Maravi

Rupiah’s holiday

Rupiah’s holiday
Written by Editor

It is said that one does not achieve greatness by claiming greatness. Indeed, a man is judged by his actions, not by his boasting.President Rupiah Banda yesterday boasted that he deserves a holiday at Mfuwe because he has managed, after so much criticism, to reduce the prices of mealie-meal and fuel.

It appears that sometimes Rupiah takes Zambians for granted, he wants to speak to them the way he would speak to under-five children. His bragging yesterday could only make sense to a child who does not understand what is going on in the country.

While he is entitled to a holiday, it was cheap for Rupiah to justify his going to Mfuwe on holiday in the manner that he did. Maybe he was just guilty that he was taking a 10-day holiday after working for 50 days as President of Zambia.

The point we are making is that it is unwise for Rupiah to deliberately mislead Zambians that their difficulties will lessen because he has managed to reduce the prices of fuel and mealie-meal. But it is not surprising because Rupiah has always been deceitful; he rules by deceit.

Much as the reduction of pump prices for fuel in the country is welcome and appreciated by our people, this reduction cannot entirely be credited to the government or Rupiah himself.

We know that the method used by the Energy Regulation Board to determine pump prices of fuel depends largely on the situation on the international markets. Now that crude oil prices have tumbled below US$40 per barrel, fuel prices in Zambia are also expected to come down based on the pricing model in use, which is the Cost Plus model. This pricing mechanism adjusts prices on a cargo basis, although it does not respond immediately to price changes on the international market.

Even though this is the case, we know that the crude which docked last month was bought at a fairly economical price compared to the previous consignment. We have been given figures that US$53 million was used to import last month’s 90,000 metric tonnes of crude compared to about US$81 million used for the same quantity earlier on when prices of oil were still on the high side.

It is, therefore, important that Rupiah and his officials appropriately attribute this fuel reduction to international trends on crude oil prices, instead of trying to pat themselves on the back when they don’t deserve the credit.

Unless Rupiah is telling Zambians that his good economic leadership forced down oil prices on the international market; it will be mischievous for him to mislead our people that only his administration has ever managed to bring down the price of fuel.

It is very clear that had it not been for the declining crude oil prices on the international market, this reduction would definitely not have taken place. Even the first reduction was influenced by the same factors and in the same way. That is why people protested, during the campaign period, when the government tried to politicise the reduction by pretending to appoint a committee of ministers to look into the matter when everyone knew that the price of oil on the international market had drastically reduced.

It is, therefore, surprising that Rupiah is now claiming that he deserves a holiday because he has reduced the prices of fuel and mealie-meal.

It is also very ironic for Rupiah to boast of having reduced the mealie-meal prices when it is only one company that has announced the reduction in prices. The major milling companies, who account for the largest production of mealie-meal in the country, have not done so. This reduction in mealie-meal prices could have been appreciated or could have had impact on our people if it was effected by many other milling companies such as APG Milling, National Milling, Simba, among others. These are some of the major millers in the country, going by the quantities that they put on the market.

It is important to also look at the coverage of individual milling companies when it comes to such reductions before Rupiah gives himself credit on one or two issues.

Rupiah could just have proceeded to enjoy himself and his family on holiday without fooling our people whose poverty is stinging hard. It appears Rupiah has his priorities upside down. He seems to be more pre-occupied with things or issues that benefit him and his family than problems that are facing our people and the country.

We hope Rupiah will not just spend all the 10 days at Mfuwe sleeping and merrymaking. Let him use this time to seriously reflect on the problems facing our people and ponder on possible solutions. This year, especially after the demise of Levy Mwanawasa, has been very challenging for Zambia’s economy and its politics. Next year will even be more challenging. We need leaders who know what they are doing or what is expected of them if next year’s challenges are to be met squarely.

Labels: RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 2:40 PM