NDIYE MWE BADYELA MUMA GWAGU YA FERTILIZER BA UPND- MOURINHO
……notes that the economic hardships are as a result of IMF Conditions
Lusaka……Tuesday, September 12, 2023 ( Smart Eagles)
The Socialist Party says the economic hardships being experienced in the country are as a result of the stringent IMF Conditions given to the UPND Government.
Party Deputy General Secretary Antonio Mourinho Mwanza says Government Policy, Programme, Expenditure and Budget is under the control of the IMF.
He has stated that part of the conditions was for the IMF to draft the Bank of Zambia Act number 5 of 2022.
Mr Mwanza said foreigners are in control of the country’s economy and operations of the Bank of Zambia.
He said the IMF has also Given the New Dawn Government a condition to review the Prices of Fuel prices and to reintroduce VAT on fuel hence making the commodity Expensive.
“Condition three, they have been told to publish the Cost of Electricity Study and government has already started implementing the increase of Cost of Electricity…Government has paid K9 billion through VAT refunds to foreign multinationals. They have been told and instructed to phase out the Farmer Input Support Programme. Over 400 thousand farmers have already been removed from FISP.”
Mr Mwanza has noted that every programme of the IMF has made Zambia to go deeper into poverty and unemployment.
“The way the IMF Operates, the money will be given in eight tranches. They first give you conditionalities, when you fulfil them, they give you $188 million and they make a review. They make another set of conditionalities when you fulfil them, they give you another $188 million for the next five years. This Programme of the IMF that Zambia is on, is the 13th Programme the country has undertaken and no meaningful results have been yielded. This Government will not be able to build schools, and other infrastructure in all sectors thereby limiting unemployment,” he said.
Mr Mwanza has reminded Zambians that any promise President Hichilema makes to the people outside the conditionalities of the IMF is a lie.
“We can’t discuss the economy of this country outside the conditionalities of the IMF Programme, it is a lie. Whatever Programme, whatever policy this Government has to implement has to be within the IMF Context.
Meanwhile, Mr Mwanza said the New Dawn Government has found a way to siphon and steal money from the Zambian people through messing up the Fertilizer deals.
“There is $357 million worth of contracts in Fertilizer, what they have done is that because they always want to single source, to give these fertilizer contracts to their friends, they create a manmade disaster because the ZPPA law does not allow you to single source if you do not meet the conditions. 1. There must be an emergency, the supply of the products is limited, there is constraint on time. They have done it this time around twice,” he said.