Food Basket Rises by Over K1,200 in One Year, As JCTR Calls For Further Tax Relief Through PAYE
Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) says the cost of basic needs and nutrition basket for a family of 5 in Lusaka has increased by over K1,200 between September 2023 and 2024.
Reflecting on the 2025 national budget, Centre Executive Director, Fr. Alex Muyebe, says the rising cost of living, driven by drought and food insecurity, has affected all households, including formal workers, especially those on the lower category of the payroll.
Fr. Muyebe stated that it is for this reason that the Centre and other CSOs along with the worker’s movements had proposed provision of further tax relief through Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) in the 2025 National Budget submissions.
He said the Centre is therefore concerned by recent remarks attributed to Finance Minister Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane where he is quoted in the public media justifying not adjusting the PAYE structure, by focusing on supporting the unemployed through Social Cash Transfers (SCTs).
“While we applaud the government’s commitment to supporting the most vulnerable people of the society through SCTs, it is important to recognize that employed Zambians under PAYE are also struggling. Statistics for 2022 show that poverty in urban areas, where most paid employees reside, increased at a faster rate than rural poverty, highlighting the need for broader economic relief.”
“PAYE and SCTs serve different roles: SCTs aim to alleviate poverty among the most vulnerable households who are outside formal employment, while PAYE taxes target those in formal employment as part of their contribution to the economy. These two measures although serving different functions should not be seen as mutually exclusive or substitutes,” Fr. Muyebe asserted.
He however commended the current administration for providing the PAYE concessions in the three previous national budgets in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
“Although such concessions were helpful, they have now been negated by the rising inflation which has eroded worker’s disposable income,” he noted.
Fr. Muyebe further observed that government should have put on hold capital projects such as the K1.3 billion with K700 million allocated for provincial airports and redirect resources to humanitarian needs amidst the drought.
“The K17.2 billion savings announced in the 2024 Supplementary Budget could also offer an opportunity to re-allocate such resources to social protection in next year’s national Budget,” Fr. Muyebe added.
He urged government to adopt a more inclusive economic relief approach to support all Zambians, targeting both unemployed and employed people to prevent further inequality in the wake of rising urban poverty due to the rising cost of living.
“Additionally, we believe that other non-tax financing options could have been explored to support social protection programs including, but not limited to tapping into un-used funds from the Constituency Development Fund and redirection of the Local Government Equalization Fund to Cash and Food for Work Programmes,” he said.
