By Patson Chilemba
It’s scandalous that the only avenue government has seen where they can get money is from increasing fuel and electricity prices, says Democratic Party (DP) leader Harry Kalaba.
And Kalaba said the same ruling UPND which is sponsoring hooliganism in DP, wants to kill democracy in the country through the decision passed by National Assembly Speaker Nelly Mutti’s ruling against Bowman Lusambo and the other PF members of parliament.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Kalaba wondered why the UPND government was so interested in continuing to milk Zambians, when they had given tax holidays to the mines.
“I mean for me it’s scandalous that the only avenue government has seen where they can get money is from increasing fuel and electricity. And yet there are so many loopholes in the economy which need to be sealed. In the mining sector, you have given mines tax holidays, you have removed the mineral royalty tax, but you can’t be prudent to continue heavily milking your own people,” Kalaba said. “I don’t think that is the right way to proceed. We need relief because once you touch fuel you touch the whole economy. Food will be expensive, transport will be expensive, school everything willl just change.”
He warned Zambians to brace for more harsh times ahead, saying nothing will improve with the IMF bailout.
“For me even going to the IMF is not something I have supported. Tell me one country that has had a very robust programme using the IMF. Tell me one country! The IMF was here during UNIP. The IMF was here was here during Chiluba’s time, tell me what magical things changed for this country? And we are not yet even being told the conditions surrounding the $1.4 billion which they have gotten,” Kalaba said. “So give me a break, I think this thing of saying IMF, IMF, and trying to say we have managed to get this bailout package. Bailout from what? Because the $1.4 billion you are talking about you have gotten is money you can get using just your mind. It’s money you can get once you plug those holes, because remember between 2015 and 2019 Zambia lost $4.7 billion in four years, the IMF is going to be giving you is it about $486 million every year for a period of three years.
“We lost $4.7 billion with the copper exports in China, we recorded that we exported to China 630,000 metric tones and yet China says what they bought from Zambia was 1.5 million metric tones, the deficit in terms of tonage in quantum terms is coming to $4.7 billion.That is a gigantic amount and figure, which for me I would have preferred the new government to insist on plugging financial slippages as opposed to rushing to the IMF and telling us that quick fixes. It doesn’t hold that way.”
And Kalaba described as unprecedented the action take by Speaker Mutti, which he said was intended to weaken democracy in
“We have never heard about it in the history of the parliamentary Commonwealth. it’s the first that I am hearing that an appeal does not act as an injunction. I think we shouldn’t be doing things which are alien to our own parliamentary system. Parliament makes its own rules,” Kalaba said. “Parliament has its own precedents and to just dismantle parliamentary procedures like that is uncalled for. Because on the other hand you are saying they should not go into parliament then again you say there should never be by-elections. Then which is which because one of the things should take place? “
Kalaba wondered what would happen to the people the PF members of parliament represented, saying from wha5 he has known in his two terms of parliament, appeals act as injunctions in themselves, saying the country will not be allowed to drift into a one party state again.
“This is the same ruling party that is sponsoring hooliganism in the DP. You know? It’s the same one which wants to create a one party state. So we are not going to accept that” Kalaba said. “And we would want to remind President Hakainde Hichilema that we migrated from one party state in 1991 and he should be a good student of history. You cannot have only a mono voice. We will have divergent voices. We will have divergent voices and for us we will continue pushing in that direction.”
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