M’MEMBE SCHOOLS UPND ON 5Ps
….as he interrogates the late delivery of farming inputs, a shortage of maize seed, two supplementary budget requests in 2024 among other concerns
Kawambwa.. Thursday December 19, 2024
Socialist Party (SP) President Fred M’membe has emphasised that proper preparation prevents poor performance (5Ps).
Dr M’membe criticised the UPND for their poor planning, citing late delivery of farming inputs, a shortage of maize seed, two supplementary budget requests to Parliament in 2024, poor execution procedures for the CDF, and a recent amendment to an already approved borrowing plan from concession to commercial borrowing.
He expressed disappointment that such lapses occurred under a Minister of Finance with prestigious experience.
Dr M’membe noted that the Zambezi River Authority had allocated 27 billion cubic metres of water to both Zambia and Zimbabwe for power generation in 20251.
He requested a clear explanation of how much power this would generate and whether it would end load shedding.
The SP President urged the government to inform the nation about the load shedding outlook for 2025 to enable citizens and businesses to plan ahead.
He described the current load shedding as disastrous, with unpredictable schedules.
“To aid planning for 2025, he requested the following information: the amount of power to be generated from hydro in 2025, whether the power generation would be sufficient to end load shedding in 2025, the expected hours of load shedding per day if power generation was insufficient, measures in place to import power to close the demand deficit, the amount of power to be imported and its source, and expected tariff rates to avoid abrupt increases under the pretext of “emergency tariff adjustments,” he said.
Dr M’membe also urged the Ministry of Finance and National Planning to reassess funding needs and plans to avoid frequent amendments to borrowing plans and supplementary budgets.
He stressed the importance of ensuring enough headroom within the K300 billion ceiling for government securities issuance to avoid repeated visits to Parliament.
Dr M’membe questioned the current total exposure of Treasury Bills and Government Bonds against the K300 billion ceiling and whether there was sufficient headroom to issue these instruments without breaching the ceiling.
He highlighted the need to manage the maturity risk of foreign portfolio holdings of government securities, especially with potential divestments during election periods in emerging markets.
He asked about the proportion of Treasury Bills and Government Bonds held by foreign bondholders, the amount of foreign holdings maturing in 2025/2026, the international reserves available to offset potential outflows upon maturity, and the expected rollover of 2025 maturities and the amount to be divested.
Dr M’membe clarified that the intention was not to belittle the government but to help manage future risks, noting numerous lapses.
He also emphasised the need for parastatal companies’ loan repayments to be communicated and approved by the Secretary to the Treasury to avoid errors like the $82 million payment by Zesco.
M’MEMBE SCHOOLS UPND ON 5Ps
