Vice President Mutale Nalumango has called on critics of the Government not to mislead citizens by saying that the United Party for National Development (UPND) during campaigns pledged never to borrow.
Mrs Nalumango said that the new dawn administration promised not to borrow recklessly and that it would restructure the country’s debt.
Mrs Nalumango said that Government is changing the way the country will handle its debt and that the IMF programme should be viewed as a grant due to its low-interest rate.
She said this during the Vice President’s Question time in the National Assembly in response to a question by Zambezi East Member of Parliament Brian Kambita who asked for a comment on public debates on the IMF programme.
Vice President Mutale Nalumango has justified Government’s move to enter into an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) saying the programme is the only remedy for the country’s debt crisis.
Mrs Nalumango said that Government incurs an extra debt every month to run national affairs as the national expenditure is higher than its income.
Mrs Nalumango said that the commercial loans acquired by the Patriotic Front (PF) Government have become impossible for the country to repay as the interest rates are too high.
Mrs Nalumango said that the IMF interest rates are lower at 0.75% and that this will allow the country to repay the loans on flexible terms as well as over a longer repayment period.
And Mrs. Nalumango said it is not the intention of the Government to have INDENI employees lose their jobs as Government has a programme for the company.
She said INDENI employees will continue to work while reforms take place at the Company and that Government will in due course make known the way forward.
Mrs Nalumango said that the Government is not closing the company per se but that it may not continue to operate fully.
And the Vice President reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to providing free education from primary school up to secondary level and that it will fill the gap that will be created by the abolishment of fees that learners have been paying.
Mrs Nalumango said that Government wants to provide relief to vulnerable members of society who have been struggling to pay fees for their children.
This was in response to a question by Bwacha Member of Parliament Sydney Mushanga who asked if Government has any plans on how schools that were dependant on PTA fees will manage to carry out their activities with the abolishment of the fees.
And the Vice President said the Government has NOT appointed any cadres to serve in the new administration and that those who have been appointed have the relevant qualifications for the positions.
She said even mature democracies have political appointments at a certain level but that does not entail appointing cadres who are not qualified to serve in certain positions.
This was in response to a concern raised by Bangweulu Member of Parliament Anthony Kasandwe.
Meanwhile, the Vice President has called on persons holding on to Government vehicles dressed with private number plates to surrender them as the law will visit them if they fail to do so.