Poverty levels to worsen – says Green Party
By ROGERS KALERO
THE increase in fuel and electricity tariffs will worsen the poverty situation in various communities including the rural areas, Green Party President Peter Sinkamba has said.
Mr Sinkamba said the poverty stricken people in various communities and rural areas will be hit harder by the government’s decision to increase fuel and electricity tariffs because its them , the poor people who will bear the burden of transportation and production costs.
In an interview in Kitwe yesterday, Mr Sinkamba said the middle class who get allowances for fuel and other things, may not feel the effect of the increase in fuel and electricity tariffs, but the poverty stricken people like those who sell plastic bags, vegetables and others who jump on a bus every day will be hit harder.
“The prices of essential commodities will increase because of the increase in fuel and electricity tariffs. This increase in essential commodities will worsen or increase in poverty situation in the country. What is likely to happen is that the prices of most essential commodities will go up to recover the transportation and production costs.
“So, in this situation, the poor will bear the burden and fuel in rural areas will be expensive because the transporter will have to recover the cost of transporting fuel to far flung areas. So the poverty stricken and those in rural areas will be further impoverished,” Mr Sinkamba said.
When reminded that the republican Vice-Republican President Mutale Nalumango had said Sometimes to go down you need to go up a bit, Mr Sinkamba said there was no such theory in economics, saying the Vice-President was merely politicking.
And in terms of governance, Mr Sinkamba said there was little difference from the former ruling party, the Patriotic Front (PF) because the ruling UPND was only arresting opposition members while leaving their members to commit offences as they wished.
Mr Sinkamba said there was still some element of mistreating the opposition members and detaining them even on cases which were bailable like the way the former Defence Minister Davies Chama, Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo and his former Foreign Affairs Minister counterpart Joe Malanji were treated.
He said, while the former ministers were being treated ill-treated, those UPND cadres who stormed Chelstone Police Station were allowed to go freely.
“We have seen biasness against the opposition. It is just opposition members and officials being arrested. It cannot happen that only opposition members and officials commit offences. No.
” Even the ruling party officials commit offences , but are not arrested. We have the case of Chelstone Police station. There is still an element of mistreating the opposition. So we still have a problem with governance issues even under the UPND,” he said.
