Pungwa News Network

08/09/2022

IMF Deal: Cry, My Beloved Zambia
By Grieve Chelwa

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday published the conditions attached to the newly agreed programme with the Zambian government. The conditions are incredible, unbelievable, heartless and basically make for very sad reading. They are even more incredible than I predicted in my radio appearance on Hot FM last December. I spent this morning reading the IMF's document. Below, and typed up pretty quickly because of work pressures, I summarise some of the most concerning aspects of the "deal".

The centerpiece of the deal is that the IMF is targeting in their words, "a large, front-loaded, and sustained fiscal consolidation." Specifically, they want the fiscal deficit to decline from 6% of GDP in 2021 to a surplus of 3.2% of GDP by 2025. And this is largely to be achieved by drastic cuts in government spending over the period 2022 to 2025. Basically, the IMF wants our government to reduce expenditure in the billions of dollars between now and 2025. This, my friends, is the definition of austerity.

How is this reduction in the fiscal deficit going to be achieved? By reducing expenditure on the following:

1. Fuel subsidies are going to be fully eliminated by the end of this month (September 2022). What this means is that our government will no longer protect its people from the vagaries of swings in the international price of oil. What then, is the role of government if not to protect its people from shocks, of which oil price dynamics are some of the most consequential?

2. Electricity tariffs will have to increase (via subsidy removal) and the IMF wants the Zambian government to publish a plan for doing this by December 2022. As I have argued before on this blog, this is going to cause pain among our people.

3. The hugely successful Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) will be "reformed" beginning farming season 2023/2024. "Reform" is IMF speak for drastic cuts. In this instance, the envisaged cuts are large between now and 2025. My heart bleeds for the hundreds of thousands of small-scale farmers who have largely made our country maize-secure over the last two decades. (Funny thing is that the IMF, in their document, are full of praise for our self-sufficiency in maize production and yet they want us to effectively kill the goose that's been laying our golden eggs!).

To achieve the fiscal consolidation described above, the IMF also has a plan for increasing revenues. And I imagine you are expecting that their plan is anchored on increases to corporate income taxes (especially on the mines). The answer is no. Their plan is largely anchored on the following, which will largely impact the poor and the middle class:

4. Value Added Tax (VAT): The IMF wants us to "broaden our VAT base" which essentially means limiting the number of goods that are VAT exempt. The VAT is one of the most regressive taxes in the world because it impacts the poor much more than the well-off. Because of this, governments often exempts many products from VAT to protect the poor. The IMF now wants us to do the reverse and do so in quite a drastic way. A table on revenue measures on page 12 shows that VAT is going to be the champion of revenue increases over the medium term -- much more so than corporate income taxes and mineral royalty taxes. …

23/08/2022

TRIBAL APPOINTMENTS AT IMMIGRATION

Dear Editor,

The following are the changes and replacements made by the Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security and his PSs.

1. Director General. Lishomwa – Lozi.
2. Deputy director general operations. Chibombe – Soli.
3. Deputy director general HR. Mwewa – Bemba.
4. Ass CIO HR (HQ Lusaka). Simenda – Tonga.
5. Ass CIO Ops (HQ Lusaka). Songiso – Tonga.
6. Head Legal (HQ Lusaka). LIsholo – Lozi.
7. Head Immintu ( HQ Lusaka). Namangolwa – Lozi.
8. Head RMC ( HQ Lusaka). Lufwendo – Lozi.
9. Head Training ( HQ Lusaka). Mutalange – Soli.
10. Customer care manager ( HQ Lusaka). Mulyokela – Lozi.
11. Immigration Secretary ( HQ Lusaka). Mulengu – Tonga.
12. Regional Immigration Officer Lusaka. Simutulo – Lozi.
13. D/ Regional Immigration Officer Lusaka. Pelekelo – Lozi.
14. Regional Immigration Officer Eastern. Mutema – Tonga.
15. D/Regional Immigration Officer Eastern. Mudenda – Tonga.
16. Regional Immigration Officer Western . Chiyabi – Lozi.
17. D/ Regional Immigration Officer Western. Mulenga – Bemba.
18. Regional Immigration Officer Central. Siansandu – Tonga.
19. D/ Regional Immigration Officer Central. Shula (MRS) – Lozi.
20. Regional Immigration Officer Southern. Chipaya – Luvale.
21. D/Regional Immigration Officer Southern. Sibuyunji – Tonga.
22. Regional Immigration Officer North Western. Nzima – Tumbuka.
23. D/Regional Immigration Officer North Western. Loveness – Lozi.
24. Regional Immigration Officer Muchinga. Chilunga – Lozi.
25. D/Regional Immigration Officer Muchinga. Lusumpa – Bemba.
26. Regional Immigration Officer (copperbelt). Chiyayika – Tumbuka.
27. D/Regional Immigration Officer ( copperbelt). Muyoma – Lozi.
28. Regional Immigration Officer Northern. Nyamufalile – Lozi.
29. D/Regional Immigration Officer Northern. Chongo – Bemba.
30. Regional Immigration Officer Luapula. Chimbala – Luvale.
31. D/Regional Immigration Officer Luapula. Siame (mrs) – Tonga.
32. PIO Human Resource ( HQ Lusaka). Moonde – Tonga
33. Head RMC ( copperbelt). Kakoma – Lozi.
34. Officer In Charge KKIA . Mubita – Lozi.

17 of the above are new appointments and transfers done between 10th and 18th August.

In a more serious insight, Moonde Evans who four months ago was demoted not on political grounds but because of his mischief and wrong doings, bounces back to office as PIO Human Resource (HQ Lusaka).

The said (Moonde Evans) officer, was not demoted by PF government but the UPND government after his case passed through Ministry of Home Affairs and his demotion was deemed fit for him. However, today the same person who has been on disciplinary since is promoted and taken to Immigration Headquarters without any reformatory. The question is, has he proved within four months that he has reformed and fit for duty? Moreover, his ID was given to someone else, can the Immigration Director General clarify which post ID he has been promoted on.

Assuredly, such happenings will soon be seen in all the departments as it seems they chose to start with a silent department like Immigration.

The Home Affairs Minister should come out in public and explain this because he is the person behind all this fracas. Does it mean in this department there are no other tribes who can take up the mantle of leadership apart from tribes we are seeing?

This has never happened in the history of immigration but only under the UPND leadership and it has happened too early. We have been well informed that all these Regional Immigration Officers are under serious instructions to go and sweep (make changes) from officers-in-Charge level to Provincial level once they report.

Michelo H. Theo

21/08/2022

𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐚𝐢𝐰𝐚𝐧

The history of the island of Taiwan dates back tens of thousands of years to the earliest known evidence of human habitation.[1][2] The sudden appearance of a culture based on agriculture around 3000 BC is believed to reflect the arrival of the ancestors of today's Taiwanese indigenous peoples.[3] From the late 13th to early 17th centuries, Chinese people gradually came into contact with Taiwan and started settling there. Named Formosa by Portuguese explorers, the south of the island was colonized by the Dutch in the 17th century whilst the Spanish built a settlement in the north which lasted until 1642. These European settlements were followed by an influx of Hoklo people including Hakka immigrants from the Fujian and Guangdong areas of mainland China, across the Taiwan Strait.

In 1662, Koxinga, a loyalist of the Ming dynasty who had lost control of mainland China in 1644, defeated the Dutch and established a base of operations on the island. His forces were defeated by the Qing dynasty in 1683, and parts of Taiwan became increasingly integrated into the Qing empire. Following the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895, the Qing ceded the island, along with Penghu, to the Empire of Japan. Taiwan produced rice and sugar to be exported to the Empire of Japan, and also served as a base for the Japanese invasion of Southeast Asia and the Pacific during World War II. Japanese imperial education was implemented in Taiwan and many Taiwanese also fought for Japan during the war.

In 1945, following the end hostilities in World War II, the nationalist government of the Republic of China (ROC), led by the Kuomintang (KMT), took control of Taiwan, however there was no transfer of territorial sovereignty.[4][5] In 1949, after losing control of mainland China in the Chinese Civil War, the ROC government under the KMT withdrew to Taiwan and Chiang Kai-shek declared martial law. The KMT ruled Taiwan (along with the Islands of Kinmen, Wuqiu and the Matsu on the opposite side of the Taiwan Strait) as a single-party state for forty years, until democratic reforms in the 1980s, which led to the first-ever direct presidential election in 1996. During the post-war period, Taiwan experienced rapid industrialization and economic growth known as the "Taiwan Miracle", and was known as one of the "Four Asian Tigers".

SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Taiwan #:~:text=From%20the%20late%2013th%20to%20early%2017th%20centuries%2C,areas%20of%20mainland%20China%2C%20across%20the%20Taiwan%20Strait.

The history of the island of Taiwan dates back tens of thousands of years to the earliest known evidence of human habitation.[1][2] The sudden appearance of a culture based on agriculture around 3000 BC is believed to reflect the arrival of the ancestors of today's Taiwanese indigenous peoples.[3] F...

21/08/2022

Trump pushes for un-redacted affidavit’s release, despite the risks.

“Pres. Trump has made his view clear that the American people should be permitted to see the unredacted affidavit related to the raid and break-in of his home,” Taylor Budowich, a spokesperson for the former president, said Thursday after Federal Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart said he may be willing to unseal portions of the document.

Reinhart ordered Justice Department officials to suggest redactions to the document by next Thursday.

“Today, magistrate Judge Reinhard rejected the DOJ’s [Justice Department’s] cynical attempt to hide the whole affidavit from Americans,” Budowich continued. “However, no redactions should be necessary and the whole affidavit should be released, given the Democrats’ penchant for using redactions to hide government corruption, just like they did with the Russia hoax.”

Trump and his supporters have for years believed the FBI and Justice Department are biased against the former president, arguing that the bureau improperly surveilled his 2016 presidential campaign.

Trump separately posted on Truth Social, his social media platform, calling for the “immediate release” of the unredacted affidavit, citing the need for transparency. He also called for Reinhart to recuse himself from the case without giving a clear reason.

The rhetoric from Trump and his camp follows a similar playbook, experts say, in which the former president demands the release of potentially sensitive information.

If the government and judge decline to release the full, unredacted document, it allows Trump and his allies to claim federal law enforcement is hiding something, further fueling distrust among Trump supporters.

“It certainly is consistent with a project of delegitimizing law enforcement and law enforcement targeting him in particular,” said Dan Richman, a law professor at Columbia University. “Because he knows, as everybody knows, the government will regardless of the case be averse to the disclosure of search warrants as an institutional matter.”

The affidavit, which was used to convince Reinhart that there was enough evidence to support the probable cause needed to obtain a search warrant, contains information about the federal law enforcement investigation into Trump’s handling of material marked classified following his departure from the White House.

The Justice Department has argued that released the affidavit could jeopardize an ongoing investigation, as well as the sources of information in the case. Releasing identifying information about those sources could lead to threats. Reinhart, for example, has been subjected to threats since signing off on the warrant for the Mar-a-Lago search.

Beyond the risks for the Justice Department, there could be some risks for Trump should the full affidavit come out.

“There is a risk if it seems like he was sharing intel with unauthorized parties while out of office,” said one former Trump adviser, who noted that such details could ultimately be redacted by the government.

Experts also pointed out that the affidavit could reveal exchanges between the Justice Department and Trump’s team discussing the need to return sensitive materials, ultimately showing the government had made multiple good faith efforts to secure the documents in question before resorting to a search warrant.

The release of the affidavit could also carry political risks for Trump if it bolsters the case that Trump mishandled classified information.

Polling has already showed a significant percentage of voters believe Trump may have broken the law as president.

A Politico-Morning Consult poll released days after the Mar-a-Lago search found roughly half of registered voters approved of the raid, though only 15 percent of Republicans approved. And 58 percent of voters said they believe Trump definitely or probably broke the law as president.

While calls to release the affidavit are likely to galvanize his hardcore supporters, it could ultimately create further concerns for the broader public. Trump will have to win over a broader base to win the White House if he runs for president in 2024.

Richman, the Columbia law professor, said he would not expect it to be the end of the matter if the judge opts to release the affidavit with limited or no redactions, saying the government would likely appeal such a decision.

“I would expect that central to the appeal would be the broader institutional question of whether this ought to be done,” Richman said. “It could set a really poor precedent for high profile searches in the future.”

21/08/2022

UPND GOVT MAKES PEOPLE IN CHINGOLA HOMELESS AND DESTITUTE BY DEMOLISHING THEIR HOUSES

Humphrey Kabwe
National Spokesperson

As Economic Front, we would like to sympathy with the people of kasompe in Chingola whose houses have been demolished by the UPND govt through Chingola municipal council. We strongly condemn this barbaric, inhuman and irresponsible action taken against the poor people.

The new dawn govt has completely failed to demolish properties in forests 27 but they have swiftly moved to demolish poor people's houses in Kasompe and other parties of the country.

While in opposition, you campaigned in Kasompe area and promised to legalize those properties once voted into power but today you are happily destroying their hard earned properties. Legalization could have given the council more revenue and other economic benefits rather than having an airstrip that only receive less than four small planes.

The demolish of those properties in Kasompe simply shows that Chingola and Zambia at large is lacking caring and visionary leaders who are ready to accept responsibility and provide suitable solutions to peoples challenges. Responsible leader's could have legalized those properties and relocate the airstrip along Solwezi road where there is less population. Currently there is no economic benefit from that airstrip which Chingola municipal council and the general public are getting.

UPND should take responsibility for the burning of mayor's properties because without the demolish of those properties in Kasompe area there was no way the mayor's property could have been destroyed. You went to people to got votes and after winning you call their properties illegal. That is crookedness and being irresponsible.

Economic Front under able of Cde Wynter Kabimba is calling upon all the affected people in Kasompe to stand united and give UPND a RED card in 2026. You voted a wrong a party into govt who are heartless and careless. We appeal to govt to stop mistreating poor people but rather protect them. They voted for you to improve their living standard and not make them destitute and homeless . This country belongs to everyone thus the need to respect people.

21ST AUGUST 2022
ECONOMIC FRONT

21/08/2022

Chishimba Kambwili

21/08/2022

Chingola mayor writes;

Morning colleagues!! We are sacrificial lamb, it's well with my Saul .
I have lost property together with my people of Kasompe, Mimbula communities, I tried all my level best to defend you my people from this that has be fallen us.
The biggest opposition that we have is within ourselves, I was a Councillor for Kasompe from UPND then opposition from 2016 to 2021 and I served very well which didn't seat very well with my adversary.
I have been fought left right and centre, accused of the one that have sold plots in Kasompe by my enemies within the party that are scared of their own shadow.
I repeat once more if I have sold any plot to anyone affected by this demolition kindly come through to my office on Monday I will refund you with interest and thereafter help you to construct your dream house.
I also appeal to those that were used by my adversary to come as well so that we can find a win win situation, I don't harbor any offense in my heart.
I forgive those that came to loot at my house which I built some 20 years ago when I was a Food and Beverage Manager at Protea Hotel Chingola which I have turned into a Guest house recently.
I came with nothing in this world and I shall return with nothing to my creator.
Blessed Sunday abena Chingola!!

20/08/2022

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KASOMPE RESIDENTS IN CHINGOLA HAVE THIER HOUSES DEMOLISHED.......
MORE TO COME

11/08/2022

https://fb.watch/eR6cg_jdGz/

03/08/2022

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=616818960010027&id=100050457851249&sfnsn=mo

02/08/2022

,
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LETS DEBATE ON THIS MATTER MATURELY

What's your mature take on this clip?, please no useless comments this need sober debate. Share and comment.

01/08/2022

Malema hits back😅😅😅

01/08/2022

Common man reborn

01/08/2022

https://fb.watch/eE42N51rum/

01/08/2022

Let try this and kick out Malaria

01/08/2022

RECRUITMENT OF HEALTH WORKERS WITHOUT DRUGS AND EQUIPMENT WILL RESULTS TO NOTHING

Joyce M. Banda
Chairperson for Health & Nutrition

As ECONOMIC FRONT, we have observed that the recruitment of civil servants is done hastily without proper planning, a situation that will bring about other challenges if left unchecked. It is a fact that govt is overwhelmed with the number of qualified and unemployed people in the country which has been caused by mushrooming of private training institutions offering undergraduate programs in education and health. Thousands of students are graduating every year and most of them are expecting to be employed by govt since the private sector can only absorb a negligible figure. On the other hand the new dawn govt wants to score over their predecessors that they are better than PF. While we appreciate the efforts made towards recruitment of health workers but there are critical challenges that needs quick interventions from the govt if the recruitment process is is to succeed:

1.The number of recruited personnel is too large such that some have no place to work from, e.g. Radiology technologists are placed in health centres where there’s no X-ray Machine, some Laboratory technologists are placed in health centres where there are no Laboaratories. The question is, What will those personnel be doing in health centres? Will they be getting paid for doing nothing? This shows lack of planning by govt. The PF built health facilities thus we expected New dawn govt to priotized equiping these health centres before recruiting machine operators. Luanshya District has only one old X-ray Machine at ROAN HOSPITAL, yet it has received at least one radiology technologist at each facility. Recruiting of thousands health personnel means nothing if hospitals remain without drugs and equipment. There’s no improvement in the quality of care that people has been yearning for.

2.The selection process leaves much to be desired, what criteria did they use to select successful candidates? We were expecting the “first out, first in” considering that many of them completed 4-5 years ago and others were working as volunteers yet these people have been left out. We expected govt to give priority to those that completed first but what we have seen is the opposite. The recently graduated are on the list while those that completed earlier have been left out. We appeal to govt to investigate. Otherwise, people will speculate that it’s corruption at play.

3.The number of private training institutions need to be regulated, or we need to build more hospitals and health centres to accommodate the Increasing number of graduates.

When the Economic Front under the able leadership of Cde WYNTER KABIMBA SC, takes over in 2026, we will ensure that there’s balance between the demand and supply of health personnel in the country. We will bring in Partners( local partners) to build private hospitals of international standards in all the 10 provinces of Zambia so that we can create job opportunities for our citizens. We therefore challenge govt to recruit personnel according to the vacancies available.

01ST AUGUST 2022
ECONOMIC FRONT

01/08/2022

It's awkward that HH is commissioning our "corrupt" projects - PF