Thank you Mr President for paying retirees, now pay contractors and suppliers

Dear Editor, THE news that funds have been released to pay part of the pension arrears owed to retirees is welcome. It will undoubtedly help lift thousands of our old men and women who served this country in the public service out of their misery.

As much as this develop ment is welcome, we wish to implore President Hakainde Hichilema to expedite the payment of debts owed to contractors and suppliers.

Payments to pensioners and poor people is an ongo ing government programme which even the PF admin istration prioritised. The former Finance Minister Dr Bwalya Ng’andu managed to dismantle half of the histor ical arrears owed to retired civil servants through regular payments.

Mr. President, as much as you would like to be praised for paying them, we wish to remind you that your govern ment has an obligation to pay former government workers and so when such is done, it is not miraculous.

However, your continued failure to pay contractors and suppliers is harming the economy adversely.

The cash squeeze and li quidity issues that the major ity of our people are feeling is because the bulk of cash which should be circulating in the economy is held up at Treasury.

Failure to pay contractors and suppliers is detrimental to the economy and should be addressed urgently.

Some of these contractors and suppliers attached their properties to obtaining the loans they used to finance the orders to supply. It is therefore unfair to keep holding on to their payments on the pretext of conducting an audit which has produced no tangible results.

They risk losing their hous es, land and other valuable assets which they used as col lateral because of your failure to pay them.

Mr. President Sir, please pay the local contractors and suppliers and get the wheels of the economy turning again.

I thank you.

BOWMAN CHILOSHA LUSAMBO.