A RESPONSE TO HON. SITUMBEKO MUSOKOTWANE, MINISTER OF FINANCE AND NATIONAL PLANNING
Friday 2nd December, 2022
In today’s edition of the News Diggers newspapers, Finance and National Planning Minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane is quoted as having said that the UPND Government is depending on the private sector to create meaningful jobs that will reduce poverty levels.
One just don’t know what to make of the Minister’s statement looking at the fact that the policies and actions that the Minister and his Government are pursuing are criminally anti-private sector growth. This Government has destroyed the private sector, damaged businesses, choked Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) and pushed thousands of our people out of business and jobs.
The latest official data from Government itself and the USAID indicate that SMEs make the largest contribution to both the national gross domestic product and to employment numbers to Zambia’s economy. The report further indicates that despite this contribution the majority of Zambian SMEs are in dire financial stress.
Latest statistics from the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) shows that SMEs account for 97% of all businesses in Zambia contributing 70% to the country’s GDP and more importantly contributing 88% of all the jobs in Zambia.
As things stand, a lot of businesses in this country are going through a very tough time; most people are struggling to just make ends meet; youth unemployment is at all time high; poverty levels have worsened; there is very little money in circulation; the cost of living has escalated beyond the reach of the majority and frankly speaking, the economy has collapsed.
How then can Hon Musokotwane expect the private sector to help create jobs when;
1. This Government has refused to pay suppliers and contractors colossal sums of money that they owe them.
2. Cost of doing business continue to rise due to escalating costs of fuel, water, electricity, transport, storage, rentals, land etc.
3. Government is crowding out the private sector with its excessive borrowing and failure to service the loans; Government is borrowing in excess of 6 Billion KWACHA from the local market on a monthly basis; money it is failing to payback.
4. Access to financing is extremely limited and expensive due to cumbersome collateral demands and high interest rates that banks are charging. Worse still, access to markets especially foreign markets is very difficult due to high costs of transport, storage, high taxes, stiff competition among others.
5. All the major businesses are being given to foreigners at the exclusion of indigenous Zambians and local business firms. As if that is not bad enough, huge foreign companies such as mining conglomerates (who are externalising the mega profits they are minting) are being given tax holidays and tax incentives while local and indigenous companies are denied the same and they are instead slapped with ZRA penalties, fines and high taxes.
6. Major pieces of legislation such as the Securities Bill and other statutory instruments are being imposed on the people without sufficient consultations with key stakeholders all because those in power are driven by insatiable appetite to introduce legislation that suits and furthers their immoral desires to siphon millions from government and the people.
This is purely the case of saying the opposite of what one is doing. If Musokotwane and the UPND indeed want to help the private sector thrive, create jobs and end poverty then they must address the issues we have highlighted above; anything less than this is just hypocrisy, lies and the usual motivation speaking that this Government has become known for.
Issued by;
Antonio Mwanza
Media Director
Patriotic Front
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