We have a problem with the following words attributed to Energy Minister, Yamfwa Mukanga. If it is true this is the way Mukanga and his Government are going to treat matters that directly affect our livelihood, then this Government could be worse than we thought.
And we quote:- “Current evidence suggests that the poor have benefited the least from this measure,” (fuel subsidy) he said.
We are not entirely convinced that Yamfwa is telling the truth. The second part of the quote is even more preposterous and we quote again:- “It is key consumers of fuel – the mining industries and urban dwellers that are able to own their vehicles – that have instead benefited the most from this measure. In view of this, it is inevitable that the fuel subsidy is removed and fuel prices adjusted effective midnight, 30th April 2013.”
Yamfwa has lost his moral campus. What Yamfwa is telling us is that only the rich actually benefit from the use of fuel. Of course not everyone can own a vehicle, but does that mean that the poor people do not get on these same vehicles bought by the so called well to do by Yamfwa’s misguided reasoning.
If it is true that this fuel subsidy did not serve its purpose then Yamfwa should tell us, who will be affected by an increase in transport fares. Who will be affected by the increase in goods and other services other than transport, if not the same people Yamfwa is claiming did not benefit from this subsidy.
We know Yamfwa might have difficulties connecting the issue of energy; that is fuel and electricity to the cost of living, we shall exemplify it this way. If a small scale farmer who used to sell 40 boxes of tomato a week at ZMW25 kwacha a box at farm gate and if transported he paid 5 kwacha a box, will now pay extra 2 kwacha on transport and their tomato will now cost 32 kwacha and not 30 kwacha.
Calculate per year and that means the farmer will pay 2 by 52, which is 104 kwacha more on transport. This assumes that labour and other costs remain constant, which is not entirely true. Because if he uses a petrol powered pump, it means his production costs will go up. This is the broader view within which Yamfwa should have been looking at this adjustment in fuel.
We know why Yamfwa and his Government is playing around with subsidies in other sectors. They know that the salary increases for all civil servants have to be paid from domestic resources.
Instead of cutting the salaries of the top earners in Government after increasing the salaries of the low earners, they are now starting to make adjustments on fuel which will literally wipe away the gains made by the low earning civil servants while they, at the top seat pretty and enjoy free fuel, free cell phones, free electricity.
We are reliably informed that next thing to go up will be ZESCO tariffs. All this is to ensure that Government meets its domestic wage bill which is now 65% of the domestic resource envelope as opposed to 45% previously. What this means is that there will be less financing for social infrastructure such as hospitals and schools.
If we are to maintain the momentum built by MMD, we will have to borrow, because the PF is not about to reduce the Ministers from 71 to a sustainable number. These ministers add to the wage bill which is about the single largest component of the national budget if we are not mistaken.
Country men and women we need to start advocating for a Government that truly has the heart of the people. PF is not that Government.
Source: UPND Media
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