Finance Minister Felix Mutati has said that Government will soon introduce the Loans and Guarantees Act to ensure that debt sustainability becomes a guiding principle before embarking on new infrastructure projects. He said the Act will enhance government transparency and accountability in the contraction of debt, saying that previously Government committed to borrowing to fill the infrastructure deficit.
Addressing investors in Washington during the 2017 IMF/World Bank Annual meetings, Mr. Mutati said, for this reason, Government has embarked on the publication of a quarterly debt statistical bulletin and annual debt report to inform stakeholders about Zambia’s debt situation. This is contained in the Debt Management Strategy for 2017-2019 released by the Ministry of Finance. The strategy provides information for investors and other market participants, on the objectives of debt management pursued by the Government.
The Finance Minister also revealed that Government will introduce the Public Investment Management System where projects will be appraised for their contribution to economic growth. Other reforms in the financial sector include the Banking Act, Depositor Guarantees Bill, Insurance Act, among others. He said this will enhance transparency and accountability of government in the contraction of debt. Other reforms include the Banking Act, Depositor Guarantees Bill, Insurance Act, among others.
Mr. Mutati attributed the transparency in managing the economy and running affairs of the country to President Edgar Lungu’s consistent and timely guidance. He lauded the President’s immense value of wisdom and guidance on the need for sound, tested and sustainable financial and economic management practices of the country.
The Minister said in the medium-term strategy government will complete ongoing projects before embarking on new ones while getting a balance between infrastructure spending and debt sustainability. He assured investors that Zambia’s macroeconomic fundamentals are stable for investment and Government has managed to stabilize the exchange rate and reduced inflation rate as of August to 6.3 percent while reserves stand at 2.4 Billion Kwacha.
“Zambia’s trade surplus has remained positive, standing at US$ 833 billion as of the end of June and that the interplay of fiscal policy has had an effect of easing monetary policy to the extent that the reserve ratio now down to 9.5 percent while policy rate is around 11 percent,” he said, adding that Government is working towards further reducing interest rates which currently are soaring around 20 percent.
Mr. Mutati urged investors not to underplay the key policy decisions and structural reforms that Government has undertaken which have brought out stability and positive outlook of the Zambian economy. “In the mining sector which is a key contributor to the country’s Growth Domestic Product (GDP), Government has implemented a stable tax regime, while in agriculture we have removed the export bans and opened exports,” he said.
The Finance Minister outlined other key strategies including; The Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to purchase maize from 1.6 million tonnes to half a million tonnes. Government has managed to save about US$ 100 million following the introduction of the E-Voucher payment system to farmers by moving away from the fertilizer input support programme; In the energy sector, Zambia has shifted from predominantly providing subsidies for the tariffs to cost-reflective tariffs which will result in saving close to US$ 300 million this year noting that Government will remain focused on fiscal consolidation both on the expenditure side and implement critical legal reforms.
“In the current sitting of parliament government will seek to change the Public Finance Act by making it more punitive to avoid abuse and misappropriation of public resources. We are also working on revising the Budget Bill to increase participation of Zambians in the budgeting process,” Mr. Mutati said.
He further said the current Zambia Procurement Act is a compliance-based Act, hence Government is moving to “value for money” which will result in saving 25 percent in terms of revenue and expenditure linkage. The Minister said 40 percent of the budget in any fiscal year goes towards procurement of services and goods.
This statement was released to the media by Cosmas Chileshe, First Secretary, Press and Public Relations
Embassy of the Republic of Zambia in the US
You can not even account for the loans obtained so far. Where has the money gone?
You thieves will say anything to get more money which then vanishes. What happened to that euro bond you said would transform zambia railways??
So you did not think it wise to create a transparent environment before? You have put our country into a lot of debt just so you can line your pockets.
We have had enough.
#bringbackourmoney
They only talk of borrowing. Zambia has copper but copper money goes into other people’s pockets. Zambia has potential to earn billions of $USD from agriculture alone but this govt does not even think this is an option, probably because it involves planning and strategy, attributes they don’t have. They would rather focus on borrowing because it guarantees less work but generates fast money in their personal pockets.
Just admit you have NO clue on how to improve the economy. Your styopet rhetoric, after rhetoric of borrowing kaloba after kaloba from IMF, Chinese really pains me so much.
ORDERS FROM IMF>
This is like trying to build a fence after the cattle have bolted and you don’t know where they are.
Had they done this before, perhaps IMF would have given the loan. Sorry, too late.
Dishonerable Mutati is a fraud. This guy can make soup out of words. You are trying too hard. Just come back to Zed and implement an austerity plan for Jonathan Airborne Pombe. And pleade do organise a leash for Pombe, he is all over the place.
A man who has thrown away his dignity for the sake of his stomach. Lungu has turned him into a perpetual liar to defend PF corruption. Shameful indeed.
The rich western nations will always lend money to Zambia because they know very well that they will reap ten times as much in terms of resources and interest. Zambia one of the top 10 richest countries on earth in terms of natural resources: Vast freshwater resources, massive tracts of fertile land, vast mineral resources (copper, cobalt, manganese, gold, diamonds, phosphorus, iron, zinc, nickel, coal, uranium etc etc), massive untapped tourism potential, vast solar and wind power potential, relatively small population of dull people that are lazy and easily corruptible , that easily do a good job suppressing their own people, can make all sorts of bad deals for own country, good puppets. So rest assured the money will keep flowing cause its a drop in ocean of what flows out.
Mutati “Government is working towards further reducing interest rates which currently are soaring around 20 percent.”
How are you going to do that? By “borrowing internally” to make up your budget deficit ?????
Mr “Finance Minister”, please do not think we are all lDlOTS like the PF THIEVES you are in Government with!!!
Lungu and the Clueless Clown Circus have stolen our future for thirty pieces of silver in their own pockets.
Just tell the TRUTH. It is too late for LIES NOW !!!!
Its not the laws that matter. Its the discipline and integrity of a govt. The Zambian Constitution is very clear. When an Election is petitioned the Incumbent President should resign and handover Power to the Speaker of Parliament during the Petition Hearing. What did Lungu did? He refused to do so and he has not been punished for abrogating the Zambian Constitution and Electoral Law. Without enforcement of Rule of Law there cannot be discipline and accountability. U need respect for Rule of Law,Good Governance and Human Rights. The current illegitimate Lungu govt is corrupt and untrustworthy. Trust is priceless.
“Mr. Muttati lauded President Lungu’s immense value of wisdom and guidance on the need for sound, tested and sustainable financial and economic management practices of the country.”
LOL – Lungu has immense value of wisdom now?? This is taking bootlicking to a new level by Mr. Mutati. Instead of sticking to the economic imperatives he has raised as his driving force, why degrade himself and the whole presentation by a FLAT LIE that a man who has dubiously acquired K21million tax-free, and counting, in one year of his being a State President has ‘immense value of wisdom and guidance’ with public funds?. This is a joke, right?
Which genuine and well-meaning investor would feel assured by above statement?…..
…Or is this a coded message to ‘infestors’ out there that Zambian Govt…
Cont’d . .. that Zambian Govt is game to do ‘business’ with then so long as they ‘play ball’, starting with the President?
What is happening to the Mutati we know?
Really laughable…where is Lazy Lungu now he is in CB busy campaigning for 2021…waving his little greasy fist about..the Bum has spent 1 day in State House just this week alone!!
This sly Accountant Felix comes rushing from Washington talking about enacting policies yet its his paymasters who have instructed him as things are no one can trust Lazy Lungu and his empty tins with one ngwee.
Just pay back the debt, stop borrowing and don’t leave beyond your means.
we need a. big loan dual carriadgway Lusaka to, Livingston, and Lusaka to Ndola
u5 undervalude mosi otunya hotel so that he could buy and share with ka mukuni.
he rjected big bidders and sellected his own bid as a liquidated. Thats why he we call him corrupt u5 tribal leader because he shared the loot with ka mukuni.
today ka mukuni has shares in SUN hotels. he can even drive a limo from proceedes of crime
Now give us proof that ecl is corrupt
LOL – For you to vainly TRY TO CHANGE the subject like a moron (please check meaning in medical Dictionary) in such a childish manner, by indirectly accusing late President Sata of shoddy investigative job on HH, clearly means you my friend are a newcomer and truly DO NOT know why ba Sata was nicknamed ‘King Cobra’ and we loved the man for it.
Or, you are vainly trying to change the subject because you also DO NOT understand how Lungu acquired K21million in one year as State President,
Or you and Lungu are birds of a feather. Plain and simple.
So, the question remains intact: – How did Lungu acquired K21million tax-free, and counting, in one year of his being a State President?
ka mukuni is the richest chief in Zambia because of his association with a plunderer
he can even afford bungee jumping. i hear he even spoiled himself on bungee jump.
please confirm before we believe
LOL – Another attempt to change the subject by brining in Chief Mukuni from the blues. For your information. Chief Mukuni has something whose monetary value and multiplier effect you have no idea about. That something grows at an exponential value i.e. y = xe, where e is the exponent. A vehicle is nothing compared to that something.
That something is called CATTLE.
If you are maths savvy, try:- 10 cows @ONE cow giving birth to ONE calf in ONE year. How many after 10 years? after 20 years?
But if you are a moron as per medical dictionary meaning, you will continue to disrespect your Chiefs and continue pretending as if you are smarter than ba late Sata and ALL state institutions that went thru HH with a fine toothcomb and drew a blank
The @laughing matter.,.,….,. moron, doesnt know Mukuni charges ZESCO for every pylon of electricity passing through his kingdom. Multiply that for every month since independence and you will calculate how planes he can buy!
@ 10
Endemic + Corruption = Lungu. Or if you prefer short, ECL
GREAT COMMENTS INDEED!! One striking factor is WHY WAIT TO SAY ALL THESE THING IN WASHINGTON, AWAY FROM THE ZAMBIAN ELECTORATE THAT YOU SHOULD BE ACCOUNTING TO? You reduce your own food security and income to farmers and you are happy?!! And then TO THE AUTHOR, please VERIFY YOUR FIGURES WELL..”while reserves stand at 2.4 Billion Kwacha.” THIS CAN”T BE TRUE as in US$ terms that is only US$240mn, so the figure SHOULD be US$2.4bn. Then ““Zambia’s trade surplus has remained positive, standing at US$ 833 billion as of the end of June…” OUR TOTAL ECONOMY IS LIGHT YEARS FROM THIS FIGURE SO WHAT MORE THE SURPLUS??! I reckon this figure should have been much less, may be US$ million.
Government to enact legal reforms to deal with external debt-Felix Mutati.
Just stop stealing government money, then you can talk about legal reforms.
The kettle calling the pot black
The Amended Constitution provided that that Ministers should vacate the posts in 2015 but Lungu kept them illegally in their jobs. During Petition Hearing in 2016 Lungu and Matibini abrogated the Constitution when Lungu refused to resign and handover Power to the Speaker, the Petition should have been heard but Lungu blocked it etc. Without respect for Rule of Law its futile to introduce new laws and when u are not enforcing existing laws. A lawless govt with no respect for Good Governance, Constitutionalism and Human Rights will not enforce or respect new laws. The integrity of the illegitimate Lungu govt will not restore confidence and trust in Zambia.New laws will not change anything as an Irresponsible Minister of Finance and govt will exceed the borrowing criteria and limits.