By Daily Revelation Reporter
The “cattle economist” has failed and is comforting himself with mere inflation figures and dancing kalele when every Zambian is feeling the impact of skyrocketing prices, FDD leader Edith Nawakwi has charged.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Nawakwi said there was nothing to be excited about the reduced inflation figure of 9.4 percent because Zambians were still feeling the impact of real prices in terms of high mealie meal prices, the weakening Kwacha which she said will increase the cost of imports and subsequently increase prices of goods on the local market, among other effects.
“These are cattle economists. So they don’t understand the pricing structure in an economy. When someone says inflation has come down to 9.4 percent, meaning if you have K100, the real value of that K100 is K90.6. Now take that K90.6 to National Milling to buy mealie meal, how many K90.6 Kwachas are you going to need to buy a bag of mealie meal costing K200?” Nawakwi asked. “Inflation is just a figure for monetarists like (Finance minister) Situmbeko Musokotwane and my cattle economist, my young brother Hakainde, for their audience in Washington. When you are looking for roofing nuts in town you understand that what they are talking about is nonsense.”
Nawakwi said the real questions Zambians must ask themselves was about the real prices of goods and services, saying if prices in the economy have increased by “10 fold” it doesn’t matter what the inflation figure is.
She wondered what has happened on the President’s promise that the price of beef would reduce as he was going to reduce the price of dipping for animals.
She further said that since the President came into office, the price of diesel had increased from around K16 to around K26, with petrol increasing from K17 to K24, and that while the President claimed that fertilizer prices had skyrocketed because of the Ukraine war, the same commodity just across the Zambian border in Tanzania was cheaper.
“Those figures they use and start dancing kalele is just rubbish. Every Zambian has felt skyrocketing prices and Hakainde has no solution. You can know that the economy is biting too hard that UPND can’t even clear State House surroundings. State House is now Chibolya. That’s indication that the cost of living is high,” Nawakwi said.
She said she was watching a video where Tanzanian President Hassan is rolling out a programme targeting youths to harvest around 68,000 10 hectares lots, but that when President Hichilema walked into office here he was “too excited” that he created CDF without understanding the concept of how it would roll out.
She said the President walked into office and started audits in the fertilizer industry but in the process forgot that time was moving and delayed distribution of inputs to the people in the process.
Nawakwi further said the President came in and found a bumper harvest in terms of grain, but unlike Joseph who advised King Pharaoh then to store some, President Hichilema opened up the market and in the process caused a shortage of maize and subsequently mealie meal shortages and higher prices.
“And in the end you start saying that people are conniving to deprive the country. That is extremely naïve. A leader doesn’t behave like that because you have no appointment with God that next year it’s going to rain,” she said.
Nawakwi said “since Hakainde is known to take the first credit, he should also take responsibility for this first year of hunger.”
“Kutiwaba umuntu bonse balekweba ati uli wabufu (How can you survive as a human being when everyone is saying you are a liar)?” asked Nawakwi.
