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
