Youths unhappy with MMD govt - Soko
By Salim Dawood
Sun 02 Jan. 2011, 04:01 CAT
A YOUTH organisation says President Rupiah Banda must not mislead himself into believing that the praises being sang for him by some hired youths reflect the collective feeling of the country’s young people.
In an interview, Former Street Children’s Association coordinator, Richard Soko said the majority of the youths in the country were suffering and unhappy with President Banda and his government.
Soko said the only youths who could celebrate the government’s performance were the ones abusing drugs and alcohol, whom he said needed reformation but instead were being exploited and used by the MMD to fan violence.
He said the genuine youths were either languishing on the streets looking for employment which the government had failed to provide, or suffering in prisons.
“We do not want the government to give us money. We want the government to provide employment so we don’t have to go to prison for stealing or engaging in dangerous vices,” he said.
Soko said the youth were angry and frustrated with the sky rocketing unemployment levels while President Banda was busy flying around the world.
He said the deplorable state of infrastructure in high institutions of learning like the University of Zambia was a sign that the government did not care about the youth.
Soko, himself a former street child, complained that children on the streets continued suffering because the government was not serious with Zambia National Service programme that was supposed to help them integrate back into society.
“The people that are there (ZNS) right now are children of ministers and high-ranking government officials, not the real vulnerable children,” he said.
“The President has not attended to any projects aimed at addressing the plight of the youth. We have heard that he brought K5 billion to the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Child Development, but we have not seen that money. As we were going to the youth indaba, we were told that government had given the ministry K10 billion that was just lying and waiting for the youth, but that's just a campaign strategy. We the youth we are suffering,” he said.
Soko said the youth longed for a leader who would understand their plight and take development to their communities.
Labels: MMD, RICHARD SOKO, RUPIAH BANDA, STREET CHILDREN
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Govt risks selling NCZ at a loss, says Soko
By Florence Bupe
Thu 04 Nov. 2010, 04:01 CAT
THE government has been advised to recapitalise NCZ before privatising the fertiliser manufacturing plant. In an interview, Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia (NCZ) chief executive officer Richard Soko said the government risked selling the manufacturing plant at a loss if it decides to go ahead with the privatisation of the firm in its current state.
“The problem with privatising NCZ in its current state is that government will give it away for a song. It will
not be prudent to sell the plant without first of all recapitalising it,” Soko said. “Government needs to recapitalise the plant to get the real value of its assets.”
Last month, an Egyptian firm expressed interest to procure and invest in the defunct NCZ, following an assessment of the plant.
But the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) indicated that it was still waiting for more submissions from other potential investors. Soko said it would be more beneficial for the government to sell the plant to a local investor as opposed to a foreign entity.
The government had earlier engaged Grant Thornton to carry out a due diligence study of the fertiliser manufacturing plant before a way forward is drafted for the ailing institution.
And appearing before the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Soko insisted that NCZ was still viable and all that was needed was recapitalisation for the plant to resume full capacity operations.
He told the committee that a strategic plan had been drawn and that the plant needed approximately K240 billion for rehabilitation and working capital.
“What we have discovered is that NCZ is viable and we have made recommendations to the board for scrutiny,” he said.
He further said NCZ was overstaffed, with the current staff levels standing at 520, but the company had no money to pay retrenched workers if it decides to take that route.
Soko disclosed that NCZ would need about K45 billion to retrench excess workers.
And committee chairperson Emmanuel Hachipuka stressed the need to invest in fertiliser production locally if the country’s efforts of sustaining the agriculture sector were to be fruitful.
“Our efforts to diversify our economy to include the agriculture sector can only be realised if we invest in areas such as local fertiliser production and we should resolve the issue of NCZ urgently. Let government decide whether to close NCZ and invest in a modern manufacturing plant, or recapitalise the existing plant to make it more viable,” advised Hachipuka.
Labels: EMMANUEL HACHIPUKA, NCZ, PARASTATALS, PRIVATISATION, RICHARD SOKO
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NCZ management Team fail to explain the viability of their company
Friday, April 24, 2009, 21:53
Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia (NCZ) Managing Director, Richard Soko, and his delegation were on Friday turned away by the Parliamentary committee on Agriculture for failing to respond to queries.
Committee Chairman, Request Muntanga, directed Mr. Soko and his team to go and prepare details sought by the committee.
This was after Mr. Soko’s delegation failed to ascertain the amount of money required to fully recapitalise the fertiliser plant which is currently non-operational.
Mr. Muntanga was also displeased by the delegation’s failure to determine the anticipated production levels and profitability once the plant is fully recapitalised.
The NCZ delegation was consequently directed to re-submit its report on Wednesday next week.
The Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture and Lands is currently receiving submissions from stakeholders on the viability of the Fertiliser Support Program.
It is also looking at the status of the fish population in Zambia.
[ZNBC]
Labels: FSP, NCZ, PARASTATALS, PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, REQUEST MUNTANGA, RICHARD SOKO
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