Distant Relative Profile picture
Sep 28, 2020 12 tweets 3 min read Read on X
If we don't turn up in our numbers and vote next year, the economy will only go from bad to worse.

Here is how:

In 2008, we had reserves in our coffers.

The Levy admin had been planning an infrastructure programme to be executed in phases. This is what became #LinkZambia8000.
Link Zambia 8000 was a planned road infrastructure development programme for over 8000 kilometres of road network.

The idea was to open the country up to investment, thereby enabling access to markets for remote areas.

Unfortunately, Levy died and what happened happened. PF won
When Michael Sata became President, he adopted the MMD govt's infrastructure plans and passed them off as the PF's.

Thus began the building of roads.

Because he promised the moon and everything under the sun, however, Sata was in a hurry to execute everything at once.
So what should have been a phased out infrastructure development plan became a mammoth one to be done immediately.

To finance this, the PF began borrowing.

The Sata admin alone sent our borrowing north of 50% of GDP.

They then went back to parliament to raise the debt ceiling.
PF aggressively went about seeking a majority in parliament so they could control votes on bills and such.

So they petitioned every other election at parliamentary level, secured annulments, went for by-elections and secured their majority. They then voted to raise debt ceiling.
The debt ceiling dictates how much government is allowed to borrow on behalf of the people.

Parliamentary approval is required to pass a vote to set, raise or lower it. Without majority numbers, the ruling party will need the opposition to buy into their proposition and agree.
So that is how the debt ceiling was raised.

The borrowing continued.

60% of GDP, 70%, 80%, 85%.

On and on it went.

We have now reportedly crossed 90%.

Quick math;

When you borrow, you pay back. Simples.

You need money to pay back.

So where are we getting this money?
1. Taxes.

2. Other revenue opportunities.

The first is fairly simple.

You are taxed Value Added Tax and Pay As You Earn. Everyone pays the first. Those in gainful employment or industry pay the second.

Businesses are taxed too. For example, mining companies.
Our taxes have stayed the same over the years.

Mining companies are paying as little as they always have, while underdeclaring profits or not showing their true books.

Everyone knows this.

So those in employment bear the brunt of this, which is why our taxes are so high.
A couple of days ago, Minister of Finance Bwalya Ng'andu, presenting the 2021 budget, announced a raise of the PAYE threshold to K4000.

Simply, if you earn K3,999 and below, you will not be required to remit Pay As You Earn.

The connection is straightforward; tax base dwindles.
So here is the thing guys;

We do not have a sovereign wealth fund that earns us Forex to supplement local revenue opportunities.

We can only bank on taxes to raise money for expenditure and pay debt off.

If you spend more than you earn, you are in distress-where we are now.
Do not be cheated.

These tricks to appease you are quick fixes. Very soon, ERB will announce a reduction in energy costs, hence reducing fuel pump prices. All this is to get your vote.

After 2021, things will get worse.

Stay woke.

Register to vote. Spread the word. Vote 2021.

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More from @LankyObserver

Dec 2, 2023
I had lunch with a reclusive Tanzanian billionaire last month.

74 now, he's been in business since he was 14 years old.

Here are 10 things he shared with me:
1. It is not the mountain to climb that wears you down, it is the pebble in your shoe.

John Doe told me half the job is managing your distractions; which can be plenty. The mountain in front of you isn't the trouble, the things to distract you along the way are.
2. Identify your limitations

Get good at knowing the things you aren't good at, then find better people to do them for you.

Hard for most.
Read 11 tweets
Mar 4, 2023
There's something fundamentally troubling about how our culture is raising us now, particularly girls.

It is this;

We are shockingly transactional in our relationships, especially romantic ones.

Being lavished with money and gifts is now synonymous with being loved.
The dating landscape is a minefield now. Money is the currency (pun intended) driving relationships.

"Either pay up or I won't be with you. Find someone else."

Girls aren't even shy or subtle about this anymore, they say it straight to your face.

Simply, love is a commodity.
If you date women in other cultures, even generations past, this doesn't show itself to be the case.

The modern Zambian girl child is increasingly being conditioned to expect monetary compensation for affection and intimacy, either by their upbringing or popular culture.
Read 8 tweets
Aug 20, 2022
Figured a few things out on Twitter over the years. Here's one of them;

The way to get a discussion going with Zambians is rarely by way of asking a question. We aren't really given to that.

You don't ask, you make a statement and let them respond.

Here's what I mean by that.
"What are your thoughts on homeschooling?"

It isn't the sought of question to pique our interest much. We process a certain way. Here's what to say instead;

"Schools in Lusaka are just terrible. There's no point sending kids there. Pulled mine out of 2 and teach them myself."
If you understand the Zambian psyche, you know it thinks in very relatably personalized terms.

Abstract thought isn't our thing, which is why we struggle with ideas far removed from ourselves in an immediate way.

The statement in the last tweet allows one to process that way.
Read 5 tweets
Aug 18, 2022
So yesterday the Socialist Party announced it would throw its weight behind Bowman Lusambo and Joe Malanji in the looming by-election.

Wished that statement were quite literal, because then it would mean a certain outcome.

I digress, however.

Hoped reports were inaccurate.
Went out looking for the press conference announcing that decision and found it on Facebook. The video broadcast.

I was gobsmacked.

All of Musumali, M'membe and Mwikisa sat to address it.

They spoke on principles, the reasons they made the decision.
Said Lusambo and Malanji were unjustly tried, resulting in the nullification of their respective elections and that as a matter of principle, the party would support the two candidates in the forthcoming election.

Thought irony was having a hard laugh at that.
Read 4 tweets
Jun 22, 2021
Last year, I went to Manda Hill late in the afternoon, got into a Bureau De Change, and did a monetary exchange.

As the teller was stacking my money into an envelope, I glanced outside and saw a rough looking man staring straight at me from the corridor. He quickly disappeared.
I put the money into my backpack and stepped out. Looked at my watch and realised the bank was closed.

Decided to carry it home and make a deposit the next day. Drove to Waterfalls Mall to meet someone, had the bag in the backseat with a laptop. Stepped out, and locked the car.
Moments later, I came back to a broken window and no bag.

Long story short, I had been trailed by robbers from Manda Hill to Waterfalls.

Immediately reported the matter to the police.

They did their investigations, got CCTV footage from the mall, and launched a manhunt.
Read 6 tweets
Jun 19, 2021
More on this.

I now take the view a Member of Parliament having the clarity to fully represent constituents would likely have to be independent.

Whereas solutions to problems often require bipartisan approaches, MP allegiances are largely seen to be partisan.

Will explain.

1/
At adoption for party sponsorship for the MP, one of the party requirements is that adopted candidates represent the best chance of garnering the highest number of votes for said party's Presidential candidate.

In short, one could win the seat but not be 'popular enough'

2/
This has the undesirable effect of rendering said MPs hostage to party Presidents, aside the compromise in quality this often means; the best candidates don't necessarily win the primaries.

Independents on the other hand have no such encumbrances.

Then you get to parliament

3/
Read 4 tweets

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