TEN QUESTIONS FOR PRESIDENT HAKAINDE HICHILEMA
By Sean Tembo – PeP President
1. Since student bursaries are now loans which are recovered in full by the Higher Education Loans and Scholarships Board (HELSB), why is Government still only giving these student loans to less than 10% of applicants? Why not give student loans to all applicants since this is no longer an expenditure but an investment? In fact, why not extend these student loans to not only Government universities but to private universities and colleges as well?
2. Given that the whole idea of going on an IMF program was to obtain debt relief, and further given that despite getting on the IMF program there is no debt relief that has been forthcoming as western multilateral institutions like World Bank continue bickering with our biggest bilateral lender; China, then why not just withdraw from the IMF program because it has clearly failed to achieve it’s intended goals? Why should your Government continue to implement IMF austerity measures such as monthly reviews of fuel prices, ZESCO tariff increments etcetera, when there is no tangible benefit in sight?
3. Since we have the money to construct the Lusaka – Ndola road through NAPSA, and also given that we have the competence and experience to manage toll gates through NRFA, why can’t we only hire Micro Ocean Investments to do construction only? After they construct the road, we pay them off and NRFA continues to collect toll fees as they have done with other roads? Why do we need to complicate this otherwise simple transaction by making Micro Ocean Investments borrow money from NAPSA when your Government can borrow the money from NAPSA? Why do we need to be tied to Micro Ocean Investments for 25 years?
4. It has now been more than 18 months since you closed Kasenseli Gold Mine in Solwezi, and in-between we have heard all sort of stories of corruption and illegal mining involving some Zambia National Service senior officers. Given that we have a national gold mining company called Zambia Gold Mining Company Limited, which was created by the previous regime before they left office, what is so difficult with giving Kasenseli Gold Mine to our national gold mining company so that they can mine this gold and increase our reserves at BOZ, instead of allowing ZNS to continue plundering this gold?
5. Given that your Government has acknowledged it’s failure to deliver adequate farming inputs for the 2022/2023 farming season, and also given the fact that there will be a definite poor harvest among peasant and subsistence farmers across the country, what arrangements are you making to send relief maize across the country? Or perhaps you believe that your obligations ended with the apology you issued to farmers for non-delivery of farming inputs? Do you think farmers will be eating your apology until the next farming season?
6. Given that of late, the Kwacha is depreciating at a very fast pace and is likely to reach K25 to the dollar by end of June 2023, what interventions is your Government putting in place to arrest this free fall of our currency? Could you perhaps speak to your “friends” in the mining sector, and specifically at First Quantum Mine so that they can start remitting the gross proceeds of mineral sales back into the Zambian banking system instead of keeping the money in foreign banks?
7. Given the current high cost of living and unprecedented unemployment levels, largely brought about by the monthly reviews of fuel prices, are you still going ahead with your planned 30% increase in electricity tariffs? Don’t you think this will completely kill whatever is left of our local industries and totally impoverish the Zambian citizen? Or perhaps the more pertinent question is; do you care?
8. Given the fact that up to now, you have refused to declare your assets as President of the Republic of Zambia, do you think Zambians can take you seriously when you talk about accountability and transparency in the management of national financial resources? If you are refusing to be transparent and accountable at a personal level, then what are the chances that you will be transparent and accountable when managing ndalama za dziko?
9. Given the fact that your own UPND members have linked your wife, the First Lady, to illegal manganese mining at Sacko Mine, don’t you think it is necessary that the First Lady should publicly exculpate herself instead of rushing to send the police to arrest the UPND officials that have accused the First Lady? Especially given the fact that the explanations given by Gilbert Liswaniso and Obvious Mwaliteta who are said to be business partners of your wife in this illegal mining operation, are not satisfying. For the record, your UPND National Youth Chairman; Gilbert Liswaniso says a Chinese man just called him and gave him shares in this illegal mine free of charge. Given that this whole saga smells of high level corruption, don’t you think the First Lady should publicly exculpate herself before you rush to arrest and intimidate the complainants?
10. Apart from taking photos with Facebook celebrities when you visit the Copperbelt, when exactly do you think you will be able to resolve the issues at Mopani and KCM? Do you fully understand the adverse impact of your indecision at Mopani and KCM on the economy and welfare of the people of Copperbelt Province in particular and Zambia in general? What would it take for you to embrace a sense of urgency in your decision making on these matters? Is it a case of being afraid to make a wrong decision or perhaps you have more sinister motives such as ensuring that the two mines are totally dilapidated so that they can be sold for a song to your friends at Anglo American Corporation?
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SET 13.03.2023