GOVT MUST ADDRESS RISING COST OF LIVING - ZUNO

AS we commemorate Labour Day this coming week, we expect to hear from government on how it intends to address the cost of living which has risen sharply, the Zambia Union of Nurses Organisation (ZUNO) has said.

ZUNO General Secretary Fray Michelo observed life has become difficult for both those in the formal and informal sector whether public or private.

Mr Michelo said in an interview that the cost of living in the country has gone up and the majority citizens were struggling to live and sustain their families.

“Our expectation is that the government finds ways of how best it can mitigate the cost of living in the country. We know of course that they have been talking about free education as one of the areas they have introduced and would help but also we expect to see in areas or sectors,” he said.

“We expect to see in areas where the food basket is low because education alone or removing school fees alone will not really help reduce the cost of living in the country. So, we would want to see government create an enabling environment and job creation because if we can have jobs where people can generate income for them then it will reduce the cost of living,” Mr Michelo said.

“We also want see how the IMF package would reduce the cost living. Of course we know that they (government and IMF) have been in talks and have drawn up a package that would help revive the economy,” he added.

He said that once the economy is revived, Zambians are hoping to see this translate into the average Zambian benefiting from the IMF bailout package.

Mr Michelo said that the country has seen the Kwacha depreciating but that the labour movement expects to see the local currency having stronger buying power other than the way it is now.

He said that government must urgently address the situation before it gets out of hand.