ZAMBIA UNLIKELY TO BENEFIT FROM ITS MINERALS – DR MUSUMALI
….says the economy under the UPND has not improved for the Majority
Lusaka, Sunday, May 7, 2023 ( Smart Eagles )
Socialist Party (SP) General Secretary Dr Cosmas Musumali says the Economy has not improved for the Majority Poor Zambians under the Current regime.
Speaking, Thursday, on the Hot seat Programme, Dr Musumali said while the multinational companies are celebrating, most people in the country are still facing economic hardships.
He said currently, the economy has negatively impacted majority the people as can be seen from the exorbitant prices of commodities such as of Mealie Meal.
He said mealie meal in some places is fetching as high as K300 to K450 coupled with high electricity fees and transport fares.
“Zambian economy is bleeding from the perspective of the majority poor people. Government has delivered to multinationals. They are making substantive profits, the small businesses are suffering,” he said.
And Dr Musumali has predicted that Zambia is unlikely to benefit from its minerals under the current Government.
He said the Country has continued to lose billions in dollars annually due to the tax incentives given to the mines by the New Dawn Administration.
He said the Privileges given to the mining sector to attract Foreign Direct Investment are misplaced because the base metal prices are high and charging mineral royalty would be justified.
Dr Musumali said the New Dawn Administration has continued to be arrogant despite being advised on multiple occasions on such matters.
Meanwhile, Dr Musumali has charged that the Debt for Zambia is highly politicised.
He said the Zambian strategy for dealing with debt is too misinformed.
“You are dealing with a complex issue that needs to be dealt with Stage by stage. You do not come in with a preconceived idea thinking that you will perform magic within two months,” he said.
“Today we have an idea of how the debt situation looks like. The first step is to approach each group different and negotiate with them. Our advise was to get into China as a sense of priority. 30% of our debt is the Chinese, we should have talked to them humbly.
“But Our Government rushed to the US, World Bank and IMF ,they thought that is where they would find remedy….look at what is happening now,” he said.