THE MOVE BY UPND GOVT THROUGH ZRA TO BEGIN TAXING MOBILE MONEY TRANSACTION IS CRIMINAL AND RECKLESS!
Emmanuel Kayembe
Special Assitant to the President– Political
Economic Front!
It is now evidently clear that the UPND govt does not feel or share in the suffering of the poorest of the poor in the nation!
The UPND, through its Zambia Revenue Authority, (ZRA), has decided to start taxing mobile money transactions! It is a fact that is in public domain that the UPND lacks financial prudence. They have, since assuming office, been expending public resources recklessky on irrelevant and unproductive things such as funding international trips by Mr Hichilema. Due to this recklessness and the delay in securing debt restructuring, this govt is broke! The decision to start taxing mobile money transactions is a desperate attempt to raise some money to fund their over ambitious budget! Is there any morality in this decision? Mr Hichilema’s govt has allowed foreigners to extract our mineral resources for close free of any tax! They now want to tax the poor Zambians who are struggling to make ends meet. Most Zambians can not afford maintaining bank accounts as the maintence costs are exorbitant! Mr Hichilema himself has been heard on several occassions lamenting on the lack of banking services to the poor in society. In this aspect , mobile money came in as an alternative as its convenient and extremeky cheap to maintain. Mr Musokotwane has on many forums talked about creating a “cash less” economy where most of the transactions are conducted electronically!
This reckless and criminal decision by the UPND will make mobile money transactions extremely expensive hence unaffordable to many! Why should the poorest of the poor be made to subsidise the exorbitant life styles of the rich and powerful?
We call on Mr Hichilema and his UPND to rescind this decision immediately as it is retrogressive and exploitative! Zambians are already over burden by numerous taxes.
ECONOMIC FRONT
21ST FEBRUARY 2023