Urgent Press STATEMENT
REINSTATE FUEL SUBSIDIES IMMEDIATELY. Government’s Fuel Price Hikes Push Zambia to the Brink of Economic Collapse – Kasonde Mwenda C -EFF President
1st August 2024.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) condemns in the strongest possible terms the recent fuel price hikes and the government’s refusal to reinstate crucial fuel subsidies. This reckless decision by the Hakainde Hichilema administration is accelerating Zambia’s descent into economic chaos and deepening the suffering of ordinary citizens.
For three years now, the Hakainde Hichilema government has promised economic stability and growth, yet all we have witnessed is a catastrophic decline. This administration has miserably failed to stabilize the economy, instead pushing Zambia further into an abyss of economic despair. The evidence is clear: the record-high cost of living has become unsustainable, and the Zambian people are bearing the brunt of this failure.
In a shocking move, the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) has announced yet another increase in fuel prices, effective at midnight. *Petrol prices have surged from K31.58 per litre to K33.47 per litre, diesel from K29.34 per litre to K30.05 per litre, and kerosene from K26.36 per litre to K27.52 per litre. These price hikes come on the heels of a staggering 8.15% depreciation of the Kwacha against the US dollar in just one month.* This means that the very lifeblood of our economy—energy—is becoming increasingly unaffordable for Zambians.
The government’s response to this crisis is a slap in the face to the Zambian people. Rather than addressing the escalating poverty and economic decline, they continue to bleed the country dry with exorbitant fuel costs and relentless electricity tariff hikes. The result? A country paralyzed by blackouts, with up to 16 hours of daily load shedding, crippling productivity and plunging the majority of our population into deeper poverty.
It is incomprehensible that while Zambians are forced to endure unbearable hardships, this government persists in exporting electricity abroad. The exportation of electricity when our own citizens are left in darkness and unable to sustain their livelihoods is an unforgivable betrayal.
The EFF demands the immediate reinstatement of fuel subsidies to provide relief to the struggling Zambian people and avert further economic collapse. We also call for an immediate halt to the export of electricity until the domestic energy crisis is resolved. The Hakainde Hichilema government must stop pretending that everything is under control and acknowledge the reality: Zambia is on the brink of disaster, and only decisive action can pull us back.
Zambia deserves leadership that prioritizes the well-being of its people over profit, and the EFF will not rest until the government is held accountable for its gross mismanagement of our economy. We stand with the Zambian people in demanding immediate action to reverse these damaging policies before it is too late.
Wherever we want to go our feet will take us there.
Kasonde Mwenda C,
President,
Economic Freedom Fighters – EFF
Get out iwe. Subsidies have been there before and prices used to be increased. Prices were increasing in MMD with subsidies program running. PF government also provided subsidies and prices were increasing.
So tell us the benefit of subsidies on, if the good government can instead provide mill allowance and bursary loans to the universities
This Mwenda man is nothing but a “smart alec”.
He demonstrates a shallow understanding of issues that one would expect from a “ponya”. What an embarassment to the Political party that he leads. Dont we have a better crop of leaders who like Emmanuel Mwamba just to off how much they can speak instead of having substance?