Govt is perpetuating poverty - CSPR

Govt is perpetuating poverty - CSPR
By Kombe Chimpinde
Sun 23 Jan. 2011, 04:00 CAT

A CIVIL society organisation says the government is perpetuating poverty among majority Zambians by failing to secure the workers’ well being.
Civil Society for Poverty Reduction’s remarks come in the wake of the government’s announcement of the new minimum wage for an average worker pegged at K419,000 from K268,000.

CSPR board chairperson Partner Siabutuba said the new minimum salaries would accelerate the existing high poverty levels the country was experiencing.

“The increment is far from making sense because there are very clear yardsticks that government would have used to determine what an adequate salary for a Zambian would be. Say the basic basket requires that an average family of six should have about K2.3 million a month to meet all its needs,” Siabutuba said in an interview.

“Now when you compare it to K419,000, it is far from making sense.”

Siabutuba said it was disheartening to see the government glorifying the increment because there was nothing to be proud about.

“As CSPR we are saddened because we are trying to fight poverty in order to elevate the economic status of the majority Zambians living in poverty, but this government is trying to frustrate this,” he said. “It is clear the current wages cannot meet the daily basic needs and services for workers thereby pushing people into poverty.”

Siabutuba challenged the government to raise the minimum wage to at least the taxation threshold, which currently stands at K1 million.

“This is why we are even questioning the quality of Chinese and other foreign investors in the country because they are taking advantage of weak laws set by the government. One even wonders whose interest they are serving,” he said.

Siabutuba argued that the number of jobs provided by the investors did not matter but the quality.

“At the end of the day foreign investment is not working for Zambians but the nations where investors are coming from and a few leaders in MMD. The salaries of Zambians in sectors that are the highest employers of the majority currently do not even meet the taxation threshold. You wonder how this government thinks it will raise enough revenue after having scrapped the windfall tax,” he said.

Siabutuba warned that Zambia risked remaining a perpetual beggar if the lack of proper economic management was allowed to continue.