Labour and Social Security minister Fackson Shamenda says he is not happy with the Bank of Zambia (BOZ )’s sensitization programme on the rebased kwacha throughout the country.
And Mr. Shamenda says government has disbursed a colossal sum of money for the rebased kwacha sensitization programme across the country on the new currency which will become a legal tender on 1st January 2013.
ZANIS reports that the minister said this during a sensitization meeting for Ministry of Labour and Social security officers and ZANIS staff at Ministry of Labour board room in Lusaka today.
He said there was no enough publicity done by the Bank of Zambia as the Central bank did not engage ZANIS to educate the general public on the rebased new currency.
He stressed that ZANIS, with its various offices spotted across the country , could have been involved in explaining both the urban and rural communities involving the process in order for the citizen to be better informed before the new currency start being recognized as a legal tender.
The Minister said that the whole process was a shame and wastage of tax payers funds because it did not yield any beneficial results as intended by Government.
And Assistant Project Manager at the bank of Zambia (BOZ) Wilson Mazimba was at pains to explain why his team failed to extensively engage ZANIS in sensitizing members of the public concerning the rebasing of the new currency.
Mr. Mazimba, however, said his team engaged ZANIS at district level as well as some community radio stations in educating the rural community about the new currency although the insinuations failed to convince the Minister.
He stated that the Bank of Zambia designed a communication strategy on the awareness sensitization campaigns on the rebasing of the new currency simultaneously across the country.
ZANIS
Just postpone this resource wasting project until June 2013! Whats the rush?! We all need to be ready for this nonsence and make sure that everybody understands whats going on!!!
Shamenda , dont jump the gun . Besides the issue is outside your remit. Is Alex Chikwanda agreeable with on the issue?
ZANIS was not involved people should learn to tel the truth ala. These people came to districts to leave posters at the district commissioner’s offices without explain
The PIG (Party & Its Govt) condemning itself.
Shamenda is a TOTAL DISGRACE to this Govt and himself! He is in fact criticising CHIKWANDA who is responsible for currency rebasing. 1.ZANIS is not the only the only way of sensitising the public – it is just one of then and the least efficient one! The old p.ig only knows of ZANIS..this just shows that the Minister is too OLD and not performingng! 2.Shamenda has been aware since April that the currency was going to be rebased – to cry foul JUST 3 days before implementation is not only hypocritical but foolish or stupid of him! Why didnt he say this early enough, say, in August, September, October, etc so that action could taken in time?? 3. Doesn’t this old minister know that he is not in the opposition but in Govt? It shows that this id.iot doesn’t atend Cabinet meetings!!
You people leave Shamenda alone, he has spoken Sense, even me i was let down on the sensitization programme. You must blame Gondwe BOZ Governor he is a bit docile.
Too late, don’t you understand? Where was he all this time?
Much as I can condem Shamenda for the rubbish atterances the unminister talk. The staff at BoZ were not ready and were not convinced that that was the right way to go. This include Dr Michael Gondwe, the rebasing team etc. This project must have been imposed on them
I have a question here, B.O.Z yesterday said they have disbursed 3.5bln KR to banks which is equivalent to 3.5 trillion currently in circulation across the country and beyond. This money will be used side by side until June 2013. My question is if B.O.Z has offloaded 3.5Bln in circulation plus the old 3.5 Trillion still in circulation till June 2013, how has BOZ taken care of the inflation in the near future?? by Jan 1 2013 we will have a total of 7trillion in today’s currency in circulation, sumbody help pliz.
During the same period BOZ will be withdrawing ZMK from circulation through the same commercial banks that it is using to disburse the new currency. Answer your question?
Much ado about nothing. Kaunda used to change currencies quite often and suddenly but people were able to cope!
UKO the blame game has started even before the flakus
We commend Government for the re-basing exercise. my take on this is that they did not have a well thought out plan before they started the exercise. They never foresaw the implications of such an exercise.
Next time do research and consultations with experts before you pronounce anything. This exercise a drain on resources to the government and private companies.
The Old man thinks he is still in the Trade Union – that is all he knows! Not even a Ministerial appointment will remove his Trade Union mentality from his head!
Everyone I have come across wants to work at BOZ
NABALYE NDALAMA. YOU SEE WHEN YOU SPONSOR SOMETHING STRICTLY LAY DOWN CONDITIONS AND STANDARDS TO BE FOLLOWED AND KEEP CHECKING TO SEE THOSE CONDITIONS ARE BEING FOLLOWED. OTHERWISE, ITS LIKE WHAT HAPPENED WITH SABLE TRANSPORT ‘CONSTRUCTION’ COMPANY. RDA WASN’T CHECKING, NOT EVEN A MINISTER FROM THE APPROPRIATE MINISTRY. OR JUST A CHIPATA GOVERNOR. IF YOU PAY FOR SOME SERVICE AND JUST SIT COMFORTABLY IN YOUR OFFICE CHAIR IT MEANS IT SIMPLY MEANS YOU DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE. SO I DON’T THINK IT IS EVEN SENSIBLE FOR YOU TO COMPLAIN NOW. BECAUSE WHEN IS FIRST JANUARY 2013? SHAME UPON YOU BWANA MINISTER.
mr ex zit the old currency once in the hands of boz will not put back into circulation. The arithmetic is simple. Boz will have lets say rebased 10 pin in their hands and they will ask you to give them the equivalent in the old kwacha. After that they destroy the old kwacha. If you dont have the old kwacha definately you wont get the new currency. It is as simple as that.
You think the old kwacha will go as easily as that, my friend! Watch this space, people are going to get rich out of this exercise. The same kwachas will go to the BOZ more once.
May i also ask,if you have an idea of how much notes are in circulation out of the BOZ control? We have an equally robust economy that is still functioning on the old principle of batter system. Unless you are saying someone with 10million today will have 20million or 20,000KR by february? The notes BOZ is talking about are the ones to be replacing the ones collected,period!
the minister is right even here in southern province in livingstone villagers are always complaining on radio musiotunya every day about lack of knowledge on the kwacha rebasing!
Fackson is right!!!!!!!!!!!!!
At the cost of being boring and repetitive, let me restate that Zambia lost capacity to plan and manage projects! May I cite the ‘Born and Bred’ debacles, the Chipolopolo AFCON reception, Presidential inauguration, etc. Apart from loss of people that can actually plan and manage projects, there is also the treatment of social projects as ‘technical’, therefore let Bank of Zambia spearhead the sensitisation programme, my foot!! The Bank of Zambia is expert at tracking inflation and money supply but nothing about how to sensitise people on currencies and currency denominations! When did Bank of Zambia interact with an old illiterate woman in Shangombo!
True that!
Is shows that numeracy levels in Zambia are very low. Adults cannot remove 3 zeros from 10,000. How pathetic!!!
If anything goes wrong with this rebasing exercise ;then we are headed for a serious crisis.
#18 YOU ARE SPOT ON. YOU COULDN’T HAVE PUT IT BETTER. BUT #19 YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.
Come on, Peter – numeracy is not good!
How do you use Biklon and Difikoti for such a serious thing. In chipata these two fools are being used as front men. PLEASE!
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