Musokotwane silent on Katumbi emeralds

COMMENT - dr. Situmbeko: "the government was aiming at inviting as many investors as possible, who would in turn lead many Zambians into the Pay as You Earn tax group." - neoliberal idiocy. The government will share mining revenues with local governments 'when we are ready'? This individual is a joke.

Musokotwane silent on Katumbi emeralds
By Mutale Kapekele and Bright Mukwasa
Fri 11 Mar. 2011, 18:40 CAT

FINANCE minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane on Wednesday failed to tell Parliament how much tax the government generated from confiscated emeralds that the government returned to Katanga governor Moses Katumbi.

During the question and answer session, Dr Musokotwane was asked how much the government generated from Katumbi’s emeralds but he refused to answer, saying he would prefer a written scheduled question.

When he was asked when the government would start sharing mineral royalties with local authorities in which mines operate, Dr Musokotwane responded “when we are ready.”

And Dr Musokotwane told Parliament that 65.5 per cent of Zambia’s rising external debt was contracted from multilateral organisations like the World Bank, Africa Development Banking group and the IMF while the rest was owed to the Paris Club members, among other.

Zambia has recorded an average of US$200 million yearly rise in external debt. He maintained that as of December 2010, Zambia’s external debt stood at US$1.28 billion.

Dr Musokotwane said the country still had room for careful borrowing considering the fact that copper exports had recorded a sharp rise from US$900 million 10 years ago to a projection of US $7 billion this year.

Copper exports contributed less than three per cent to the country’s revenue despite netting US$7.2 billion in 2010.

Responding to advice from Ithezi-thezi member of parliament Godfrey Beene who said the government should limit its borrowing to US$100 million per annum, Dr Musokotwane acknowledged that the caution was valid but added that borrowing was a normal part of life and that even rich countries contracted debt.

Dr Musokotwane also defended the government’s failure to collect tax saying the ability to generate income from taxation depended on the levels of investments.

He said the government was aiming at inviting as many investors as possible, who would in turn lead many Zambians into the Pay as You Earn tax group.