Has Zambia Made Strides?

By Chanda K. Chishimba

Many people in Zambia have voiced their opinions on the direction that the country’s economy should take in order to raise the living standards of its people. Endowed with natural resources and blessed with a peaceful citizenry, the majority of people are still confined in the shackles of poverty. A greater part of the population is not in formal employment, agriculture remains predominantly peasant, education standards never seem to improve, infrastructure development and maintenance is an eyesore, income levels are low, and hopelessness is the order of the day.

Intellectual voices in the country have decried the lack of capacity for the government and the citizenry to turn development goals and objectives into practical realities. But the question I beg to ask is: What is Capacity Building and how is it relevant to development? My simple understanding of this broad concept is, ‘it is human resource development, equipping individuals with access to information, skills, understanding, and training. It is also organizational development, management of relationships between organizations and sectors, development of an institutional and legal framework, enhancing government regulation and oversight, and laying a foundation for economic and social progress.’ This to me can be summed up as development of a ‘standard way of doing things.’ Does Zambia have a coordinated system of developing the country?

In light of the above, is Zambia then capable of developing a standard to which its citizens can identify themselves? The answer is yes we can. We need the political will of our leaders as well as the citizenry to achieve high levels of development. Zambia needs to develop a cohesive system that is home grown and takes into account the skill sets of ordinary Zambians, the cultures of its people, and the available resources. We need a standard which many people understand, is not complicated and is easily implementable. This idea of trying to copy everything western has led to our current situation. We fail to note that each country has its own traditions and cultures, its own standards, and its own objectives, goals and priorities. Zambia needs to invest heavily in its human resource by upgrading institutions of learning, computerizing schools so students can have access to information and increase their computer skills, providing continuing education to those entrusted with policy formulation and implementation, introducing legislation that requires licensing for any person wishing to engage in financial advisory, teaching, insurance, engineering, medicine etc. These must be licenses renewable every 2 years or else can be revoked. It is not enough just to be a member of, say, the Engineers Institute of Zambia. We need a well knit system that monitors, evaluates, and makes recommendations based on its findings.

We cannot rely on our foreign partners to develop our own system. As long as they provide funding for some projects, they will always have a role to play in how we implement our objectives. Only we know what our priorities are and we are better situated to resolve them. Donors can still be our partners in our efforts, but we need to place them in check. Farfetched as this may seem, if we have the will to do this, our lives and those of our children will surely be improved. It takes commitment and courage to achieve these goals and I am positive that Zambians can take up this challenge with the right political will. Let us realize that we owe this as much to our future generations as we do to ourselves. Development in Zambia will not come without breaking sweat. We can all play a role in the progress of our country. This should not be left to politicians alone because we have seen what happens when we do this. The choices we make today, will determine our future.

Compulsory HIV testing may soon be made a reality for everyone by government.

Health Minister Kapembwa Simbao said compulsory testing will help people make informed decesions about their health and lives in general.

Mr. Simbao said voluntary counselling and testing has its own limits and thats why its important people are compellled to have an HIV test.

He was speaking with ZNBC’s Faith Kandaba in Dakar, Senegal at the ongoing 15 th ICASA conference.
He said people need to know their status.

The minister also said government will soon be embarking on an aggressive programme to improve AIDS information and education.

[ZNBC]

President Rupiah Banda has appointed and sworn in MMD founder member Borniface Kawimbe as Luapula Province Minister.

Swearing in Dr. Kawimbe, President Banda urged the new provincial Minister to pay special attention to the development needs of the province.

He said Luapula Province has great economic potential which should be fully exploited for the benefit of the people.

Dr Kawimbe replaces Chrispine Musosha who was recently transferred to the Ministry of Local Government and Housing as Deputy Minister.

President Rupiah Banda has also appointed and sworn in State House Legal Advisor Darlington Mwape as Zambia’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to Geneva – Switzerland.

President Banda urged Mr Mwape to use his vast legal experience to effectively represent the country in Geneva.

[ZNBC]

GOVERNMENT has formed a task force to tackle the rising food prices. The task force will come up with a national action plan and bring out interventions needed in the short, medium and long-term.

The task force will be chaired by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.

Chief Government spokesperson, Ronnie Shikapwasha, said this at a press briefing in Lusaka yesterday.

He said Government had taken note of the concerns expressed by various people and organisations about the state of food security in the country and how this had impacted on the prices of mealie meal and its availability.

Gen Shikapwasha, who is also Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services said Government was aware that a number of districts were facing food insecurity arising from a number of factors.

These factors include the general rise in food prices, effects of the failure of the global economic systems, irresponsible sale of maize in some communities and households and the floods experienced last rainy season.

Gen Shikapwasha said Government was taking appropriate interventions to prevent people in any part of the country from starving.

The government has estimated the shortfall at 100,000 metric tonnes.

“Government is currently assessing the level of food insecurity in parts of the country that experienced floods or poor rainfall and is moving maize from surplus to deficit areas,” he said.

Gen Shikapwasha said there would be need to import the shortfall to last until May next year when the nation would rely on its own produce.

He said Government would continue providing relief food to people in areas that experienced food shortages because of floods.

Gen Shikapwasha said this would be one of the main activities within the rehabilitation programme.

He said Government had so far distributed 5,714 metric tonnes of maize out of which 3,254 metric tonnes had gone to Southern Province which was the most affected by the floods.

Gen Shikapwasha said the exercise would continue throughout all affected areas.

“Government’s only concern is that some people who have maize or can afford to buy mealie meal want to be listed among relief food beneficiaries, and some wards currently benefiting from relief food are more secure than those left out,” he said.

Gen Shikapwasha said Government was reviewing the situation to see if new vulnerable people could be taken on board.

He said Government through the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) would continue to conduct rapid vulnerability and needs assessment.

He said the findings of the vulnerability and needs assessment would inform Government on how much various parameters had changed.

“I wish, however, to point out that there is no need for panic and people should not be misled by those trying to make political mileage out of this situation,” Gen Shikapwasha said.

He said the rising mealie meal prices should not be used as an issue to incite unrest in the country because Government was taking all necessary measures to address it.

“Moreover, it’s misleading to suggest, as the Patriotic Front has done, that President Rupiah Banda promised to reduce mealie meal prices,” Gen Shikapwasha said.

He said President Banda emphasised the need to increase food production and increased subsidy on fertiliser for beneficiaries under the Fertiliser Support Programme (FSP) so that peasant farmers could increase production.

Gen Shikapwasha assured the people of Zambia that there was no need for the planned protects by the PF cadres.

He said information obtained yesterday from the provinces showed that the highest wholesale price for breakfast meal was K57,000 for 25 kilogrammes while roller meal was pegged at K51,000.

Gen Shikapwasha said some retailers added a mark-up of K10,000.

He was concerned that there was a big variance of retail prices between the line of rail and the rural towns.

“The difference is explained by the cost of transportation of either maize or mealie meal from surplus to deficit areas,” Gen Shikapwasha said.

He said the task force on the rising food prices was studying the matter and was expected to advise Government on how best to deal with the situation.

Gen Shikapwasha said PF president Michael Sata was supposed to seek dialogue with Government or look at the interventions in place.

He said the fertiliser issue had also been taken out of context because neither President Banda nor Government promised to reduce the price of fertiliser across the board.

Gen Shikapwasha said the subsidised fertiliser was not for the open market but for targeted people belonging to cooperatives and benefiting from the FSP.

On the recent job losses on the mines, Gen Shikapwasha said Government would ensure that it negotiated with the mining companies to find ways of mitigating the situation.

On the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe, Gen Shikapwasha said Government was concerned about the situation.
He said Zambian officials would only intervene in the matter when their Zimbabwean counterparts invite them.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

UNITED Party for National Development (UPND) general secretary, Tiens Kahenya has been expelled from his position and the party for activities deemed harmful to the party.

Mr Kahenya was expelled by the UPND’s national management committee (NMC) for alleged gross misconduct, insubordination and behaviour detrimental to the party interests.
This is according to an expulsion letter dated December 4, 2008, signed by UPND vice-president, Richard Kapita.

Mr Kahenya is accused of holding secret meetings to destabilise the party as well as releasing confidential information about the party to unauthorised people.
Other allegations leveled against him are that, without reasonable cause, he had been peddling malicious falsehood against the party president, Hakainde Hichilema, with the intent to bring him into disrepute.

Mr Kahenya is, among other things, accused of peddling false rumours that the party president stole proceeds from the sale of cattle donated to the party.
Mr Kapita reminded Mr Kahenya that the last national management committee meeting offered him an opportunity to substantiate the claims but he opted to keep quiet.
Mr Kapita alleged that the expelled official only spoke in clandestine meetings where he continued with the allegations.

“From the above stated matters, it is clear that you have offended the party and in the premise, NMC has no option but to expel you from your position as secretary general and from the party forthwith,” he said.
In accordance with article 70 of the party constitution, Mr Kapita said, the NMC recommends appropriate action while Mr Kahenya was free to exculpate himself over the allegations.

Times of Zambia

By Chanda K. Chishimba

Often times Zambians have grappled with the problem of lack of job opportunities, shrinkage of industries in the post- SAP implementation era, lack of drugs in hospitals, low education standards, and a general low life standard. Many of these issues have led to the erosion of confidence in the government. Hopes of a better life grow fainter each day. In my view there is so much that our government can do to stimulate economic activity which in turn would lead to the creation of jobs and improve the living standards of its people.

1. Government needs to make a sacrifice on the way it spends resources of the state. Cut down the size of government by eliminating the position of Deputy Minister. I don’t see what D/Ms do which cannot be done by a Minister. It would be more prudent and cost effective to strengthen the office of the PS and other Ministry Directors. These are the professionals who run Ministries. Further, we need to let the Ministers and other government officials pay their own cell phone bills. The bills are a drain on government resources. There is no concrete proof that all cell phone calls they make are for government business. The amount of money saved from these adjustments can be redirected to improving infrastructure such as schools and roads. This would lead to the creation of new jobs. And then the issue of hundreds of government officials, the police, army, and air-force seeing off or receiving the President whenever he travels outside the country is quite ridiculous. This takes away the valuable man-hours that these individuals would have put into their work if they had not gone to the airport to perform a function less important than the one for which our people might benefit.

2. Government should seriously consider the issue of Chiefs owning so much land. This land can be used to create new industries, which would in turn create jobs for the Chiefs’ subjects. As a matter of fact, it would be important to stick a clause in the agreements with the new companies, that the Chief should be paid a certain amount as royalty. This royalty is what will sustain the Palaces and make the Chiefs less beggars than what they are today. This move would eliminate the chiefs’ participation in politics and improve their standing in the eyes of their subjects. The current practice where a chief owns thousands of hectares of land is just plain right retrogressive and a barrier to expansion and development. We all fully understand the importance of chiefs in our heritage, but this is the 21st Century and the role of chiefs must be upgraded to economic and social development participants.

3. Government can also implement a radical shift in the way duty and taxes in border towns are spent. It would serve our people well if government can allow every border town to keep 45% of revenue from duty and taxes in that town or even province. This is the money which can be used to improve schools, build hospitals, build roads and create new industries and jobs. This measure would also ensure that people will start to move back to rural areas where they can find employment, thus, relieving the urban towns of much of the currently suppressed carrying capacity. Our rural towns will experience development never seen before. The practice of all revenue eventually ending up at the central treasury has failed because the funds almost always are diverted to less essential activities.

4. I would also propose legislation that would enable Zambians manage a portion of their individual retirement funds. Enforce legislation that would create Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA). As employees earn income, a certain percentage should be saved in an IRA and people can determine their own investment choices. With the Lusaka Stock Exchange now providing most people with investment alternatives, this would be a sure way to create wealth, lessen the burden in retirement, and leave children with an inheritance. The current system where NAPSA manages retirement funds for the people is subject to so many bottlenecks. No wonder people never get their pension funds after years of hard work

The path to economic development is not easy. Sacrifices must be made by both the governed and those with the mandate to govern. It is not enough to sit back and ask the citizens of Zambia to tighten their belts when those in power cannot embrace the same. We need to be steadfast in our endeavors to improve the livelihoods of our people. These challenges have been tackled successfully in many parts of the world, and Zambia should not be an exception.

President Rupiah Banda, has described as unreasonable plans by some opposition political leaders and cadres to demonstrate over rising food prices.

“Somehow the Patriotic Front thinks they can do it with demonstrations, they look ridiculous, there is no basis for that and Zambians have shown that they are not interested,” said Mr. Banda.

President Banda said opposition politicians should appreciate dialogue as an effective way of resolving issues affecting the economic welfare of the people as opposed to confrontation means.

Mr Banda said there was nowhere in the world where demonstrations have been used as an effective method of solving issues.

He was speaking to journalists shortly before departure to Burundi where he is expected to attend a one day heads of state and government summit on the Burundi peace process.

Commenting on the one day Burundi peace process summit, Mr. Banda said the summit was important as it was aimed at finding ways of bringing peace to that country.

“As you know our friends in that country have not experienced peace like us. So leaders in the region called for a one day summit to see what we can do to bring peace to that country,” said Mr. Banda.

He noted that Zambians should be grateful that the country has, since independence, enjoyed peace and tranquility.

Meanwhile, Mr Banda said he was aware that fugitive former Zambia Intelligence Service Director, Xavier Chungu, arrived in the country, adding that he will allow the law to take its course on charges of abuse of authority, among others placed on the former intelligence chief.

Mr. Banda, who is accompanied by Agriculture Minister, Brian Chituwo, Local Government and Deputy Minister, Eustarkio Kazonga and other senior government officials left the country aboard a Presidential jet Challenger at 06:25 hours.

Former intelligence Chief, Xavier Chungu’s lawyer, Nicholas Chanda said that he asked his client to return to Zambia because he had no case.

“I advised him to come back because the State had amended its charges unless it wants to start the cases afresh,” Mr Chanda said.

Mr Chanda said he asked Chungu to surrender himself to the police because he did not want him to appear as if he was running away from something although there was no case against him

And chairperson of the Task Force on Corruption, Max Nkole denied that the Task Force on Corruption had struck a deal with the former intelligence chief.

Mr Nkole said assertions that the Task Force had a deal with Chungu to make him a State witness were false because the latter voluntarily took a plane to come back home at his own cost.

He said Chungu’s return would be helpful to both the prosecution team and the defence.
“We are not trying to persecute him but to seek the truth out of him, everything boils down from him. He becomes relevant not only to the prosecution but also the defence,” he said.

Mr Nkole said the decision to have Chungu become a State witness depended on prosecutors who were handing his cases.

“However, the accused is at liberty to decide whether to become a State witness or for the defence,” he said.

He said in law, an accused person could opt to become a witness but in the present state Chungu still remained charged with various criminal cases.

Mr Nkole said Chungu landed in the country at midday and that the Task Force on Corruption was interested to know how he escaped and those who aided him would be prosecuted.

On whether certain cases Chungu was facing would be amended, Mr Nkole said this depended on procedure and the prosecution team who would decide if they would have to start the cases afresh.

When asked about where Chungu had come from, Mr Nkole refused to disclose on grounds that this could compromise the security of that country.

Prior to his escape, Chungu was facing a number of cases in court.

In one count for instance, Chungu was alleged to have abused authority of his office as ZSIS director general by making irregular payment of US$70,000 to church organisations abroad on February 16, 2000.
In the second count, Chungu on February 12, 1999, allegedly stole US$16,846 cash which came into his possession by virtue of his employment.

Then senior resident magistrate, Douglas Zulu, discharged Chungu following an application by the Anti-Corruption Commission to withdraw the case on grounds that he was facing a similar charge in another court.

THE Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) collected over K8 trillion by October this year, exceeding the government target for the whole year by K426.6 billion.
Government revenue collection target for this year was K7.75 trillion.

ZRA commissioner general, Chriticles Mwansa, announced this at a press briefing in Lusaka yesterday.

He also said ZRA might not reach the targeted US$415 million tax collection under the new mining regime by this month end because the windfall tax had completely fallen off due to low copper prices on the international market.

Mr Mwansa said by the end of October, ZRA collected K10.597 trillion in gross taxes while the tax refunds stood at K2.415 trillion.

“The net tax take stood at K8.18 trillion against a target of K7.754 trillion, thereby registering a surplus of K426.6 billion or 5.5 percent above target,” he said.

Mr Mwansa attributed the K426 billion surplus to higher tax revenue collection, particularly under company tax, pay as you earn (PAYE), mineral royalty, medical tax, excise duty, trade taxes and medical levy.
He said all other types of taxes recorded higher than programmed with the exception of domestic value added tax (VAT).

ZRA collected K3.6 billion under company tax, K168.5 billion PAYE, K40 billion withholding tax and K167.6 billion mineral royalties.

The authority also collected K176.4 billion excise duty, K273.7 billion import VAT, K193 billion customs duty, K14 billion export duty and K3.1 billion medical levy.

And Mr Mwansa said ZRA’s major revenue collections were from the energy and mining sectors with the latter recording K293.1 billion under the new mining tax regime from April to October this year.

Mr Mwansa said of the K293.1 billion, K126 billion was collected as windfall tax while K22.2 billion came from mineral royalties.

He said ZRA might not be able to meet the targeted US$415 million by the end of this year because the windfall tax had completely fallen off while collections from mineral royalty had drastically gone down due to low copper prices.

“When you calculate the windfall tax at current copper prices, it has completely fallen off. This will not be collected unless copper prices change overnight,” Mr Mwansa said.

He said ZRA might not get much revenue from mineral royalty because it depended on the bulkiness and the price at which it was sold.

Mr Mwansa said although all mining companies were complying with the legal provisions set by Government, some of them were not up to date in remittance of funds to ZRA.

By October this year, revenue from the mines stood at K7.8 trillion against the 2008 Parliament target of K9.1 trillion, leaving a balance of K1.245 trillion for November and December.

Notwithstanding the drastic drop in commodity prices on the international market resulting from the negative impact of the global financial crisis, ZRA projections indicated that it was likely to surpass its revenue target by about K100 billion within the remaining period.

“In this regard, we are intensifying our enforcement activities so that we can mobilise more financial resources for the government,” Mr Mwansa said.

He said this year ZRA had recorded successes in areas like the mordernisation reform programme that aimed at enhancing effectiveness and greatly contributing to sustainable and predictable national revenue.

Mr Mwansa said, however, that ZRA had over the last 10 months continued to face some challenges in its operations, particularly where smuggling at border points was concerned.

He said ZRA had continued to engage law enforcement agents to help fight the scourge which was a danger to the country’s economy.

Mr Mwansa said ZRA had put in place measures to improve enforcement and compliance across various types of tax.

The authority had also strengthened information sharing with other stakeholders which had resulted in improved detection of tax evasion.
[Zambia Daily Mail]