Ministry of Information media director Thabo Kawana says the cost of living is very high, but Zambians will need to understand that they will have to pass through difficulty times to move the country forward
Asked on the fact that most fundamentals are worsening, with inflation increasing to over 10.3 percent, the Kwacha weakening to over K19.05 against the United States Dollar, fuel prices and mealie meal prices going up to K25.57 for petrol and K23.36 for diesel, and the cost of living according to the JCTR Basic Needs and Nutrition Basket going up to K9,126.40 in Lusaka with the national average at K6466.04 for a family of 6, Kawana said the Zambian economy is being affected by external factors, saying the UPND might have had their own projections as to where they want things to be, but external factors also play a factor.
He said the Russia-Ukraine conflict has affected the global economy, with food shortages in Zambia’s region making the country’s maize become “expensive and a diamond.”
While there might be an argument to be had about the conflict in Europe having an effect on the global economy, however, Kawana was reminded that the price of fuel for instance started going up in Zambia way before the Russia-Ukraine conflict commenced against the President’s campaign promises that he would remove the middle men in fuel procurement to reduce the prices.
But Kawana argued that the prices of fuel “was reverted to a cost reflective tarrif or price.”
“What you had was a lie, where you were subsidising fuel to make it look cheaper. But even in subsidising that fuel to make it look cheaper you kept accumulating debts to the tune of over $500 million. That was a lie,” Kawana said to Daily Revelation media. “So all we did was to bring in the reality to appeal to the Zambian people that let us pay for the fuel on the actual cost. What it cost out there is what we are paying for here. And that’s why you find that when fuel is increased on the international market it’s increased here.”
Kawana said the country did away with expensive lies to bring in the reality, saying UPND did not come to raise the fuel prices but to put it at the price it is supposed to sell at.
But reminded that President Hichilema indicated that he would simply remove the middle men to bring down the prices to below K13 per liter and that the Kwacha would substantially appreciate by afternoon once he was sworn in in the morning due to investor confidence in him, Kawana said external factors were playing a determining role and have changed the complexion of the dynamics.
“The economy is now taking the complexion of the dynamics that are being played internationally,” he said.
However, governments are elected into office to address complex problems, the more reason why people felt the UPND was a better alternative by voting out PF, and Kawana was asked if Zambia was being left to international whims when there is a government in place, but responding, Kawana said Zambians were not being left to international whims but were living within the conditions prevailing world wide.
He said people elected the government to ensure that international shocks were minimised.
“We agree that the cost of living is high. We do not agree with you when you want to keep pushing the price of mealie meal to K300. The price of mealie meal is below K300,” Kawana said, saying he was buying mealie meal yesterday at K219 and challenged that he be provided with evidence where it was being sold at K300. “Yes! The cost of living is high and we appreciate but the people also ought to understand that for us to get to where we are going we will pass through difficulties … The solution is that we need to produce more.”
President Hichilema and those in the UPND condemned their predecessors when they mentioned that some of the problems the country was going through were on account of global factors, yet they are resorting to the same mantra now, Kawana said there are differences as the country was looking at increasing production.
He said the price of maize has been increased with those who moved away from producing maize coming back on the market.
He said the government was also reducing the cost of fertilizer, with the production of compound D fertilizer being procured and manufactured locally.
Asked if the price of fuel will ever come down to K13 as the President promised, Kawana said Zambia was not an oil producing country, but the President recently came back from a trip to Angola to sign the issues connected to the Nacala Corridor meant to begin procuring oil from a nearer source and thereby making it cheaper.
He said the middle men were already removed, yet the price remained high.
“The middle men were removed and what you are paying for today is the cost reflective tariff … Had the middle men not been removed you were going to pay more,” said Kawana.
