NEW HEALTH PERMIT RETROGRESSIVE, NEW DAWN ANTI LOCAL SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESSES.
“Right now President Hichilema’s Government has unleashed Zambia Police and Council Officers in the CBD.”
Whilst President Hakainde Hichilema has given rich foreign companies in the mining and tourism sectors tax incentives, the new dawn administration has introduced another new mandatory levy on SMALL and MEDIUM businesses through the Lusaka City Council (LCC) called the HEALTH PERMIT.
Right now the New Dawn Government has UNLEASHED ZAMBIA POLICE OFFICERS and COUNCIL POLICE OFFICERS to the CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT (CBD) of Lusaka to HARASS SMALL and MEDIUM BUSINESSES to pay for the health permit which has been pegged at K1,500 without any PUBLIC AWARENESS.
It is extremely unfortunate that since President Hakainde Hichilema and the UPND were elected into office by the poor Zambian people, they have NEVER given any TAX INCENTIVES to SMALL and MEDIUM INDIGENOUS BUSINESSES apart from the ZRA Amnesty to encourage them to pay more taxes. To them Zambian businesses are just for collecting taxes.
Hardly 2 weeks ago President Hakainde Hichilema met a group of business persons who companies have very strong foreign monopoly capital at Statehouse with a view to ease their business operations in Zambia and yet most indigenous businesses are limping in the new dawn economy. WHO WILL ACT ON BEHALF OF A POOR COMMON ZAMBIAN?
Surely we can only surmise that President Hakainde Hichilema and his administration do not understand the ECONOMIC HARDSHIPS FACING THEIR OWN PEOPLE. If they do, then President Hichilema and Honourable Garry Nkombo SIMPLY DON’T CARE ABOUT BUSINESSES FOR COMMON ZAMBIANS.
We were of the view that since we are being led by one of the top Zambian Businessman with an economic background in President Hichilema Hakainde, that he will be more sympathic towards the needs of small and medium businesses in our Country. Local small and medium businesses should be the ones to sustain the economy not suffocating them into closure.
A compassionate Government must be moving towards streamlining city council levies INTO ONE to allow maximum production and expansion of local small and medium businesses. We call on President Hichilema and his administration to abolish the health permit IF THEY REALLY CARE FOR THE POOR PEOPLE AND THEIR BUSINESSES.
Silavwe Jackson
President
Golden Party of Zambia
(GPZ).