seriously reflect on former Presidents Kaunda and Chiluba’s advice that Patriotic Front (PF) Leader Michael Sata is unsuitable for office of President.

Executive Director, Gregory Chifire says Zambians should take heed to early warning by the former presidents who both worked closely with mr Sata.

Mr. Chifire says reservations by the former presidents over Mr Sata’s leadership style are coming from privileged persons that held office of Republican President.

He said this in a statement issued to ZNBC news in Lusaka on Tuesday.
Mr. Chifire said even though some Zambians may be dissatisfied with the performance of MMD Government, Mr Sata should not be the alternative.

[ ZNBC ]

Police in Kalulushi have arrested a fifty-year-old woman of Lusaka for obtaining money from 150 women after promising them loans from her association.

Copperbelt Police Chief Martin Malama has confirmed the arrest of Christine Mofya of Long Acres Township in Lusaka.

The swindler pretended to be running an organisation called the Association of Women in Development.
Dr. Malama told ZNBC News in Kitwe that the woman obtained one-hundred-and-five-thousand Kwacha from each of the 150 women on the pretext that she would provide them loans for small scale businesses.

He said the women paid the suspected swindler in January this year though the loans have never been provided.
Dr. Malama said the woman is in police custody to help with investigations.

Meanwhile Dr. Malama has said police in Ndola have also recovered assorted household goods including electrical appliances and cell-phones.

Dr. Malama told ZNBC News in Kitwe that four suspects have been arrested in connection with the recovered property.
[ ZNBC ]

Four opposition political parties have expressed reservations about working with Patriotic Front leader Michael Sata who has called for a united opposition after the collapse of the Pact with the United Party for National Development (UPND).

National Democratic Focus (NDF) president Ben Mwila has said it is impossible for any reasonable political party to enter into any form of arrangement with Mr Michael Sata’s Patriotic Front (PF) because the opposition leader is inconsistent and unpredictable.

And the Alliance for Democracy and Development (ADD) has said it is only willing to work with other opposition parties in some coalition based on a common economic agenda and not a “pact arrangement” based on individuals and personalities.

Commenting on Mr Sata’s statement that his party was open to dialogue for a united opposition, Mr Mwila said it would be an effort in futility for any opposition pact to think of working with the PF.

“There is no way Mr Sata can want to get in Government in the first place because he has no agenda for the country. We tried ourselves, we wrote an agreement to work together as a united opposition then with the late Anderson Mazoka, the late Dean Mung’omba, Dr Nevers Mumba and myself which Mr Sata abrogated himself.

“We even chose members and allocated constituencies as to which political party would stand but on the last minute Mr Sata walked away,” he said.

Mr Mwila said Mr Sata always finds a way to get out of a working arrangement with other parties.

“If you remember our party was called Zambia Republican Party (ZRP). The name National Democratic Front (NDF) came about because Mr Sata wanted the word “Front” to be reflected because PF was part of the pact. We were forced to drop the Front to Focus because Mr Sata contested that we remove it when he came out of the arrangement,” he said.

He said it would be unreasonable for any opposition party to even contemplate a working arrangement with the PF.

ADD president Charles Milupi said his party was the first to call for a grand opposition but that his party would only work with political parties with a similar vision.

“ADD was the first to call for a united and grand opposition. We have been advocating for this for a long time but we can only come together if we have common policies,” he said.

Mr Milupi said opposition parties can only work together in an arrangement based on issues and common policy not individuals and personalities.

“As a party, we are focused on dealing with issues of unemployment, poverty and disease, we can only work with people who have similar visions,” he said.

New Revolution Party (NRP) president Cosmo Mumba said it would be difficult for any party to work with the PF as long as it maintains Mr Wynter Kabimba as the secretary general.

“Just look at how Mr Kabimba has fought the UPND,” he said.

UPND national youth chairperson Joe Kalusa has advised other opposition parties to be wary of Mr Sata’s invitation.

He said before Mr Sata can invite other parties to join a united opposition, he should tell the Zambian people what was wrong with the UPND.

“It is like a married man who divorces a wife and goes on the street and asks another wife to marry him without addressing his own problems and weaknesses. That kind of marriage can’t last.

“First let him tell the nation what is wrong with UPND. He has tried so many pacts with the NDF, ULP (United Liberal Party) all of which he ditched at the last minute. This is a man you can’t trust,” he said.

Officiating at the Northern Province party conference Mr Sata said his party was ready a united opposition.

The announcement comes at a time the pact with the UPND is failing.
[Times of Zambia]

The United Party for National Development (UPND) has said its leader Hakainde Hichilema Hichilema has enough experience in leadership to make a very good President.

UPND Secretary General Winston Chibwe said time has come for the country to have a new crop of leaders because old politicians have failed to deliver development to the people despite claiming to have political experience.

But when asked to clarify on the alleged pull out of the UPND from the pact, the UPND secretary general declined to comment.

The UPND has reportedly pulled out of the PF/UPND pact which has been rocked by wrangling between the two parties.

Meanwhile the UPND has said the proposals made by the party chairperson for International Relations Professor Clive Chirwa on the UPND-PF pact have not been discussed at the party’s national management level.

UPND secretary general Winston Chibwe said Professor Chirwa’s proposals were just one of the many proposals that were made but that the PF was quick to publicize them.

Mr. Chibwe was reacting to a statement made by UPND Luapula province coordinator Jones Mutimushi that that the proposals made by the Professor Chirwa on the pact are realistic and that the UPND president should accept them.

QFM