UPND TRIPLES DEBT TO K230BN
…it’s like a drug addict entering rehab while
doubling consumption of illicit drugs – Tembo
By Thomas Ngala
PATRIOTS for Economic Progress (PeP) leader Sean Tembo has charged that the country currently has a government that appears to be allergic to telling citizens the truth.
“When the UPND took over in August of 2021, our domestic debt was standing at about K87 billion, and three years later, our domestic debt is currently standing at about K230 billion. It has multiplied by about three times in three years!” he says. “To talk about debt restructuring while you continue to recklessly contract debt at this rate is like a drug addict entering rehab while at the same time doubling his consumption of illicit drugs.”
In a statement yesterday, Tembo said the UPND government thrives on twisting facts.
“It is in the business of manipulating the media fraternity so that there is a media blackout on their maladministration and an overemphasis on their minor successes,” he noted.
Tembo said it is a government whose sole objective is not to deliver actual progress for Zambians, but to deliver an illusion of progress.
“A government that tries so hard to convince the masses that they have a full stomach when in fact the masses are hungry. Almost everything that the UPND administration has ever done in the past three years or so, is for purposes of propaganda,” he said.
Tembo recalled that when the access to information Act (ATI) was passed into law, some pundits claimed that it would enhance the transparency of the government and the ability of the public to hold it accountable.
“But the UPND administration has refused to begin implementing this law. Their excuse is that they are waiting for the minister to gazette the implementation date. The question is, why enact a law which you are now refusing to implement? It’s confusing right? Well, for some of us who fully understand how the UPND government operates, we are not confused and neither are we surprised,” he said.
Tembo said the reason for passing the Act was simply to create a false perception, “an illusion that it is a transparent and accountable government when in fact not”.
“As soon as the applause and cheers from their blind supporters died down, the UPND government had no further use of the ATI and so they shelved it. The apparent enactment of a progressive law had achieved its propaganda purpose. It was done and dusted. The illusion was complete. On to the next one,” he said.
On debt restructuring, Tembo said the whole idea of restructuring one’s debt is that you previously over-borrowed and now you want to turn the corner and go on a path of debt sustainability.
“A path where you can afford to service your debts. When you talk about debt restructuring, you are essentially talking about varying one or more terms of a debt agreement, which may be the tenor of the debt, the interest rate applicable, the payment installments etcetera,” he said.
Tembo however argued that there are two things which do not add up in the current debt restructuring.
“The first issue is the question of why they are keeping the debt restructuring agreement secret and away from the scrutiny of the Zambia people. If the debt restructuring was genuine, wouldn’t the government have allowed the public to have access to the agreement so that we can read for ourselves how the renegotiated loan terms are beneficial to our country? Why should the Minister of Finance be preaching to us that the debt restructuring agreement is in the best interests of the country when we can read for ourselves, if the agreement was made public, and determine whether indeed it is in the best interests of the nation? By the way, the entire list of Zambia’s creditors and the amounts we owe each one of them was published by the Ministry of Finance some time in 2022. So where is the problem with publishing the debt restructuring agreement which essentially renegotiated each of those loans? Why the secrecy? Is it that the renegotiated loan terms impose more onerous obligations on the Zambian people than the original terms? If not, then why is the debt restructuring agreement being kept secret?” he wondered.
Tembo said the second issue that does not add up is that while the government is talking about restructuring debt and making it sustainable in terms of the ability to repay, they are, on the other hand, borrowing at a much faster rate than the PF administration.
“When the UPND took over the government in 2021, our foreign debt was about US $11 billion compared to the current US $16 billion, three years later. It is worth noting that the PF found Zambia’s foreign debt at about US $4 billion when they took over from MMD in 2011. So they borrowed about US $7 billion over 10 years, which now appears somewhat reasonable when you compare with the UPND’s US $5 billion within three years. Personally, I never thought a day would come when PF’s rate of borrowing would appear more reasonable compared to that of the current regime. But here we are,” he said. “When you talk about domestic debt, it’s even worse. When the UPND took over in August of 2021, our domestic debt was standing at about K87 billion, and three years later, our domestic debt is currently standing at about K230 billion. It has multiplied by about three times in three years! To talk about debt restructuring while you continue to recklessly contract debt at this rate, is like a drug addict entering rehab while at the same time doubling his consumption of illicit drugs. Can’t work, right? Am sure at this point you are confused. Why would the UPND government keep talking about debt restructuring when they are recklessly contracting additional debt and therefore, clearly do not have any intentions of making our national debt to become sustainable so that we can be able to afford to repay it? The answer is simple. Propaganda! Because the more the UPND government talks about debt restructuring, the more they remind the Zambian people that the previous PF regime over-borrowed, thereby masking their own current over borrowing, which is by far worse.”
Tembo said the examples of the government’s propaganda range from the CDF scam to failure to deliver farming inputs to some regions of the country while attacking traditional leaders who publicly complained about such non-delivery of farming inputs.
“Other cases of the UPND government’s propaganda include the one-sided fight against hate speech whereby it’s okay for UPND supporters to publicly insult former president Edgar Chagwa Lungu, but it is hate speech if you complain about the insults. Other examples include the abduction of Honourable Emmanuel ‘Jay Jay’ Banda and the subsequent lies from government officials and the police that followed,” he said.
Tembo also said that the problem with peddling lies and propaganda is that eventually “you’ll end up being caught up in your own web of lies”.
“That is because when you lie, a few days later, it is difficult to remember what you said. That is why Judge Judy likes to say that if you tell the truth, you do not need to have a good memory,” said Tembo.