Maravi

‘Zambians have nothing to celebrate’

‘Zambians have nothing to celebrate’
Written by Nicholas Mwale and Mutuna Chanda
Saturday, December 20, 2008 7:28:24 AM

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) member of parliament for Chimwemwe Constituency Willie Nsanda has said this year’s Christmas and New Year will leave Zambians with sad faces because they have nothing to cerebrate for.

And Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) president S’dumo Dlamini has declared a black Christmas for workers in the region in view of the job losses caused by the global financial crisis.

Meanwhile, Dlamini has advised the Zambian government to look at ways of buying back some of the key industries to enable it have control over workers’ job security.

In an Interview, Nsanda said it was worrying that even the President had lost hope in finding solutions to the problems the country was facing.

“How are people going to celebrate Christmas and New Year when they don’t have money? How possible is it to celebrate without food? Have fuel prices been reduced as we were promised in Parliament?” Nsanda asked.

He urged people to keep the money for their children’s school fees in January next year instead of spending it on Christmas and New Year’s celebrations.

“Zambians won’t enjoy Christmas and New Year in any way. This time, people should just mourn the sufferings and pray to God for the economic revival,” said Nsanda.

And Dlamini said December 2008 was not a festive season since many workers were losing their jobs while others were facing threats of job losses.

He cited the South African case which faced a threat of over 19,000 job losses.

“We’re not going to be spared from the recession in the economy,” he said.

Dlamini however said COSATU was engaging employers and the government in trying to save massive job losses.

He also suggested that employers needed to look at strategies that would not catch workers off guard.

“Instead of retrenching workers randomly, there is need to consider those who are willing to take early retirement and voluntary retrenchments,” he said.

And Dlamini urged Zambian workers to mount pressure on the government to buy back key enterprises.

“The major problem with Zambia is that almost the entire industry has been privatised making it difficult for government to act and also to suggest that the government should intervene,” said Dlamini.

Labels: COSATU, JOBLOSSES

posted by MrK @ 7:29 AM