By Henry Kyambalesa
President Rupiah Banda has continued to exhibit his pettiness and ignorance in discharging his duties as Head of State and Government. On 26th March 2010, he turned the reopening of Munali Nickel Mine in Mazabuka into a political rally by attacking Fr Frank Bwalya, Hakainde Hichilema, Michael Sata, and the UPND-PF pact.
He told his audience that some opposition political leaders “are busy telling lies that when they come to power they would bring development in 100 days.” Well, it seems the President does not know that “development” is a process, and can be attained through a series of short-term, medium-term and long-term measures.
There is actually a lot a President who is in a hurry to develop Zambia can do within 100 days to set the stage for enhanced socio-economic development that is sustainable in the long run. From inauguration day on 2nd November 2008, for example, President Banda would have taken measures akin to the following, which do not include recurrent government functions:
1) November 2, 2008: (a) abolition of the positions of Deputy Minister and District Commissioner; (b) abolition of examination fees in formal education (c) abolition of TV licensing and related levies; (d) removal of public assistance to chiefs from the office of the President to the Ministry of Local Government and Housing; (e) incorporation of the functions of The Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) that is currently vested in the Office of the Vice-President into the functions of the Zambia National Service (ZNS); and (f) detachment of the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) from the Ministry of Agriculture and conversion of the Agency into an autonomous body, which could incorporate the functions of the Public Welfare Assistance Scheme currently administered through the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, including the Social Cash Transfer Scheme.
2) November 5: Merging of some government Ministries and agencies, and appointment of fewer Cabinet Ministers and Directors of agencies.
3) June 1, 2009: (a) abolition of TV licensing and related levies; (b) turning of ZNBC into a public broadcaster not controlled by the government; (c) reduction of Zambian foreign missions, appointment of diplomats, and re-assignment of countries and regions to be covered by each mission; and (d ) creation of a fund for assisting orphanages.
4) October 2009: (a) start improving infrastructure in schools, colleges, universities, ZNS camps, and vacated refugee camps; (b) start providing free seeds and fertilizer for 2 consecutive years; and (c) start upward revisions of compensation packages for employees on government payroll; (d) devolution of superintendence over the civil police to provincial governments.
5) January 1, 2010: (a) reductions in PAYE and corporate income tax by 5 percentage points, and expansion of PAYE income bands; (b) reduction in VAT from 16% to 12.5%; (c) reductions in interest rates by at least 2 percentage points per year over a period of 4 years; (d) payment of all due retirement benefits owed by the government; (e) free healthcare for all without inhibiting the operations of private healthcare providers; (f) free formal education (up to Grade 12); (g) abolition of Grades 7 and 9 elimination examinations for all school children; (h) provision of scholarships to Grade 12 students who would obtain a Division 1 in order for them to pursue studies at locally based institutions of higher learning; (i) provision for low-interest government loans for Grade 12 students who would not obtain a Division 1 and elderly citizens to make it possible for them to pursue studies at locally based institutions of higher learning; and (j) mass enrolment (on a voluntary basis) of street kids and other panhandlers into skills training programs at ZNS and vacated refugee camps.
6) January 1, 2011: (a) start the implementation of home ownership schemes for the police and all civil servants, provision of low-cost rental housing units for low-income families nationwide, management of a home-ownership scheme for low-income families to be financed through low interest mortgages, and rehabilitation of shanty townships; and (b) start improving infrastructure in resettlement schemes nationwide.
7) June 2011: Start providing a seed and fertilizer subsidy at 50%.
8) September 2011: General Elections.
As a by-stander, I expected the President to devote his entire speech to a discussion of development-related issues, such as the role of investments in mining and other sectors of the economy in national development. He needs to learn that criticism and dissent are necessary evils in politics. If he cannot withstand the heat, he should stay out of the kitchen!
Would be wise for RB to step down in the next 100 days because there are no developmental plans at all apart from planning future international trips. What do you think folks?
A well articulated article.Hands up henry you have done it again:-?
Good Afternoon
OK from my understanding of the article, Henry is saying that RB has failed to deliver on various occasions concerning the developmental goals mentioned above. This means he has not performed as well as he was expected when Zambians voted him into power. In other words: his mid-term certificate results are “unsatisfactory”.
Given this fact, will political pundits still argue that it will be right to re-elect and continue with the same leadership after 2011?
😕
The RB I know is a play boy. Bu President is just a way to make that extra buck
This henry is a political failure who failoed to run his party. He now lives in UK where he has gotten a job as Lusaka Times reporter. Imangine the disgrace. Credible media organisations do not quote him anylonger because they have seen through his emptiness.
The Problem of MMD is scared stiff about Mr. Sata. They know this time he will dislodge them hence the ceasless tirade to destroy him abeit with failure.
What MMD should know is that It was fashionable to Kill a white settler in colonial days. To Kill now is a crime even when you fighting a just cause. It was heroic to steal from white settlers or bamwisa cause they were looting our resources. It was a heroic feat to insult white settlers because they had taken over our land. It was heroic to misbehave before independence as defiance to white settlers was bravely. It’s not only through ZANC or UNIP that the struggle was only waged. All social misbehaviour was deemed right. So whats the fuss about Mr. Sata’s crime if at all it took place. What did he do wrong after Independence??
Its a good article but it is always easy on paper… Obama had health care bill which everyone thought was an almost done deal there is a lot of politics to deal with if the president goes round changing things without other government organs then he is a dictetor… There is a lot of institutions that get affected by just changing a few things and a 3 year with the kind of politics in Africa can be a big problem.
Anyway i still remain reserved on this matter because giving a time frame when you are not the one having to do the job is easy
Congratulations for this well researched information for any aspiring candidate for Presidency, it is possible you can attain a lot in 100 days.
RB and his clowns have become “Big headed” period. They are forgeting that everything has an ending though. Ask yourselves why he is busy up & down making friends all over the world. Believe me guys this chap is not giving up office anytime soon. I think we have got ourselves another “Mugabe” situation pa zed. Lets pray….[-o<
The mine has re-opened. People have jobs and many more will benefit period. Everything that the govt does is political so it is incredibly naive to think that whatever they do will not be turned into politival sloganeering. Afer all, everyhting that the president does such as visiting the Mwata in Luapula is turned into politics by the rudderless and directionless opposition.
#10 dont forget that your man Sata is great admirer of Robert Mugabe. Why do you think his party is called ‘Patriotic Front’?
Can somebody tell me if Henry is Holds a Bsc Mechanical Engineering or Ba economics or GCE. cos i dought if he holds any paper in law or political science
Most or all these institutions were made by the Act of Parliament, Henry is talking what Sata was saying he will do when he takes over Government. Help me to
Can some learned Blogger help me to understand if a president can simply change what was an Act of Parliament or a group of Act of Parliament in 100 days without the involvement of Parliament.
Let it be a lesson to never ever give POWER to a human being with a low self esteem. They just never ever want to give it up!!!>:)
Power is sweet, political power is the sweetest! One can do whatever he wants, especially here in Africa. So whatever litmus you use to gauge RB, he is your president and he will f#@k from every angle and there is nothing you can do about it, period. We will write pages and pages, it will not change the fact that politicians have an upper hand over our misery.
Its a two edged sword scenario, the trouble is whenever they attempt to talk about developmental to issues villager in Maamba for example somehow they just lose their mind and start boring poor folks with how well the foreign reserves are building up, how the inflation is barely two digits, how the GDP has grown by 4.6% and stuff instead of talking about real issues. When was the last time RB talked about the plight of street kids with sincere passion, when was the last time he talked about the suffering of old people, how about reducing unnecessary deaths at UTH and other hospitals, the soaring high school fees etc. These among others are issues him and his self proclaimed dogs ought to be spending sleepless night about and not attacking Sata, Edith and HH days on end.
HK displays myopia in his analysis. No rigour went into his analysis & how did he get the figures? i.e “Start providing free seeds and fertilizer for 2 consecutive years?” Is this all that is needed to increase agric output and beneficiation in zambia? fertilizers destroy soils and health. “Start upward revisions of compensation packages for employees on government payroll” 1stly, govt activies, as is, need a total revamp to ensure capacity to deliver, adjusting salaries is grandstanding &populist. “devolution of superintendence over the civil police to provincial governments” In Zambia? do provinces have capacity? How will these ideas bring development? His suggestions lack comprehensivity and are outright dangerous. reduce taxes by 5%. Good idea but replace the income what?
HKs articles are a step in the right direction for public discourse on Zambia. But more rigour and analysis is needed. I agree with some of his suggestions but some smack of mere grandstanding and crowd-pleasing which won’t help this country move foward. We need to raise the level of debate and discourse. No one ever talks about government policies, all we talk about are personalities. Its either we don’t read (and i confess to this), the government has no long-term policies or strategies targeting development or the government is doing a poor job of publicising its POLICIES. Lets start critically challenging existing or missing POLICY as well not just POLITICS
msana wanzili is on point here. RB should talk about the challenges government faces and prescribe solutions to these. If they don’t talk about the problems, then are they in touch with what’s happening on the ground? And how can they change the situation if they don’t know what problems people of Zambia face. By not talking of problems people PERCEIVE this as arrogance and complete ignorance of people’s suffering. Wwhat Mugabe and UNIP (in its early days) was propaganda. Grab the PR mantle Mr Banda and take it to your opponents! The trouble i see with government politicians is they are so focused on reacting to this and that little politician and ignore all the GOOD, YES GOOD they are doing. Talk about your successes, let the opposition react!
I agree with #13. Changes proposed by HK are enshrined in our laws. One cannot just wake up and change the status quo overnight. Reduction of taxes can have a serious impact on the government cashflow. May be HK should suggest where the replacement income will come from. Even loans to students will not be there if you reduce taxes dogmatically.
You guys said RB has degrees in Economics!?? Is this what to expect out of economists?
Article lacked substance…….just a PF card who gat nothing to write about…….Im out, cant waste time with this crap!
Kamanga, you seem to have a probem with development. Could it be wrong for someone to advice the process of development where you set goals for short, medium and long term. i dont see them in RB and company.
It appears to some bloggers a good article is one which is anti-RB! That is pettiness, and Mr Kyambalesa is very petty!
I have issue with the changes proposed in Henry’s article. It sounds like a wish list..and we all know what is said about wishes. For one it proposal government increases it social spending on social services. Administering such an ambitious welfare program with free education and health requires elaborate civil service and bureaucracy. Therefore this can not be achieved while at the same time proposing down scaling of government ministries and departments. Furthermore how does Henry propose these welfare schemes are funded while at the same time proposes reduced PAYE and VAT? He would have done better by advocating job creating initiatives which would reduce unemployment and increase the tax base. If I was to score his proposals, Id give him a 5 out of 10. Easier said than done!!
THE ARTICLE IS PETTY ITS SELF.IT PLAYS ON A LAZY MAN”‘S MIND.IT HAS TAKEN OBAMA OVER I00 DAYS JUST TO PERSUADE THE HOUSE OF SENATE TO CHANGE THE HEALTH CARE BILL IN AMERICA.AMERICA IS ONE OF THE RICHEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. WHY IS THAT BIG ECONOMY WAIT FOR AMERICA TO PUT JUST 30 MILLION AMERICANS ON STATE HEALTH CARE INSURENCE FOR SO MANY YEARS.OUR ECONOMY IS TOO POOR TO RETIRE SOME MANY PEOPLE AT ONE TIME.HERNRY IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO BE REALISTIC WHEN EDUCATING THE NATION.THE IDEAL THAT WE HAVE ALOT OF MANY MONEY TO DO ALL THE MANY PROJECT IN ZAMBIA ARE UTOPIAN. THE STRENGHT OF THE ECONOMY IS BASED ON HOW MANY GOODS AND SERVICES THE COUNTRY PRODUCE AND EXPORT IN A YEAR.YOU DON’T CHANGE THE ECONOMY REVOLUTIONALLY BUT EVOLUTIONALLY . EVEN IN POLITICS DON”T CHANGE GOVERNMENTS THROUGH…
Dreaming.
Just on Point 5. Cutting taxes will reduce govt income. So where do you get money to subsidize fertilizer, loan intrest loans for G12s etc. Similarly, if you walk in and abolish grade 7 and 9 exams in Jan2010, would you have capacity in secondary schools to absorbe them in grade 8 and 10 respetively. that would entail building classrooms and training more teachers. Same goes for mass enrolment of street kids and senior citizens.
Ba Henry Kyambalesa, I hope next time you’ll give a little more thought to your writing before you bring it to the public. Thanks for your effort anyway. Marks – 2 out of 10.
The best way for a newly elected president everywhere is to have a wish list, then goes the stories :d/
But RB had a wish list-to travel the world.
That is a good way of doing things his excellency RB. At least we appreciate your scores of development
A REVOLUTION WHEN DEMOCRATIC PLATFORMS ARE AVAILABLE.GREAT LEADERS HAVE BUILD THEIR COUNTRIES ON THE ALREADY INITIATED BY THEIR PREDECESORS. A LOOK AT WHAT IS ON THE GROUND, ECONOMIC FOUNDATIONS ARE STARTING TO SHOW.I PERSONALLY I AM SURPRISE AT HOW LUCK MR RB IS.WHERE HAS HE GOT THAT LUCK FOR THINGS TO BE SHOWING SO GOOD IN THE NEXT YEAR.ONLY GOVERNMENTS THAT RESORTS TO PRINTING MONEY WOULD ACHIEVE PROBABLY ONLY 40% OF WHAT HENERY IS ADVOCATING FOR. FOR PEOPLE LIKE HIM YOU CAN TEST WHAT HE IS WRITTING ABOUT WHEN YOU COMPARE WITH WHAT HE HAS PERSONALLY ACHIEVED IN HUNDRED DAYS .OTHERWISE ALLOW HIM TO DREAM AND BRAIN STORM US.
If such changes can happen then we would surely be like america in 2yrs. Mr. Kiambalesa, how can there be Good hospitals without Paye to fund the same? How does the abolishon of possitions result into development? its like saving a company through retrenchments even when its clear the problem is with the product. How can we have free education without paye and taxation to fund such. The article itself is so petty that i regret wasting my time reading such trush.
Henry is a professor based in the USA, former lecturer at UNZANDO now CBU in the School of Business. I share No. 32’s sentiments, quite objective. The professor’s views are not practical.
It is true that a president can accomplish alot in 100 but to tell you the truth my chi dude cannot mwe(I measure his performance at home). These old guys can’t do it ku fwa ba le fwaya fye ati zali days!! Try the young generation maybe. People with new ideas who have integrity and genuine ability. Let us not be tribal and support an old buffoon(my buffy!) who does not even understand economic management let alone international governance. Awe ba amin ni mu bedloom fye not ati presido!!
This article might appear clever to a lay School boy but realistically it smacks of the Chiluba rhetoric of 1991. You don’t change things you don’t understand. The President should have adhered strictly to the Anti-Graft fight up to the end of his half term. Then for the re-election mantle, he could probably be talking about long term reforms. He should have simply expedited the completion of all corruption charges against people, convict some and acquit those who are innocent and then focus on a development agenda. What we have now is that he has set Chiluba free as a party cadre and ring-fenced others as a way of shutting them up. What if Chiluba changes his colours because he has smelled a rat – are they going to take him back to court? RB needs constructive advice and NOT rhetoric!!
so its possible for any other party to start developing the country within 100days of being in office but the MMD spends that time wondering how they won the election.they have no vision for this country its time to go guys don’t you thick so.
What a load of rubbish. Good if you have the money to do all this but how far can you go with the tax base widening in Zambia to allow you to cut all taxes?
Were will the money come from for all these freebees ?. henry you sound like sata and Fr FB. GRZ has very limited resources, and cannot aford a wellfare system like the USA or Uk.
Just give Sata 90 days,you will then appreciate what Henrey is talking about.
Henry, I applaud you for your effort. But this is ‘your’ manifesto and not that of another. Some of the changes you propose are policy matters that have been decided by the MMD at party level long before RB came into office. As for reduction of ministerial posts; I hear this Ronald Reagan dogma of ‘small government’ quiet often, but we have to understand that we do not have the technology at present to do so.
Second issue is with costs. You haven’t told us how ZNBC will raise money to function. Advertisers are also not so keen as they feel the heat and transfer to the internet. Ask BBC.
3. You want to depoliticise some agencies, but why? MMD created them for the purpose of controlling them.
Every time I read his article,I get pissed off.Kyambalesa’s populism is alarmingly dangerous.He is calling for tax reduction and at the same time free formal education and healthy care without mentioning how these will be financed for there be be tax cuts(less income).No wonder Henry resorted to internet bloggind cos he cant have any following in the actual political arena.
HAAMBWILI no one will read your article written in CAPITAL LETTERS!!!! It sucks[-(
HK chipuba sana. How can you continue learning infinitely without a test of checking progress. Quality control means we subject our learning public to some kind of test. Not just learning till death do as part without checking wether or not its trash we are offloading on the market. Amano ububi chi HK. What kind of thinking is this-no tax, no levies, no paying duties- then increase salaries, provide free health, education and other amenities- KATWINSHI- this kind of professorship. Go to hell with your article uletuposela inshita nobushilu bwa mu diaspora
this is very impractical > sorry henry you got this wrong. Nearly evrything advocated requires going o parliament. Which means that you need bills drafted ( this is done by civil service)these bills should be circulated and debated in parliamentary committes( unless ofcourse we dont believe in consensus) and then presented in three parliament. sorry Henry but this is extremely dull ouput. America is still grapppling with health reform and they have mor effecient systems, actually Hilary clinton as first lady led an attempt to refoem health. It never worked , Henry running goverment is not fantasy, it is real work
Henry,this article is well articulated.I almost differed in opinion with you regarding abolition of tv licences until i saw were you mentioned the privatisation of ZNBC so i totally agree with the examples you have given on what Banda could have done but it seems he knows he might not have a chance to win come 2011 so he’s busy on tours and assignments some which he could actually delagate to his Vice because that is what he’s there for.
Because of Chiluba’s prosecution,it’s really hard for chaps like Banda to still directly like Chiluba did so it’s through allowances from travels that they are making big money,the expenditure on foreign trips is poorly accounted for and the Auditor’s Report states this,the chaps make alot of money so no matter how much the people cry,Banda will…
Henry’s examples are workable.The govt of Zambia collects enough revenue but it is the appropriation which is wrong and excessive because of unnecessary expenditure,ineffective management systems and a complicated and unfair tax system which causes massive tax evasion and corruption.The govt earns enough revenue and could get more if the systems were fair.I would give an example of ZRA,i am a car trader based in the U.K,i ship a car to Zambia,it cost £3000 & shipping was £1000 so total is £4,000.The car gets to Chirundu, ZRA charges me K60 Million as duty and they put there foot down,K60M equates to £8,300 and i spend a week at the border arguing with ZRA on the amount,do you think next time i will pay thru normal channels,NO!!! That’s revenue lost for the govt,that’s what happens…
Jigga though look at the fact that this years budget was only 15 trillion( $3million $), that transalates approximately 1.2 million ( 300) spent on every citizen. So with these kind of resources you do not have enuff money to really spread it wide. With a GDP of about 18 billion . The budget is approximately 15% of the budget which is rather high!!! so there is not much nore space to tax.I can go on and state that approximately 3 billion (30%) of the budget goes to health and education with the bulk of this spent on wages but the wages are considered to low. So henry’s stuff sounds like a quick fix soltion but running an economy is not that easy.
So on your sugestion I cant see how reducing duty will actually increase income. We just lack economic activity. ZRA is quite effective ni tax collection so reducing taxes will not help. Most tax loses are in the informal areas which are hard to tax because of both the cost of taxation and political consequnces
#13 the President is Zambia has got too much authourity that he can literally change the law within a week. i will explain using RB as an example. RB is the boss of MMD and MMD has an outright majority in parliament. So RB can think of a law, ask his legal assistant/advisor to draft an Act for that. RB then asks a trusted MP to present the draft Act before parliament. Since they have a majority, voting is symbolic and the Act is law. The only problem would be the Speaker who would like to follow the procedure or check if the draft Act is in line with the constitution. But then, with a parliamentary majority, RB can remove the Speaker and appoint a new one who will facilitate the proces. It is as simple as that!!! Only fate protects Zambia from such madness – but the danger is always there.
#48(Positivist Pa Zed)
I agree with you especially on the informal sector not contributing to national taxes.The informal sector in Zambia has money but I think ZRA are somehow to blame on this for putting a threshold of $40 000 (K200 million) as minimum amount to qualify for VAT registration.This amount is somehow to high for average entrepreneurs who want to be VAT-registered so as to do business with government,parastatal and private sectors and in this way both govt(in form of taxes) and informal sector(services offered) will benefit.A win-win stuation.Rwanda put its VAT amount at a lower amount than ours and locals are being empowered as well as contributing to the govt.
I completely agree with Kayambalesa, my former CBU lecturer, about the need to reduce PAYE, VAT and interest rates. This can make it possible for citizens and businesses to keep more of their money for investment and consumption. How else can a government heat up the economy and boost job creation without reducing PAYE, VAT and interest rates? The jobs and businesses which would be created would provide an additional source of PAYE and VAT, thereby boosting government coffers. I don’t know much about his other suggestions, but I am almost certain that public assistance to chiefs and DMMU were not created by Acts of Parliaments and can, therefore, be transferred easily and promptly to other institutions as suggested. Most of the other suggestions sound good, at least on paper.
It seems Henry is trying to get bloggers’ feelings and comments on some of these issues in order to make improvements in his political party’s Manifesto. I have seem some of these suggestions, such as the one on DMMU. His suggestion that the Unit should be incorporated into the functions of the Zambia National Service (ZNS) sounds appropriate. This would improve its effectiveness nationwide. Well, “preparation” in politics is perhaps better than “experience” because a politician who has adequately prepared for an elective position and has his or her ideas tested is more likely to serve the people better as an MP, Minister or President … an opinion!
Wishfull thinking. Not practical
Satas first 100 days – 1. fire all previous heads of ZA, ZAF, ZNS, inteligence
2. replace them with Bemba or Lamba loyalists.3. recall all diplomats 4. Replace with PF Cadres 4.
Find suitable positions for Fred Membe, Father Bwalya, Nchito bothers 5. Convince parliament to remove immunity for RB . . . Ohhh gosh its already 1 year gone!!!! I need a full 20 years to implement my plans ….jobs for all kaponyas, No shanties in zambia etc mini K1,000,000 in pocket after tax for least paid …..wish this clown best of luck
thyis author would not run his home successfully if he implements his ideas to the family budget