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The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party leader, Kasonde Mwenda, has accused the government of fiscal mismanagement and broken promises following the announcement that it will borrow K14.8 billion from the domestic market to cover budget shortfalls.
Finance and National Planning Minister Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane recently told Bloomberg that the Zambian government will borrow an additional K14.8 billion ($624 million) from the domestic market to cover budget shortfalls.
Mwenda in a statement issued in Lusaka on Sunday said the UPND had proven that they were no different from the Patriotic Front (PF) government which had the same debt accumulation, fiscal irresponsibility, and betrayal of Zambian aspirations.
He stated that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program had failed to deliver the promised transformation and had instead provided cover for continued borrowing and tax increases.
Mwenda called on all patriotic Zambians to reject the cycle of debt accumulation and economic bondage.
“This latest move—coming just days after the Finance Minister’s admission to Parliament—exposes the grotesque reality that, despite their pledges of reform and discipline, the UPND is simply repeating the failed policies of the PF, accumulating debt at virtually the same catastrophic rate as their predecessors,” he said.
Mwenda said UPND’s fiscal recklessness was not just a continuation of past mistakes but that it was a betrayal of every Zambian who believed in the promise of a New Dawn Administration.
He alleged that the most scandalous revelation that exposed government’s incompetence was that the UPND administration was accumulating debt at virtually the same catastrophic rate as the disgraced PF government they replaced.
“Under the PF (2011-2021), Zambia’s debt skyrocketed from $3.5 billion to $27.7 billion—an annual average increase of $2.42 billion that led to our historic default,” Mwenda highlighted.
He noted that under the UPND, projections show debt reaching $36 billion by 2025, representing an annual average increase of $2.08 billion, but when factoring in the latest announcement of an additional $624 million in domestic borrowing, the annualized increase effectively matches the PF rate at $2.42 billion per year.
Mwenda expressed sadness that the UPND promised change, delivered hope, but had given Zambians more of the same destructive borrowing that characterizes failed leadership.
“While failing to mobilize domestic revenue through efficient administration, the UPND government has unleashed a brutal tax assault on Zambians and businesses.
“The evidence of their fiscal terrorism is overwhelming:
1. Property Transfer Tax: Increased by 60% from 5% to 8%
2. Rental Income Tax: Increased by 28% from 12.5% to 16%
3. Turnover Tax: Increased by 25% from 4% to 5%
4. Corporate Income Tax on non-traditional exports: Increased by 33% from 15% to 20%
5. VAT on fuel: Reinstated at 16%, devastating transportation and general price levels,” he alleged.
Mwenda further claimed that these punitive tax increases had crippled businesses, stifled entrepreneurship, and pushed ordinary Zambians deeper into poverty while the government continues its borrowing spree.
Small-scale enterprises and the manufacturing sector were being crushed by skyrocketing taxes and uncoordinated economic policies that fueled inflation and stifle growth, he said.
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