PF Media Director, Sunday Chanda says people underplaying the negative impact of COVID 19 and climate change on the economy are not up to date with reality.

Speaking when he featured on ‘Policy, Money and Power’ radio programme on Money fm, Mr. Chanda said 2020 has been very challenging when it
comes to the economic performance of the country.

He said as a result of COVID 19, the country experienced drastic reduction in revenue collection and pushed expenditure up because most businesses were forced to close and in some instances depended on government for survival.

“When you have drastic reductions in revenue collection and you have businesses trying to survive in the wake of COVID 19 and in some instances depending on government for survival the economy suffers. We had some businesses that closed down due to COVID 19 and workers were laid off or put on half salary, so anyone underplaying the negative impact of COVID 19 on the economy is not up to date with reality,” Mr.Chanda said.

“2020 has been a very challenging year for Zambia and the globe at large. Our economy being commodity-driven, means whenever we have low copper prices we see a downward spiral in revenue and we see the Kwacha losing value. That is why PF has said to itself that we diversify the economy and bring other sectors on the table so that we
stop depending on copper,” He said.

And Mr. Chanda said even in the midst of harsh economic conditions the PF government has remained steadfast to ensure that it overcomes all the challenges and improves the lives of Zambians.

“Some of the key factors we have seen has been a key policy shift. We have seen the easing of doing business, we have seen the country promoting domestic as well as foreign investment, for instance, matters of trade and just setting up a company you can register a company with PACRA within 24hrs and 48hrs. The business environment in the
the country allows for the private sector to thrive without any challenges and this is commendable,” Mr. Chanda said.

Meanwhile, Mr.Chanda said Zambia is poised to be a net exporter of electricity in the region and also ultimately end load shedding in the country by March next year.

“The country experienced worst droughts and had a negative bearing on the economy and the massive load shedding we are experiencing today is as a result of massive drought and poor rainfall patterns the country experienced in 2015. We still have load shedding today but by March next year it will be a thing of the past.

The Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia(EFZ) has said that Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) must be withdrawn and a family-centred sexuality education approach that secures Zambia’s posterity must be quickly drafted.

In a statement released to the media EFZ said that while it is observed that in the early process of piloting the CSE programme in Zambia, direct references to sexual orientations such as homosexuality were resisted by participants and therefore removed, EFZ maintains that a fundamentally liberal ideological thread is identifiable and EFZ is concerned about the subtle and pervasive integration of this into other subject matter.

Below is the full Statement

SUSPEND IMMEDIATE IMPLEMENTATION OF CSE UNTIL ALL STAKEHOLDERS ACHIEVE BROAD CONSESUS -EFZ

EFZ FOLLOW-UP COMMUNIQUE ON THE COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION (CSE) PROGRAM ISSUED BY THE EFZ BOARD CHAIRPERSON- BISHOP PAUL MUSUSU

MONDAY, 28TH SEPTEMBER, 2020
Proverbs 11:14

“A nation falls through a lack of guidance, but victory comes through the counsel of many.” (ISV)

A representative team of the EFZ Advocacy Group, Protect Zambian Children Coalition, made a fervent presentation to the Ministry of General Education, on Thursday, 24th September 2020, re-enforcing the message of the EFZ Press Statement (18th September, 2020) on Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), appealing for the suspension of the program, which has already been widely introduced in our schools in Zambia.

Therefore, we wish to express deep gratitude to the Minister of Education Hon. Dennis Musuku Wanchinga, MP, who took time to hear and accept our submissions against the continued implementation of the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) program in its current format in schools across the country.

We are also grateful that Hon. Wanchinga took the opportunity to include the Minister of National Guidance and Religious Affairs, Hon. Rev. Godfridah Sumaili, MP, who joined us in the engagement accompanied by the Permanent Secretary from Ministry of National Guidance and Religious Affairs, Rev. Dr Howard Sikwela.

Further, we are grateful that following our initial presentation Hon. Wanchinga, arranged a meeting with a team of his senior technocrats at the Ministry to discuss the background and context of the CSE programme with us.

As we reflect on the rich interaction with the Ministry of General Education, we have taken special note that there are other implementors of CSE, such us specialized Civil Society Organisation (CSOs). We particularly note that the majority of these CSOs are heavily funded by foreign organisations, whose track record is known and skewed towards liberal ideologies that have long threatened Africa’s moral, cultural and religious values.

Numerous parents in our churches have raised concerns regarding the unfettered access these CSOs have to our communities, as they target out-of- school young people with a dedicated CSE curriculum distinct from the school-based one. A good number of CSOs offer a range of Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRH& R) services that parents feel equally need fresh scrutiny and reassessment by from key stakeholders.

This is against the backdrop of recalling that some known funders of these programmes have in the past been named and undeniably linked, for instance, to the procurement of hundreds of illegal abortions, as a case in point, in one of Zambia’s provinces a number of years ago.

While it is observed that in the early process of piloting the CSE programme in Zambia, direct references to sexual orientations such as homosexuality were resisted by participants and therefore removed, we maintain that a fundamentally liberal ideological thread is identifiable and we are concerned about the subtle and pervasive integration of this into other subject matter. CSE and/or SRH & R cannot be pursued so wantonly at the expense of the moral, cultural, religious and legal standing of our country.

Therefore, CSE must be withdrawn and let us quickly return to the drawing board for the drafting of a family-centred sexuality education approach that secures Zambia’s posterity, more assuredly.

In this respect, we are glad that a number of CSOs in their latest Press Release do acknowledge the need to engage in wide consultations with key stake holders such as parents, religious leaders traditional authorities, parliamentarians, and many others, who were left out in the initial Pilot conducted in three districts of Eastern province and the eventual roll out that followed, alongside the signing of the East and Southern Africa (ESA) Commitment.

Therefore, we reiterate that CSE in its current design remains a fundamental threat to the well-being of our children, adolescents and threatens the moral fibre, cultural and religious standing of our country.

We take strong exception to the assertion by some CSOs that objections advanced against CSE are allegedly unfounded, ill intended and not evidenced based. How can the voices of parents, we represent and to whom the children belong, be ill intended? Can CSOs claim more concern for the welfare of children that the parents who have raised them? We put it on record that some of the parents who have voiced concerns are employees of the ministry of education.

We stand on firm ground with evidence from independent reviewers demonstrating a high failure rate of school-based CSE programmes internationally. We insist that well corroborated evidence must inform policy.

While it is acknowledged that Reproductive health related problems such as unwanted pregnancies, early marriages or HIV and other challenges facing adolescents may be closely linked to “insufficient knowledge about sexuality and reproduction”, it is a category error to claim that CSE is the ‘sliver’ bullet solution, especially in the manner it is currently couched, locally and globally.
It is a known fact that this remains contestable space by families world-wide and that cannot be ignored.

Let us sit around the table

Zulu et al (2019) in a study done in Nyimba, found that:

“CSE had limited legitimacy in the community and was met with resistance from teachers tasked with its’ implementation. In order to enhance ownership to the CSE program, local concerns about the contents of the curriculum and the parent-teacher role dilemma must be taken into consideration.”

The Church, like other stake holders, is equally concerned about the rise of teenage pregnancies, sexual immorality, Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) including HIV, child marriages, and other vices. Our long standing commitment to continue making contribution towards support of all national efforts aimed at reducing or eliminating the vices speaks for itself, by virtue of the significant programmes currently undertaken in church run institutions as well as in some congregation-based programmes.

It is also our intention to engage the Ministry of Health directly, seeing they are implementing the other key Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRH&R) programmes where similar concerns around wanton provision of contraceptives, and abortions to adolescents in various facilities around the nation is being offered.

We await a final word from the Ministry of General Education and the Ministry of National Guidance and Religious Affairs on the way forward on the subject at hand.

Proverbs 11:14- “A nation falls through a lack of guidance, but victory comes through the counsel of many.” (ISV)
May God bless our great nation!

Signed: ————————————–
Bishop Paul E. Mususu- EFZ Board Chairperson

The United Party for National Development(UPND) President Hakainde Hichilema has said that the national budget that was presented by the Finance Minister Hon. Bwalya Ng’andu, is worrying and a reflection of total failure in economic management.

Reacting to the Budget presentation made on Friday by the Finance Minister, the UPND leader said that it is shocking that the Minister of Finance plans to finance the 2021 budget through borrowing K51.6 billion (US$2.6 billion), representing 43.1 percent of the total budget.

“Of this K51.6 billion, the PF wants to borrow K27.7 billion or $1.4 billion from external sources, an amount equal to total interest payments on external debt and about the size of our reserves, ” Mr Hichilema wrote.

Below is the full post

The national budget that was presented by the Finance Minister Hon. Bwalya Ng’andu, the last of the PF Government, is worrying and a reflection of total failure in economic management. Firstly, the week started with the announcement that Zambia will not only fail to pay the first Eurobond bullet payment due in 2022, but is having challenges in paying the interest owing on Eurobonds up to April 2022, and calling on creditors for a meeting on September 28, 2020, to discuss the Eurobond debt service suspension.

Fair enough, this is a commendable effort to admit that things are not the way they should be, especially if it means we shall soon get on a program to live within our means as a country. Therefore, our creditors and the citizens expected that the budget would address how going forward, the government will be on course to make necessary adjustments to place the country on a path of sustainable debt, and ease the suffering of the Zambian people.

Shockingly, the Minister of Finance plans to finance the 2021 budget through borrowing K51.6 billion (US$2.6 billion), representing 43.1 percent of the total budget. Of this K51.6 billion, the PF wants to borrow K27.7 billion or $1.4 billion from external sources, an amount equal to total interest payments on external debt and about the size of our reserves. What this means is that, on the one hand, PF has hired White & Case LLP, a law firm, and Lazard Freres financial advisory firm, to help negotiate for the restructuring of the debt and suspension of interest payment, while on the other hand, seeking additional debt that will increase the publicly disclosed external debt to $13.4 billion.

Worryingly, the budget is shallow on specific measures to be implemented in areas of identified opportunity envisaged to deliver the recovery; case in point is how the citizens can take advantage of the continental free trade area and the industrial parks. Given the poor track record of the PF administration at the execution level, such lack of details spells doom on the horizon, and prolonged economic uncertainty if this government is given an opportunity to present another national budget.
Our other significant concerns on the 2021 budget are as follows:

1. We are extremely concerned about the planned domestic financing of K17.4 billion, or 15% of the budget, and the consequences of inflation therefrom. With the change in Management at the Central Bank, there is a likelihood of a spike in the money supply, and inflation is very real. Excessive money printing risks bringing the much-dreaded situation of stagflation, in which we have both high inflation and low growth. Zambians need assurances that this will not be the case.
2. Given that domestically generated revenue from Zambia Revenue Authority and other government agencies is a paltry K66.0 billion and yet to pay our public workers and service our debt, we need K74 billion, we have reached the point we feared most as a country. Simply put, we cannot pay our workers and debts without borrowing.
3. Out of the K66.0 billion that will be generated domestically, PF is expecting to raise 5.5 percent or K6.6 billion of the budget through fees and fines – how can you run government expecting to make money charging those who drill boreholes because the government is failing to provide water, hoping your citizens can commit traffic offenses and other misdemeanors?
4. Zambia Revenue Authority will start charging more for imported second hand cars, that they have decided to call high-value motor vehicles. They are back to that old system that they discarded. They have decided to exclude the so-called high-value motor vehicles from the definition of used motor vehicles, and adjust them to ad valorem import duty.
5. While the budget has given K175 per month as a relief to lower-income earners earning K4,000, this cannot cushion the devastating impact inflation and depreciation of the Kwacha has had on the less privileged members of our society.
6. We continue to argue that the PF has wrong priorities. We find it strange that the budget line for health was increased by only 3% in the middle of a deadly pandemic. Adjusted for inflation, the PF has reduced the allocation in real terms. Further, we also note that you set aside K202 million as gratuity for MPs. At the same time, we appreciate that they worked for this money, like many public servants that have not yet obtained their pension. A normal father will not ask his children to tighten their belts while he continues feasting. They can wait for their gratuity. Prioritize paying the outstanding pensions of those public servants who spent over 30 years serving this great nation.

We can point out further shortcomings in the 2021 budget, including the need to close the wastages and leakages through by-elections and corruption, we will leave it here for now. This budget doesn’t attempt to address the challenges our country is facing. We need to go back to the drawing board. Like the way we pointed out way before, that your careless borrowing was unsustainable, we stand ready to provide guidance on the economy to alleviate the suffering placed on our society.

Government has maintained that it will follow the judgment passed in the courts of law over subsidies for chiefs installed after 19th November 2019 unless the constitutional bill number 10 is passed.

Speaking at the burial of the late Chief Sekute? of the Tonga speaking people of Kazungula District, Southern Province Permanent Secretary Mwangala Liomba emphasised that whoever will be installed as the new heir to throne will not have subsidies from Government but be looked after by his or her own subjects.

Mr Liomba said government will only take the responsibility for logistical needs of Chiefs if the constitution bill number 10 of 2019 is enacted by parliament.

He told hundreds of mourners that his office does not expect any new chief to claim payment of subsidies because this is heavily dependent on the proposed amendments to the 2016 constitution which removed the provision for chiefs’ subsidies as responsibility for government.

“For now it is you people here to look after your own chiefs until this matter is solved by the passing of bill 10 in parliament,” he said.

Meanwhile, Southern Province Minister Edify Hamukale has wished the Sekute? family a peaceful transition and selection of a new chief.

Dr Hamukale said succession wrangles are a hindrance to meaningful development in any given society.

He said the people of Sekute? chiefdom should honor the late Chief and emulating his leadership styles of unity and peace which he exhibited during his reign spanning over 38 years on the throne.

“Succession disputes are? a hindrance to development this is why government expects a peaceful transition in the Sekute chiefdom,” Dr Hamukale said.

And speaking on behalf Southern Province chiefs, house of Chiefs member Chieftainess Mwenda appealed to chiefs in the country to revive the culture of writing family trees to avoid succession disputes when a chief dies.

She said old men and women who are custodians of family history should not be sidelined but instead be involved in all matters of chieftainship.

The chief expressed concern of the happenings in Southern Province where a number of chiefdom have been rocked in protracted succession disputes for many years.

“These disputes are a worry to the house of chiefs because? the affected chiefdoms are being robbed of the much needed development and peace”, she said.

Chieftainess Mwenda further called on the Sekute? Chiefdom to consider selecting a new heir who will work with the government of the day like the late Chief did.

Family representative Francis Chika thanked government for the support rendered during the long illness and subsequent funeral of the traditional leader.