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EU Urges President LUNGU To Make Right, Consistent Decisions
The European Union says President Edgar Lungu and his government need to make right and consistent decisions to tackle the country’s economic challenges.
European Union head of delegation to Zambia Ambassador Gilles Hervio said President Lungu has a lot of work to meet budgetary deficits emanating from mine tax changes and the reintroduction of consumption subsidies on maize. “It is possible for President Lungu and his government to tackle the country’s economic challenges but what they require is to make right and consistent decisions.
Predictions in an economy are always extremely very difficult. I think that what is important is to adjust; when you see that things are not like you were expecting, you take a decision to review,” he said in an interview. On April 20, the government made changes to the 2015 mining tax regime, placing mineral royalty tax rate for open cast mining and underground mining operations at nine per cent from the previous 20 and eight per cent respectively, while corporate income tax on income earned from mining operations will be 30 per cent. The mining tax changes have reduced government’s forecast revenue from the mines by K2.3 billion while an additional K211 million will be lost through the reintroduction of consumption subsidies on maize.
Ambassador Hervio, however, said the EU welcomed the government’s move to revert to the double tier mining tax regime but warned government to be extremely cautious, bearing in mind low copper prices. “The government needs to carefully analyse what will be the impact of this mining tax change. The government should only consider the lower copper prices…There is need to look at the expenditure, especially in the agriculture,” he said. And Ambassador Hervio said the fact that there was available maize stock from the previous harvest of 3.3 million tonnes, there would be less need for the government to worry about food security.
But he said the EU had been pushing the government to concentrate on production subsidies such as provision of fertiliser through an e-voucher system in an effort to empower farmers. “All the time, we have pushed subsidies on fertiliser to use e-voucher system, at least to test this, to let the farmers have a possibility to choose what they need. Subsidies for the poor farmer make sense; for the richer, it may not be so useful,” said Ambassador Hervio.
“It is like subsidies on fuel, it was welcomed as a price decrease on fuel pump prices but it seems now there is need for more money for these subsidies to sustain low prices. It is not the poor who use most of the fuel, it is the richer, and so I think it is one of the issues the government will look at.”
Posted by
major chileshe
April 28, 2015 at 6:04 pm
Yes thanx ba E.U bt do not worry,president lungu is a very wise man and will make very wise decisions for the benefit of the country and we r all happy atleast
Hildah Malama
April 28, 2015 at 8:45 pm
Thanks alot to the EU. Even you guys have seen that Zambia has a visionless president who is just being controlled by Rupiah banda the corrupt Nyamasoya Wolf.
Hildah Malama
April 28, 2015 at 8:47 pm
HH please startpreparing your cabinet and let me have a glipnse of it so that I can bless it. All indicators are showing that you are forming government next year.
GOD BLESS YOU HH, GOD BLESS UPND.
Hello Haters
April 28, 2015 at 8:49 pm
Amen to that sister.
20.01.15
April 28, 2015 at 10:34 pm
Its not possible ba Hildah,only if they allow upnd cadres to vote twice otherwise forget about governing with 20 mps out of 150 u are even talking of forming vabinet.Tamumfwa ne nsoni imwe mwebena ngombe cowdung
Tough love
April 28, 2015 at 11:30 pm
We’ll make your “own bed and lie in it”. as for me I will have to chose between Hilary Clinton and Jeb Bush hopefully and am sure either one of them will take us to higher levels in every way. Get this right, this has nothing to do with HH
Judge Joe Bidden
April 28, 2015 at 6:10 pm
“..It is possible for President Lungu and his government to tackle the country’s economic challenges but what they require is to make right and consistent decisions…”
This is a price for having a leader who honestly said I have no vision. We have long said PF govt has no solution for the economy, did we have to wait for the European Union to tell us that?
Tough love
April 28, 2015 at 8:18 pm
The EU is asking too much of these delinquents, inconsistency and confusion is the very nature of the PF government.
20.01.15
April 28, 2015 at 11:04 pm
HH tatumufwaya tatwamutemwa.So we shall vote for Lungj again period
Hello Haters
April 29, 2015 at 4:46 am
Ifyofine tawamutemwa efyo twamutemwa period. We shall vote for him and 2016 kakaboba shikulu, by no weapon form against us shall prosper.
New Educated Zambia©
April 28, 2015 at 6:55 pm
SO, when NEZ says the same thing you all hurl insults at me and the party that I officially represent, the UPND. Now an independent body the EU has told you the same thing. When you lack vision and are voted in on the basis of raising hands this is what happens. The EU is simply telling half the zambians that you made a very unwise choice in your voting. They are saying, if you want to see inconsistencies that will translate to lack of confidence in the economy then continue voting in the pathetic failures. If you want change based on consistent sound economic management then vote UPND. I am sure you will notice few comments here because the pf cannot handle the truth
Portland
April 28, 2015 at 7:16 pm
Newly educated Zambian, you have such a low esteem of yourself that you deserve to be perpetually in opposition. This E.U.observation you seem to endorse is not the complete truth. If, I were you, I would first look at the E.U itself with the economies of Greece, Spain, Italy and Ireland in tatters. Greece is on the verge of defaulting not only to the ECB but also the IMF. Just because a white man has spoken does mean it must be the truth. UPND and its inferiority complex. Malabish!
New Educated Zambia©
April 28, 2015 at 8:52 pm
More like the eu endorsing what i have been saying for many months you dull fool
mj banda
April 28, 2015 at 9:16 pm
@portland, why should this surprise you, some people are muzungu anikonde type. Am tired of this bogus opposition guys.
New Educated Zambia©
April 29, 2015 at 11:03 pm
kiki ukose
Hello Haters
April 28, 2015 at 8:26 pm
Right, consistent decisions are the hallmark of great leaders, asking lungu to do that is definitely asking to much from him, let the Europeans wait for him to to finish his last 15 months of his presidency.
jay
April 28, 2015 at 8:48 pm
Honestly we’r in crisis, we r trained n th govt is sayn employment freez… Yet thr z shortage of human resource in health…. We’r all sufferng bcoz of decisions tht few r making witout being considerate of every Zambian… Plz helps us in making gud decisions tht wil help us put al resources togetha 4a betr zambia…
Mula
April 28, 2015 at 10:18 pm
EU, We Know That Already. The Decisions We Make Are For The Best Of The Zambian People Including HH. We Shall Fill Our National Budget Gap By Borrowing And Getting Loans. We Shall Payback In 15years Time. All We Need To Do Is Increase More Revenue By Bringing More Investers To Open New Mines, Shoping Malls Like Mukuba And We Shall Improve Agric So That We Have More Food To Export And More Forex To Payback.
CHAGWA KACHASU
April 28, 2015 at 10:31 pm
please Eu, stop reminding the kachasu man of what is not capable of doing or else you will force him to do another KAJIMINA in public from fear of the unknown.
KC
April 29, 2015 at 4:57 am
HH azalilila come 2016.
KAPOWELA WAMU P*U*S*S*Y
April 29, 2015 at 8:01 am
NI KOLOPA.COM IN 2016 WE’LL VOTE FOR EL LIKE NO MANS BUSINESS
jerome
April 29, 2015 at 12:43 pm
HE is just a blind follower….. he doesnt hav anydream… so let him rule us blindly becous its only months remening, we will fish him out of plotone as his friends did…..HH is coming
Lemba
April 29, 2015 at 12:44 pm
Who knows may be EU and that Nigerian who wrote in the Post defending Nchito (DPP – former) have joined UPND. It is only Zambians who knows what is good for them period
namulabe
April 29, 2015 at 10:50 pm
Eu my foot! Why have they failed to solve the problems of their member states like portugal, greece, spain and so on. They fail to solve their problems then they think they know our problems better. Let them just shut up and let HE EL work. Its surprising to even see some mentally returded brogers dancing to such stupid statements.
New Educated Zambia©
April 29, 2015 at 11:03 pm
kiki you silly fool. The EU has just gone on to state what we zambians have been saying. I have been saying this for a very long time. It does not take einstein to see that lungu is clueless. Actually himself said he had no vision before elections. So even a fool like you should know this. The same EU funds your elections and without them you would barely manage to finance all projects in your budget. SO before you grow wings take a look at yourself and bring your self back down where you belong. Very silly cadre