Perks cut worthless, says UPND

‘They will not yield anything positive’

By NATION REPORTER GOVERNMENT’s decision to remove some allowances from Cabinet ministers and permanent secretaries is worthless as it will not yield the desired results without fiscal discipline, says United Party for National Development (UPND) spokesperson Charles Kakoma.

Mr Kakoma said that in as much as it would have been a brilliant idea to remove some allowances for government officials to sustain the economy, the move would not yield anything positive results under the Patriotic Front.

He accused the State of not being serious about the austerity measures it had taken, adding that Government was spending heavily at the same time.

Mr Kakoma said cutting perks for ministers and other government officials would have been a step in the right direction if the State could ensure fiscal discipline.

He reiterated in an interview that even President Edgar Lungu’s recent trip to Turkey for the inauguration ceremony of that country’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was not necessary.

Mr Kakoma said that austerity measures, including cutting perks for senior government officials coupled with unnecessary spending of Government funds was a waste of time.

“With the lack of fiscal discipline, the perks cut are worthless. They will not yield anything, look, already where is their chief executive officer as we speak? He is supposed to lead by example,” he said.

Meanwhile, 3rd Liberation Movement president Enock Tonga has also cast doubt on the validity of the measures Government had taken.

Mr Tonga said that Mr Lungu had an option of sending a representative to the inauguration ceremony if indeed the austerity measures were real.