Black Friday consortium feels vindicated on subsidies

0
MacDonald Chipenzi
MacDonald Chipenzi
The Black Friday consortium of civil society organizations says it feels vindicated that government has now acknowledged that there are no funds being served from removal of subsidies.

On Tuesday,Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda told Parliament that the removal of subsidies on fuel and maize by government has simply made the budget deficit bearable.

Consortium Chairperson MacDonald Chipenzi says government should apologize to the Zambian people for earlier giving them an impression that funds that will be saved from the removal of subsidies.

Mr Chipenzi says the open acknowledgment by the Finance Minister that there are no funds being saved from the removal of subsidies also implies that there is no money being spent on projects the government it would channel the money to.

He has since advised government to stop unnecessary creation of Districts and avoid budget deficits by controlling its expenditure.

Meanwhile the Southern African Center for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD) has also called on government to give a projection of how much the country will be able to save from the removal of subsidies in the next two years.

SACCORD Executive Director, Boniface Cheembe has told Qfm News in a separate interview that the government should also clearly state the exact projects on which the saved funds will be spent.

He says his organization is of the belief that such information is important as it will help government command the confidence of the people on how it is using taxpayers’ money.

 

NO COMMENTS

LEAVE A REPLY