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It is very easy to condemn the debt swap especially when you are not a beneficiary.
What is funny is that those that are condemning the debt swap are the ones in the forefront preaching on how life is difficult.
The debt swap should not come as a surprise because such negotiations started last year when Covid hit! It’s just that we were either busy politicking or commenting on other scandals but cabinet office announced this intervention last year!
The President of Zambia last week highlighted the various interventions he put in place to cushion the economy from the negative effects of Covid 19 as follows:
created the K10bn medium-term financing facility to help companies refinance loans gotten before Covid. Loan repayment have favorable conditions with a moratorium of one year on repayments. This move prevented a banking crisis caused by liquidity problems arising from massive loan defaults under Covid conditions. This move was some form of debt swap but for companies.
Government also issued an k8bn bond that saw arrears paid to suppliers of government goods and services. This move injected liquidity into the economy. Note that such an intervention occurred without printing money unlike in other countries where printers were switched on to fund their citizens.
Then government moved in to help the vulnerable population. Government increased the number of social cash transfer recipients to over 925,000 people across the country. This is no mean achievement for an African country. Zambia remains one of the few African countries to pay its vulnerable people.
Then government under DMMU escalated the food security packs with GRZ feeding 1.7m Zambians at the peak of the program. Today, 1.3m Zambians benefit from food security packs made available by GRZ. This is no mean achievement for any government in the world.
So now government has moved in to provide relief to the hard working population starting with its own employees I.e civil servants. The debt swap will definitely free up resources for indebted employees. The only person that can condemn this is one who doesn’t relate to the challenges on the ground amid the Covid 19 pandemic.
In conclusion, if I was a political player, I would commend government for these interventions and propose more of such interventions once elected instead of saying when elected we shall do away with social cash transfer because it’s costly. People being helped under social cash transfer are also Zambians and should therefore be helped by their government. When you remove social cash transfer where shall you take the over 925,000 Zambians benefiting? Let’s have a human heart here.
To also say debt swap is politicking is unfair because this intervention started last year. To say this is bad is more like telling an employee that please continue carrying the debt burden. For me, it’s what you promise me that matters and not what you condemn.
An extension methodologist in Mufumbwe under the department of agriculture says the rainfall pattern and the type of soils make the district ideal for growing most cash crops such as beans, soya beans, groundnuts and wheat.
Stephen Mulenga said Mufumbwe is located in region three of the agro-ecological zone which enables the area to reactive rainfall amounting between 1,000 millimetres to 1,500 millimetres per annum.
Mr Mulenga said the prolonged season makes it conducive for growing a number of cash crops in their different varieties in the district.
“Apart from our major crop which is maize, we can also do other cash crops like soya beans, wheat, beans and groundnuts. We can do early, medium and late maturity varieties in Mufumbwe due to this late withdraw of rains. Actually, Mufumbwe produces a lot of groundnuts”, Mr Mulenga said.
He said the good rainfall pattern is coupled with the sand-roamy-soils in Mufumbwe which accommodate the good performance of different cash crops such as beans, soya beans, groundnuts, wheat and even sugar cane.
“We need to have enterprises which tend to support each other at the farm, which means if maize fails to do well, a farmer can survive from crops like beans, groundnuts, this is because the soils can accommodate crops such as beans, soya beans, groundnuts and wheat”, Mr Mulenga said.
Mr Mulenga was speaking in an interview with ZANIS in relation to a Women and Youth Farmer Input Empowerment Programme, which was recently piloted in Mufumbwe’s Shukwe and Kalengwa wards by the Business Development Centre (BDC), a business oriented non-governmental organization.
Meanwhile, Mr Mulenga has commended BDC for expressing interest in supplementing government efforts in the supply of inputs to farmers in Mufumbwe district.
“The interest in the production of beans by BDC is indeed a commendable initiative. In fact, BDC can also be assured that investment in crops like groundnuts, soya beans and wheat in Mufumbwe cannot fail due to the good rainfall pattern and soil type in the district”, he said.
Mr Mulenga has since implored the BDC to consider extending the empowerment programme to other parts of the district so that more farmers can benefit.
We need to consider whether the Patriotic Front and the ruling political party’s officials can adequately provide for inducements, services, facilities, guarantees, and measures that can enable both business and non-business entities in our country to operate more efficiently, deliver economic and social outputs to society at reasonable costs and prices, and ultimately contribute meaningfully to our country’s quest to reduce unemployment, poverty, corruption, and other socioeconomic ills over the next 5 years.
Considering their failure to address the overwhelming socioeconomic ills and crises facing our country and its people over the last 10 years, the answer cannot be in the affirmative—it is clearly “NO,” because giving them another mandate will just prolong the common people’s suffering!
HH and the UPND Alliance are clearly the alternative, since they have shown the potential to unseat the Patriotic Front next month. We, therefore, need to support them, as well as entrust them with the responsibility of correcting the catalogue of socioeconomic ills and crises which the Patriotic Front has failed to address over the last 10 years.
Besides, and perhaps more importantly, the UPND Alliance is much more likely to reverse the current socioeconomic decay and backwardness and improve the socioeconomic vistas of our people over the next 5 years because its administration will draw from the knowledge, expertise and experience of leaders from members of the Alliance who, by and large, hail from the country’s 10 provinces. This is actually one of the most important strengths of the UPND Alliance. This is essentially good news for all Zambians!
Members of all political parties in Zambia—including Patriotic Front members—need to seriously consider whether it will be wise for them and their families to continue to languish unnecessarily under the Patriotic Front administration over the next 5 years or vote for new political players who will improve their socioeconomic circumstances and bid farewell to the last 10 years of consistently dwindling socioeconomic prospects.
In this connection, one would be reminded of the ensuing good advice offered to developing countries like Zambia by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (2001): “[Developing] … countries cannot wait for gradual progression of catching-up with the industrialized countries of the North, but rather must search for leap-flogging solutions.”
If we “search for leap-flogging solutions” to our country’s socioeconomic malaise, the heart-throbbing African tunes—churned out by the likes of Koffi Olomidé, Orchestra Super Mazembe, Miriam Makeba, the Mulemena Boys, the Masasu Band, Stella Chiweshe, King Sunny Ade, Emeneya, Cesaria Evora, Orchestre Les Mangelepa, Mampi, P. K. Chishala, Paul Ngozi, Rikki Ililonga, Nashil Pichen Kazembe, M’bilia Bel, Oliver Mtukudzi, Lucky Dube, Angela Nyirenda, and numerous other Zambian and African maestros—will be available to spice and liven up the celebration of our accomplishments, and the enjoyment of the fruits of our labor.
The Need for a Social Welfare State:
In its quest to uplift the livelihoods of the majority of its people, our country does not need socialism and its utopian ideals or crude capitalism and its zealous quest for profit maximization. Rather, the country needs to strive to create what is referred to as the “social welfare state”—that is, a country that provides for a dynamic free-market economy which essentially has a human face.
More precisely, a “social welfare state” is a country whose government simultaneously creates a highly competitive business system—which can be realized through various kinds of guarantees, inducements and essential public services and facilities designed to lavishly incentivize both local and foreign private investors—and an effective mechanism for re-distributing wealth to the needy.
In other words, a “social welfare state” is any country whose government is dedicated to diligently and simultaneously pursue pro-business, pro-labor and pro-poor policies. Countries which have succeeded in meeting the basic needs and aspirations of the majority of their people—such as Finland, Australia, the United States of America, Japan, Canada, Luxembourg, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands (Holland), and Germany—are essentially “social welfare states”!
When German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels released “The Communist Manifesto” (originally referred to as the “Manifesto of the Communist Party”) in February 1848, the economies of Western Europe were predominantly administered through crude capitalism.
Perhaps this explains why some portions of The Communist Manifesto, as Samuel Moore (2019) has noted, feature “their ideas on how capitalist societies of the time would eventually be replaced by socialism.”
Incidentally, Germany today has a market-based economy in spite of the fact that it is the birthplace of Marxism. And Karl Marx was banished from Germany and had to seek lifelong refuge in London, where he died in 1883 despite having been denied British citizenship, perhaps due to his outlandish views.
In fact, one may even wonder whether the socioeconomic conditions that existed in Western Europe at the time when Marx and Engels were propounding, expounding and articulating their “theories” actually exist in countries like Zambia, and whether or not our beloved country can actually be categorized as being a “capitalist society” per se given its socialist-like economy that is captained by State-owned and operated institutions like the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).
Ultimately, the revolutionary transition of capitalism to socialism and, finally, to communism that Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels envisioned will apparently never come to fruition due to the emergence of the social welfare state and welfare capitalism in capitalist countries worldwide.
It is also important to remember the fact that social, political and market freedom in a country decreases, while government coercion increases, if the country decides to abandon a market-driven socioeconomic system and adopt a state-planned socioeconomic system. Besides, consumers’ demands on, and expectations of, business institutions are greater in market-driven economies than they are in centrally planned socioeconomic systems.
This should perhaps be expected considering the fact that consumers in centrally planned economies are mainly served by coercive governments and monopolistic, state-owned companies, which are generally insensitive to their basic and special needs and expectations.
Let us now turn to the words of the late Winston Churchill, former and the late Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, who said the following in a speech in the House of Commons on October 22, 1945: “The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings [and the] … inherent virtue of Socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.” And “Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and … its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.”
In our country’s quest to improve the livelihoods of the majority of its people, therefore, it is perhaps important to keep in mind the following caveat provided by the late F. W. de Klerk of South Africa regarding the pursuit of socioeconomic development:
“The reality is that the economy does not grow from political slogans … [basic] requirements for economic growth [and development] are peace and stability, free enterprise, imaginative entrepreneurship, efficient and frugal government, innovative and caring management, a well-educated and motivated work force, and a lot of hard work.”
The Crucial Role of Government:
But for our country to reap optimum benefits from the free-enterprise system, the government needs to create an enabling socioeconomic environment in which hard-working citizens can be able to unleash their full potential and get rewarded handsomely—whether they are shareholders, self-employed, or on someone else’s payroll.
In this regard, the government needs to provide adequately for various kinds of inducements, services, facilities, guarantees, and measures designed to incentivize both local and foreign private investors and non-governmental institutions, such as the following:
(a) A well-developed transportation infrastructure and adequate transportation services to industrial, commercial and residential areas to ease and facilitate the distribution of production inputs and finished products.
(b) Adequate public services (including police protection, fire protection, public utilities, and decent housing), as well as telecommunications, educational, vocational, health, and recreational facilities.
(c) Equitable income and other taxes, as well as tax concessions and inducements which are more attractive than those in alternative countries or regions which investors are likely to consider for investment.
(d) Renunciation of both price and exchange-rate controls.
(e) Less bureaucratic licensing, import, export, and other procedures, and adequate information about investment and marketing problems and opportunities in the various sectors of our country’s economy and in cross-border markets.
(f) Assistance and active involvement by the national government in nurturing entrepreneurial and managerial skills.
(g) A reversal of the current emphasis on stabilizing inflation at the expense of job creation and economic growth by placing greater emphasis on job creation and economic growth through low interest rates and progressive reductions in taxes in order to stimulate investment, savings and consumption.
(h) An ambitious program designed to lure private investments which can lead to the creation of new jobs, facilitate socioeconomic development and create a more competitive economic setting that can promote efficiency, as well as compel business entities to improve the quality of their products, as well as charge relatively lower prices.
(i) Political and civic leaders who are fair and honest in their dealings with private business institutions, and stable economic policies, including a formal assurance against nationalization and/or expropriation of privately owned business undertakings by the national government.
(j) Political and civic leaders who are genuine and resolute in their fight against the scourge of corruption in both government and private institutions.
(k) A system of justice that is fair, impartial and independent in both word and deed.
(l) A social safety net designed to adequately cater to the needs of economically disadvantaged members of society that is not subject to political meddling or manipulation.
(m) Measures designed to ensure that business and non-business operations do not lead to indiscriminate wasting of natural resources, and measures designed to reduce air, water and solid-waste pollution to levels that are less harmful to society and to habitats of land and aquatic wildlife. And
(n) An earnest effort designed to go through public expenditures line by line, program by program, agency by agency, department by department, and ministry by ministry in order to eliminate unnecessary application of public funds.
These inducements, services, facilities, guarantees, and measures, among a host of other things, can enable both business and non-business entities in our country to operate more efficiently, deliver economic and social outputs to society at reasonable costs and prices, and ultimately contribute meaningfully to our country’s quest to reduce unemployment, poverty, corruption, and other socioeconomic ills.
We also need to remember that heightened, sustained and sustainable socioeconomic development does not descend onto a country like manna from heaven; rather, it has to be adequately planned for and diligently pursued. Each and every day that passes, therefore, creates great opportunities for us to devise and relentlessly pursue viable strategies that will enable us to meet the needs, aspirations and expectations of our people.
Myths Regarding China’s Success:
Naïve socialists worldwide are likely to point to China as an excellent example of a socialist country whose economic outputs have continued to flood the entire world unlike any other country in modern history. In this regard, News China (2019:1) in an editorial has summed up the actual reason for the country’s economic success in the following words:
“China’s economic success in the past decades has been established on the premise of a liberalized and vital private sector.” And “Chinese President Xi Jinping affirmed in a meeting on November 1 [2018] that the [Chinese] government will support the private sector to become bigger and stronger.”
Private investors in the Chinese economy include indigenous capitalists and investors from a wide range of countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
The government has completed the construction of 84 health posts on the Copperbelt out of the 88 allocated to the province. Copperbelt Permanent Secretary, Bright Nundwe said in an interview in Ndola today that this is in line with government’s policy to ensure that the people in the province has easier access to health care services.
Mr Nundwe said the 84 completed health posts are fully operational and the remaining four will be completed soon.
“The government and President Edgar Lungu aims to take quality healthcare services as close as possible to the people without leaving anyone behind,” he said.
He added that residents in areas where the health posts have been constructed were previously covering long distances to access health services in nearby communities.
He explained that the province was allocated 88 health posts of which 84 have been completed while the remaining four are almost complete.
Mr Nundwe has since commended the government for increasing the number of health facilities in the province which will mitigate the health challenges faced by residents.
He said out of the 650 health posts across the country, Copperbelt Province was allocated a total of 88.
And commenting on the debt swap of civil servants, Mr Nundwe has advised civil servants to borrow for investment purposes only.
Mr Nundwe said civil servants should ensure that they borrow for the right reasons.
He has since commended government for the debt swap and urged people not to politicize the matter, saying government means well as it understands the suffering of civil servants.
The Conflict Management Committee (CMC) in Chasefu District has cautioned political parties against flouting the time table put in place to ensure violence free campaigns ahead of the August 12 elections.
The caution comes after the committee successfully resolved a matter of electoral conflict in which an independent candidate, Thokoza Ndhlovu, vying for the Council Chairpersonship, raised a complaint against the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) party.
The Independent candidate dragged the PF before the Conflict Management Committee of breaching the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) Local Government elections campaign time table.
The Conflict Management Committee Chairperson, Albert Nyirenda, who mediated the meeting, reminded political parties that the electoral campaign time table was put in place to ensure peaceful campaigns.
Pastor Nyirenda noted that flouting of campaign time table has the potential to ignite violence among political parties
He noted that the time table must be respected during campaigns to avoid conflict.
“The interest of ECZ is to see that political parties are conducting peaceful campaigns and denounce electoral violence and conflict,” said Pastor Nyirenda.
Earlier, Ms Ndhlovu submitted to the Conflict Management Committee that on July 14, PF was scheduled to do their campaigns in Kajilime and Nkhanga but instead they were in her campaign area conducting meetings in conflict of the ECZ campaign time table.
In response, PF representative Nephas Ngulube, who is Chasefu District Party Secretary, informed the electoral conflict management meeting that he was not aware of any ruling party unscheduled campaign activities in Membe ward.
He added that the party was only making backstopping visits to its camps.
“The PF has structures and set camps in all the wards. We go to these camps to sensitise our members and give them food,” said Mr Ngulube.
However, Mr Ngulube has pledged his party’s continued preaching of love, peace and unity regardless of political affiliation, while Ms Ndhlovu emphasised the need to follow the ECZ campaign time table in order to avoid conflict.
ELECTORAL Commission of Zambia (ECZ) Acting Chairperson Annettee Nhekairo says the impending amendment of the Republican Constitution is necessary if the ongoing delimitation of constituencies, wards and polling districts is to be a success
CONCERNS by GEARS Initiative Zambia that the Electoral Commission of Zambia has breached the Constitution by setting 12th August, 2021 as the date for 6 parliamentary Constituencies and 6 Local Government elections following fresh nominations held on 12th July 2021 are valid, Governance Activist Isaac Mwanza has observed.
Mr Mwanza who has several times taken ECZ to court said it is indisputable that an ensuing election taking place under Article 52(6) of the Constitution must be held within 30 days from the date of fresh nominations.
“In accordance with Article 269 of the Constitution on the computation of time, the period between 11th July, 2021 and 12th August, 2021 accounts for 31 days and falls outside the 30 days stated in the Constitution,” said Mwanza.
Mr Mwanza has said that elections in Lusaka Central, Mandevu, Chawama, Kasenengwa, Mafinga, and Mpulungu parliamentary Constituencies as well as mayoral and Councillors for Luanshya District, Matanda Ward, Mushili, Kamakonde, Kabwale, and Ichinga Wards which will be held after 11th August, 2021 are illegal, unconstitutional, null and void as they violate the Constitution.
“ECZ acted within the law to cancel elections under Article 52(6) but the same Commission has violated the very law it sought to uphold by setting the election outside the constitutionally prescribed 30 days. The Commission is bound by Article 1(3) of the Constitution and the omission on its part cannot make its action lawful,” said Mwanza
Mr Mwanza has thus warned that the holding the election on the 31st day has created a fertile ground for anyone or losing candidates to petition and call for nullification of elections in those constituencies and councils.
He has since asked the Commission to take step regularize the elections in constituencies and wards so they can conform to the “within the 30 days” constitutional requirement and not the 31 days the Commission has set.
Shepolopolo coach Bruce Mwape has declared his team ready for their Olympic debut on Wednesday against The Netherlands in their opening Group F fixture in Rifu.
The match will also be Shepolopolo’s first senior meeting against a European opponent in what is a tough Group F that also contains Brazil and China.
Wednesday is a massive test for Zambia who will be facing the Dutch who were 2017 European champions and 2019 FIFA Womens World Cup runners-up.
“They can have the experience but if we stick to our plan it can be a 50-50 game whether or not it is our first time here,” Mwape said.
“But all the same time, the game is played in 90 minutes and it depends on how you plan it.”
Strikers Barbara Banda and Rachel Kundananji are expected to lead Shepolopolo’s attack.
It will be Kundananji’s first match back in the fold since eliminating Cameroon on the final hurdle to the Olympics in March 2020.
Goalkeeper Hazel Nali also returns for the first time since the 2020 COSAFA Women’s Cup last November that saw her subsequently was dropped for the away friendly against Chile later that month on November 28 that Shepolopolo won 2-1 in Santiago.
The Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) has expressed concern over the continued closure of early childhood learning, Primary and Secondary schools until August 16, due to the fact that no guidance was given on what would be the way forward for these schools before the August 16, 2021.
ZANEC Board Chairperson Henry Kabwe said that the closure of schools should have been accompanied by airing of radio educational programs as a short term measure dedicated to coverage of lessons of all grades to be given to the pupils while the schools are closed.
Mr. Kabwe said that research shows that pupils whose learning has been negatively impacted by the closure of schools is quite high hence the need to find other means to address the challenge.
The continued closure of schools will therefore increase the levels of illiteracy in the country than the deaths from the COVID -19 pandemic, he said.
“The closure of the schools would have been followed by robust remote learning modes using digital platforms to ensure learning is not disturbed amidst the pandemic,” said Kabwe.
Mr Kabwe has since urged the Ministry of General Education to put in measures to ensure that learning is not disrupted due to unforeseen circumstances as the COVID-19 would not go away soon.
“Keep schools that are in low risk localities stay open while those in high risk localities such as Lusaka and the Copperbelt stay closed going forward to ensure learning progresses well,” said Kabwe.
This is contained in a statement issued to ZANIS in Lusaka today.
IK Charitable trust of Lusaka has donated twenty oxygen cylinders to Chadiza District Hospital in the Eastern Province in order to aid the fight against COVID-19.
And the District Multi sectorial Team (DMT) have described the donation as timely. Chadiza Bargain Centre Proprietor, Javid Munshi handed over the donation to Chadiza District Hospital on behalf of IK Charitable Trust.
Mr Munshi said the oxygen cylinders have been donated as part of treatment in the management of COVID -19 patients. He called on the hospital management to ensure that the oxygen cylinders are well utilized, assuring that once they run out of oxygen, IK Charitable Trust will refill all the twenty cylinders and bear all the costs involved.
And Chadiza District Health Director, Webby Chisala who received the donation on behalf of the institution, said the donation was timely as the hospital only had four oxygen cylinders.
Dr Chisala disclosed that the district has so far recorded 14 COVID-19 deaths due to lack of oxygen in the isolation centres.
“The patients that are dying in our facilities, most of them are due to difficulties in breathing. As a district we only had four oxygen cylinders, so now with these items that have come to our district we expect to have an improvement in service delivery with regards to COVID-19 patients,” he said.
Dr Chisala added that the donation will go a long way in terms of patient support and management, noting that oxygen is a number one component in COVID-19 management.
He assured IK Charitable Trust that the district will take care of the oxygen cylinders by ensuring that they are kept under seal and lock.
Meanwhile, Chadiza District Commissioner, George Phiri has thanked IK Charitable Trust for the donation of oxygen cylinders to the district.
Mr Phiri said that the district had only four oxygen cylinders that at some point there were eighteen patients needing oxygen support and as a result, some succumbed to COVID-19 due to low circulation of oxygen.
“You can imagine if we had received these oxygen cylinders earlier, the lives of those who succumbed to COVID-19 could have been saved. Most are times when people say that when you are put on oxygen then you are going to die, oxygen is part of supplementing treatment,” he said.
The District Commissioner pointed out that the government is indebted to partners such as IK Charitable trust for the twenty cylinders that have been donated.
Mr Phiri is also pleased with the COVID-19 guidelines compliance levels in the district and has called on residents especially those with underlying conditions to make sure that they get vaccinated.
He revealed that out of the 1,201 people who were vaccinated, none of them has died, adding that the vaccine is safe and working.
He appealed to residents to take advantage of the limited stock of vaccines that have remained to make sure that they all get vaccinated.
President Edgar Lungu is tomorrow expected in Kapiri Mposhi district for a one day working visit.
Central Province Permanent Secretary, Bernard Chomba has confirmed this to ZANIS in Kapiri Mposhi saying the President is expected to land at Kapiri Mposhi Basic School grounds at 08:45 hours.
Mr Chomba said President Lungu is expected to tour Tambalale market and the newly constructed Kapiri Mposhi Bus Terminus and later on pay a visit to Matiliyo Clinic.
President Lungu is also on expected to meet Chief Nkole of the Swaka speaking people and the clergy before addressing Patriotic Front (PF) party officials at Kapiri Mposhi Day Secondary School.
The President will later in the day depart for Lusaka.
Meanwhile, Chief Chiwanangala of the Bisa speaking people of Chilubi district has urged Zambians not to experiment with leadership as they go to vote in next month’s general election.
The traditional leader said people should vote for leaders who have been tested and have a track record of delivering.
“I am appealing to Zambians to choose credible leaders, people who have proven and who we know can deliver development” he said.
He has since pledged to support the Patriotic Front (PF) government and its candidates in the coming election.
Chief Chiwanangala said the PF government under the leadership of President Lungu has brought a number of developments in the area which previous governments failed to deliver.
He said those criticizing the PF government do not mean well for the country.
Chief Chiwanangala was speaking at his palace in Chilubi today when Northern Province Presidential Campaign Manager, Geoffrey Mwamba called on him.
And Mr Mwamba has assured Chief Chiwanangala that President Edgar Lungu values the contribution of traditional leaders due to their critical role they play in national development.
He also thanked the traditional leader for recognising the developments the PF government has delivered in the chiefdom.
Mr Mwamba stated that President Lungu is an experienced leader, adding that Zambians should give him another mandate to govern the country so that he can finish the developmental projects he has started.
Later Mr Mwamba received 60 defectors from the United Party for National Development (UPND) who joined the ruling Patriotic Front.
Scores of Tanzanian motorists are crossing into Zambia daily to buy fuel because the commodity is cheap in Zambia than in that country. The demand for fuel at Nakonde by Tanzanian motorists is putting pressure on the three available filling stations in the border town.
The latest fuel adjustments in Tanzania effected on July 1, 2021 have further left Tanzanian motorists with no option but to seek for cheaper fuel in Zambia.
Speaking to the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS ) in Nakonde today, Muchinga Province Permanent Secretary, Davison Mulenga said the continued demand for fuel by motorists from the neighboring Tanzania is putting more pressure on the local dealers of fuel.
Captain Mulenga says Zambia has the cheapest fuel in the region and this why motorists from the neighboring countries are now flocking in to buy the commodity.
He says that people from Tanzania are the ones flooding filling stations to buy fuel saying the scenario is the same in Isoka and Chinsali.
“Fuel here in Zambia is now cheap and because of this, we have recorded increase in demand for the commodity from people coming from across the border in Tanzania.
And Nakonde District Commissioner, Field Simwinga says it is for the first time in over 10 years that Tanzanian motorists are crossing into Zambia to buy fuel.
Mr Simwinga says the demand for fuel is very high at Nakonde because of the huge demand from the neighboring countries where fuel is now expensive.
And Provincial Coordinator for Zambia Micro and Small Graders Foundation Cooperative, Josephat Chitimbwa, says the demand for fuel from motorists from Tanzania is good for the people of Zambia especially those at Nakonde.
Mr Chitimbwa told ZANIS in an interview that the change in the scenario where Tanzanian motorists are flocking into Zambia to buy fuel using the Zambian Kwacha means more money in circulation.
Mr Chitimbwa says even Malawian nationals are flocking into Zambia to buy cheap fuel.
One of the Tanzanian mini bus driver, Masud Shupa found buying at a local filling station in Nakonde said they are crossing into Zambia daily to buy fuel because the commodity is cheap in Zambia than in their country.
Shupa said as people in business, they are not making profit if they buy fuel in their country, Tanzania.
“We are crossing into Zambia daily to buy fuel because the commodity is cheap here. We are in business and for us to make a profit, we need to buy cheap fuel and we can only access cheap fuel here in Zambia, ” said Shupa.
Tanzania has seen an increase in fuel costs in the past 12 months due to a rise in global demand and increasing local taxes and levies.
Dar es Salaam motorists are currently paying Sh 2,405 per litre of petrol, equivalent to K 25.25 Zambian Kwacha.
The latest adjustments in fuel in Tanzania were effected on July 1, 2021 as the government seeks to collect Sh100 as fuel levy in line with the Sh36.68 trillion-budget for the financial year 2021/22.
ECZ Chief Electoral Officer Patrick Nshindano
The Electoral Commission of Zambia(ECZ) has lifted the partial suspension of the Patriotic Front and United Party for National Development to conduct physical campaigns in Lusaka district.
ECZ Chief Electoral Officer Patrick Nshindano said after suspending PF and UPND in four districts, Lusaka was partially lifted as some restrictions were still enforced with regard to physical campaigns.
Mr. Nshindano said this suspension has since been lifted and expects the two political party structure to adhere to the directives so as to create a conducive environment for free and fair elections.
The Chief electoral officer stated during a joint press briefing with the Zambia Police, PF and UPND leaders, that electoral violence undermines the credibility of any elections and must not be tolerated.
“Intolerance has been seen to be at the center and we can see the cordial relationship that has been existing in leaders of the political parties, we hope coexistence will trickle down to the supporters and ensure that we conduct a free, fair and credible election come 12th August,” he added.
Speaking at the same event, PF Secretary General Davis Mwila has committed to adhere to the resolutions of the meeting held in Lusaka yesterday with the Zambia Police, UPND and ECZ.
Mr Mwila said the resolutions of the meeting include, strict adherence to COVID-19 health guidelines during campaigns, PF and UPND to respect each other’s rights to freely campaign without interference and violence, the two political parties should desist from tampering with each other’s campaign materials such as posters and billboards and they should not violate any provisions of the electoral code of conduct.
Mr Mwila has since cautioned all members not to engage themselves in any forms of electoral malpractices.
“Electoral malpractices are against the principles and values of the patriotic front and will not be accepted,” he said.
Meanwhile, UPND Secretary General Batuke Imenda said the party will endeavor to abide by the rules and regulations that govern the elections.
Mr Imenda has directed UPND members to strictly adhere to code of conduct of elections as the party will not protect anyone who will willfully disobey the law without any justifiable cause.
“We look forward to the impartial implementation of the resolutions and all parties are urged to comply without exception in order for the elections to be free and fair,” he added.
And Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja has called on all political parties to stick to their commitment to peace as well as campaign schedules as submitted to relevant authorities.
Mr Kanganja added that all activities be conducted in COVID-19 guidelines as provided by the Ministry of Health.
“Zambia is a country of laws and as such no one shall be left to behind contrary to what the law provide,” he said.
The Inspector General has warned all police officers to decisively deal with matters of political violence and make more arrests because that is one of the effective deterrents to crime.
In June 2021, ECZ suspend all campaigns for the UPND and PF in Lusaka, Mpulungu, Namwala and Nakonde due to political violence. Two weeks later, the Commission further lifted the suspension in Mpulungu, Namwala and Nakonde district but physical campaigns in Lusaka remained suspended.
Former Minister of Water Development Sanitation and Environmental protection Hon Raphael Nakacinda says privatization wiped out the industrial base of the country.
Speaking when he featured on Radio Phoenix’s Let the people talk program, Hon Nakacinda said the direction the PF government is taking in revamping the industries will help the country in generating the desired income from local products.
Hon Nakacinda has also noted that the infrastructure development that the PF government has embarked on across the country has positively improved the equity of the nation.
“Infrastructure improves the equity of a nation, today Zambia is a fertile ground for investment both local and foreign due to market leakages,” he said.
He further said the investments that the PF government has put in place will stand the test of time.
“Fault founders have existed from way back, even in the time of Jesus, they would question Jesus why he had to heal people on the Sabbath,” he said.
He added that the PF government has also invested huge amounts of money in water projects.
“80 percent of people in Zambia have coverage, be it in Rural or Urban, so much has been achieved,” Hon Nakacinda said.
And speaking during the same programme former UPND Vice-president Dr Canicius Banda said the PF government has put in mechanisms and policies to ensure the country produces enough for export citing initiatives such as Farmers Input Support Program ( FISP).
Asking for forgiveness if sounding like trying to discourage morale in the camps of other candidates.
Though 16 presidential candidates are contesting the upcoming election in Zambia, the real battle is between the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) and the Ruling Patriotic Front (PF).
It is the third time UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema and PF leader Edgar Chagwa Lungu are facing each other in a general election.
If Hakainde Hichilema is going to lose again as prophesied by some prophets and predicted by some so-called political analysts, the question is by what margin?
Simple math points to Hakainde offsetting the margin. He has lost two elections and managed to narrow the margin in both hence probability of doing the same in the next election is high.
In the 2015 by-election, which was a result of the death of late President Michael Sata, Hakainde Hichilema lost to Edgar Chagwa Lungu by a margin of about 27,700 votes.
In the 2016 general election Hakainde lost again but managed to cut the margin to half. He lost by only about 13000 votes.
If anything has changed between 2016 and 2021, has changed in favor of Hakainde Hichilema. Standing on the way of fundamental human rights, corruption, negative attitude towards social media, unnecessary arrests, and violence have made people lose confidence in the PF government.
Internet is another thing that will help to produce the next president for Zambia. Social media fits into the equation.
Though there are several conflicting reports online about internet penetration in Zambia, every Zambian will agree that the number of Zambians who are on social media in 2021 is more than that of 2016.
An implication that social media is able to offset the 13000-vote difference won by PF in 2016 and can be concluded by rewriting the above question:
Hakainde Hichilema will win the upcoming August 12 election by how many votes? Will it be enough to avoid 50+1vote clause?
In the column article UPND’s Propaganda and Social Media Obsession Can’t Win Elections on Lusaka Times about a week ago, the author argues that social media politics has made UPND supporters create an illusion in their minds that they are popular and they have already won the 2021 elections.
This has nothing to do with propaganda. Unless one is not wise enough to know why there is a waged war against social media by the PF government. PF saw a loss coming a long time ago.
The United Party for National Development (UPND) in Kasenengwa district has appealed to the government to consider reopening primary and secondary schools earlier than 12th August 2021.
UPND District Chairperson, Wickson Lungu stated that this is in order to allow learners who are eligible to vote in the forthcoming general elections, to do so from polling districts where they registered from.
Mr. Lungu however observed that opening schools after August 12th would disenfranchise a lot of pupils who are registered, voters.
He pointed out that the voter registration was done during the school learning period, which saw most pupils in boarding schools register as voters with polling stations nearer to their learning institutions.
He said it is for this reason that schools should be opened before the poll date, in order to give such students an opportunity to exercise their voting rights.
“We want to appeal to the government through the Ministry of General Education to consider adjusting the reopening date for primary and secondary schools. This is in order to allow pupils who registered near their learning facilities to exercise their rights,” he said.
Mr. Lungu advised the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to expect low voter turnout in most polling stations, especially those near boarding schools if the date of reopening is not changed.
“We might even experience some voter apathy in some polling stations if the decision is not revisited,” he added.
He said every voter should be given an opportunity to vote for leaders of their choice as it is their democratic right, hence the decision to reopen schools on August 16, should be revisited
The government announced that the schools will remain closed till August 16th when they are expected to reopen, while tertiary learning institutions will remain closed and only offer online tutorials.
An extension methodologist in Mufumbwe under the department of agriculture says the rainfall pattern and the type of soils make the district ideal for growing most cash crops such as beans, soya beans, groundnuts and wheat.
