UPND western provincial chairperson Mr Akapelwa Mbangweta has expressed disappointment and dissatisfaction over Lusaka – Mongu road which he refereed to as an economic road.
Mr Mbangweta who is also UPND Nkeyema constituency member of parliament wondered why western province has been neglected so much in terms of development even when citizens of western province also pay taxes to the government of the republic of Zambia.
Mr Mbangweta said Zambians must wake up and vote for UPND so that they can be able to enjoy their taxes because UPND will be able to address the affairs of the people.
He added that western province like any other province is also part of Zambia and it should be given attention like any other province.
(C) UPND MEDIA TEAM
In 2011 Zambia had a debt of US$1.1bn, the exchange rate to the dollar was K7, inflation rate was 6%, today the debt is over US$15bn, exchange rate is K22 inflation is 22.2%. These are signs of a badly managed economy, yet our colleagues in government claim that the increase in the prices of goods and services is economic sabotage by business people.
We are not surprised with such statements because these people have no clue on what is happening to the economy because they spend most of their time persecuting opponents and dishing out printed Kwacha.
This is a leadership that never accepts responsibility for anything but blames all the misfortunes on imaginary conspiracies.
They first blamed climate change, then blamed COVID 19, blamed some of us for all their failures to manage the economy.
For some time now, we have been advising them against reckless borrowing, reckless expenditure, stop corruption and all the bad vices, but their response has been that we are bitter and jealous.
The real saboteurs of our economy are the PF leaders who are recklessly looting from the government treasury. They now have more money than the Zambian government.
That is the reason why under our Government, priority number one will be to fix the haemorrhaging economy by restructuring the debt. This will stabilise the exchange rate, reduce inflation and increase economic activity which will in turn create jobs. This is what economic management means not hallucinations about imaginary sabotage.
HH aka Bally
#Time4Change
#vote4hh
Some people have the mistaken notion or perception that UPND want to form government for the sake of power and authority. That is a terrible misunderstanding of the seriousness with which the party is committed to changing the fortunes of the country, both socially and economically.
The country is broken and uncontrollably racing towards the slopes. It is not sabotage, it is failure of leadership.
The choice is clear; to continue with the damage, the suffering, the unemployment and the hunger, or to bring change that will address these issues, through visionary leadership, competent management, ability to monitor and control, through restoring the rule of law and the respect for human rights, liberties and freedoms.
HH aka Bally
#time4change
#vote4hh
27/02/2021
UPND sympathiser Mr John Van accompanied by UPND Chawama constituency Aspiring MP Mr Potipher Tembo, UPND Kanyama constituency Aspiring MP Mr Chinkhuli, UPND Mandevu constituency Aspiring MP Mr Ross Josephat Kasikili, Raphael Chota ward 25 Aspiring councillor Mr Davie Sakala and UPND Mpulungu ward 27 Aspiring councillor Mr Zakeyo Mwansa said this country deserves leaders like UPND President HH who always speaks about the welfare of the people of Zambia even indoor meetings.
Mr John Van said he has interacted with President HH on different platforms but that his desire to deliver to the people of Zambia is something he consistently talks about. Mr Van was speaking when he joined the entourage to Mandevu constituency where one organisation and a branch were visited.
And UPND Chawama constituency Aspiring MP Mr Tembo said time has come for the people of Mandevu and Zambia at large to vote for UPND, a party that is consistency with what they preach about and that UPND President has demonstrated that he can deliver the needed change to the people of Zambia who under PF are being fed with expired drugs.
And at the same function , UPND Kanyama constituency Aspiring MP Mr Chinkhuli said Mandevu constituency should join the revolution of change like his constituency Kanyama. Mr Chinkhuli said the winning of President HH will highly be contributed by Kanyama and Mandevu constituencies based on the figures and begged for the people to wakeup and support UPND from branch level to national level.
And UPND Mandevu constituency Aspiring MP Mr Ross Josphat Kasikili who acknowledged the presence of Mr Tembo, Mr Chinkhuli and Mr John Van said Mandevu under PF has lacked development that PF is now using handouts as a way to campaign because they have no proper message for the people.
Mr Kasikili said in Mandevu constituency there is high unemployment rate, poor road networks, poor water service and doing business has become too difficult leading to the immorality in the community as People find it difficult to access basic needs hence stealing has become normal in their wellbeing.
Mr Kasikili assured the people of Raphael Chota ward and Mpulungu ward that if they give him an opportunity on August, 12 and he fails to deliver in 2 years he will resign because it will then be an embarrassment to his parents and relatives in Mandevu constituency.
Kasikili who is a bonafide member of the community said some problems he use to face when he was in grade one is still facing them even when some public officials dish out money anyhow even when the whole country is too bloke to pay the debtors.
Mr Kasikili said that this year’s election is not about HH but the people of Zambia who have been given expired drugs by PF, the unemployed youths amongst other things which PF has failed to address and that the people should liberate themselves by voting for UPND and President HH.
And Raphael Chota ward Aspiring councillor Mr Davie Sakala said PF has been using divide and rule formula on tribalism when everyone knows that UPND accommodate every Zambian regardless of their background. He stated that their propaganda will not help them this time around.
And UPND Mpulungu ward 28 Aspiring councillor Mr Zakeyo Mwansa commonly known as Nimanja pamodzi said PF has overstayed its relevance and time has come for them to leave the office because Zambia has reached an alarming level due to corruption.
Mr John Van said he will continue interacting with UPND Aspiring MPs in Lusaka district because he was interested in making sure that UPND wins big in Lusaka district and that winning big depends on the visibility and consistency of the UPND candidates as they share message of Hope as Help is on the way.
And UPND Mandevu constituency Aspiring candidate Mr Ross Josephat Kasikili said that he was more interested in taking President HH to state than being an MP saying being an MP without HH being a President would be a failed project because PF has no capacity to demonstrate their ability to deliver for the people.
27/02/2021
We are concerned with the state of our pensioners and we intend to effect the following reforms once voted into power.
The UPND believes that in a declining economy such as ours, where poverty, inequality and unemployment are rife, it is NOT beneficial for government through NAPSA, so continue holding on to workers’ contributions until the legally prescribed retirement age.
With the low life expectancy , it means MOST contributors are expected to die well before they have an opportunity to receive their working life pensions packages.
In fact, NAPSA is now a money laundering conduit where pensions money is being plundered in inflated infrastructure related investments.
To reform NAPSA,
1. A UPND administration will allow partial, percentage based access to pensions contributions after a determined period of actively contributing into the NAPSA pool
2. A UPND administration to devise NAPSA based UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS once a contributor is out of work and actively seeking employment for at least THREE (3) months.
3. A UPND administration to focus on leveraging NAPSA to deliver RENT TO OWN low – medium cost housing units which contributors may rent with a view to own.
This will go a long way towards alleviating the housing crisis among civil servants and young professionals.
The UPND also believes NAPSA should be more accountable and transparent in their investment portfolio management, as well as fully disclosing the actual month on month returns on the various investments in which public pensions money has been ploughed.
These measures are aimed at delivering pensions justice for thousands, if not millions, of working class people. This will also be a bold and huge step towards redressing the poverty and inequality traps.
*Contact* : UPND Presidential Spokesperson,: Anthony Bwalya +260 97 8138847
Lusaka – (27.02.2021)
The UPND’s economic reconstruction plan is anchored on the transference of the control of money and economic power back to individuals and households.
This is the precise opposite of what the PF regime have done, by robbing individuals and households of all economic power and opportunity in the name of big government spending, which is fuelled by grand corruption.
The UPND believes that a K1 in the pocket of an individual is worth more than a K1 in government Control 99 account.
While an individual or family will spend their K1 on things that directly impact their welfare and well-being, government will spend its K1 on cars, fancy luxury aircrafts and big roads heading to nowhere.
This is why the UPND administration , as part of the process of shifting economic power back to the people, we have committed to the following measures among several:
1. Reform PAYE so that tax exempt bracket is K4,000, upper tax bracket to reduce to 22.5% from the current 37.5%, middle tax bracket to hover between 10 – 15%.
This translates as at least $1.5bn injected directly into the micro economy over an initial 5 year period.
The impact is a minimum K830 into the pockets of individuals and families.
2. Reform NAPSA to allow contributors partial, periodic access to their money ahead of retirement.
This will also be the basis of a NAPSA supported unemployment benefit scheme for out of work contributors.
3. Stamp out government sponsored corruption and redirect a minimum a minimum $2.5bn per annum away from corrupt government elements and back into critical public sectors such as education, skills development, healthcare, agriculture and actual job creation through rapid industrialization.
A different Zambia is possible.
But we must deliver it together by committing to moving #forward.
#changeiscoming
#vote4change
UPND MEDIA TEAM
Ngabwe – 29.02.2021
Video —VEEP donates Bicycles
PEOPLE of Ngabwe district of Central province stand ready to vote out the Patriotic Front (PF) owing to numerous hardships and lack of infrastructure in a region that has remained neglected.
This was when UPND Vice President, Mutale Nalumango donated eight bicycles for ward mobilization in Lufubu constituency of Ngabwe district.
In her speech through NMC member Collins Maoma, Mrs Nalumango said the bicycles were a way of empowering the local leadership to reach every member of the community in order to bring about change of government through the ballot.
And Presidential Campaign Team (PCT) Secretary Vincent Chimuka told the gathering that a special training program was underway for polling station management to ensure effective vote protection.
The handover ceremony was witnessed by Provincial Chairperson, Albert Chifita, Provincial Chairlady, Catharine Lemba and Provincial Secretary, Davy Siamuzulu. Others present included District Chairperson, Weston Kayumba, District Chairlady, Magaret Champanga, District Secretary, Paison Ngangula and Constituency Chairperson, Steven Silungwe.
Also in attendance were three UPND Councilors, namely; Chrispine Himuntanga from Mukubwe ward, Borden Kalebuka from Ngabwe ward, Mulenga from Kirwa Island and some ward officials who received the donated bicycles.
The people have declared that; “Kuno kwesu, ivoti lya ba president ba Hakainde Hichilema, tuli votele kale; ne kukakapo ulushishi; tulepembela cabe August 12, epela!” (Here in Ngabwe district, president Hichilema’s vote is already cast and sealed; we are eagerly waiting for the August 12 polls, period).
The UPND Team earlier paid a courtesy call on Chief Mukubwe to deliver a special message from Mrs Nalumango.
(C) UPND MEDIA TEAM
Lusaka – 24/02/21
Mazabuka Central Member of Parliament Gary Nkombo this afternoon questioned why the Zambia Police has failed to act decisively against criminal elements at Lusaka’s Intercity bus terminus and Kamugodi near Soweto Market.
During a question for oral answer session in Parliament today, Mr Nkombo questioned Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo why the police found it easy to raid Mutinta Hichilema’s relatives in Shibuyunji when it has failed to get rid of the criminal elements at the two mentioned places who were harassing people for belonging to a different political party other than the PF.
“I will cite a few examples on why people might think that this was a targeted operation. The deputy Secretary-General of the PF madam Mumbi Phiri in the period prior to the arrest of Mr Hichilema on vexatious and fictitious charge of treason is quoted as having said that they will smoke him out like a rat. And a day later, police converged at his house, broke his house, took him like a common criminal and eventually transported him from prison back and forth in a dog kernel. There was gassing in this country and a Mr Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba indicated to the country that he knew the people behind the gassing. The police have not arrested anyone even in the volunteering of that information. When the market was gutted, the Vice President Her Honour Mrs Wina seemed to know who those people were”, he said.
He wondered why the same police cannot raid intercity and kamugodi and arrest the elements that were harassing people and normalise life at the two places.
Mr Nkombo’s question followed Mwembezhi independent member of Parliament Machila Jamba who asked the Minister of Home Affairs whether the Ministry is aware of the Shibuyunji police raid and that the affected villagers were left traumatised.
Speaker Patrick Matibini could however not allow Minister Kampyongo to respond to the question saying it was different from the subject on the order paper.
(C) UPND MEDIA TEAM
24/02/2021
This afternoon we joined our fellow Alliance Partners in the opposition to address various issues on how we are going to progress ahead of the August 12 elections.
We made a declaration to commit ourselves to working together as an electoral pact to liberate our country and bring it to normalcy.
Our alliance partners entrusted us with the responsibility to be the flag carrier of this electoral pact; a gesture which we humbly accepted.
The Alliance resolved that going forward, the pact will now be called the UPND Alliance.
Our partners further entrusted us with the responsibility to nominate a running mate when the right time comes.
This is not just an alliance with our opposition partners but it is also an Alliance with the people of Zambia. Together we will liberate this country.
Let’s all join hands and bring the change for Zambia.
HH aka Bally
#Time4change
#Vote4HH
Mopani, KCM, the Mining Industry and the future of the Zambian Economy
Situmbeko Musokotwane
National Management Committee Member
United Party for National Development (UPND)
The Zambian government through ZCCM-IH has taken over Mopani Copper Mines from Glencoe. The take-over transaction is through a debt equity swap under which the former owner, Glencoe, will be paid $1.5 billion. The government is also pitched into legal battles to take control of another mining company, Konkola Copper Mines from Vedanta.
What do these spates of take-overs mean for the mining industry? And for the economy at large, now and in future?
Mining will continue to be the mainstay of the Zambian economy now and in the foreseeable future. Whilst economic diversification to reduce the dominance of copper is necessary, that is that objective is best achieved when the mining sector is expanding and thriving. Not when it is declining because mining helps to provide the resources that are required for diversification.
The performance of the Zambian economy has been closely intertwined with that of the performance of the mining industry. Generally speaking, when mining is performing well, the economy tends to do the same, and vice versa. Economic managers must therefore at all times pay attention to the performance of the sector.
In the few years after independence, copper production was fairly high, exceeding 700, 000 MT per year. In those years, the population of the country at around three million people was fairly small. The level of copper production and the attendant benefits through taxes and jobs generally yielded resources that on average supported rising social-economic progress.
After the nationalisation of the mines in the early 1970s, there was a clear downward trend in mining production. Also, copper prices fell while petroleum prices spiked, creating severe imbalances between export revenues and the import bill. In an attempt to sustain living standards amidst the growing external financial gap, the country went into a borrowing spree with the hope that when prices recovered the debts would be repaid. It did not happen: the prices did not recover and mining output continued falling.
As external earnings declined, combined with high public indebtedness, the authorities were forced to print money for public expenditure. Together with misalignment in the Kwacha exchange rate, this led to some of the nasty economic experiences of those days such as near hyper-inflation, shortages of foreign exchange and commodities. About 35 years later from that period, there is risk that aspects of those sad experiences could repeat themselves.
Chart 1 (Source: Chamber of Mines) is a graphical presentation of copper production over the years. The following facts emerge. Firstly copper production as mentioned above fell within a fews years after nationlisation. Secondly, after privatisation at the turn of the century, copper prroduction has been rising fairly fast. Within a decade, production had almost returned to the peak levels of the 1970s. The drop in production took thirty years but the recovery took only ten years. Thirdly, Zambia’s share in the world production of copper has fallen as her own output declined (see the green line in the chart, whose scale is on the right hand y-axis). Around 1967,
read more in the attached PDF document…
Mopani and KCM-2
