Expect More Pain – Sichinga
By Tony Nkhoma
THE 2026 National Budget is a drop in the ocean because the Government has no clue how to source the money to fund the economic activities, former Commerce Minister Bob Sichinga has said.
Sichinga said Hakainde Hichilema is not telling Zambians the truth because he has over-borrowed secretly without following the due legal process.
Sichinga said Hichilema is not truthful and has over borrowed more than the Patriotic Front (PF) at deliberate high interest putting the country into serious debt.
“What I’m saying to you is that whatever that is in the budget is just a drop in the ocean for all, all the activities, all the allocations. Yet, you’re giving tax holidays to mining companies where you need to raise revenue,” Sichinga said.
In an interview with the Mast, Sichinga said Zambians should expect nothing or little implementation because the government’s current shift is to pay the creditors.
“Zambians should expect more shocks in the 2026 budget because Hichilema and the UPND have extensively borrowed. Why are we rescheduling the debt? It means that we’re delaying the payment of that debt. Why? Because you don’t have enough,”Sichinga said.
He said when Hichilema came into power, he promised Zambians that he will not borrow but to the contrary, that is what he is doing.
He expressed worry and suspicion that Hichilema and the UPND are borrowing beyond the PF loan portfolio.
“Since the UPND Government came into office, they have borrowed a lot of money. They are not telling us the truth. Hichilema is borrowing secretly saying the law requires that he must engage members of parliament for any borrowing so that it is approved by the majority,” Sichinga said.
Sichinga said Hichilema and the UPND are not transparent and have kept on hiding Zambians the real information regarding the economy.
“It’s because they want to hide the information. They want to conceal the information. They don’t want the members of Parliament who are representing the citizens to be aware,” Sichinga said.
Sichinga questioned Hichilema’s motives to grant mines tax holidays and subject Zambians to harsh taxes.
He said Hichilema should pride himself with what the government is collecting from the mines because it does not add value to the country’s economy.
“If you do not have enough, why do you have tax holidays? The President was even boasting that they have collected even as much as $70 million. That’s not what you should expect. You should be expecting $460 million if you are receiving the full amount in mineral loyalties,” Sichinga said.
Sichinga said only a few selfish people are benefiting from the mines depriving the majority of Zambians.
“Certainly not the government. Maybe the individuals within the government may be getting that through dubious means. But if you don’t have that, if you’re not receiving that, how are you going to be able to finance the very activities that you and I are asking me about? You cannot finance it,” Sichinga said.
He said the government is inflicting economic pain on its citizens while foreign investors are enjoying tax holidays.
“So whatever you are doing, you are splitting the little amount that you are receiving from high taxes on the citizens, not on the investors. They are charging higher taxes on the customers and the exiles.
Sichinga said there’s so much corruption in the UPND government which has led to the majority of Zambians languishing in poverty.
“You’ve seen what has happened with the medicine. You’ve seen what has happened with the construction of the Kitwe/Lusaka dual carriageway,” Sichinga said.
He said Zambians should not expect anything in the budget to be funded because Hichilema’s focus is to fund his election activities.
“2026 is an election year. What do you think is going to happen? Most of the expenditure is going to be going to elections. Not only that. Till now and December is a quarter. Where is the money going to come from,” Sichinga said.
Sichinga said it is imminent that the 2026 national budget is just on paper and nothing will be implemented saying this is the reason why the government proposed two supplementary budgets.
Sichinga said the government is not being truthful saying there are serious problems in the country.
“The first thing they should do is admit that we have serious problems on our hands. We can’t afford to give tax holidays. We can’t afford not to charge sufficient for all the copper you are taking out of our country,” Sichinga said.
He said Hichilema and the UPND have no proper economic plans for the country.
“You need an economic plan in order to be able to undertake value addition, what we call industrialization and job creation. You cannot do it with this situation,” Sichinga said.
