By Kamuti Muyambela
President Hakainde Hichilema says the government will be changing the taxation across several spheres to what he said a fair one in the 2022 National Budget.
And President Hichilema said the first in the queue for free education will be those with the best results from disadvantaged families, as intelligence will play a key factor in the matter.
Speaking when he featured on Radio Phoenix a while ago, President Hichilema said the government will be moving towards what he said equitable taxation, including personal income tax, as well as changing the taxation regime in the mining sector in order to ramp up production.
He said the government will also engage the local authorities on issues like land rates, saying some citizens could be defaulting on account that the rates were high, and therefore innovative ways could be found to raise more income without having to make the rates too high.
“Tax must not be punitive,” the President said.
In a wide ranging interview where the President also took questions, President Hichilema insisted on his position after assuming government that free education will be for the disadvantaged, as those from well to do families did not need any government help. However, President Hichilema was on record during the general election campaigns that free education would be offered to all from Grade 1 to university level, in the same manner it was done under Dr Kenneth Kaunda, whose government he said he benefited from.
But put across to him by the interviewer that he had changed the tune on the matter with his statement that it will be education for the underprivileged, as that was not synonymous with free education for all.
“If resources are limited you do resource prioritisation,” President Hichilema said.
He said the first in the queue will be those with the best results as intellect will also play a role.
Asked on reports that UPND members were victimising those from the opposition PF in Choma, President Hichilema said it was human for those in the UPND to do that having being victimised for the past 10 years.
“I sympathise with those feelings but I disagree with retribution,” President Hichilema said, saying the police must maintain law and order and must not wait for instructions from him as he has already provided them with the political will, stating however that there will still be some lingering issues over the same violence. “…10 years of hooliganism can’t be healed in one month.”
On his featuring on a phone-in programme as President, something out of the ordinary in Zambia, President Hichilema said one could not be in public office for five or 10 years without hearing directly from the people.
He also vowed that under his administration, no minister would attend corruption cases with a flag flying on their ministerial vehicle.
President Hichilema said what he has assumed was not a military coup where everybody that worked in the previous government will be cleared, saying some people were good people if just properly managed.
He said recently he recalled some ambassadors, but somebody decided to recall other people without his authority, and replaced them with their own prepared list, saying he got wind of the matter and managed to sort out the person involved some two days ago.
The President further vowed to make bad behaviour of the nature where people stole public resources through infrastructure in the previous administration, painful. He said the government will work towards addressing the mismanagement in the FISP programme, which he said discriminated against Western, Southern and parts of Lusaka provinces.
President Hichilema said the government will in the 2022 budget prioritise employment of nurses and teachers.
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