Fellow colleagues,
Am in a situation of which i know this might also have affected you. At the time i was about to fit my budget to the high cost of sugar which has gone up by 14 percent, there came the Mealie Meal saga. For those who are addicted to Nshima like myself and live a moderate life, then the Kr 5500 should be affecting your disposable income.
As i was trying to sober up and accept the situation another hurricane came – the increase of the fuel prices owing to government’s decision to cut off the fuel subsidy. To be honest, i didn’t take this serious not until i visited a filling station – and without going into calculations – the bottom line is that i left the filling station upset and this remains a permanent tag for now. Fuel is now close to Kr 10 per Littre (about 2 dollars).
Let me spend some time on this fuel issue and hope others will chip in with their views and expressions . I also know that others will follow this debate keenly from the terraces.
Rising fuel prices affect not only our wallets, but they also affect our minds. Psychology plays a key role in the way us consumers react to rising fuel or gas prices. When fuel or gas prices rise, the price of everything else rises along with it- which is very simple economics.
The cost of things people buy every day, like groceries, rises, and the increasing costs of vacations and family visits start to become too much for many families to be able to pay on a limited budget (i bet the latter point relates to most of the people copied in this mail).
Perhaps the hardest for consumers to stomach is the rising cost of transportation to and from work which affects the ordinary people (and presently, there is an impending bus hike). When it costs more to get to work, take-home earnings go down. It’s like taking a pay cut.
Now my question colleagues to this developed are as follows;
· Was the decision to remove fuel subsidies the right long term choice for government?
· Should government have gone through stakeholder consultations before this action just like the way they have done on the impending ZESCO tariff hike?
· What is the most effective way that government can reduce the exorbitant energy prices in the country?
· Should government be looking more seriously to develop alternative energy?
Looking forward to your valued views as usual and in the mean time CUTS International Lusaka has also issued a statement which is attached for your reference.
With regards,
Simon Ng’ona
Centre Coordinator
CUTS International Lusaka
P.O. Box 37113