The Jesuit center for theological reflections JCTR has expressed concern over the inconsistency in government policy pronouncements has been a source of concern.
Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection Programmes Manager Geoffrey Chongo says that inconsistency in the PF government promised the people of Zambia on the windfall tax.
Mr. Chongo said that after the PF got into power,the Minister of Finance suddenly announced that government was not going to reintroduce windfall tax. Mr. Chongo said that that the PF government also while in opposition and even after getting into power promised that they would increase their stake in the mining companies but today Zambians are being told it is not government policy.
He said that it is this policy inconsistency among other factors that has led Fitch to downgrade Zambia’s economic outlook. He has noted that the Minister of Finance has acknowledged that there is inconsistency in policy pronouncements in his Government and he has blamed this development on some top government officials.
He said that there is therefore urgent need to address this inconsistency and assure markets that there is no policy shift and not simply dismiss Fitch’s concerns as inglorious opinion. Mr. Chongo has added that it is also misleading for Government to say that Fitch’s recent economic outlook downgrade is inconsequential to the Zambian economy.
He explained that Rating agencies’ opinion world over have significant impact on individual countries’ economic performance as they influence investor sentiments. He has noted that the growth of the Zambian economy in the last few years has largely been influenced by increased inflow of foreign investment and the PF Government has not shifted from this focus.
He said that maintaining foreign investors’ confidence in the economy thus still remains cardinal to the positive economic outlook of the economy and the fight against poverty.
The JCTR programmes manager has since advised the Zambian Government to positively look at the recent downgrade of Zambia’s economic outlook by Fitch rating and become more systematic and consistent in its policy pronouncement and implementation.
QFM
The JCTR programmes manager has since advised the Zambian Government to positively look at the recent downgrade of Zambia’s economic outlook by Fitch rating
AND THEN WHAT MR JCTR THOSE FITCH CHAPS DOWNGRADED ZED THATS IT WE HAVE TO FYT FOR DEVELOPMENT NOW AND LOOKING AT THE REPORT PRODUCED BY FITCH…
ITS NOT THE END OF THE ROAD BY THE WAY EVEN USA IS IN B+
JCTR Â you were in the fore front backing an illiterate person to take over as president… Â its ironic that you expect him to understand what Fitch was saying later on what you are saying. Better say it in bemba the official cabinet language which they might understand.
You did not like RB now you are singing praises of his policies.
We are going to clock a year without any direction or anyone saying any sensible thing from GRZ. Even Bob Sichinga who was so vocal has gone into hiding. The reality is the boat has no campus its using the sun and moon for direction and soon will find itself in the high sea. Hope you all know how to swim
The sinking boat…indeed No. 2 you are so right this will be the worst govt in Zed history if they continue like this…cant seem to point up even one single thing they have done apart from defending themselves adn re-naming things….
What PF does not understand is that the bond the are trying to raise on the international market will be very expensive. The money is needed to finance the budget deficit. If the bond fails, the deficit will be financed from massive borrowing from the local market which will push up interest rates, the kwacha will be in downfall mode. Imports will become extremely expensive especially fuel. from then onwards the economy will be in free fall.
Welcome to Zimbabwe
Well said indeed. You have hit the point on the issue of bonds in the international market with this kind of leadership. Rating agencies look at all aspects of economic, leadership and democratic conditions to rate favorably. Good luck Zambia.
This is the voice in the desert calling PF to repent and do the right thing. Greece and Europe as a whole should be our good examples.Â
We know that we do not have many investors who play by the rules of the capital markets but most of the capital flows into Zambia are from DFIs, of course much of it being concessional. Even then the rating is going to send a sense of “bad behavior” to all the partners (donors). This will attract a lot of conditions and tighter terms of lending conditions.Â
Whatever Chikwanda or Sata thinks, we need to act prudently and foster a positive friendly environment.Â
It’s economic ignorance manifesting itself as inconsistency.
Well, Zambians voted and got what they (we) deserve. The people ruling are a true reflection of Zambians, no 2 ways about it. In other words, we Zambians are kaponyas. Had RB won those elections, we would be having civil war today in Zambia. I failed to drive through Chimwemwe from Chingola on the day final results were to be anounced. It was either Sata or nothing. So you JCTR, you have no right whatsoever to complain about your pf policies. We are still going the way of Zimbabwe, just wait. We are all kaponyas. Very nice.
At this alarming rate Sata’s boat of dry bones is ruining the country, Â count on an abyss of poverty, social upheaval and a historic crisis in the fold. It took years to undo the mess of UNIP’s last dying years but it may be worse damage to undo after this clueless regime. Â
# 4Â The Engineer (Australia),
Under these flip floppers the much talked about US $700 million bond lined up for the market is nothing but a junk bond. Borrowing from the local market will not only shoot up interest rates off the ceiling but practically mop out the available funds SME could borrow to boost economic activities. in short SMEs will choke and the recent years gains suffer. We have a tsunami deserving some interventionist moves. Zambia went through the SAP and not available for another man made tsunami. Its national future or utopia of the visionless.Â
If they struggle to understand credit ratings, its unfair to expect them to respond appropriately to a downgrade.
JCTR should NOT have pushed for the semi-litertes to be in government.We wouldnt be where we are now….
Once the kwacha is in free fall, input costs to produce copper the main foreign exchange earner will becomes expensive. Margins will be squeezed and all expansion will be put on hold. High cost producers such as Mopani and KCM will have massive retrenchments. With projections of Chinese economy slowing down, no one will import the copper and companies will be forced to cut production. A fast video back to 1990.
All what Sata needs to do is go to KK and ask for the videoÂ
# 1Kudya Nikusheta please don’t lie.what have you being reading.no top 10 world economies have such rating.Â
@The Engineer (Australia) its sad to say but, lets just brace ourselves. but i have to say i generally disagree with  the thinking of JCTR  on many things. but for a change they have advised the gov rightly.they have clear identified the problem we have at hand. and engineer if you look at the PF manifesto its full of spending and massive spending on consumption. its inevitable that PF will borrow heavy from the local market. so ya zimbabwe here we come
@Tell it Like it is…. Very interesting recollection. Kaponyas said it was either Sata or nothing. Come to think about it, was this the Sata kaponyas were willing to shed blood for? What is inspiring about this rascal like govt that others were willing to maim one another? Absolutely gutter nonsense being exhibited. We were far much better off under MMD than these headless chickens who can’t even interpret their own party manifesto according to their garrulous party Secretary General. Their Finance Minister also seems to be agreeing that the president has appointed empty tins that don’t appreciate cabinet approved policies. It can only mean one thing…there are no cabinet meetings to articulate policy.
Well of course there are no cabinet meetings what can they discuss? By the way folks what has happened to the Zanaco saga it was the main news in January and now its donchi kubeba and the gold saga….oh and the 3 trillion mr sichinga mentioned
It is a group of headless chickens pretending they know what they are doing when the opposite is very true. It is the story of The Emperor ‘s new clothes!!!! We are in shit as a nation. 4.5 years to go!!!!!
Zambia has been downgraded by Fitch only because zambian are animals…look what the government do with ZCCM-IH…absolutely nothing. First Quantum holds almost $ 500 million of dividends not paid to ZCCM and i don’t speak about Vedanta, Glencore or Chinese. …
“Mr. Chongo said that that the PF government also while in opposition and even after getting into power promised that they would increase their stake in the mining companies but today Zambians are being told it is not government policy.”
Sata and his govt would make a serious misconduct if they obey plunderers and crooks such as foreign mining companies and their henchmen IMF, World Bank, Fitch, Moodys
Zambian wealth belong to zambian people and not to those looters !!
I find it interesting that the JCTR argues that not implementing the Windfall Tax has created the uncertainty (of a future implementation) that caused Fitch’s downgrade.
What Fitch is really worried about is the ability of foreign corporations to loot at their hearts content. So much is clear from their comments.
However, let’s take this ‘future uncertainty’ off the table by implementing the Windfall Tax immediately. As in now.
No one can justify presiding over a country where 45% of children are stunted by malnutrition, and then say “well we won’t collect $1.5 billion a year in taxes and dividends from the mines, so they can invest more.” Sorry, but people’s health is being undermined *right now*, and there is no guarantee whatsoever of future copper prices.
We were told that experience is what we need as a key qualification for presidency, where has the sole called experience in sata taken us-a comedy of errors… HH the ‘under 5’ should be laughing at these (in)experienced leaders that keep moving like headless chickens on policy
Haahaha,Mr Chongo what did you expect from these semi illiterates? One day they create a ministry the next day they merge its duties with another and still leave another that ministry untouched that actually has duplication of functions.Economics will surely not be their forte either as stuff is done with populist political interests in mind and not the micro and macro economic implications they’ll have
@ MrK your reasoning is debasing in nature, it because of chap like you that we remain behind as a country. when Fitch rated zambia B+ i remember you protested on this blog now the they are degraded you are protesting.the yardstick they are using is the same they used last year and it the same they are using for all the countries in the world. so in your thinking you wanted what? to remain the B+ you were against,  or to take it to A with our current performance with fake Billion of kwachas circulating.
 what is prudent is you tell the gov you voted for to simply work on what is wrong, that is if you thing something is wrong. let them tell us about jobs not re-alignment, reshuffles, re-naming and all the other re-doingsÂ