Finance Deputy Minister Miles Sampa has revealed that government has spent the US$750 acquired through a Eurobond issue last September.
“We don’t have any of that money sitting around in our banks. We have spent it entirely as we intended and we now need more money,” Mr. Sampa said.
He said government wants to go back to the international markets to secure additional financing, mainly for infrastructure development.
“We gave about US$ 120 million to Zambia Railways, a good chunk went to ZESCO for hydro power generation and we have also given Development Bank of Zambia a good amount for onward lending to Zambian SME’s.”
Mr. Sampa was speaking on ZNBC Sunday Interview television programme adding that a proposal to borrow more funds will be tabled by cabinet soon.
“We are in a hurry to develop and the manner in which we have dispensed the Eurobond funds shows our resolve to move fast.
During the same programme, Mr. Sampa revealed that President Michael Sata has assented to the Bank of Zambia Amendment Bill of 2013 which sought to introduce stricter foreign exchange regulations.
Mr. Sampa disclosed that Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda will this week issue a statutory instrument to operationalize the new law that will require exporters to obtain Bank of Zambia clearance if they are exporting goods above US$ 20,000.
“We are not introducing forex controls, we are merely giving more powers to BoZ to monitor the market closely, we are merely giving the guys at the central bank magnifying glasses to check into what people are exporting,” he said.
“We have set up a unit at Bank of Zambia and with the help of some consultants, this unit should be able to carry out this task effectively.”
Mr. Sampa said the long term benefits of the new law will be increasing forex remittance to Zambia which will benefit the Zambian Kwacha’s position.
“All things being equal, the Kwacha should be trading around K 4.8 or 4.9 against the US dollar and not above K5, we believe that speculators have been playing on the Kwacha and this has to stop. The current Kwacha position is all artificial.”
According to the BoZ website, the Kwacha closed at 5.3922 against the US dollar by close of business on Thursday.
I think the deputy minister meant to say the money has been allocated and is being spent instead of saying they have spent it already. Zambia Railways only received $120M last month. How can they spend it just like that. it is either the reporting is poor or the deputy minister does not know what he is talking about
I think the deputy minister did not pick words very well. There’s no way US$750Million could have been spent already and we haven’t seen anything yet. Maybe he meant distributed!
We need tabulation of how much has been given to the different projects. This is what MPs should demand in parliament.
ha ha ha ha….
Isn’t there a single Zambian who loves his country? Every time we vote a government to power, it only loots the coffer of the people? We are really unlucky Zambians!!!
$20,000 for Miles’ Harvard Certificate
More money has gone in their pockets according to their election promise.
hahaha jokers for sure!! The money has already been spent and we are looking to BORROW more from international lenders lol What happened to being prudent with the tax collected and using it for local development? oh, let me guess – the Pres needs a 100% salary increase, the bye-elections, the first lady ‘office’, extra deputy ministers, Malawian judge Chikopo up keep at the various hotel!! By the time are done with this regime, Zambia will be back to lenders to have their debt forgiven – MMD took us out of this problem. Where is the money for hospitals, roads, ZR, etc going to come from??
The headline is misleading! I think what the Minister meant is that the money has been ALLOCATED to a few selected organisations to be SPENT on various projects.
The ministry of finance has spent the money, to zesco, zambia railwys and the development bank of zambia. maybe the question you need to ask is has zesco , zambia railways and delopment bank spent the money?
We Would like to see a.Breakdown of allocations. Noone in Zambia can Be trusted with money
OMG you have finished all that money and you want more?You are supposed to borrow money to make money .Not borrow money for consumption! Please don’t take us back into debt RB left us with reserves.
Why have they given Development Bank of Zambia? DBZ is incompetent or inefficient as they are yet to collect the 14bn from Zambian Airways directors Mr Mmembe & Nchito please.
Can’t this Finance Minister be more accurate with the figures and that amount given DBZ for onward lending to Zambian SME’s….this is how these politicians pay themselves via loans to their “letter head” companies which are incapable of paying back.
Miles cannot talk of going back to the international community to ask for more $$$ before anything tangible is seen from the $750m. I hanen’t seen or felt anything other than increasing prices of essential commodities. He should have been more cautious and not make borrowing sound like it is an impressive achievement in itself.
The Deputy finance minister informs the nation where the $750million-Eurobond has been spent on. Miles Sampa presentation lacks details in various aspects to convince the general public of benefits to the nation. We are aware PF govt among other things have said things like the stadium in Mongu to benefit the people of western province and many universities to be dotted around the country. These pronouncements do not translate to benefits on their own unless they are followed by actual tangible services to people. Part of the Eurobond money has gone to SMEs Who, what and how do these access this money? Macroeconomic statements without details is raw to most Zambians.
Wait a sec here, does it mean you will continue borrowing? Am getting confused and worried at the same time, yes those organisations need the money, but what i dont accept is borrowing in order to managing the entire Zambia, am sure you are interlligent enough to come up with ventures to sustain yourselves…., this is worrying if at all we will be asking all the time because paying back will also drain us some where some how.
By the way are you done with your studies, endesha wiso bombe pakuti ukabweshe bwangu impiya shabene niwe walombele, or you plan to extend your studies? Make sure Harvard gives you leakeage on how to develop Zambia!
Moderation my Foot!
A portion of the funds have also been set aside for bribing opposition MP to defect and to fund any by-elections arising.
spend money to make money, now let us all wait and see!!
$750m has already been spent on private PF business. The Parliamentary Accounts Committee must summon all Sata’s three relatives at Finance to come and give a breakdown of how this borrowed money was spent. We should not wait for 2016 or thereafter to demand for accountability. The time is now!
It is suspicious for Govt to give borrowed money (intended for development) to DBZ for onward lending to SME’s when the risks of non-repayment are high. The M’membe’s of this country are laughing all the way to DBZ through state house. Let’s face it, a good chunk is in the “pockets of a few” top creamers.
This Miles chap is very dull. If indeed you really wanted the Kwacha to trade below K5 to $1 you should have advised your relative in State House not to have run for office. You are the people destroying the economy with your heavy interference in the economy with your statutory Instruments and price controls. The MMD achieved food security and stable Kwacha without all this rubbish you’re introducing daily. Please Miles get your clan out of our lives. Honestly, you’re Pathetic Failures!
I think the minister did not choose his words well. the money has not been spent yet but distributed to various institutions for various developments. however, i think borrowed money should be prudently managed and used to bring about real tangible development. let the government identify specific major developments and the money be spent on such, this money will be finished without us (citizens) being able to see what it has really achieved. for example 120 million given to ZR is very little to bring about meaningful change to this sector of our development. secondly lets reduce borrowing and increase our exports. let us try to invest in the manufacturing industry as well. lastly, as some have already said, i too want to see the complete distribution breakdown of this money.
sounds scarery us$750 million already spent, and looking to borrow more? wow ‘ why cant government be brave enough and start collecting reasonable tax from mines rather than borrowing all the time. More over PF promised to introduce windfall tax during campaigns, this government is not putting confidence in its people.
he meant what he said the money is no more it is finished.They are looking places to BORROW MORE.
Zambia after 6! The money has been stolen not spent as Sampa is saying coz there is no evidence anyway of the outcome and were is the interest!
Iam told there is scramble for this money at DBZ as everyone knows a precedence of not paying back has already been made.
Iam also informed chikopo will be here for goodto pry & investigate anyone talking abt dbz debts.
A CASE FOR FUTURE INVESTIGATIONS!!! It baffles the economic mind to try and imagine what criteria were used to send the money where it is said it has already been spent. For instance, if each province were to be allocated only $20M to implement economic projects such as fish and livestock production, processing, distribution and marketing in Western province, crop production, processing and marketing in Eastern province, the country could have benefited more. Giving the funds to DBZ is indirectly funding the bigwigs in government and political establishments. Zambia Railways benefits a thin strip of land in the middle of the country. These decision might turn to be latent cases for probes in future governments.
Careless and UN inspiring way to spend money
Thats what I have always known, they have blown that money already and there is absolutely NOTHING tangible to show for it. Donchi Kubeba indeed!
Using borrowed money for loans is a big NO NO especially with questionable criteria used in handing out these loans. We need more accountability from these people as its us and our grand children who will be paying back these loan long after these 70 something leaders are gone.
We know these Northern mafias, they are all in a hurry to develop their pockets.
Sampa doesn’t inspire confidence each time he speaks. He’s a know it all “I’m the President’s nephew”, kind of person. Each time he opens his mouth, auras of a Northerner’s pride and deceit hung in the air. “In order to ‘rule’ Zambia, Tongas must inter breed with Bemba women”. A kind of modern day ‘Mandingo stud’ cross breeding practice by slave owners I presume? “Oh now, I’ve already cross bred a total of U$750 to ZR, ZESCO and DBZ and expect to bring in more slaves (credit) from international slave masters for more inter breeding!” My foot!
Why are people treating this ka Miles with soft hand. You don’t hold that position and fail to use word like “spent” appropriately. Bottom line is this boy is incompetent. Miles is full of self contradicting theories especially on the exchange rate debate.
Yo have given DBZ again so that fred mmembe and and his cohorts can again borrow and not pay back tefyo? you have cursed my grandchildren with this debt just like i was cursed with a debt when i was born. By virtue of being born in zambia now,you incur a debt with the first breath of life. twapapata, debt for africa is not the way am telling you. why wont we learn. there are other ways, challenge me and i will show you the way.
@31 kaili tikayowoya, mukuti awa anthu bakachita ma jealousy waka!!!! thats the problem with us all.
@33 People managing the national treasury know pretty well when they say allocate and spent. Even when money is wired to Min of Commerce if its not spent, there no way the Finance Minister can say as far as he is concerned the money is spent.
Bottom line is Miles should clarify this.
Such a huge amount of money all spent already? And no concise tabulation to show how exactly it has been spent? This goes on to show RB and Sata are birds of a further. This is Animal farm in the making.
ZR was better on private hands. You didnt have to give that amount to that mad scientist for his experiments. Third world railway system needs a blue print from India and not Uk or Australia
Just imagine the huge amount of money spend without any result to show where it went
As foolish as ever we Zambians are quiet about it.Same as in Chiluba s time.Sold all companies and mines but no show where the money went
Which ever donor will give more money to these *****s is an ***** as well. Why should we revert to those dark days of borrowing when copper production is booming in the country.Please donors help us by not helping us
Interesting accountancy in the highest office of finance. Surely is that what is taught in accounts? That $120 M went to ZRL and the rest went to DBZ, Zesco etc in amounts left for a magic guess??? Interesting indeed!!!
They say ‘if you leave monkeys in the maize field you will only have yourself to blame’. Like almost all the bloggers have said so far this Sampa either doesn’t know what he is talking about or is concealing the truth about what has happened to the money.
I am loving this while i enjoy a cold Victoria Bitter. You are getting what you voted for… a grouping of F.O.O.Ls
Hope you lean the hard way so that in the upcoming presidential by-election you vote with your heads and not your feet.
Very interesting. At the time this bond was signed some European guy advised that the Euro bond would stimulate development in Zambia but warned that that was only if it was used wisely. Zesco is expected to produce more and efficient energy, DBZ is expected to fund viable enterprises, while ZR is expected to be revamped and improve on the movement of goods. All these activities should create vast numbers of permanent jobs. What we need from all these institutions that have received these funds is a timetable on when this will happen. This is what the minister should be telling us and not whether the money has been dispersed, spent or whatever. Last time this minister spoke, he was reshuffled . I wonder what his fate is this time. Good luck!
We all know that the ZESCO hydro power generation project is being fully financed by the China Africa Development Fund, Now, how, when and how much did the Zambian government pump into the same scheme? People will be hanged over this US$750 million bond, mark my word.
The bloke has said the money has been spent,do you understand English,they are looking to borrow more,what clarifications do you morons want,they have given themselves interest free loans kwasila! Now go and celebrate for winning Mpongwe and Livingstone seats!
Sampa casually says ‘a good chunk has gone to Zesco’ and ‘a good amount to DBZ’.
How much is ‘a good chunk’ and how much is ‘a good amount’? Why is he shy to say the actual amounts? This is public money and he is mischievously talking about it like it is his own pocket money. Clearly a good chunk of this money is in their pockets and will never be satisfactorily accounted for. Zambia going from bad to worse!
You are not telling the truth. We have kept a tally and watched you squander this money.
This is pure comedy please someone tell me this is an April Fools day joke. Butchers and bakers are not as careless and laid back when taking stock of their produce. This Sampa boy is fresh from getting his Leadership certificate from Harvard what a waste of $20,000 tuition fees! lol
LT, era of reporting & distorting facts is by gone. Up load/copy & paste speeches. Allocate FAZ part to buy training kit & stop embarrassing us camping in RSA, it’s like wife dating neighbours for love. ZRL share is needless. People still collect vehicles & goods on their own from Dar es & Durban as if there is no ZRL & TAZARA. ZESCO & DBZ share will do more harm than good to intended Zambians by corruption and favouritism. Distribute via local banks and micro-lenders not GRZ. Plough more funds into progressive parastatals like ZAMTEL & PACCRA. BOZ export clearance is useless, take miliemeal smuggling as an opportunity, not threat, to grow Agric sector & exports. BOZ FOREX controls & unit creation will create bureaucracy and corruption, integrate measures across whole BOZ activity.
These thieves!
MONEY HAS TO BE SPENT.WHETHER ALLOCATED IT MEANS IT HAS BEEN SPENT.YOU DO NOT BORROW MONEY TO JUST KEEP IT IN THE BANK.INFACT THEY DELAYED IN SPENDING IT.THIS COUNTRY NEEDS TO UTILISE EVERY SINGLE NGWEE INTO DEVELOPMENT
Jay jay and Goncalve are really useless chaps just like this author .lt has been allocated ,already being spent on projects .Though we would all like to see all the figures broken down to avoid chaps like these above from speculating.
Consult the tax payers before you borrow,and dont borrow loans to be settled after you leave office by other governments.
PF cadres are a funny/dull lot!! The minister has said in simple plain english that the money is finished!! What we should all be demanding is a detailed breakdown, short of which we can assume this is the money that has gone towards the By-election project (i.e. bribing weak MP’s, PF campaigns, cushioning the useless Kwacha against the dollar etc..)
The idea of borrowing money to spend is absolutely dullish. Money should be borrowed and invested to generate more money. Running a country is business and it just shows that we need think tanks at the helm if zambia is to advance economically. Parliament should critique the use of these funds. I know this is like asking a blind man to lead a blind man. God help us.
How intelligent are our mps? Really the problem is not the ruling party, but the weak minds of the opposition MPs. Elo the youth, don’t we have smart young aspiring potential mps?
Infra-structure development is investment in itself.Check out the massive tenders in the press.For some of us with interest its unprecedented.ZR just advertised their tenders,RDA,ZESCO,GRZ provincial tenders committees,the problem i Zambia is that people are lazy to read.ACTIVITIES ARE HAPPENING RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR NOSE AND YOU STILL WANT A SOMEBODY TO REPEAT TELLING YOU.OPEN UP YOUR FU.CKING EYES AND READ
Silly comment, tendering or winning a tender doesn’t mean that the job has been completed
PF Cadres and their role model leaders, very discusting indeed…The guy has made it plain and simple, but you still try to twist the truth even from yourselves… jay jay i admire your passion of laying down the statistics, and that s what we need, not these other fools who try to give other explanations. You fools are kaponyas, and you l drag us all to hell…
For all terms and purpose in the Government books the money is indeed spent since the money is no longer in the hands of BOZ (custodian of Government coffers) – so Sampa correct to state money spent as it has been debited from Government coffers. My main concern is that there seem not to be any controls and monitoring of how that money is to be used. It is imperative that this money is targeted to specific products of investment within the selected sectors and that there is a Central Government unit set up to monitor how that money is being invested by ZESCO, DBZ and ZAMBIA Railways and hoping it is towards production and not consumption. Am afraid we will soon get back to the written off debt of $7 billion and have little to show for it or ability to pay back by the beneficial entities
Talk, talk, and concentrating on wrong side of debate. Can’t believe how people are concerned with getting a clarification…it is clear, money is not there, spent or allocated. What we shuold be asking is whether the money was spent wisely, or accountability for the intended projects, demanding results and making sure the borrowings beneffit zambians. Also we beed to demand prudency when borrowing, how , why, approvals for such borrowings. Where is the opposition, these are checks they need to provide, instead just moarning and weeping on the sidelines
the issue here is not the words used he said has been spent and gravazio asked him were it is he said 120 is with zr and zesco has been given even even dbz were 14bilion has not been paid has been given some more which we dont know but what we know is it has been spent on by elections to make sure they add to the numbers in parliament to manupulate the constitution.
Cans of water with holes indeed
THE FUNDS WERE PREMATURELY GIVEN TO ZRL & ZESCO. THE SAME MISTAKE WAS MADE BY MMD WHEN THEY GAVE K20BN TO NITROGEN CHEMICALS & KAFUE TEXTILES ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THE MONEY WAS SPENT ON SALARIES, PAYING RETIREES, BUYING VEHICLES, OFFICE RENOVATIONS BY MANAGEMENT ETC. INSTEAD OF INVESTING IT IN REVAMPING THE PLANT. THE BEST WAY IS FOR ZRL TO GIVE TENDERS TO CONSTRUCTION FIRMS TO REVAMP THE RAIL SYSTEM & MONEY SHOULD BE TRANSFERED FROM GOVT TO CONSTRUCTION FIRM. THERE SEEMS TO BE NO ACCOUNTABILITY FROM MILES SAMPA TO PREVENT MISUSE / MISAPPLICATION.
Can the PF tell us how the money has been utilised? A detailed breakdown will be appreciated. It is high time the PF became serious with national issues. By the way why is the opposition silent on such an important issue?
This is a serious issue how can the $750million be spent and yet we have not seen any tangible effect. i implore the MPs to take the minister of finance to task. we need the breakdown on which institution received this money and what they are trying to achieve with the said funds.
what did you use it for..?by elections..?
joke of the day! please don’t tell me fools day ain’t finish..
H.E.SATA. is the president, who is doin his best 4 Zambia. His going 2 China as the first head of state invited to visit China with a new president. That is a honor to us zambians and the rest of the 3rd world, if not the whole world. The Chinese know the relationship btn us. It is win4win both ways. Just as he did in South Korea and Japan. He will bring triple the deals he did in both states for us. That’s 9 times the investment, if he got 4billion dollars, then he will get12-15 billion dollars from his trip 2 china. All this for us in Zed for which our children will be the most benefitiaries. He will do this for he has the heart for us to be the strongest nation in africa going into the future. Let’s to it for Mother zambia & her offspring. Gods Blessings to u all.
On the national airline. Ethiopian airlines wanna open an airline wit govt. Like they did in Togo with .Asky airlines to feed west Africa traffic thru Lome. into Addis, then worldwide.
They also wanna to the same by opening a southrn hub in Lusaka to connect all routed this region to LSK to addis too. They are the biggest airline in Africa. With them. we can make Lusaka the next huge hub in thus region. not Zim. cause they are fighting for the same. finally let’s be betters than zim. aviation wise. they wanna beat us too. It s which of us will be the first. With ET- Ethiopian airlines. we can quickly build our airline. Make Lusaka a Hub. and build it to compete with Joburg. Look at Rwandair from Rwanda and see how Kagame had grown it. They are at QZ days. They are gettin 2*B787 in…
They are gettin 2*B787 in 2015. lets grow our airline, using ET. to grow. then go alone. We still have our New-York JFK. London Heathrow. Frankfurt. Rome-Fiumocino. Tokyo-Narita airport slots are still there for us. All we need are B777 for Long haul and B737-700 and or Embraer Erj170 aircraft 4 regional flights. Proflight can then feed the local traffic. That is what i feel for the aviation scene. Anyway. I can help to improve on it. I am available. Gods Bless mother Zambia.
The biggest Airlines in Africa in chronological order are:
1. EgptyAir.
2. South African Airlines
3. Ethiopian.
4. Kenyan.
5. Moroccan.
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feel so honored to be the first comment. All of my hardwork and dedication has paid off. Getting the top comment has been a dream of mine for many years, and i would like to thank those who have helped me along the way. First and foremost i would like to thank god for giving me this opportunity. Next i would like to thank my parents. I would also like to thank my pet tadpole for surviving against all odds for over a week. Next i would like to thank the squirrel that lives in my backyard for climbing trees because that gives me inspiration that i need to get through the day.This is a special moment in my life and i would like to thank any of my unmentioned friends and family that have helped me along the way. This moment will be a moment that i will never forget. I just remembered a few oth