PAC Leader Andyford Banda Tears Into UPND’s 2026 Budget: “Zambia Has Reached Its Tax and Debt Ceiling”

PAC Leader Andyford Banda Tears Into UPND’s 2026 Budget: “Zambia Has Reached Its Tax and Debt Ceiling”

In a fiery and uncompromising press briefing dubbed “State of the Nation” held in Lusaka on Monday, People’s Alliance for Change (PAC) President Andyford Mayele Banda took aim at the UPND government’s 2026 national budget, describing it as “bloated, unsustainable, and politically motivated.”

Banda accused President Hakainde Hichilema’s administration of presiding over a “cycle of cosmetic budgets” that fail to address Zambia’s core economic problems poverty, unemployment, and weak local enterprise participation.

“We have reached a point where both tax and debt have hit the ceiling. We have introduced every tax imaginable, and yet the debt situation is still not sustainable,” Banda charged. “The government keeps spending more while ordinary citizens continue to sink deeper into poverty.”

A Budget of Numbers Without Substance

The 2026 National Budget, presented to Parliament by Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane, proposes a record K253.1 billion in expenditure up from K173 billion in 2022, representing a 32% increase over five years.

Government projects to raise K206.5 billion from domestic revenue, K12.1 billion in grants, K21.6 billion through domestic borrowing, and K12.9 billion from external sources.

But according to Banda, behind the glossy numbers lies a dangerous trend.

“In four years, the UPND has accumulated close to USD 4 billion in new debt,” he said. “Meanwhile, taxes keep piling up on mobile money, property transfers, petroleum products, and even remittances. The ordinary Zambian is being squeezed dry to fund political ambitions, not national progress.”

Inflation, Poverty, and Empty Promises

Banda mocked government’s repeated promise to bring inflation down to the 6–8% range, saying such targets are “fantasy economics.”

“They promised to cut inflation to single digits in 2025 and failed. Now they repeat the same lie in 2026,” he said. “How will inflation drop when the cost of doing business is rising, the kwacha is unstable, and energy tariffs keep climbing?”

Citing the 2022 Living Conditions Monitoring Survey by ZamStats, Banda highlighted the 60% national poverty rate with nearly 79% of rural Zambians living below the poverty line.

“Has the UPND reduced poverty in the last four years? Absolutely not,” he declared. “They boast about enrolling 2.4 million children in free education, but that’s not success, it’s a symptom of worsening poverty.”

Social Spending vs. Production

The PAC president took particular issue with what he termed the UPND’s “social welfare obsession” heavy spending on cash transfers, free education, and relief programs without equivalent investments in production and economic empowerment.

“Social programs are good, but they don’t lift people out of poverty. You cannot run a country by giving half the population free things,” Banda argued. “If you boost buying power through jobs and business opportunities, the economy grows naturally. But if you pin your strategy on handouts, you shrink it.”

He noted that Social Cash Transfer allocations have ballooned from K3.1 billion in 2022 to K8.2 billion in 2025, a trend he says reflects rising desperation, not development.

“Even the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) has lost its purpose. The UPND is spending K8.7 billion to produce almost the same maize output that the PF achieved with K5.7 billion where’s the efficiency?” Banda questioned.

Elections and the Politics of Spending

Banda suggested that the 2026 budget is laced with political motives ahead of next year’s general election.

“The government has doubled the election budget from K600 million in 2021 to K1.2 billion in 2026,” he said. “They have also hiked domestic borrowing from K15 billion to K21.6 billion, just to fund politically sweet projects like CDF and roads. This is not fiscal prudence it’s vote-buying with taxpayers’ money.”

He further accused the government of “massaging figures” on debt repayment, noting that despite allocating K22 billion for arrears clearance between 2022 and 2025, domestic arrears have ballooned to K84 billion.

“Why increase spending when you can’t pay off old bills? The math doesn’t add up unless the goal is political, not economic,” he said.

PAC’s Vision: “This Time, It’s Time for Zambia”

Banda said PAC’s alternative would focus on production, local ownership, and protection of Zambian businesses from foreign domination.

“No foreigner should be making blocks, keeping chickens, or selling second-hand vehicles while Zambians remain spectators in their own economy,” Banda stated bluntly. “If the United States can demand a $15,000 bond from Zambian travelers under their America First policy, why can’t we also put Zambia first?”

He announced PAC’s plan to replace cash handout schemes with a Sustainable Agriculture Financing Facility and reorient the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) and Zambia National Service (ZNS) toward large-scale food production and outgrower models.

“We don’t need another CDF to buy wheelbarrows; we need billion-dollar Zambian mine owners,” he said. “That’s how we build wealth.

A Harsh Verdict on Energy Policy

On energy, Banda dismissed government’s projection of adding 1,500 MW to the grid as “a recycled promise without a plan.”

He accused the UPND of manipulating power supply for political gain, saying,

“Now they are rushing to light up the compounds before 2026 so that voters think the government is working. It’s a cheap trick — Zambians are no longer that gullible.”

He urged the government to adopt innovative solar financing models, prioritize industrial power supply, and open the TAZAMA pipeline to all oil marketers to stabilize fuel supply.

“Budget of Illusion”

In closing, Banda described the 2026 national budget as “a budget of illusion made to look good on paper but hollow in impact.”

“The UPND’s five years of budgeting have failed to create jobs, failed to reduce poverty, and failed to transform the economy,” he concluded. “Zambians deserve a government that protects them from exploitation and restores dignity to local enterprise. This time, it’s time for Zambia.”

©️ KUMWESU | October 7, 2025