Chief Government Spokesperson Chushi Kasanda has said that the government has not backtracked on its promises to Zambians.
Ms. Kasanda said that Education Minister Douglas Siakalima is expected to make a ministerial statement to the National Assembly in which he will announce the road map on the recruitment of the 30 000 teachers.
Ms. Kasanda who is also Information and Media Minister said that government is on course in delivering on its promises to the people and is committed to uplift the living standards of citizens, adding that it is misleading for anyone to insinuate that the government has backtracked on its promises as reported in some sections of the media.
In a statement released to the media, Ms. Kasanda said the government has substantially increased civil servants’ salaries in its commitment to improving workers’ welfare.
Ms. Kasanda said the government is also rolling out the free education policy and has stepped up disbursement of the social cash transfer to over one million beneficiaries as provided for in the 2022 National budget.
The minister said the government is delivering on its promises to the people of Zambia contrary to insinuations by some people that it is not honoring its promises.
She said the new dawn administration has raised the governance and is committed to fulfilling its promises.
Below is the full statement
STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND MEDIA AND CHIEF GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON ON THE UPND GOVERNMENT’S PROMISES TO THE PEOPLE
Government wishes to state that it is delivering on the promises it made to the people of Zambia contrary to insinuations by some people that it is not honouring its promises.
On the basis of the 2022 national budget, Government has started implementing some of the key provisions in the budget.
These include the dismantling of arrears for retirees, some of whom had been waiting for many years and the clearing of payment arrears that were owed to farmers who supplied maize and other farm produce to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) in the 2020/2021 farming season.
Government is also rolling out the free education policy and funds have since been disbursed to schools countrywide for their operations. Effective January 1, 2022, parents with children at Government schools from early childhood to secondary have not paid any school fees.
As a result of the free education policy, children who had dropped out of school due to lack of financial support from their parents are now going back to school.
Civil servants’ salary had been stagnant for some time. We have increased them substantially in keeping with our commitment to improve the workers welfare.
The Government has also stepped up the disbursement of the social cash transfer to over one million beneficiaries as provided for in the 2022 national budget.
Last week, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Garry Nkhombo launched the guidelines on the implementation of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) in readiness to commence the disbursement of funds to the constituencies.
On the recruitment of 30, 000 teachers and 11, 200 heath workers, I am happy to inform the nation that the administrative processes have advanced.
The Minister of Education is expected to make a ministerial statement in Parliament in which he will among other things announce the roadmap on the recruitment exercise.
The Ministry of Health is equally working on a roadmap and modalities on the recruitment of the 11, 200 health workers.
All these and much more has been achieved in barely five months that we have been in office.
These and other achievements are a confirmation that Government is on course to implement its national development programme as set out in the 2022 budget.
Further, it ought to be stressed that once a programme or a project is budgeted for in the national budget, Government is bound to implement it.
It, is therefore, misleading for anyone to insinuate that Government has backtracked on its promises as reported in some sections of the media.
This is a serious Government which is committed to fulfil its promises. Government has raised the governance bar high, and we do not intend to drop it.
We were voted into office on the premise of change to improve the lives of the Zambian people and we will not depart from that. That is our commitment to the people that ushered us into office.
Issued by:
Hon. Chushi Kasanda, MP
MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND MEDIA AND CHIEF GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON
14TH February, 2022
If my salary was K5,000.00 and a chicken was going at K70.00 and my salary is increased by ten percent and the chicken starts going at K120.00 has my state improved?
Well done UPND, caderism is gone with the departure of PF, Dollar is K18 from K22 and will still come down once the fundamentals are firmly entrenched, Free education slowly unfolding, Public media now operating professionally, tribally balanced government of competent men and women, Christians for somebody banned for life, international good will start to flow in, Constituency development fund increased – power to the people. Prices will start coming down as the fundamentals kick in, the list is endless, We can all see how progressive this country will be in the next five years when the real evaluation of UPND performance will be measured
and the dollar is K5 in her perception
Let’s recount the sins 6 months in Government thus far: 1. bitting IMF conditions, 2.incessantly travelling president (vasco dagaming), 3. corruption in Government, 4. a biased fight again corruption, 5. hooliganism on the streets, 6.public threats from the upnd youths, 7. delayed employment of 30 thousand civil servants 8. cipante pante empty pronouncements and operation, 9.Ministers wifes in key public institutions, 10.flip flop fuel pricing, 11. abuse (misapplication and misappropriation) of public funds by a president going to launch a friend’s book. 12.Media threats and harassment of journalists. 13.Cadre policing. 14.Coercing judges. 15. Torture. Talk about nyudoni lies!
Chushi, don’t cry. It’s checks and balances so just go on and prove us all wrong. We know how BMW works.
She is beautiful. I like her.
Dollar K18 . Bread K20, fuel K18, cooking oil K270, Mealie meal K129, Bus fares up! Water bills up, Zesco up,……Iwe Chushi if this is not backtracking….what is it?
Iam sworn at 10…..dollar drops to K5 at 14hours…..kikikikikiki
Will demolish properties in Forest 27- Gary Nkombo. Nipano tuli
Fertiliser will be cheap …… Today it is not even the expensive one is available in Southern Province and Northen Province,
Ati Lungu likes flying……..Not me . I will even sell the Presidential jet to pay for students meal allowances. kikikiki
These aren’t insinuations, it’s what’s trending. Don’t ignore people’s sentiments. In politics perceptions are very important. You will be more shocked than the PF were. It’s not too late to do the correct thing
My young sister talking is not proof, proof is physical, visible. If you are doing okay there’s no need to talk because people who are honest will appreciate it. By answering to each and every ranting, you may end up entangling yourself in a web of unintended lies. You have got four years more, maybe at the end people will appreciate your good work or vote you out because you will have failed.
#11 Ayatollah…in Bemba we say UWIKUTE ASONTELA UBWALI KU KANWA. Maybe my sister needs to go and live incognito in Makululu compound to know whether social media is saying the truth or are fabricating stories.
UPND has a mandate of five years, so how can one say they have back tracked when they are very much within their mandate, we can only say they backtracked after five years. You wedged the same psychological warfare against UPND before August 12 and doing the same thing now. UPND is very much on course, I am not UPND but I am an objective citizen
UPND is cool. The propaganda from the rejected PF is not swaying anybody
WOW, the UPND government, whether you love them or hate them must be commended. This year alone 30,000 teachers and 11,000 nurses will be employed. Never heard of such since 1964, This is real stuff, especially coming from the era of jokes of the PF government
Useless govt in da history of Zambia.these guys in the next five years will even to build a road.wait and see.Youths should be thinking when voting
Useless govt in da history of Zambia.these guys in the next five years will even fail to build a single road.wait and see.Youths should be thinking when voting
@Kilibantu, @Achimota, you guys, your party overpromised and gave unrealistic timelines for delivery of a number of promises so don’t talk about five years. Revisit the pronouncements made by BMW about fuel, Mealie Meal, fertilizer, free education also just partially done that is if it will be sustainable in the long run, otherwise it was supposed to be up to University with all bursary /allowances issues sorted out. caderism is still rife, media being throttled, ACC under someone’s armpit… need I go on? Wake up!
We will continue to do checks and balances, we will not be swayed by what names you label us.
Madam don’t ever forget that the 2.8million who voted for your party are not all members of Upnd. More than sixty percent are swing voters who simply wanted to try another party that they thought would deliver them from the misery inflicted by the PF. They can swing towards another party, don’t forget.
Facts don’t lie, UPND over promised & should just acknowledge it. You are upsetting people by the justifications. Please use the upcoming SONA to candidly address the economic situation than talk about national values. Just remember that hunger is also very methodical
The UPND mandate is for 5 years………
They have 5 years to fulfill their promises……….
Those promises that were promised immediately were on the premises that damage done by PF was minimal……….but it was not. It is far more widespread.
So just sit down and wait for 5 years …….
The people will decide , not you bitter part of the 1.8………….
The UPND still has five years to fulfill the promises they have not fulfilled in 5 months, no big deal here. Different with the PF that promised more money in peoples pockets and at the end of the ten years, people ended up with even less money in their pockets
Some promises have been fulfilled others have not, you don’t expect everything to be delivered at once looking at the amount of damage the PF left.
I always realise government indeed changed when I pass through indeni area in Ndola where for years there was a police road block wasting everybodys time. What a breath of fresh air when you are passing through that area where one could waste hours on that long traffic waiting for Police to check nothing but extort money. Thank you UPND
Forget the few PF remnants posting negative things here, Zambians are solidly behind UPND, Zambians know that promises take time. There are some things UPND thought they would deliver early when outside government but seen the reality from inside and that some things will take longer than promised, that is perfectly normal , there is no sin nor offence here
When PF was fumbling for ten years, some chaps could not even type anything here, they have now found some voice. Despite the promises, we will measure UPND after five years as that is what is in the constitution ” 5 YEARS ” and not what they told us, Even if they said we will change everything for the better in one day, the mandate is still five years ,Ours is a constitutional democracy, only 5 years is allowed to be evaluated, anything out of 5 years, forget. The few detractors of UPND hopefully have been schooled now. What promises, pa 5 months?
Madam Chushi, wish you had reacted a little bit earlier, nevertheless, well-done by answering back by reminding your opponents on the success you achieved in the last 5 months. The opposition are insinuating, and they call their insinuations as “TRENDING”. Nope !!. What is trending is that INFLATION is on the DOWNTREND, that is a fact as reported last week. The 12% increase in Civil Servant’s salaries, has helped cushion the price increase, more chicken on the table! FYI: current USA Inflation Rate = 7.5%( from 1.4%), UK=5.4% (from 0.7%), SA = 5.9% (from 2.9%)..this is global trend. It is demagoguery to expect that the Zambian inflation rate can be dropped from 21%(in august) to 5% within 5months. STOP BEING NEGATIVE all the time.
We told you, let ZNBC focus on creating an environment where campaigns will be based on the manifesto. We told you to bring LUNGU and HH to a table for them to DEBATE so that people can make well-informed decisions. You decided, to hide Lungu behind “sontapo” and you were busy denying the opposition from expressing themselves. WHY DIDNT YOU PF Minions counter back to HH promises during the campaign? Why are you waking up now? HH did what he did given the circumstances during the campaign for him to attract voters. Counter back his promises in 2026, and NOT NOW. LET HIM ABOMBE(work)
@ Lower Zambezi
“I will even sell the Presidential jet to pay for students meal allowances.”
SO WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT? Your Presidential Jet is parked and ganning dust !!! HH doesn’t even use it !!! It was bought so that Lungu can transport his cholaboys and musicians for big parties in Newyork. So HOW WAS THAT USEFUL and ECONOMICAL to ZAMBIA? Compare to HH flying commercial, but coming back with 60mil in AID. So to you that is NOT beneficial? PLEASE THINK, and just DONT be swayed to where the wind blows…
The iron of it is that the it’s the same i.di.ots posting similar PF comments under different aliases. SHAME !!!
Then you call that “trending” or misrepresent that as information coming from compounds. Zero ! Nada ! You are doing nothing, but driving away from PF some of the bright minds who don’t support such demagoguery.
Anybody who complains is PF? Nothing has changed from now sterile ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. In Unip days anybody with divergent views was the ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. Zesco have just increased the connection fee from K600. to K1, 600….so if we complain we are PF. Maybe declaring oneself Upnd can make positive change for one?
Kuwayawaya fye, next time I urge the youths of this country to critically scrutinize politicians before voting. Look at the amount of lies!! And they do not even show remorse for the many lies they told the youths who voted for them. Shame. The youths genuinely voted out PF which was a good thing because PF were a bunch of criminals from another universe, but then look at the alternative they got for themselves. Lies Lies Lies Lies. Insoni and remorsefulness ebuntu.
Zanbians are happy with UPND and the youths will vote UPND again where hope is made, than alternative bunch of criminals from another universe.
Zambians are happy with UPND and the youths will vote UPND again where hope is made, than alternative bunch of criminals from another universe.
So those who are not happy with the Upnd are not Zambian. How sad.
There other PF people who comment objectively, and no one criticizes them for that. No one is saying if you are against UPND, then you are necessarily a PF. If there is anyone doing that, then he should be castigated for the same reason as we castigate those who are tribal. To me there is no difference.
I am Not UPND, but how many times am I tagged as UPND? Honestly, its not about one being a PF or UPND, it comes down to whether we are critizing objectively and avoid being trumpets for political propaganda. Leae that to Nakacinda & team! You cant be flip-flopping in your arguments just to fit your narrative, that is what is hurting reasonable debates here. Be objective and stop flip-floping and no one will consider you PF, instead, everyone will respect you for your position.
On a point of correction Deja Vu (32). You are saying Zesco has increased connection fee from K600 to K1,600. The truth is that Zesco has in fact confirmed increasing connection fee from K1,700 to K6,995 – that is,only K5 short of K7,000. Zesco has also confirmed increasing the cost for meter separation from K750 to K6,000. This is in respect of high density and undemarcated areas. I felt it necessary to make this correction so that bloggers would debate on accurate figures.
@38 Thanks for the correct figure
Its not misleading.. Its what is happening