Minister of Finance and National Planning Situmbeko Musokotwane has lashed out at Chilanga member of Parliament Ng’andu Magande for alleging that Zambia’s economy began to decline after he left office.
Mr Magande, who is the immediate past Minister of Finance and National Planning, said the economy performed well under his leadership but that now it is weakening after he left office.
He said this during a Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) television programme ‘Frank Talk’ on Wednesday.
Mr Magande alleged that public service workers are now getting their salaries late and that the Kwacha has constantly been depreciating against major foreign currencies.
Mr Magande alleged that interest rates have continued to be adjusted upwards.
But Dr Musokotwane dismissed Mr Magande’s claims and described them as misleading.
He advised Mr Magande to stop issuing misleading perceptions on the performance of the economy.
“Well, that statement by Mr Magande is not true but of course such statements depend on who is issuing them, and that is if the person was properly trained as an economist.
“If Mr Magande says he is an economist and he is talking like this, then it makes me feel sad because I would have expected such statements from someone from the streets and not a properly trained economist,” Dr Musokotwane said.
He challenged Mr Magande to categorise the programmes he successfully spearheaded during the period he served as Minister of Finance and National Planning.
[pullquote]“If Mr Magande says he is an economist and he is talking like this, then it makes me feel sad because I would have expected such statements from someone from the streets and not a properly trained economist,” Dr Musokotwane said.[/pullquote]
Dr Musokotwane said during Mr Magande’s tenure, the interest rates were high and the Kwacha was equally depreciating.
He said financial institutions are slowly responding to Government’s call to reduce interest rates.
Dr Musotwane challenged Mr Magande to produce evidence to show that the economy is now performing badly.
He said the country’s trade balance of payment is performing better now than when Mr Magande was in office.
Dr Musokotwane said even the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, which is at six percent, is poised to grow further.
“Growth in the economy is important and so when he talks about interest rates, quite rightly they are a little bit higher, but I do not think they were any lower when Mr Magande served as minister.
“The trade balance of payment is performing much better than when he was minister. I didn’t expect him to make those remarks. I’m not saying this because I’m the minister now but any properly trained economist anywhere in the world would not make that statement of the economy going backwards,” he said.
Dr Musokotwane said even independent observers have acknowledged that the Zambian economy is continuously recording growth.
Dr Musokotwane said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently praised the country for coming out ‘strong’ after the global economic crisis.
“So maybe he (Magande) must give us an example of what he understands by the economy growing backwards,” Dr Musokotwane said.
[ Zambia Daily Mail ]
You may say that but politically your government is a disaster and public confidence is at its lowest so no mater how much economics you know, it will be difficult to convince the masses because we cant feed on statistics we need to feel that the economy is growing (the feel it effect) through incresed employment opportunities (with meaninnful salaries) and improved social services
zambia has only improved in terms of increased presidential trips abroad by bwezani kamwendo munjila banda the most travelled president of all time.
Dr. Musokotwane,
Please ignore Magande’s hyperventillation. Thats a chap who use to deny that there is poverty in the country that needed a spirited leadership to turn around. Don’t forget that Magande’s economics from Uganda’s Makerere University lacked much. It is evident from the years you kept burning out preparing papers for his presentations on all public foras he flaunted on.You are a PhD modern economist eminently qualified from renown Global institutions with Global work experience. Your apllied economics is rich in extensive econometrics knowledge against the theories of Magande.Ask him if Lima Bank survived under Magande.
You Musokotokwane and your boss chiLupiya are pawning Zambia to the Chinese. You will not be there when the Chinese claim it as as one of their provinces. Ask the Tibetans, they have to ask for permission to breathe. This is the legacy you will bequeath on Zambians. Already the Chinese are rearing chickens in the backyard and selling nshima in markets. What will poor Zambians do? Pact twamipapata, do something sensible.
As a PhD economist he has the ‘right’ to teach the failed undergraduate economist, Magande. This is hilarious..fight on tonga bulls, its just the grass that will suffer, no major casualties. lol
Now the doc is talking! Bauze!
Magande and Levy did well better than you Musokotwane and RB.Does not take a degree in economics to see that the country was going somewhere and no where now.There is no direction no discipline people are now stealing openly and fealessly.
Right on brother tell the chap he knows **** all. Every single piece of policy paper was drafted by you. And when you went to State House, Magande was jealousy because the cabbage reaslised you were better than him and turned Magande into a debt collector for Mathani and cholaboy for Maurine. The fool was chased away in Brussels, failed at Lima and Zanaco Bank. When an economy is in a correction mode many people suffer because all the ills have to be rectified. Look at Japan and America today same story. Besides both you and your boss understand economics unlike when Magande would cheat his cabbage that all was well when in fact not…
deleted
Magande’s allegations are not only flawed but misleading especially on interest rates.The rates have always been high and Musokotwane should be praised cos banks have reduced lending rates during his tenure and NOT magande’s.And Magande can not attack the incumbent cos he was his PermSec before being moved to State House.
i have a dream! a dream that one day we will have a JUST govn, a dream that one day we will have a govn that will not sell companies for a song but a govn that will protect its peoole, a dream that one day we will have a president who will stay in his office and meditate on how to solve challenges facing the country, a president who will not ask people to accept unjust judgments, president who will not protect thieves and manipulate the law in order to let thief go free, a president who will not insult donors but talk to them through established channels. a dream that one day all men will be treated equal before the law, a dream that one day we will not have ministers shootng at people and go free, ministers who bounce cheques, a dream that one day constitution that wont be doctored bt GK
At least Magande had started collecting Windfall tax which Situmbeko is refusing to do. This chap should have re-instated the tax on the super profits being made by the mines. Maybe that would have helped fund RB’s trips
#9 If we had only a handfull of our cabinet thinking like you, Zed would be a better place…
unfortunately…’BLACKS DONT READ’
sum guy,
Did i hear you right as a PF cadre? Say you what?
A flip flopper’s more money in the pocket “abracadabra” seeks low mine taxes.
Interesting is the fact that major mines investments in the country are by Chinese and Indians whom he has vowed to chase in his nationalist utopia.
sum guy,
Did i hear you right as a PF cadre? Say you what?
Zambia’s flip flopping opposition opportunist Sata on Friday said the government should restore mining agreements with foreign investors which it cancelled and reinstate tax concessions, in a major u-turn from his previous position.Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata, previously a strong advocate of higher mine taxes, told Reuters that the government should reinstate development agreements it signed with the foreign investors to restore investor confidence and attract further investments.
Copper mining in Zambia, Africa’s largest producer of the metal widely used in construction, is the main earner of the country’s foreign exchange.Some foreign investors such as Canada’s First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) have threatened to take Zambia to court for suspending the development agreements, which waived payment of taxes by the foreign mines for periods of between 5-17 years.
Zambia’s mine taxes include a 15 percent profit variable tax, 25 percent corporate tax and a 3 percent mineral royalty.”The mines were privatized on certain binding agreements and from the time the government introduced the illegal tax regime new jobs are not being created because major expansion projects have been suspended,” Sata said.
In order to retain and attract investors we must honour our agreements and also establish a stable, predictable and unambiguous tax regime,” said the politician, whose party controls the majority of municipal councils in the mineral-rich Copperbelt region.
U-TURN
Mines Minister Maxwell Mwale said Sata’s comments were aimed at wooing voters ahead of the 2011 presidential election, after he narrowly lost the 2008 presidential vote to Rupiah Banda.
“The PF leader has always advocated higher mining taxes but has now changed…,” Mwale said.
The government is in talks with companies that had raised concerns about the changes to the mining laws and the impact the tax measures had on incentives.Finance minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said in April that although the government was talking to the mining firms on the development agreements, it expected them to accept the existing taxes, especially after Zambia scrapped a controversial 25 percent windfall tax.
Foreign mining companies operating in Zambia include London-listed Vedanta Reources Plc (VED.L), Equinox Minerals (EQN.TO)(EQN.AX), Glencore International AG [GLEN.UL] of Switzerland and Metorex (MTXJ.J) of South Africa. (Reporting By Chris Mfula; editing by Shapi Shacinda and Keiron Henderson) —Source: Reuter
sum guy,
Did i hear you right as a PF cadre? Say you what?
Is SENIOR CITIZEN A STUDENT ON GOVT BARSARY? Albeit he has all the time in the world to crack his neck for MARCOPOLO. He must be one.He too writes volumes just trying to drive a single point home-like an empty tin! kalila so that bonse ba ka nvele.
As your warp on this blog, i wish you knew how good Glencore pays its employees elsewhere in africa-actually in neighbouring countries to zambia. Baya notusaka twandalama kumayanda. Pa zed, they give them ifikwangwa.
There is no difference between the philosophy of law and economics-both a flagile and it depends on who can intepret the curves better than the other. I think there has never been a minister of finance in zambia as good as Magande. For Musokotwane, the fact that he got a PHD does not make him anything-let him turn around the economy and not always talking about state of correction mode for i dont know how long. Its not economic stalmate, its doom.Its like ku pakistan-will take long to recover from the mess. The problem with having leaders who yess bosses is what we have in Musokotwani. I watched franktalk-when Magande was being interviewd-i was shocked an elderly person came thru with agrression & even asked a petty question afterwards-thats how zambians have gone so far-to the mbongolos!
This is what I call crass Journalism. LT why do you sensetionalise news. Castigate means – censure severly or inflict sever punishment.
What was wrong with the words – refutes, or dnies, or rejects.
Musokotwane is refuting Magande’s statements and has not uttered any comments on Magande as a person.
““So maybe he (Magande) must give us an example of what he understands by the economy growing backwards,” Dr Musokotwane said.”
Well, for starters Mr Magande’s income has declined since he left office.
so Musokotwane is a great economist…
He was the former director of zccm-ih , now member of zccm board as finance minister, who is responsible for the disaster of Luanshya… many people fired, the mine sold for a song to their Chinese cronies
comments of Ken Ramoutar Seecharran, a mining expert, on his blog, author of “Luanshya report” September 2009
“…THE INEPTITUDE OF THE GOVERNMENT’s INTELLIGENCE (ZCCM-IH), COULD NOT DECIPHER WHAT WAS GOING ON, DESPITE HAVING A FULLY-FLEDGED MINING PROFESSIONAL WITH A SEAT ON THE BOARD…… AND THEY REMAINED IN THEIR HEIGHTENED STATE OF SOMNOLENCE , STYMIED BY THE RHETORIC OF THEIR PAYMASTER, TO WHICH THEY SLOVENLY AND OBSEQUIOUSLY CONDESCENDED, IN AN ATTEMPT TO PORTRAY THAT FALSE SUPERCILIOUSNESS
(continued)
WHILE THE MINE COLLAPSED BEFORE THEIR INCOMPETENT EYES. A MODERN DAY EXAMPLE OF “NERO FIDDLING….AS ROME BURNED”, SAFELY ENSCONCED IN THEIR ZCCM-IH IVORY TOWER!!!!!!….”
Indeed Zambia will be saved thanks to a such charlatan !!
Magande lay the foundation, musokotwani has built on this.
Magande is still hurting cos he lost the fight for the presidency two years ago. I feel sorry for him the pain for him is still fresh and it is even made worse when he realises that he is dispensable. The country is doing fine without him and worse for him he cant get a piece of the pie. We should all feel sorry for the poor man but all I can say to him is that he will never be president and time is a great healer. Someday Mr Magande you will get over your loss. For now we understand you are still hurting and are powerless to do anything about it. Not even your friend Membe can help you. Shame.
senior citizen
FQM (kansanshi) owes zccm-ih $360 million and gave only crumbs ($24 million) whereas the benefit of kansanshi overtook $ 664.2 m in 2008 and $610.4 m in 2009
Zccm-ih owes the govt $300 million
andthe govt owes IMF $ 330 million and was only able to pay back $ 1,9 million…
glencore and fqm do not rule Mopani mining…
it is their tax heaven subsidiary Carlisa Investments Corp based in tax havens (in the British Virgin Islands) …
Carlisa Investments Corp is jointly owned by Glencore Finance (Bermuda) Limited (81.2%), a wholly owned subsidiary of Glencore International AG; and Skyblue Enterprise Incorporated (18.8%), a wholly owned subsidiary of First Quantum Minerals Limited (also in the British Virgin Islands)
(continued)
it use transfer pricing
no dividends to zccm-ih, low tax
Mr Musokotwane CHARLATAN
Thanks you
what marvellous companies for zambia…
perhaps some comments??
# 16
Congolese state finally revoked FQM licences from Frontier mine and kolwezi project several weeks ago
The congolese govt is not a qu-eer or rather… does not accept bribes!!
MikeTe #29 to #31.. Good contribution with sufficient knowledge of what going on in our business. Indeed the bottom line is: If the multi-billion dollar per annum earnings ( i.e Gross Sales Revenue LESS Machinery, Raw material and other equpment costs that we need to import cause we don’t make them or have them locally ) from Copper sales do not substatially ( > 70% ) accrue to the Zambians and Zambia’s naional treasury, let the copper remain in the ground. No one should touch it. Let future smarter generations of zambians that will live long after we bloggers have diesd decide what to do with it!
Mr Musokotwane,cant you see that your president is protecting thieves and you are giving the first lady some money to compain for next years elections. How did you allow the first lady to continue getting a salary of a teacher two years after she resigned? Magande never stole not even a ngwee but you have already stolen Billions of kwachas with your president.
Cause it seems current living generations of zambian leaders, citizens including many bloggers are busy fighting themselves ( black on black sh!t ). So while Musokotwane & Magande are fighting and us bloggers following their rubbish, we are getting sha.g.g.ed left right and centre by so called mine operators who will run away leaving large holes in the ground when our little copper finishes or prices collapse, having taken with the over 70% or revenues, paying us peanuts.
Mr. Magande was wrong to say “.. his ex-wife was getting worse in bed compared to the time they where married”, equally is Mr. Musokotwane to respond why “the new wife” is not getting pregnant. In economical terms, economical performance are observed from happiness of citizens.
Levi and Magande were very lucky copper prices went up while oil went down. What programmes did magande start? HIPC was started by Chiluba and the point was reached at Magandes time. Where is the suplus money?? Magande took it cccxxx airways. Money flew away
What strong Economy is Musokotwane talking about when our Kwacha is falling every single day, the kwacha now is at K5,000, when Magande left it at K3200. Musokotwane is just a bootlicker who can accept to be tossed by Rupiah front and backwards, really a shame. Magande in his tenure of office privatised Zanaco well where GRZ own 51% and Rawbo Bank own 49% which was one of the cuccess stories or moves by Magande, and workers never lost jobs. Musokotwane privatised Zamtel where GRZ owns 25% which is nothing as far as am concerned and the Libyan company owns 75% and on top of that thousands of employees lost jobs, shame on you bootlicker Musokotwane for your blindness. Your GRZ has no vision at all, it is trial and error for you and RB.
#Banono remain blind alone and leave us who are enlightened to forge ahead with our wisdom. MMD under Rupiah is useless and will never go anywhere economically because it is full of people who cannot think freely to make a better zambia apart from bootlicking for jobs.
#37 Chomba Walasa.. You have put the facts straight.. I din’t think about it.. Looka at the difference in privatisation strategies between the two.. ZANACO: 51% GRZ, 49% + Mgt Contract Robobank + 0 job loss compared to ZAMTEL: 25% GRZ, 75% Libyan Govt + 2000 employees kicked onto the street…. Ya Magande knew how to structure something for our benefit.. Musokotwane has no spine.
Hell no!!! dont tell us about interest rates because we have no collateral to borrow, dont tell us about dolar, GDP and other statistics. What we want is food on our tables. Well paying Job, proper and affordable Education and Health services, low food prices e.t.c. For us thats development not vima FDI, and other economic Jargon. Those are for you in the board rooms dont even tell my uncle in ‘muchila’ that the economy is doing better coz banks have lowered the whatever when a bag of fertiliser is ZMK250,000!!!!!
Magande did the prelimineries, yours is to build up!! We shall not eat your PHD. You were under Magande when he guided you to do a lot of work but you ve failed to continue with the dream!!! You talk about Kansanshi and Lumwana in Solwezi but where is the infrastructure?…
Where are the Roads in Solwezi? For us thats what development means. unfortunatly with your doctorate,it appears development is how much capital these people bring where you are just valuing their Machinery and yet blind of what they take out of our country. Leave Magande alone coz no matter what you say, you wont succeed in erasing him from the minds of Zambians for he ran his race.
Ba ZED mwalikwatomulomo.
ANNOUNCEMENT
In the calendar of the Lord henceforth, Peter Ng’andu Magande and George Mpombo are no longer privileged members of the ruling MMD. All incentives, rights and services have been instantly withdrawn. On the advise of the sponsoring party MMD which has notified the Speaker of the August House, his mandate is to declare their seat vacant.In this vein, private citizens are at liberty to individually deal with them in a manor most desired if anything is being held on the basis of personal issues. We wish them wellness and happiness in an open society of options.
Zambia is a very unlucky country. We tested the honey with LPM and Magande and then RB and Musokotwane changes the direction. Very soon slash fund will start coming RBs pocket. Shame on these thieves.I wish i had another home in another country i would have gone.
37# Chomba. You have said it all Magande did many things for this country though MMD have even expelled him shame!
#44, the slash fund policy has aleady started only that it is being done by the office of the first lady so that it looks a bit different from the FTJ system. very interesting!!!
We have given you mpombo & magande so u can take them and form your govt in utopia.You can form a United Front of Losers and challenge the MMD for the UMPth time.You can say all you want and praise magande all you want and we won’t disturb you bcoz we understand the pain of rejection can be quite hard to bear.Take heart and know that we will still continue taking care of you and you’ll forever remain our subjects.There’s time for everything and yours is now time to be our subjects and we shall rule over you umuyayaya umuyayaya until the end of the world.There’s time for everything and the time has come to announce that you will never rule zambia,never in your life time or the lifetime of your descendants and your descendants descendants thru generations to come forever and ever, amen!
we are moving in right direction.. let there be bye-ellection in chilanga and kafulafuta and mmd will lose in both..with or without pact mmd cant win those two seats
#48 suntwe, what the hell is a “bye-ellection”? Oh! Excuse me,you’re PF… right? yaba!!!
Chairman of MMD Economy & Finance Committee draws the Economy & Finance manifesto for the party. How come he attacks his own party’s economic policies? Strange that!
Musokwatane is an educated fool any one sensible knows that Magande is far much ahead of you when it comes to planning and fiscal discipline.what you are is doing is simply applying cobra on Magande floor.You have even failed to advise your herb to reduce foreign trips and you don’t even know that it is drain on the economy .It does not take an economist to know that.You are a disaster of Minister
musokotwane maybe a Dr…but he’s so slow and dull..lacks leadership qualities…stop castifgating Magande.he did bettter than u..
Mr Magande did his part and Dr Musotwane can improve the foundation left by Mr Magande! Statistics appear to be moving in the right direction but the painful reality is that there is more work to be done to reduce the high poverty levels in our country! This economy will definetely grow if we put in deliberate policies to improve the education sector at all levels.
Some of the comments people make here are so outlandish, make you wonder what kind of education/training they have and whether someone actually pays them for it. ma Zambians! Haaa!
Dr. Musokotwane. PHD holder and modern economist. You are doing a commendable job big brother. Let those monkeys who claim to be educated go to hell. Magande is failing to accept reality that he needs to humble himself to be a leader. The chap is fighting for recognition because Mwanawasa wanted a Tonga to rule the nation after his tenure. But fate presented a different picture. Do you think pipo eat interest rates? Pipo need infrastructure eg roads, hospitals schools etc to engage in full scale enterpreneruship and Dr. Musokotwane and RB are doing just that. That is why one wonders how Zambians call themselves educated when they fail to understand even sipmle relationship between micro and macro economics.
#31, “The congolese govt is not a qu-eer or rather… does not accept bribes!!”
Everybody knows that it is the opposite. Please do not try to mislead us with twisted statements to suit your masters.
#56
according to you the zambian govt is honest…
you should talk about its honesty with donors !! LOL LOL
Connivance with foreign companies : windfall taxes scrapped, low mineral taxes, crumbs given to zccm whereas mines owe zccm severals several hundred million dollars while foreign companies earn billion dollars
more and more corruption and impunity for thieves : willing to remove the abuse of office clause from the ACC Act to dilute the fight against corruption, Chiluba cleared
100 million dollars swindled from ZCCM and invested in the banking system in Mauritius
the gvt, finance minister Musokotwane ALSO FORMER DIRECTOR OF ZCCM knows that and where the money is…
if mauritian banks refuse to return money why Musokotwane does not publicly make pression on…
(continued)
Zambian people need these $ 100 m
Today where is the money???
Moreover zccm has never published audited statements in 4 years…
So what does Musokotwane want to hush up??
queer corrupt govt…
you ‘ve seen what congolese state has done to this nasty company so take a leaf out of his book
Base-metals miner First Quantum Minerals may go to international arbitration to protect its rights to the Frontier copper mine, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, after operations were suspended last week.
CEO Philip Pascall said on a conference call that the arbitration case would be heard by Washington’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, and could take between two and three years before a resolution.
First Quantum is already involved in another arbitration process, this one under the ICC in Paris, related to the Kolwezi tailings project in the DRC.
(continued)
The Kolwezi case appears likely to be a shorter one, with a result expected during 2011, Pascall said.
First Quantum stopped operations at Frontier and withdrew its staff on Friday after receiving a letter from government-owned Sodimico, which says it has been granted titles for the Frontier operation, demanding that mining be stopped and that the company leave the property.
Pascall said that the withdrawal of the Frontier mining permit has no basis in DRC law, and is amounts to expropriation.
It is effectively “retribution” for First Quantum having initiated international arbitration after the Kolwezi licence was cancelled, he said.
He also warned that the development is bad news for the DRC, as it seeks to attract international investment.
(continued)
“The fragile foreign investment environment is severely damaged, and likely to remain so for some time without remedial action.”
Pascal was reluctant to comment on any potential outcomes of the arbitration cases, but said that First Quantum’s other projects will not be affected by the developments in the DRC.
“While we talk about international arbitration, our focus is elsewhere,” he said.
The company has mines in Zambia and Mauritania, is building the Kevitsa nickel project in Finland and plans to restart the Ravensthorpe project, which it bought from BHP Billiton, early next year.
Senior Citizen u are really brainwashed and no doubt u must be a book worm that cant think without refering to a text.Why people like levy and Magande was because they used well thought out policies to benefit the Zambians without distorting their lives.I will give some examples like government workers five year wage freeze(which i can bet my life Musokotwane can even try) it reduced government expenditure and inflation which consequently strenthened the kwacha and improved the lives of Zambians.Magande and levy found the kwacha at K4800 and left it at K3200.Mealie meal at K50000 and left it at K 32 000.That is what matters to us BABA not those stupid Statistics u are giving us.
Dr musokotwane your policies scrapped the windfall taxes,made people line up for mealie meal,made people give birth in public,caused a lot of strikes ,made the kwacha lose more than 60% of its true value,the corruption fight was abandoned and can u imagine all this happened in 90 days of RB assuming office and things have never been the same for Zambians.And u feel u are doing better -can somebody check the doctors Brains please.?!!!!!