Rupiah's press conference speech

Rupiah's press conference speech
Written by masa
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 4:15:10 PM

It is now just about eight months since I took over as president of Zambia. It has been an eventful eight months during which among others :

I:

Constituted a new cabinet;
Presided over the budget preparation;
Began to deal with the effects of a deepening global recession, which has introduced serious challenges; and
Dealt with the recent strikes which rocked the country.

The period has also been characterised by exposure of alleged misuse of public funds. All these events have prompted some in our society to see this as an opportunity to relentlessly and viciously attack my leadership and my government and characterised it as being passive.

In reality, however, my government has responded and taken measures to deal with the various challenges facing the country resolutely. I have, therefore, called this press conference to brief the nation on my government’s response to these developments.

Political developments
Ladies and gentlemen,
Members of the press,

Despite the many challenges that we have, and continue to face, this country has since independence enjoyed peace and stability, which are necessary for development. It is important, therefore, that we must all desist from making comments or taking actions that might jeopardise peace.

There are many examples around the world that should provide Zambians with lessons of what happens to a country in the absence of peace and political stability. Let us guard what we have jealously and not allow a few disgruntled and power hungry elements in our society to destroy it.

The 2011 general elections

Regarding the 2011 presidential elections, I note that there has been much speculation about my candidature for presidency.



I want to put it on record that at no time, up to now, have I solicited for support as MMD’s presidential candidate in the 2011 elections. What I have said, and this, only in response to members’ repeated endorsements of my candidature, is that I am willing to consider their demand. I am, however, grateful that the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the MMD has also endorsed my candidature.

What I want the nation to know is that the task at hand, and my major priority, is to deliver to the Zambian people on the October election promises. I expect leaders in both the MMD party and the government to stay focused on this task. I do not want MMD party leaders, ministers, and members of parliament to be pre-occupied with the 2011 elections.

Let us work to deliver the necessary services to our people. It is clear that those who have continued to bring up this subject of 2011 are our enemies who want us to be preoccupied with my candidature so that we fail to deliver. Why is the focus on the MMD candidate and not the other parties which are also vying for 2011?

The National Constitutional Conference

The National Constitution Conference has been reviewing the constitution for just over a year. I have observed that the conference has made reasonable progress thus far. However, there are some concerns in the nation at the pace at which the NCC is moving.



I, therefore, urge the NCC to complete its mandate within the twelve months stipulated by the act. This will require the NCC to work expeditiously. I am also calling on the delegates to consider sacrificing in order to meet the deadline. We have all heard the calls by stakeholders for us to be prudent in the use of our financial resources and the NCC should be sensitive to this and ensure the process is concluded timely.

In this regard, I will be meeting the NCC leadership to explore ways of accelerating and concluding the on -going constitutional review process.

The state of the economy

The state of the national economy has been largely influenced by the impact of the global economic crisis.

The developments in the world economy that were experienced last year must still be fresh in our minds. The sharp increases in the food and oil prices, the collapse in the price of copper and other commodities, compounded by the global financial crisis, placed enormous pressure on many households, especially on the low-income groups. This has resulted in, among others, the closure of some mines, the scaling back of operations and investments, and subsequent loss of jobs in other.

As a consequence, this year, our growth prospects have diminished, such that the projected gross domestic product has been revised downwards to 4.0 percent or below. This reduction has implications for the domestic revenues, with both cooperate and income taxes likely to reduce.

Additionally, there has been volatility in the exchange rate over the recent months and an increase in inflation, which, though, has somewhat stabilised over the last few months.

Response to the global crisis

My government’s initial response to these developments was to stabilise the fuel and food prices, as promised, in order to cushion the vulnerable from the negative impact of the crisis. Further, to mitigate the effects of the global economic meltdown, which has drawn the world economy into a recession, my government is implementing the following measures:

Consolidating the macro-economic stability gains through minimising exchange rate volatility and moderating inflation. This calls for fiscal and monetary discipline at all levels;
Realigning resource allocation towards infrastructure development in energy, agriculture and tourism sectors.
Intensifying efforts to attract foreign and domestic investment which has significantly reduced globally;
Enhancing budget implementation;


Monitoring budget implementation through the cabinet, which I personally oversee; and
Stepping up the implementation of the public expenditure management and financial accountability programme, including the implementation of the integrated financial management information system;


Budget performance

Ladies and gentlemen,

Members of the press,



Government is facing a number of challenges in implementing the budget. The challenges being faced are:

1. Domestic revenue collection has fallen below the projected levels. This is negatively impacting on the implementation of priority programmes;;

2. Pressure to pay wages above the budgeted amounts, which I will explain in greater detail later;

3. Payments for the purchase and import of maize to ensure adequate supplies of maize meal;



4. Payments to stabilize the prices of food and petroleum supplies ; and

5. Delay and in some cases withdrawal of financial support by our cooperating partners.

In part to address some of the uncalled for expenses we have incurred, I direct the following:



1. All government officials entitled to personal-to-holder vehicles should begin using the vehicles for their intended purposes instead of parking them at home;



2. With immediate effect, there should be no purchase of expensive luxury vehicles as utility and duty vehicles;



3. Trips abroad by government officials should only be undertaken when absolutely necessary and delegations should be reduced in number; and



4. The number of workshops be drastically reduced and by all means possible held in within government ministries and board rooms to cut down on costs.

These measures are not meant to punish my colleagues in government. The current crisis requires that we all sacrifice. I hope all of us understand.

The challenges require all of us to sacrifice. Aim therefore directing the minister of finance and national planning, the secretary to the cabinet and ministry of works and supply to immediately put in place measures to cut down on public expenditure.

The budget cycle

Since independence, it is clear that one of the impediments to the implementation and management of the budget has been the budget cycle which is not synchronised with the calendar year.

I want to inform the nation that the government is considering re-aligning the budget cycle to the calendar year which will entail that government financial year will be commencing January of each year. This will help speed up implementation of programmes.

Labour relations

Ladies and gentlemen,

Members of the press,



We have experienced over the past weeks a series of strikes. I am aware that civil servants need to earn a living wage. However, we must also be aware that the government is operating a tight budget. Clearly, government cannot afford to give the salaries being asked for, given the current economic environment, domestic and global. We must understand that Zambia is a poor country.

To illustrate this point, the nation may want to know that the current budget, out of the programmed revenues of K10.6 trillion, K5.1 trillion or 47.6 percent, which included a salary increment of 11 percent, was set aside for personal emoluments. The unions rejected the programmed salary increment of 11 percent and settled for a minimum of 15 percent increment which translates to 48. 9 percent of the k10.6 million domestic revenues.

This increment means that the expenditure on personal emoluments will now be k5.2 trillion, resulting in an increase of K145.3 billion over the budgeted amount. This additional amount will have to be sourced by reducing expenditure or suspending other programmes. This will negatively affect the implementation of other government programmes.

The current public wage bill means that 50 percent of government domestic revenues are spent on 1 percent of the population or 170,000 people, which includes ministers, police and soldiers. As Zambians, we must take the decision as to whether spending half of the budget on this small number of people is right or justified.

If 50 percent of the domestic revenues is spent on personal emoluments, how then do we provide other necessities - the social and economic infrastructure including roads, hospitals, schools and energy, defence and security, which are critical to economic growth and poverty reduction?

May I appeal to our workers to be sensitive to the economic reality that this country is facing. You may want to learn from other countries, such as Ireland, where workers are taking salary cuts as a result of the global economic crisis. Another example is the British airways employees who have agreed to go without a month’s salary to help the company. That is the kind of attitude we need to inculcate in our people, including myself as president and ministers.

The salaries commission

In view of the large proportion of expenditure in the budget going to personal emoluments, I believe it is time that we rationalised the salaries in the civil service. In this regard, I have decided to constitute a salaries and wages commission to look into the current structure of wages and salaries in the public sector.



I, therefore, appoint Prof. Muyunda Mwanalushi, the chancellor of the copper university, to be chairman of the commission. The names of other commission members and their terms of reference will be announced in due course. The commission should reconcile disparities in the salary structures in the public sector.

Anti-corruption measures

Ladies and gentlemen,

Members of the press,

In the last eight months, a number of alleged corruption cases have been exposed. Despite the erroneous and deliberate impression that has been created, that corruption has escalated during my presidency, it is clear that these cases predate my assumption of office. To a large extent, these revelations have emerged because I have allowed the investigative wings of government to exercise their mandates without interference.

Government should be commended for this and I am certain that these investigations will prove me right. I repeat none of these cases have occurred during the last eight months. My government believes in transparency and accountability. These are critical to making progress in good governance.



To this effect, my government has completed the preparation of the anti corruption policy which I will soon be launching. The main thrust of this policy is to make the anti corruption commission the lead law enforcement agency in the fight against corruption.

In this regard, I am directing that:

(1) A serious frauds unit be established under the strengthened anti-corruption commission to specifically investigate complex corruption cases; and

(2) The financial intelligence unit, which will be an independent institution to monitor all suspicious financial transactions be set up immediately.

Further, I have directed that:

· Forensic systems and procurement audits be undertaken in all the major spending ministries, provinces and spending agencies to ensure that weaknesses are identified and addressed;

· The funding to the office of the auditor general and the anti-corruption commission be increased; and,

· The procurement systems be strengthened so that the loopholes can be closed through the enactment of the new procurement regulations.



I expect that the measures I have announced will strengthen the institutions involved in the fight against corruption.

Infrastructure

Fellow citizens

Members of the press

My government is working to ensure that there is adequate operational infrastructure – of which the most important components are transport (especially road infrastructure), energy and communications.

In the case of road infrastructure, we have secured enough equipment to ensure that some of the feeder roads in the country are graded in the next few months.

The government has also embarked on a programme to rehabilitate the road network in Lusaka. I call upon all of you to go and see what we are doing with the Lusaka road network. This programme will be extended to other cities and towns.

Energy

I am aware that the issue of increasing Zesco tariffs is emotive. As a co