Maravi

Let's make 2012 our year, a year for Zambia

COMMENT - The cause of these 'imbalances' is the non-collection of taxes from the mines. Collect $1.3 bilion (or nationalize and, and collect at least $3 billion in taxes a year), and there will be plenty of money to invest in infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing, and a lean, decentralized government. This will create more jobs than the mines ever can, by a factor of 10 or 20. That is the way forward, and it starts with collecting the taxes that are due from the mines.

Let's make 2012 our year, a year for Zambia
By The Post
Wed 04 Jan. 2012, 14:00 CAT

WE have carried many deficiencies, challenges, problems and injustices from the previous years into this year. Clearly, 2012 will not be a year of ease or resting but for incessant striving so that those in our political leadership may fulfil the pledges they have so often taken to lift our people out of misery, out of poverty.

This year should be dedicated to addressing the challenges and problems of the millions of our suffering fellow citizens. This year must be dedicated to ending poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity.

The ambition of the founders of our Republic has been to wipe out poverty from every household and ensure that every one of us lives a dignified life. That may be beyond us this year, but as long as there are fellow citizens living in abject poverty, in misery, as long as there is suffering, our work should not be over.

And so this year we have to labour and work, and work hard, to give reality to our dreams. This year, 2012, is no year for petty and destructive politics, it's no time for ill-will. We cannot encourage Bantustan-like politics and narrow-mindedness, for no nation can be great and overcome its challenges and problems whose people and leaders are narrow in thought or in actions.

We have hard work ahead, there should be no resting for any of us till we overcome the challenges and problems facing our people, till we make all the people of Zambia what destiny intended them to be.

The future beckons to us. Wither do we go and what shall be our endeavour? To bring justice and prosperity to the poor of our country; to fight and end poverty and ignorance and disease; to build up a prosperous, democratic and progressive nation, and to create social, economic and political institutions which will ensure justice and fullness of life to every man and woman, to every boy and girl, to every baby in our country.

We must hold together, and all our petty troubles and difficulties and conflicts must be ended in this new year. We have to behave like strong and determined people, determined to face all perils that surround us.

And we shouldn't forget that whatever the trials and the tests ahead of us in this new year, the ultimate strength of our country will lie in the unity of our people. Therefore, we should put the unity of our people first and put it ahead of any divisive Bantustan-like politics.

So, we urge all Zambians, whatever their personal interest or concern, to guard against divisiveness and all its ugly consequences. What we won when all our people united just must not now be lost in selfishness among any of our people. We have to build a nation where fairness, justice, humaneness and prosperity prevail.

Of course, this dream, this desire brings responsibilities and burdens on us and our leaders and we have to face them in the spirit of an honest disciplined people. We all know, at least by now, that this country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless it is a good place for all of us to live in.

And as Archbishop Nicola Girasoli has observed, "we cannot imagine a country that grows so fast but at the same time the levels of poverty are still very high." This is an issue that should be addressed very openly if peace and justice are to reign in our country.

The causes of these imbalances or inequalities have to be addressed. If peace is to reign in our country, all injustices must be eradicated. And it is important to maintain and strengthen the democratic structures if we are to enjoy a peaceful and developing future.

All injustices have to be addressed. We have to deal with all the injustices against women and children. There is need to empower our women and enable them to participate in decision-making processes in our country.

We must also undertake the training of youth from all social backgrounds if we are to produce the kind of men and women so desperately needed by our age. Education of our youth is a critical challenge facing our nation today and we must pay maximum attention to it in this new year.

We should also pay attention to our brothers and sisters with disabilities. Persons with disabilities are fully human subjects, with rights and duties. They should participate in every dimension of family and social life. We are all created in the image and likeness of God.

The dignity of each one of us is sacred, inalienable and must be respected. The rights of the differently-abled must be promoted with effective and appropriate measures. We should accept physically and mentally handicapped people as full members of our community.

People with disabilities need to love and to be loved. There must be justice, fairness and humaneness in all that we do, including in our work places. The rights of workers, like all rights, are based on the nature of the human person and on his or her transcendent dignity.

Among these rights are: a just wage; a work environment not harmful to the workers' physical health or their moral integrity and social security. Remuneration for work should guarantee people a dignified livelihood for themselves and their families.

Government should regulate industry and commerce to protect workers' rights and to curb exploitation. In this year, we should also not forget to care for the environment. Our country is endowed with natural resources. Unfortunately, we have not taken the best care of this environment on which we depend for our survival. A responsible and respectful use of the environment should be an urgent duty for all of us in 2012.

Therefore, we must all collaborate in the care for the environment. Responsibility for the environment extends also to the needs of the future. We must show respect for the integrity of creation.

In this new year, the government should intervene and regulate the economy, more especially the agricultural sector, in order to ensure adequate supplies of food, and also to ensure just remuneration for all those who labour to feed the nation.

Food is the most important element in any economy. Consequently, the arrangement to make food available to all people should take on a very high priority in a well-ordered society.

In this year, we should conclude the work on our new constitution. The constitution of a country is a national document of the highest importance. As the supreme law of the land, it must be recognised and respected as embodying the sovereign will of the majority of the people. The pursuit of justice must be a fundamental norm of the state.

The foundation of good government must be established on a sound basis of laws. The problem of HIV and AIDS will continue to be with us in 2012 as it was in the previous years.

HIV and AIDS are damaging the fabric of human life. If we do not take serious responsibility and personal engagement to stop the spread of this virus, our future is in peril. The battle against AIDS ought to be everyone's battle in 2012. The basic human attitude required in the present circumstances are: chastity, responsible sexual behaviour; education, especially of the youth, who are particularly vulnerable; loving care; acceptance and support of people with AIDS.

We also need to see more corporate social responsibility in 2012. The motive of business should be not only to make profit but even more to contribute to the common good of society.

In 2012, our businesses should be characterised by their capacity to serve the common good of society. The sense of responsibility in economic initiative should demonstrate the individual and social virtues necessary for development. A business enterprise must be a community of solidarity.

The roles of business owners and management have a central importance from the viewpoint of society, because they are at the heart of that network of technical, commercial, financial and cultural bonds that characterise the modern business reality.

For this reason, the exercise of responsibility by business owners and management requires constant reflection on the moral motivations that should guide the personal choices of those on whom these tasks fall.

In this new year, we would like to see our civil society and citizens take up their duties seriously. In civil society, people come together with different interests to work for the common good. All citizens are called to participate actively and responsibly in civil society in 2012. Government and civil society should co-operate together. Individual citizens are obliged to make their specific contributions to the common good.

We citizens can make a difference if we get fully involved in the affairs of our country. This is the only way we can address challenges and problems of poverty and injustice in our country.

Let's make 2012 our year, a year for Zambia.

Labels: NICOLA GIRASOLI, TAXATION, WINDFALL TAX

posted by MrK @ 5:41 PM