Hikaumba (left) , Chikwanda (right)

By NAKUBIANA SHABONGO –
THE Government has said the wage freeze for civil servants is difficult to lift because domestic revenues are insufficient to support an increase in salaries.
Finance Minister, Alexander Chikwanda said 75 per cent of domestic revenue in the National Budget went towards personal emoluments.
The minister said it was not possible for the Government to lift the wage freeze because even the 25 per cent of domestic revenues that remained after paying the wages was insufficient to generate high levels of development.
Mr Chikwanda said 25 per cent of internally generated revenue was not enough and was a barrier to acceleration of the country’s capital formation.
He was speaking during the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) post-Budget workshop in Lusaka yesterday.
The minister said there was need to correct the imbalance of emoluments dominating the National Budget.
“Of the internally generated revenue of K35.1 billion, K15 billion goes to the wage bill, which is 53 per cent. Then if you add on salaries, which Government supports, it goes up to 75 per cent, only leaving 25 per cent.
“Twenty-five per cent is not enough for development and other programmes in the services, education, health and security sectors to contribute to higher levels of development and acceleration of capital formation,” Mr Chikwanda said.
He added that the Budget was drawn with full consultation nand participation from the general public and stakeholders through various proposals.
Mr Chikwanda said the 2015 National Budget should be utilised as a policy vehicle that did not only aim to provide services to the current generation but focused on preserving inter-generational equity of resources.
The Government would intensively consult and dialogue more frequently and meaningfully on issues of national interest.
But ZCTU maintained that it would continue with intentions to demonstrate against the continued wage freeze.
ZCTU president Leonard Hikaumba expressed concern over the Government’s indication of continuing with the wage freeze and called on authorities to consider lifting it.
The labour movement was aggrieved with the Government’s position on the wage freeze.
Mr Hikaumba said growth that had been consistently recorded in the economy should translate into benefits for Zambians to end poverty.
Copperbelt University Academics Union general secretary Elaston Njovu said the Government needed to reverse its decision on the wage freeze as it did not have absolute control over prices of essential