Mon, 19 Feb 2018 10:50:22 +0000
By CHARLES MUSONDA
GOVERNMENT must remove middlemen from procurement of fuel to reduce price of the commodity, the Zambia Federation of Employers (ZFE) has appealed.
In an interview in Lusaka, ZFE executive director Harrington Chibanda said the high fuel prices had an adverse impact on the growth of various sectors of the economy and opening up of new businesses, which had potential to create jobs.
Mr. Chibanda also called on the government to seriously consider restoring fuel subsidies to support growth of the private sector.
“The issue of middlemen is what is leading to this situation of high fuel prices. We cannot survive on subsidies but the government should be strategic to identify certain products which are critical to production such as fuel.
“When we reach the situation as is the case today, there is nothing wrong with government thinking of subsidizing fuel. Somebody may ask as to where the money would come from but the answer is that a lot of money is going to waste,” Mr. Chibanda said.
He said as cited in the Auditor General’s Report, a lot of public funds had been wasted through either misappropriation or misapplication and therefore the government must be effective to ensure that resources were well utilized to make savings for critical areas such as fuel subsidies.
“It is not wrong to subsidise a product like fuel, which is used in the transportation of goods and services. When you subsidise fuel you are helping other sectors to grow because transport has ripple effects on all sectors of the economy.
