UPND’s FIRST NATIONAL BUDGET REASONABLE BUT DARING- SILAVWE JACKSON
“Reasonable in the sense that it has captured the imagination of our people, daring because it ventures in unchartered territories never tested before which can work for or against the new dawn government.”
In the words of the Minister of Finance, Hon. Musokotwane “Growth is low, debt has reached unsustainable levels, fiscal space or public finances are constrained and the cost of living has escalated beyond the reach of many Zambians.”
As Golden Party of Zambia (GPZ), after a careful study of both the budget oral presentation in the national assembly and the 2022 yellow book, we render the following pros and cons devoid of any biasness;
Pros
a. Recruitment of 30,000 deserves commendation. Zambia has in excess 5.5 million unemployed people. 65 thousand of those are qualified teachers.
b. Recruitment of 11,000 health personnel is a welcome move.
c. Increment in the constituency development fund from K1.6m to K26.5m. Properly implemented, this measure will accelerate development in constituencies never seen before in the history of Zambia.
d. Free education in public schools up to secondary level.
e. 4,300 kilometers of rural feeder roads.
f. Review of the multiplicity of licenses in the tourism sector.
g. Increased production in the mining sector.
h. Removal of borehole tax for residential.
Cons
1. Over 60% of the 2021 national budget is consumptive, not productive.
2. Zambias economy will still remain in foreign hands under the in under review. At 57 years, every budget must be an attempt towards local economic development.
3. Government is silent on the informal sector job creation. Government cannot employ all the jobless people, it needs a clear and detailed strategy to create jobs outside Government.
4. PAYE remains the biggest domestic resource earner surpassing company tax. ‘Individuals don’t make real money; companies do’.
5. Cost of living will still remain high in 2022. The 2022 national budget lacks tangible strategies in the short, medium and long term to address the high cost of living.
6. Corporate tax at 30% percent remain very high. Externalisation of money remains rampant among foreign owned companies and multinational corporation. A reduced corporate tax will attract more foreign investment and reduce tax invasion.
7. Tax holidays for foreign owned companies thinning the country’s fiscus. The new dawn government should have done away with tax holidays for foreign owned companies to allow real money to start flowing into the treasury.
8. The changes in the mining tax regime will witness a loss of revenue from the mining sector while mining companies make supper profits through transfer pricing.
Notwithstanding the cons, it is a good attempt by the UPND Government at turning the wheels of our static economy. This budget lays a good foundation for the future economic prosperity of our country once implemented away from political rhetoric and populism.