Tax waivers removal could create 3m jobs – M’membe
By George Zulu
THE US$2 billion the government is losing to foreign investors in the mining sector in the form of tax waivers per year can employ at least three million farm workers in Zambia, says 2026 People’s Pact Movement presidential candidate Dr Fred M’membe.
Commenting on the high cost of living in Zambia, Dr M’membe, the Socialist Party (SP) president, said the failure by the United Party for National Development (UPND) to listen to various stakeholders’ concerns about tax waivers to investors, had worsened the situation.
“US$2 billion of tax waivers per annum can employ three million farm workers. This is the reality on the issue of tax incentives. You are depriving Zambians of the opportunity to improve their well-being through the provision of improved salaries, infrastructure, social amenities, education and health,” he said.
Dr M’membe said in the past, his party and the People’s Pact Movement leadership had expressed concern about the manner in which government was running the economic affairs of the nation.
He said anybody who offered advice to the UPND-led government was viewed as an enemy of the State, wondering why those who felt they were better than others failed to improve the poor conditions of life in Zambia.
“When we urge the government to address the issue of the high cost of living, we are branded anti-HH and that we criticise the government without being objective. When we say we need to revisit the mining concessions and tax waivers to improve dollar inflows to the treasury, which in turn can stabilise or improve the exchange rate, we are told we don’t think and understand economics,” he said.
He said Zambians were willing to help rebuild a broken economy, but that the UPND regime was not willing to do so.
Dr M’membe said Zambians warned the UPND government against increasing its appetite for borrowing, but the advice fell on deaf ears.
“When we caution the government against heavy external borrowing and increase domestic revenue mobilisation through industrialisation, we are told how PF borrowed recklessly instead of addressing the continued current borrowing,” he said.
He said Zambian workers should understand why they were highly indebted as a result of poor salaries and condition of service.
“Translate your own salary in dollars, and you will understand why you are really struggling, noting that Zambia is import-dependent and hence most goods are purchased outside Zambia,” he said.
Dr M’membe said he was not against any form of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), but called for equity in tax collection and implementation of the laws.
“…we believe that business or FDI is attracted through ease of doing business in a particular jurisdiction such as, access to clean water, electricity, roads, air transport, good education and health facilities, communication systems, stable political environment, safety to mention but a few, than this misplaced belief that tax incentives are a precursor to attracting FDIs at the expense of depriving 3 million farming jobs,” said Dr M’membe.
