From: barnhart@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Mr. Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS:ZAMBIA: PEOPLE REJECT EFFECTS OF ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMME
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 02:55:35 GMT
Organization: Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A.

Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Reference: Trade & Finance
Title: ZAMBIA: PEOPLE REJECT EFFECTS OF ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMME


an inter press service feature

by jowie mwiinga

lusaka, dec 7 (ips) -- after just one year in office, president
frederick chiluba is learning the hard way just why his
predecessor dragged his feet in effecting austerity measures
demanded by the donor community.

with only four days before he meets donors in paris
to request one billion dollars in aid for 1993, president
chiluba is naturally anxious to adhere to their programmes.

however, zambians are sending warning signals of exasperation
over austerity measures already in place.

a sharp increase in the price of maize meal, the country's
staple cereal, effected last week at the prodding of donors,
has drawn sharp reactions from the country's unionists and
lobby groups.

the hike of about three dollars on a 90 kg bag, taking the
retail price to over 15 dollars, is the highest introduced by
government in recent years.

the zambia congress of trade unions (zctu) -- the vehicle on
which chiluba's movement for multi-party democracy (mmd)
rode to power, lashed out at the government over the weekend,
accusing it of forgetting its social responsibilities in its
anxiety to appease

''we are aware that government is overzealous in its anxiety
to please the international monetary fund (imf) and the
world bank, but to play with staple food is asking for
trouble'', zctu secretary general alec chirwa said.

previous increases in the price of maize meal have sparked
widespread riots, and spelt the beginninng of the end for
former president kenneth kaunda.

''governments throughout the world subsidised food because
they were aware of the importance of food security'', chirwa
said.

the unions were backed by the church, which slammed
government for raising the cost to unaffordable levels. church
of god state overseer bishop john mambo said the hike would
effectively deny vulnerable groups access to the staple.

debt write-offs by donors this year has reduced a record
foreign debt of 7.5 billion dollars to about three billion
dollars. (more/ips)


zambia: people (2)

donors have treated chiluba's government leniently to
encorage the consolidation of the country's fragile democracy.
multi-party elections last october ended 17 years of kaunda's
one party system.

but further support, and additional debt write-offs that
chiluba will be pressing for in paris is dependant on
following through further painful expenditure cuts.

the civil servants union of zambia (csuz) has responded to
fresh trimming of the civil service workforce with a harsh
warning to government.

union secretary general japhet moonde demanded the
suspension of the retrenchment programme until the
government worked out an adequate redundancy package.

the zambia union of teachers (znut), meanwhile, has thrown
down the gauntlet after an announcement by finance minister
emmanuel kasonde of a wage freeze with the demand for salary
reviews for teachers.

a spokesman for the teachers union, maurice nkhata, said
teaching staff would not accept the paltry remuneration they
had been receiving again this coming year.

the current situation in zambia was summed-up by british high
commissioner peter hinchcliffe as the problem of ''the more
popular the government, the greater the expectations''.

for chiluba, elected on a mandate of change and prosperity,
the people's expectations could turn out to be his
undoing. (end/ips/jm/oa/92)