Dr Canisius BANDA Development Activist
ANYONE who rejoices at Zambia’s mere contraction of more debt is an idiot. Much needs to be done, much more, both in terms of thought and deed, is required of us all citizens if Zambia’s economy is to recover and become sound.
Ebullient, Hakainde HICHILEMA, to me: ‘Dr BANDA, it is wrong to borrow for consumption. It is foolishness itself.’
We were about 15, 000 ft above sea level in a helicopter on a campaign trail, chatting, the lush green of Zambia’s vegetation, full of promise, visible beneath us. Wallace CHAKAWA, Hakainde’s cousin, a Ukwa bag between his legs, was silent, as if not there. My ears keened, and I agreed. We must borrow for INVESTMENTS, my eyes, probing, looked into his, seeking agreement. Hakainde HICHILEMA nodded in agreement.
Dr Denny KALYALYA, Zambia’s Bank of Zambia [BOZ] governor informed the nation that this phased USD 1.3 billion IMF bailout will be used for two reasons. One, to strengthen Zambia’s central bank foreign RESERVES’ status. Two, it will be used for BUDGETARY support. Through budgetary support, this means that some of this money will go towards consuptive expenditure – Zambia’s social cash transfer scheme and the management of the bloated Civil Service wage bill, which now stands unsustainable, at over 60 per cent of GDP. This, clearly is borrowing for CONSUMPTION.
My mind boggles. Yes, granted, the health and education sectors are forms of investments but their returns are NOT immediate and direct. What happened Hakainde HICHILEMA? All this is happening when you yourself vociferously stated that that the borrowing space for Zambia had been exhausted. You said that the debt ceiling had been reached, and that you would NOT borrow anymore, that anyone that did so risked giving away the country.
Tsono lomba dziko lapita
One year on, Situmbeko MUSOKOTWANE’s policy shift of making mineral royalties tax deductible to recover the economy has FAILED. Two key assumptions formed the backbone of the premise for his hope. He expected copper PRICES to remain high at over USD 11,000 per ton and PRODUCTION to rise. The OPPOSITE has now happened. Copper prices have fallen to about USD 7000 per ton, and a few weeks ago, the Zambia Chamber of Mines [ZCM] reported a critical fall in production. The NET effect of this dire turn of events is that Zambia PRESENTLY is now losing more than the budgeted-for/projected loss of USD 188 million annually. You see, Pilgrims, global lending is biased, my friends. The West doesn’t view Zambia well. The West is discriminatory. It’s financial support behaviour towards small black States such as Zambia is RACIST. Look, in just about 184 days of the war, the West has given over USD 14 billion in aid to Ukraine. Grants, you see, NOT loans. Billions are given in merely monthly economic support, about USD 1.4 billion to be exact.
And yet for Zambia, a decrepit and backwater community of black people with very limited GEOPOLITICAL VALUE, it struggles to get mere crumbs as a ten-year, emasculating/painful loan. This is a classical example of IMPERIAL self-interest determining aid. Zambia is on its own. It is only Zambians themselves that will secure, survive and prosper Zambia. The sooner Zambians realise this, the better. Zambia must neither look WEST nor EAST for its security, survival and prosperity. It must look within ITSELF. It must remain SOVEREIGN, a self-determinig country, and never trade off its ownership rights of the country for money.
Now, sadly, the USD 1.3 billion bailout has now ERODED this expected and sacrosanct position. A measure of Zambia’s s sovereignty has now been ceded to the IMF/West. If you were wondering why the IMF managing director Kristalina GEORGIEVA strangely sounded like Chushi KASANDA, a government spokesperson, and why the British High Commissioner to Zambia, Nicholas WOOLLEY and the UK minister for Africa, Vicky FORD were over the moon about this bailout, rejoicing as if they had just acquired Zambian citizenship, this is why. They now have [the West has] a FOOTHOLD in the management of Zambia, as if elected and permitted to do so by Zambians. You see, one of the conditions of this bailout is that there shall be JOINT OVERSIGHT for its implementation, veritable usurpation of Zambia’s governance power by the IMF. Truth be told, Zambia’s priority for the recovery of its economy should be its insistence that the world must practice FAIR TRADE. USD 1.3 billion is a small amount of money for any country.
FQM, a mere mining company in Zambia, and NOT a country, was able to borrow a similar amount of money using Zambia’s own resources as collateral. See? Now a country rejoicing over the contraction of such effeminating debt is a source of EXTREME SHAME for many of us nationalists in the know of things. To prosper, Zambians must own the means of production in Zambia, over 70 percent of the economy, in annual turnover terns, must be ther hands of citizens. Through such POLICY EMPHASIS, Zambians themselves would then make billion of dollars through trade, and the overall forex receipts for Zambia would then improve, the currency would truly appreciate, the economy would grow and be buoyant, the Civil Service wage bill would be sustainably serviced, poverty would end and our sovereignty would be preserved.
Lomba Hakainde HICHILEMA wapititsa dziko kwa azungu.
Today, 2 September, I direct you our Republican President His Excellency Mr Hakainde HICHILEMA to begin to put your travel documents in order. You must leave for China soon. I could even escort you. The Chinese, you see, know and remember me as an offspring of Dr Kenneth KAUNDA, that venerated Commandant. China is the largest economy in the world today which is both sound and imposing.
You see, phone conversations alone with China won’t do. Such an attitude of yours with economic elders is non-serious and offensive. If you are constrained, I will pay, as a sacrifice for my country, for your passage to the People’s Democratic Republic of China. Yes, go there with debt restructuring/relief in mind, my man, debt restructuring/relief in an economically sustainable manner. For example, go and plead with Xi JINPING that fractions of Zambia’s debt to China, sector by sectir, is converted to shares/equity, so that, as a mere illustration, the managers of the KOWLOON International Airport in Hong Kong begin to run the Kenneth KAUNDA International and the Ndola International airports, in an entrepreneurial way.
Perhaps, ypu can toss in the Harry MWAANGA International Airport as well. As a generic management template, with Zambia retaining overall ownership of these national assets through the National Airports Corporation [NAC], this joint management venture would then run for a limited/set time only to facilitate debt repayment. Such a development would then see an increase in traffic at these airports, as some aircraft would be re-routed from the Jomo KENYATTA and OR International airports. Subsequently, jobs would be created, more people would visit Zambia, more forex would flow in, and there would be more money in ordinary people’s pockets.
Let us not become comfortable with begging. We ain’t beggars. We are wealthy people, a rich nation. We are potentially the second richest country in the world after the DRC. Let us just focus on the translation of our natural resources, human and otherwise, into money/tradable derivatives through fair trade to end our abject poverty, secure our national sovereignty and consolidate our unity.
Fact, the ENTREPRENEURSHIP of citizens is the solution. And not the IMF. The IMF is the organisation, through its bungled, rushed and brutal Structural Adjustment Program [SAP], post-1991, that mortally destroyed Zambia. The IMF DE-INDUSTRIALISED Zambia, and since then, Zambia has never been the same. Lest we forget.
Tiliko na tulo mwe.
May the spirit of Simon Mwansa KAPWEPWE guide and redeem our nation, we pray.
Aluta continua!
Well articulated though it won’t be long before the pilgrim is arrested for defamation.
Tarino Orange, your government is known for arresting anyone who does not support your stup1d policies.
I AM NOT CELEBRATING THE BAILOUT
ninkani yozibika
NO TIME TO READ DRIBBLE
BY THE WAY CHINA IS THE SECOND LARGEST ECONOMY IN THE WORLD
LEAVE KK OUT OF IT AS THE ROT STARTED ON HIS WATCH
Muzinga Melu is now a politician. She is on social media plarforms praising hakainde privatisation kabwalala
Yes that is another snotty corrupt upnd cadre.
They are no issues to point only insults from opposite side tiyeni nabo HH.
Nothing to celebrate about debt consolidation and then acquiring a credit card with a larger credit limit with stiffer penalties for a default. This is Zambia’s context. Praise singers, please be objective – we saw this in the 1990s. Indigenous Zambians….Mulenga, Chomba, Malambo, Banda etc need to own the means of production.
Well articulated such are the people we need with minds that can bring revolution.A begger becomes a slave to a lender it is biblical and you can not run away from it period.So can we be serious with what we are doing as a nation, we were told no more borrowing when in power but what do we see today? lets call a spade a spade and hit the nail on its head kwasila. To the praise singers please think about the coming generation what will they find with this artitude we have today. CAN SOME ONE PLAY THE SONG FOR THE LATE MPUNDU MWAPE may his soul rest in peace in titled ”MY AFRICA”. I remember KK listening to this song and shadding tears,thats how bad it is taking back what belongs to us to the vultures.
You were told no more borrowing so how were you going to pay off $27 billion debt…you have to restructure the debt and if there is an opportunity to obtain $1.3 billion interest free debt take it. The problem is most of you are clueless …you have never even held a credit card so even explaining to you is like talking to a wall. 10 years ago right here on LT we told you that the debt you were taking on was unsustainable you called us lunatics…where are those chaps Fossil Chikwanda and Sata took the easy way out..its your children paying for their recklessness
Just looking at the part where he compares zambia to ukrain………
I know now he could have been a hopless lunatic VP……..HH did well to drop him, he is not sober……..
Naff said.,.,….
You would have made the best president under upnd. You are much wiser and cleaner than corrupt hh. There is a reason hh frustrated you so that you would leave upnd. He saw your great mind as a threat.
Let them continue rejoicing over kaloba those lost f00Is
Gentlemen, I think we do not really decipher the implications of the IMF deal and we are either commenting from a position of ignorance or obfuscated with the myriad of financial terminologies. I will try to make it simple here. Simplicity is the greatest complexity. After this we should decide who is a fool and who is wise. Here is the scenario. We have a serious debt burden (>$30B total debt as of 2021). Our debt is 115 of GDP & more than 78% of our revenues prior to our default, were going to debt service. Let this sink in! If it has, you will understand that we are technically unable to support health, education and to grow our capital through investment. Its a hopeless situation. The $1.3 billion bailout is aimed at kickstarting the country’s economy and restructuring its debt. This…
*continued…. is not just another debt, but a concessional one with almost zero interest. So how can acquiring this zero-interest loan to help restructure the expensively acquired debt to make it sustainable and manageable be foolishness?
The supposedly educated ***** ,the tribalist who got bought by lungu the drunkard to dump UPND…now he is regretting it…#Bally knows better!
Its really sad how these morons play with peoples minds FQM is able to borrow and has been borrowing against copper in the ground as that is how business works they own the mine, meanwhile your PF supposingly bought the Mopani mine from Glencore and they will pay back from future earnings from copper how stupid is that when you need cash. He is there disclosing private discussions he had withhis friend on a helicopter when his friend responds that he was paying his rentals he will get angry. Look at him today where is he in PF he ran he is not even on MCC table, Canisius BANDA you miscalculated and you are back to writing articles whilst your stomach rumbles on in hungry like a tractor….this man could have been Minister of Education if he played his cards right but chaps like him want…
…this man could have been Minister of Education if he played his cards right but chaps like him want the whole half the cake when the bring nothing to the table.
Doc., we are well aware that you are hurting right now, to have been kicked out of your once held superior position in UPND.
He doesnt bring anything tangible to the table…even in PF where is he they just used him, who can trust someone who spews secrets about friends.
“…….It’s financial support behaviour towards small black States such as Zambia is RACIST. Look, in just about 184 days of the war, the West has given over USD 14 billion in aid to Ukraine…….”
CB is not even fit to be mayor , let alone minister with such thinking…………
God help zambia, with such shallow people as leaders……….
What an !diot that Canicius is.
Who will read all that information…
Canicius was fired by GBM, imagine GBM taking your job, then you must be the best f00l on earth.
Canicius go and ask GBM how borrowing helped him expand his business even with his hamble education. If you had borrowed just after graduating for investment you would have had a chain of houses or clinics but you choose suites and beer.
I am sure HH tried but who is he to change you.
1.di0t ndiwe silly visionless pilgrim.
Why are we in this situation?
Is it not because your drunken kleptocat lord Ch@k0lwa Ch@gwa got expensive loans to feed parasites like you who massaged his ego & hangover on a daily basis?
Keep quiet & go back to taking nud3 videos of yourself Mambala iwe!!
Another Mailoni brother with a long empty article. A chancer who never thought HH would win an election
1.di0t ndiwe silly vi2ionless pilgrim.
Why are we in this situation in the first place?
Is it not because your drunk3n kl3pt0cat L0rd Ch@k0lwa Ch@gwa got expensive l0ans to feed para2ites like you who massaged his eg0 & hang0ver on a daily basis?
Keep quiet & go ba
@ck to taking nud3 ph0tos of yourself Mambala iwe!!
plz dont even respond to such foolish drunkards. kaizer zullu + canicciaus banda + antonio mwanza what answer do you get?
When you get praises from Kaizer Zulu just know that you are as good as a compound toilet being crowded with green flies.
Any way you need to pay bills, what a way to do it
Son of a beech
Ka each colour ka Kaizar Zulu your parents just wasted the night.
So the west gives Ukraine $14billion grant because of the war and gives zambia $1.3 billion interest free loan and that makes them racist? Pilgrim so if it was up to you then you would want us to go to war here in order to get free money.
@Razor. If you went to war, the west would not even give you a single stretcher
Razor – This man is deliberately playing with people’s emotions especially ignorant minds these are the selfsame tactics the Rich wanna be Socialists Fred Mmembe uses…the West is helping Ukraine for a reason because they know what would happen if Russia conquered that country right on EU’s door step…everything we fall like stacked dominos in Putins favour.
Its like canicius and ar share holders of this blog for their insullt to moajoty zambians are never edited. even if the grape are so soar canicius is supposed tame his tongue. no wonder sme say some eduation investment went stray dogs,
suppose you never left upnd? supposed you had patience and wisdom and continued working with a winning team? suppose you were now in the ruling party. even thos are going to be be happy to be called an ***** simply because you now have different opinio?
suppose you never left upnd? supposed you had patience and wisdom and continued working with a winning team? suppose you were now in the ruling party. Are you going to be happy to be called an ***** simply because you now have different opinio?