International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said today that Zambia risked incurring huge loans if the country continues borrowing from other countries.
Speaking at State House today during a meeting with President Rupiah Banda, Mr. Strauss-Kahn advised government to get loans that the country would be able to pay back to avoid huge debt burden.
Speaking at the same function , President Banda hailed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for undertaking ambitious reforms aimed at enhancing the governance of IMF and economic well being of member
states.
President Banda said the reforms, aimed at making the fund’s financial support more flexible and better tailored to the diverse needs of low income countries, were particularly important for countries like Zambia.
Mr. Banda said he was aware that Zambia has benefited from the reforms with resources amounting to US$260 million in 2009 and this year under the extended credit facility.
The president said the IMF and Zambia share a common goal of reducing poverty through macro-economic stability adding that government would continue working closely with the Fund.[quote]
Mr. Banda said his government looked forward to continued collaboration so that more progress could be made for the benefit of the Zambian people.
The president said he acknowledged the role IMF played in reducing the country’s debt burden through the highly indebted poor countries initiative (HIPC).
He said although the debt burden had been reduced and a lot achieved in terms of freeing resources for economic development, there were still a lot of challenges in terms of economic development and poverty reduction.
Among the challenges the country was facing were lack of sufficient infrastructure especially in the road, railways and energy sectors.
Mr. Banda said before the reduction of the debt under HIPC, the country was able to access funding under the international development Association (IDA).
“Now that we have achieved debt sustainability, our access to IDA funding had diminished despite our huge developmental needs. This has limited the extent to which we can implement development projects,” President Banda said.
The president said however that his government remained committed to addressing the problem of infrastructure and improving the business environment despite the financial limitations. He said the country looked for China for support because it needed financing at concessionary rates to build the necessary infrastructure.
Mr. Banda said he was delighted that IMF chief decided to include Zambia among the countries he was visiting because it has consolidated the relationship Zambia has with IMF
ZANIS
God help us. Please save us from RB. Its nice that the MD for IMF is freely giving advice to RB. Wondering if the advice is falling on listening ears though.
What is that saying? Once bitten, twice shy?
It seems that we have learnt nothing from our period of extravagant borrowing. If we go back 2 months this was the exact warning I was giving to Capitalist when debating the need for greater taxes on mining companies. Our external debt is growing at an alarming rate, yet we allow mining companies to make billions
Mismanagement of our resources will cause Zambia to continue borrowing. We need a government that will use resources prudently.
Tell that to RB’s pocket! and his greedy cronies
Good Evening
The advice is quite relevant and also welcome but our government must also be accorded the leading role in articulating and implementing their own policies in the collective interest of the Zambian people instead of the IMF dictating to them everytime.
Don’t be fooled by Headlines. The IMF is just covering their backside as a chief lender. Their conditions remain the worst and they feel bad that China has entered this Market. This man would be happy for Zambia to get a $1 billion dollar loan from the IMF.
Why do you think EU does not want IMF in their back yard despite the troubles that Greece is going through. They would rather solve those problems alone. And Why do you think South African Government never borrows money from the IMF. These guys are bad. They are a typical loan shacks you see exploiting the desperate poor. The Debt forgiven (HIPIC) is just another myth if you compute the numbers you would realise that the IMF made more money on those loans and the amount Zambia paid was way more than they borrowed,
#6 MMD Chief Bootlicker: I know ndiwe watuchawa but try & come across to be astitute in your analysis of things and the analyses you put across. You may love MMD & I pray that you have benefited from the plunder that happened under MMD’s Chiluba & Mwanawasa. RB is basically hero worshipping this IMF Chap. Why are trying to sway issues & blame the country’s debt on semantics of a news headline carried in a governmental controlled & owned organisation. Come on at times you should accept your country is in debt. You lie bluntantly when you say South Africa does not borrow money from the IMF. I would rather you speak competenlty about your MMD than waffle about South Africa a country with many challenges but are progressing no matter what the world thinks about this super African eco power.
Will the Zambian govt ever learn? Why borrow money from other countries and IMF when you can get it from your own people and companies that are in the country? What’s BOZ and Finance Ministry doing with Cash Management? Don’t tell me people don’t have money in the banks and that banks don’t bank with BOZ and vice versa that Zambia can mobilize a bit of those funds through interest and tax! Please, do not spend recklessly. I strongly don’t recommend our govt to go on borrowing unless it wants to declare itself bankruptcy some day. I hope our President has read between lines of IMF Managing Director’s words. He is actually telling you Mr. President to cut on spending!!!!!!! From the look of things, I am now beginning to think you are running a marathon expenditure……
I never thought I would see the day when Bootlicker would tap into his grey matter. Bootlicker, well done son! 7/10 for most improved post.
Look at Greece and the EU! They never run up to IMF to borrow funds in times of trouble but beve baZambia nikwamene baenda kunthu kutaba bazungu.[-x %-(
Iwe chiBootlicker, if only our politicians would have the same mentality as the EU. Instead of running to China for a $1bn loan, which we don’t know the repayment conditions or interest rates for, we should tax the mining companies a more realistic rate.
By the way, of course the IMF made money on the loans. There was interest to be paid on those loans, but then (as I suspect is happening now) no one thought about that or calculated how they were going to be paid back.
China might be willing to give us the cash, but they are also going to expect each of these ‘development projects to be built by Chinese companies, thereby ensuring that the same dollars make their way back into the Chinese economy.
7. Abwenzi
I live in South Africa and I have specifically on Several Occasion head the Former Bank Governor Titi Mboweni warn politicians to be carful of spending or they would end up going the the bad Guys at IMF. Also why do you think Nigeria liquidated most of its IMF debt despite having a lot of needs? Look we are in the information age, just google on the issue and you will see what am talking about and also google the words Europe doesn’t want IMF help or Greece and IMF help and you will see what am talking about and get the big picture
#6 Iwe MMD Bootlicker ndiwe C.H.E.N.D.E. I agree with Abwenzi & I perosnally suspect ndiwe shushushu in RSA attached ku embassy or something along those lines. Your analysis is usually biased, feeble & lacks facts and full of fallacy of generalisations & here you are basically trying to protect the i.d.i.o.c.y of RB. Are you MMD chaps so scared to field a true MMD candidate from the people who risked their lives during KK’s UNIP rather than this stooge RB who continues to cretinously bring MMD, the party I once loved into disrepute. This man is not MMD everybody knows but where are the founding fathers? You should be ashamed to have gone into bed with a UNIP member a party MMD admonished… What a shame even today’s majority MMD followers including George Kunda who is a cretin
Bootlicker, can you tell me the repayment conditions and interest rate on the $1bn loan that has been facilitated with China?
If you can’t then you are in no position to compare and IMF loan with a Chinese loan.
MMD Bootlicker you may live in SA I was born in Zambia during the dark days of apartheid am a full-time South African & have to agree with Abwenzi # 7. Many at times I read blogs but it brings me to one sad conclusion Zambians love to complain with no action starting with yourself Bootlicker. What have you done to better Zambia ever since you left Zambia?? I have businesses in Zambia which I may not have had if I was born in Zambia but why do you Zambians despise your own country so much even when you have opportunities to contribute ot her development? You may love MMD, but there is no Zambia who never benefited from UNIP. Am now in the Middle East & my knowledge about world issues from politics, economic socio & many others have just been broadened & am glad I was born in exile.
Bootlicker & Whisper … Stop throwing blows here. Your country has already borrowed and all it can do now is STOP BORROWING from either IMF, CHINA or any other country AND JUST PAY BACK THE BORROWED MONEY. If Zambia can manage its resources well, it came get out of those debts in a few years to come. All it needs is a good Finance Minister and an understanding President who won’t have to sack the Finance Minister when he says NO mr President we can not use the money in the reserves now.
Bootlicker, by his very name demonstrates that he has no self respect. How can a grown man give himself the moniker ‘MMD Bootlicker’?
Bootlicker I hate being reffered to some European Website or google. I use them to check the top headlines of the day not to base my analysis. You base your arguement based on reading Fred Mmembe’s Post, Lusaka Times, Daily Mail, Times of Zambia & probably the lunatic newspaper owned by someone calling himself Angoni who wanted to convince himself that he had found the AIDS cure. If yu had recommended a book like Confessions of an Economic Hitman or Capitalist Nigger or even Dambisa Moyo’s Dead Aid I would have given you some respect. Read widely you bootlicker & enlighten yourself beyond news & Web analyses
@ LULU.. you are right. Zambians love to complain but there are a few who are fighters and businessminded and are trying to help develop the country even though it is too tough for them.
OK am out of here looks like somebody would rather use multiple identities and throw insults at me PF style than just criticize and debate my points ..good night
Prosperous, I know I shouldn’t take things personal, but I am really cheesed off. Our country is on its knees because of people like Bootlicker. The man is contributing to our misery by helping prop up a despotic government and I suspect might even part of the problem. I see very little hope for Zambia, because we have a useless govt and an opposition devoid of intellect.
Our politics have been reduced to a tragic comedy where the people who get the votes are those that cheat the population the best.
Bootlicker no one is here replicate themselves under different identies. am in the Middle East, Dubai to be specific
MMD Chief Bootlicker says:
I agree with you about people’s lack of trust in the IMF. I also don’t believe that if China didn’t step in and become the new “GO TO” govt for loans, IMF would, all over a sudden, change the way it does business with the poor. On that score, I totally agree with you.
Nonetheless, we can not discount Khan’s overall advice when it comes to the new “DEBT TRAP” we are walking ourselves into. Whether these loans comes from China, IMF, WB, European Union, extra, the fact still remains: ONE DAY, SOMEHOW, SOMEWHERE, we will have to repay these loans. And if we are not careful, the bottom will fall out again!!! We should have learnt our lessons from the deep debt entanglements we got ourselves into not so long ago—-let us learn to live within our means!
I am Whisper, no one else. I have debated your points.
Just to recap.
1. I asked why we ran to China for a £1bn loan instead of trying to raise the money through further taxation of the mining companies
2. I asked if you could catagorically tell me how much worse the IMF loan is than the one we have recieved from China.
You haven’t responded to either of these. Instead you have gone to bed. I hope you have a hellish nightmare of the misery your MMD has heaped on the people of Zambia.
# 21 Whisper I couldn’t agree with you more. the man bootlicker has audacity to think whatever he says we should accept. I have lived in SA & have a house their but my home has always & will always be Zambia hence am concerned about my beloved country. I don’t know what my IP address shows but this flag is certain not a UAE flag am at my flat in Dubai where am currently on assigment from South Africa.
#19 Properous: My mum left businesses in Zambia that we can’t enjoy in South Africa even under the so called Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) trust me. when my mum died in 2002 we had to burry her back in Zambia becoz that was her request & she felt the new black government in SA would betray the majority impoverished blacks we did that as she wanted & yes she is burried in old Leopards hill in Lusaka. I have read in the last few day Winnie Mandela’s remarks about Nelson Mandela confirm that which my mum had predicted about SA many years ago after apartheid ended. Am investing extensively just to share with you coz you have asked I’m on the CB with a timber business & I export to SA’s Builders Warehouse & Cash Build these are retail hardware chain stores with country wide coverage in…
Well, the rate of borrowing is worrying. We need to put some breaks otherwise it will be too much and too late.
@ Lulu #26 .At least you have continued running your mum’s business(es). Thumbs up. I hope you won’t finish the timber on the CB. Do you have a timber plantation because those trees have depleted. I wouldn’t like to see Zambia become a desert in the very near future or a flooded area as it has recently become due to deforestation.
I am suspicious of IMF’s visit to Zambeziland. This is the same organisation that sucked our country monies in the 80s and 90s? Privitastion, redundancies, retrencment, prunning and closure of many industries were some of the conditions recommended by IMF. We did not have any say.. we followed our thieving saviour. See Dambisa Moyo’s book; Dead Aid. Hope we have a voice now.
🙂 borrowing 100 Million $ would have been extravagant but a billion that caos without the theory. Like I stated Zambia has human disasters period. God made us good in his image but our lust for wealth inshort spurts hurts black people. Great are we but our captains are ludicrous. Vindicated twice in one day, first I told you about the southern Northern pedophile majorities I was vindicated; now the best con men ( IMF ) are agreeing with my notion of MMD mistaking the word loan for a grant =))
The choices that I.M.F. offer are very simple:
Work with the I.M.F. and get wiped out!
Don’t work with the I.M.F. and be destroyed! 🙂
Therefore,the choice is- be wiped out or destroyed:)
Kahn has a point but his advice is not in good faith.Its cos they(IMF) are fast losing customers in Africa and Europe is a no go area for them.Debt contraction be it from these Bretton Woods Institutions or the Emerging giant China should be handled with care especially with our past.There is nothing wrong with borrowing as long as terms and conditions are bearable and the money used for the intended purpose(Investment and NOT consumption).
#24 Whisper
i can assure you,asking those questions to any mmd sympathizer is a total waste of time,they will never respond,they are so thick and blind,,if it was anything to do with Sata,HH or any politics of slander,they would have been blogging on this issue 24/7,,,look at how many posts the story about Sata from yesterday has,more than 200 posts full of rumours,insults and backstabbings,thats what we are really good at.
They just dont care about such issues which requires them to use their brains,after all,most of them will benefit from the same chinese loans,,,
This is timely advise, Zambia is quoting disaster and for Banda, he was one of the people that pushed us into the most indebted nation status during the first and second republic and for him to drive us back into the sad past in this manner is unforgivable. One has to blame it on the Zambians too, what manner of lerthagy is this that would allow people to slumber day in and out while their nation is being raped by snobs?
Bootliker is right! These IMF guys are jealous that we went to China instead of them. IMF is not interested in Zambia developing. China is a better devil than IMF. RB should be carefull, if he turns completely his back on IMF. Ask Milosovich, Arafat, Mwanawasa, Bob Marley they all went the same way. Cook your own food RB!
EVeryone represents their own self interest which is why GRZ should also use the chinese like they are using us then we can profit but lets not pretend they want to help….they have their own interest as do imf which MEANS ITS TIME WE ALSO DO THE SAME OR WE’LL NEVER DEVELOP.fOREIGN INVESTORS SHUD ALSO BE REQUIRED TO PAY BACK THE COUNTRY SOMEHOW, IN CHINA U CAN’T HAVE A BUSINESS WITHOUT A CHINESE PARTNER,HENCE CHINESE CITIZENS WILL ALWAYS BENEFIT FROM FOREIGN INVESTMENT
Ladies and Gentlemen, analysis this statement by our president. “Now that we have achieved debt sustainability, our access to IDA funding had diminished despite our huge developmental needs. This has limited the extent to which we can implement development projects,” President Banda said.
Honestly should the President always think of accessing funds from other nations and donors when this country is producing a lot of copper, the metal which is being sold at higher price. Why not re-introduce windfall tax so that we use this money for development.
The man has got a point.Debt at times makes you loose sight of how the economy realy is performing such that when it the debt is payed back,huge impacts are felt.
RB just came back from China, he has kongolad money from China. So all that advise was just falling on deaf ears.:-&
#15 Lulu- You ve made my Day. This is the question I keep on asking that why can t us Zambians do something to contribute to our mother land other than just criticising, dispising our own leadership later own our country.
Most of the foreigners praise Zambia and Zambians in general but our own people condemn their country. I am one of those who has assets in Zambia I feel that Some Zambians in the Diaspora can do better. Lets invest back home. Zambia is doing well. The problem is that some people who don t plan their lives well want to blame it on the Govt. Remember the song “A PHIRI ANABWELA” Thanks Lulu for your good advise though it was missdirected on the MMD CHIEF
on the one hand the IMF chief is right to warn zambia againist incurring insurmountable debt. the sensible solution has always been to make the most of taxes from the mines and other investments.why borrow if you can earn the money? Banda wont hear this. on the other hand the IMF MUST DECLARE INTEREST and stop telling us who we will borrow from. it is their bussiness to lend money for profit and China is now a competitor. no country has ever succeeded from their programmes which have caused untold missery among citizens due to their unrealistic loan conditions. Banda and his government wont hear this either. now that is why we doubt this leadership.
Don´t borrow if you don´t even have plans to use the money. Just hope it is not going in MMD cadres pockets as just next year,2011 will be election year. Banda´s picture when he visited the flooded areas seems like the man was sleep walking.Hope the loan wasn´t taken in the same way….sleep borrowing.
#26 did i hear you say you export timber from zambia to south africa for cashbuild and builders’ warehouse. i am in the process of importing timber for my house from cashbuild to zambia because it is cheaper here in south africa where i live than in zambia where it comes from, even when transportation and duty are considered. what is the secret? can we meet in Kalomo or Lusaka somewhere and talk? maybe we can do business. you sell me timber at cashbuild price. you dont export and I dont import. no logistical nightmares. everyone is happy.
Bane, it is ridiculous that government has procured this loan ($1bn) and as citizens we don’t even know where the money will be spent. A lot of us on here are very wary of the IMF and rightly so. We have tasted their ‘fruit’ before, unfortunately the ‘dirrhoea’ that it caused almost killed us. The Chinese aren’t our godparents, they aren’t giving us the money. We will have to repay with interest and there will be other conditions attached too. I am not confident that there has been sufficient thought given to how we will repay and the other binding conditions that we will have to fulfil.
25% windfall tax on mines was abolished according to finance minister,musokotwane, in light of the global economic recession for 2 reasons,to safeguard jobs and protect investors,the recession is over,why cant this tax be re-introduced and make money from this tax instead of borrowing again
Can anyone who is against IMF loans please explain why Chinese loans are better than IMF loans,,,one thing for sure is that IMF loans’s conditions is that of Good Governance,Empowerment, and Accountability,give this condition to an african leader and you are considered an enemy
While there may be no difficult conditionalities tied to the Chinese loans, and obviously low interest rates,the loans are tied in another crucial way: The loans require the use of Chinese suppliers and contractors. This practice of tying loans to donor country suppliers has long been abandoned by traditional donors, who now provide for international competitive bidding of loan-funded projects to ensure that the borrower can obtain the best value for money. Not so for the Chinese. Not only do they require Chinese suppliers and contractors; the Chinese government even chooses which ones to deal with. Thus, even the choice of supplier becomes the subject of a government-to-government agreement that leaves no room for the loan recipient to seek better value even within the limited choices
#42 Ras and many of you bloggers, I agree with you 100%. DON’T BORROW IF YOU DONT HAVE A SPECIFIC PLAN for the money. Not even if it is just an unrefined idea or purpose. In other words, First develop a complete plan with technical specifications, full budget estimates, timeframes estimates and all then only can you source for funds.
Always remember, ALL lenders are never your friends – they will never be on your side but theirs ALWAYS. They may come disguised with smiles and claim to be your best friends – NO Way. They are not.
#44 Whisper. My point Exactly.
What exactly are we borrowing the money for? I am not saying there are no projects in Zed that need funding. But the question is, “WHICH OF THESE MANY PROJECTS HAVE WE EARMARKED AS BENEFICIARY FOR THIS SPECIFIC MONEY”. As a Zedian, I ve the right to know.
Grandpa RB please these so many ways of gathering sufficient funds pa zed without borrowing:-w. We all know that that money you borrowed is going nowhere but you and your ministers pockets. Pathetic tactics:-t
RB is so 19th centuary…..[-(. Thats all I can write[-o<
Its not about IMF but BORROWING**==Do we really need too?:-?
Smoothcriminal, it seems you are right. Articles of gossip and scandal receive over 200 posts, yet an issue that will have deep and long lasting impacts on our children and grandchildren get less than 50?!
This is what I was saying above about having little hope for Zambia’s future. Our government is full of inept recycled nonentities who would struggle to run a bath. Yet the alternative in the opposition is the same. Led by a baffoon that has been a major contributor to our decline as a country. Lest we forget that Michael Sata was organiser in chief of FTJ’s failed 3rd term bid.
Who will be our saviour?
Continuous borrowing will just enslave future generations even further. I do not see much tangible developtment that comes from this borrowing, which suggests that it is used for recurrent expenditure. This suggests that we (or is it GRZ) are living beyond our means i.e. borrowing to fund consumption and not production.
x(x(x( RB can do what he likes..:-??:-?? bcoz the law is so weak that anyone in govt 2day and in future will getaway with their evil plans and irresponsible actions when they leave office and thats y they r so sure on anything – they r untouchables .. Chiluba just succeeded thanks to RB…[-x[-x but first the law needs polishing starting with the calibre of MPs .look at the mess – politicans of insults.. nothing on real issues apart from “sata has done this , FTJ is a thief or sleeping on duty ” it really sucks bcoz we all know about that rubbish .people need to take their voting rights seriously especially with all this going around .otherwise nothing will ever be fixed …its bye bye **==
Strauss-Khan just dropped by to tell RB to curtail his proppensity to borrow. But pa Zambia if tawa kosa or you dont have a big heard you can give up.. ifya ku lomba lomba when our own resources we could have earned more from sales are being raped right under our noses! RB is a very wrong chap.. In one year 3 months he’s racked up an additional $1.6 billion in Debt that we painfully (Increase in Taxes) suffered to ruduced during the LPM /Magande programme. How are we going to pay back now?
THE IMF boss has failed in his duties by missing this opportunity to lend Zambia, IMF is in a business of SHYLOCKS, how come now does he want ZAMBIA to stop borrowing money from other COUNTRIES and i quote quote
“(IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said today that Zambia risked incurring huge loans if the country continues borrowing from other countries.”
what he is saying is that Zambia should NOT BORROW FROM OTHER COUNTRIES BUT IMF he was here on a MARKETING spree, He did not say ZAmbia should stop Borrowing.
CONDITIONS for IMF are BAD , those who were there can remember things like SAP, WAGE FREEZE, NO FREE EDUCTION, NO FREE MEDICATION, REDUCTION IN BURSARIES AT UNZA etc, etc, This is what comes with IMF loan
Just to think about it, This US$1 billion. if it is used for infrastructure development, the who process and logistics + Tenders would take upto 1 year 6 months. Maybe by then their will be a NEW GOVERNMENT by the time the projects starts. THESE NEW PEOPLE WILL SHINE ON RB’s PLANS. A SAD STORY FOR PEOPLE IN GOVERNMENT NOW.
#52(Whisper).
maybe Chipimo will be our Saviour.He is yet to prove his worth.Iam sure he has a strategy and certainly it wont be 2011.I ve fallen out of love with HH cos of his association with Sata.
#32 Whisper & Smoothcriminal I agree with you observations concerning discussion of these real issues versus the Gossip nonsense being fed through.. I mean 211 blogs vs 50!!!! you are right .. thats why we are where we are. Focus on tripe and irrelevancies and not on the issues. Personally I made a decision not to Comment or blog on irrelevant articles anymore. You wont find a blog from me on SATA did this, chiefs say that, this one catsigates that one.. this one is a f.o.o.l not me etc tripe articles.
sorry #52 Whisper
Sharp Shooter, so we are talking about another 6 years (at least) of this nonsense?!
The thing is that the lunatics have taken over the asylum in Zambia. We have a huge number of very qualified and capable people, some even world class, yet they wouldn’t get anywhere in Zambian politics because they would be frustrated by their efforts.
Imagine Dambisa Moyo (or someone of her ilk) were to enter the fray. Her manifesto detailing both micro and macro economic planning would be countered by statements like, ‘she is very ugly’ (this is the level of debate currently between Sata and RB). The sad fact is that the population would rather be entertained at a political rally through jokes than with details on future plans.
You know.. the thing that annoys me even more is that on the other hand , that con of a mine Lumwana has just announced $198 million dollars in Operating Profit of the 9 months to December 2009!!!!.. and paid ZERO, ZILCH , NADA , “0” in taxes because they 1) offset huge Capital Allowance credit that will run for several more years 2) other tax concession..
I spent 5 days on the mine this January, and I tell you I wanted to cry.. There is no brick a mortar structure at all. all Offices, house etc are either Prefabricated structures imported from South Africa or 20 foot or 40 foot containers converted to offices.. and I mean the whole mine including the prefabricated houses under the so call Lumwana housing scheme that they are mortgaging to staff. There is NO TARRED ROAD in the whole of the mine and mine town ship area (withthe prefabs) I mean no a metre of BITUMEN / Molasses TAR.. IT ALL GRAVEL and mud like a farm. THere is no SMELTER only a SIEMENS CONCENTRATOR In the plant area the grinds the or from teh BALL MILL into Concentrate .. thats the plant are thats it..
Then from the Concentrator, the COPPER CONCENTRATE ( POWDER) is loaded into 100 waiting ZALAWI Trucks mostly for Export straight ot teh USA.. Apparently because of the Uranium content, KCM or MOPANI are is not buying the Lumwana concentrate, only Chambishi Mines (Chinese) is buying some… I was so angry .. and like that was not enough I went to the Genral Offices (where MD admin are) and almost collapsed when I saw a big black sculpture ate tghe entrace that had both hands of a person clasped together in a THANKYOU and in the middle of it read “””Lumwana mine officially opened in Nov09 by his Excellency Rupiah Banda President of Zambia”””” Nalefwaya uku pena.. and right next to it was a normal Plackard that had Mwanawasa’s Official Opening.. I mean what ????
I almost threw up.. and when the guys on the mine told me the mine expansion plans I wanted to cry.. They really have non apart from Uranium processing facility.. non.. They have no plan to set up a SMELTER.. There’s non in the next 7 years at least forget a refinery and so have no plan to produce Copper bars .. Cathodes they call it for export or sale to Manufacturing companies like ZAMEFA in Zambia that make wires etc.. I so so annoyed I tell you.. We’ve been hoodwinked and we let them.. I will no even taklk about the CHINGOLA to SOLWEZI road that bent my TYRE RIMS.. THIS IS NOT AN INVESTOR: WE dont need this.. In this day and age WE ARE EXPORTING CONCENTRATE.. and at that concentrator they separate the diamonds, Gold from the copper.. and the metals are flown out by plane to buyers..
Alarm bells are ringing in borrowing markets at Zambias casul drift back to a highly debited nation status.
Zambias truoble is the reliance on imports. Probabley 90 % of all goods in zambia are imported.
Instead of officiating the openings of shopping malls, GRZ should be encouraging factories like in uganda,
F. u .c .k shopping malls
Im not racist or xenophobic at all but you will not find a ZAMBIAN in a Management position whether its for Lumwana or the several CONTRACTOR Firms (Camp Management Firms, Construction & Civils) and there are many many non citizens doing simple jobs (like tyre mending, equipment supervisor) we used to do for many years in our rich Copper mining history.. Apparently they say the Zambia’s Mining Labour Market (all miners in Zambia) dont have the Acumen, required experience and skills to manage of supervise operational tasks in a “20th Century Mine”.. How or why did Mangani (Home affairs) issued al those work permits for jobs that can be done by Locals? Zambians we need to wake up!!!.. We can Own and run the these mines. We have the skills and experience.. We NEED TO BE SERIOUS!!!!!
Whisper
I like your analysis of the political crowds we have back home.They would rather attend a rally just to be told jokes instead of hearing what these leaders have in stock so that they can be asked how they will deliver and they be busy cheering chwe,chwe!!.In Russia,though democracy not so advanced like the west,their leaders have an annual talk live both on TV and Radio to the nation and the audience ask thier leaders the future plans either directly or via phones across Russia and I was impressed not a single caller or person asked a petty question,it was all serious and concerning the plight of the citizenry.Imagine what will happen if a Zambian President were to go live on ZNBC and talk to the masses on a live-call-in interactive program.
Digga just reading what you’ve written also makes me angry.Gentlemen what shall we do? we must stop voting dull people into leadership.Kaunda educated many of us and we are doing well wherever we are but collectively how can we help Zambia?
# 67 Digga
thats also were a major problem lies. The immigration ministry is now full time a bussiness with the hon minister reporting showing off how much was raised by issing work permits and expecting kudos.
He does not see the concequences of this which are to choke white collar jobs for more exposed alians who due to the credit crunch are flooting in africa, and keep zambians in meanual positions. How can you be showing off how much manee you made from work permits while we need jobs.
Digga I always tell people that all these things that GRZ claims to be doing doesnt exist and its all on paper and mouth. Its pathetic and so so sad. I was in kabwe some time back I almost cried too(I really feel you). Where the was onced tar roads is now gravel in the subabs and people there say its even better. The only thing they maintain is the main road. GRZ just give out tenders to people but they JUST NEVER follow up. Am sorry but i hate the current zambian leadership. Its the 21st centuary and we are still dealling with the same old issues….awe bane twachula pafula:o
Somebody please evacuate RB to South Africa URGENTLY for a brain transplant#:-s
IMF OR CHINESE LOANS WILL NOT DEVELOP ZAMBIA. WE CAN ONLY DEVELOP THIS OUR BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY THROUGH HARD WORK AND MODEST LIVING! Dr Kaunda dealt with IMF,Dr Chiluba and Dr Mwanawasa dealt with IMF but the economy has continued to be in reverse gear!
Dagga, thanks for sharing that account of Lumwana with us. Truly a sorry tail of what is going on there.
Just going back to the topic for a moment. Here are the facts.
Pre-debt cancellation our external debt stood at around $7bn
Following cancellation it was reduced to around $500m
A few months ago I heard that it had moved back to around $2bn
Now if we receive this loan from China we will be back to around $3bn
Progress???
Zambia twasebana. Borrowing Vs Stealing by public servants.
Maybe the IMF has gotten the message that they can be sued if they aid in corruption. They wanted the mines privatised and Zambia missed out on over $10 billion in profits from record copper prices.
Maybe they want the government to tax the mines before they start borrowing again as an insurance against future liability.
Maybe the IMF has gotten the message that they can be sued if they aid in corruption. They wanted the mines privatised and Zambia missed out on over $10 billion in profits from record copper prices.
Maybe they want the government to tax the mines before they start borrowing again as an insurance against future liability.
I hope the end result will be that the government starts taxing them mines for over a billion dollars a year.
Whatever you tell RB the guy does not care, he konows his life expectancy is closing up. How on earth can a president borrow millions of dollars from China to buy mobile ambulances? Those ambulances will be gone within 2 years and we will be stack with the huge loan.
And did anyone listen to the Zambian Finance Minister on CNBC? My God its a pity!!!!!!!!!! the guy says mines in Zambia arepaying a lot of taxes, when asked to give examples the guy couldn`t he kept on saying eerrrr, eerrrrrr income tax and royalties. He couldn`t even give employment statistics for Zambia and clear strategies his government has put in place to create jobs.was the guy nervous? Magande was really smart.
Iwe Chief Bootlicker, just because IMF rates are ridiculous does not mean we still borrow recklessly from a cheaper source!! Whats with boot licking anyway? Isn’t that too close to the ground where the dirt is? RB and MMD have no given repayment plan and growth forecast that will guarantee both development and sufficient coffers at the end of it. We pray that ba shetani aba ba MMD go next year so that they personally pay these debts back even if it means abena Henry and their children pay for the rest of their lives!!
Where is Bootlicker? I want him to answer the questions being posed.
# 52 i agree with you; even among us bloggers there seems to be an air of irrelevance at the issues we seem to be so interested to debate on. As you have said there are less comments on this topic yet it is the most vital to any national development as is any topic relating to the economy as it affects literally every citizen. I must confess i also find it worthless now to comment on our old leaders constantly slugging each other in the media when real issues of the national health system,manufacturing /industry creation( employment) and management with high ethics and integrity should be the focus of our leaders. We really do need leaders who will think more than five years,think for our children and the future of our children’s children and beyond that….**==**==**=
**== As at now……. Sata “my evacuation to S A was mere PR has got 233 comments versus “Zambia risks incurring huge loans”…. only 80 comments…may be we also need to examine ourselves as to which topics are for national prosperity and turn away from these selfish individuals. I think if we stop paying attention to everything they say there might be a bit of change in them.**==
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