I only get a salary of K53,000 – Hichilema
PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema has disclosed that a president in Zambia gets a salary of K53,000 per month, asserting that Government jobs do not offer a lot of money.
President Hichilema stated this to encourage Zambians to invest in businesses instead of crying for the Government to employ them.
Officiating at the Energy Forum for Africa Conference in Lusaka yesterday, the President stated that there was need for Zambians to invest in the energy sector, using the drought as an opportunity for citizens to turn into entrepreneurs.
“Don’t cry about being not given a job, invest in genuine businesses not crying about not being given a job. You want to get a job in Government, do you know how much you will be getting in Government? K20, 000 per month.”
“Now I will tell you this, the president in this country gets a salary of K53,000. Now the whole of me queuing for K53,000 for what? People don’t understand what they are asking for. Yet if they got together, 10, 20 of them, [the can now invest] we have now made it possible quickly for them to invest in five megawatts. Zesco, ERB, if the business generates five megawatts you will get a decent amount, you learn to work hard, you learn to be patient,” stated President Hichilema.
He also called on Zambians living in the diaspora to invest back home, especially at a time when the country is grappling with effects of the drought.
President Hichilema urged banks to create attractive packages that will enable citizens to access funding for investment in the sector.
“Let’s encourage Zambians even in the diaspora to invest back home. Why are you sitting there, focusing on brown, bread, yellow bread, pink bread, invest back home, you are in a market where you can access capital at a lower cost, the interest rates are lower in Europe. Ten of you can get together and form five megawatts,” he advised.
He said Government had already taken both regulatory and legal reforms in the sector to make it attractive, challenging experts across various sectors of the economy to come up with innovative ideas and solutions to address the current energy crisis.
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba, August 15, 2024
So the Crumbs theory is a common feeling among our leaders. Queuing up for K53,000.00 salary is useless?
What is this man saying? We stop being Tea Chers , Nurses and Doctors and start generating 5 Megawatts?
Improve the economy so that the K20,000.00 Crumbs I get for my essential civil service become meaningful! That’s what sensible Governments do.
The subject was investment and the encouragement by the President for people without jobs to invest in energy and not queuing for government jobs.
And how do you raise capital without a job? My wife and I ran two separate businesses. The initial capital to kick start both businesses came from what we earned from our jobs.
Don’t say borrow from the bank. The cost of capital in Zambia is ridiculously high and financial institutions engage in what I can only refer to as legalized theft. They want to relieve you of your hard earned money at the slightest excuse.
Doing business in Zambia is hell.
This is the most sensible statement from the President and it is timely and wise. We can only grow the economy if we invest in productive sectors. Crying every morning over the government salary is not worth it.
We country need to invest in industries, the current CDF has been concentrated on infrastructure development which is also good but the next strategy on CDF should be centred on Industrial development.
We need a total change of mind set as opposed to the traditional way of doing things.
Once the economy is grown, lam sure we are going to have lower lending interest rates from the banks.
Investiment in any field requires better planning, discipline and commitment. Today issues of public funds stealing is common because people want to make fast money without plans. Industrial development Corporation should be incorporated in the administration of CDF so that they can help to fund viable businesses that can create suffient income to the share holders.
If it is the issue of building capacity on CDF, why not look for NGO’s with good track record in projects and business development to spearhead industrial development? There is no successful investment without investing in human capital( we need experts please). Review the guidelines and involve the private sector if the civil service is failing the people of Zambia.
The statements from the President are very brilliant but l don’t know if there are people that can add value to the ideas from the President and see things in a positive way. There is nothing political in the advise from the president but what l see is an economical advise.
In the same way, the mining sector should support the development of local businesses and stop wasting money on things that don’t postively transform or impact People’s lives.
@ Kabengele
” The whole of me queuing for K53,000.00″
Statement by President of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema. I don’t see sense in this statement.
You get hefty allowances through unceasing travels. We are aware.
Ba munyela pebwe abashibula kubwekeshapo. Ati iyo nshifola. Kabili ati ndafola.
Indeed why should HH, a well to do man, queue up for such pittance as a monthly salary. Like him or hate him the man is stinking rich. He is not like those who become dubiously rich after ascending to the highest office in the land.
Pipo without jobs to invest? pipo with no income to invest? The same mouth that donated the whole salary today only gets a salary of 53000? So pipo in constituencies that have the 25,000,000 million kwacha no one is suggedting that may be just one year we sacrifice so our costituency can have power and also get paid by zesco or we really need desks that bad? How do pipo buy this? Zambians its not wrong to support leaders but gospel truth support no question. The 1million us dollar planned for cdf addition and the 13.5 million for the farm cant we divert to these 5 megawatts. This is the i started my poutry with one egg and now i have 90000 chickens speech.