Finance Minister Bwalya Ng’andu says the full impact of the coronavirus on the economy is not yet known as the pandemic is still evolving.
Dr. Ng’andu says it is, therefore, difficult to assess exactly how it will affect the economy and that the impact will be known once the pandemic had run its full course.
He has also advised the financial sector to make use of electronic platforms for transactions in the wake of the coronavirus.
Dr. Ng’andu says people should only go to the bank when it is necessary and to minimise the use of cash.
He noted that cash is a potential transmitter of COVID-19 as it is handled by many people.
Dr. Ng’andu said this when he received a donation of 5 hundred and 76 bottles of hand sanitizers from Aru Industries Limited and 12 by 25 litre containers of Ethanol sanitisers from Zhongkai International Ltd at the Ministry of Finance in Lusaka today.
The Minister received the sanitizers on behalf of the National Road Fund Agency (NRFA) and the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA).
Dr. Ng’andu said the donation will go a long way in protecting staff of the two institutions, who are at high risk as they interact with a large number of people in their course of duty.
He called on other business entities to come on board in preventing the spread of COVID-19 as it is in the full interest of their businesses.
And, Dr. Ng’andu advised journalists to be careful as they are also at high risk of contracting COVID-19 due to the nature of their work.
He called on them to conduct their work bearing in mind the threat of the pandemic.
And Zhongkai International Limited Managing Director, Chengui Ping said the company is ready to work with Government to get rid of the Coronavirus, hence the donation.
Mr. Chengui said the company intends to start production of more ethanol sanitizers for distribution to high density areas.
Meanwhile, Aru Industries Limited Marketing Manager, Umesh Kumar said his company has decided to partner with Government in fighting the pandemic by producing hand sanitizers.
Thank you for this. We hope the opposition stop spreading gloom news without facts. Surely at this stage no one yet knows the impact apart from super naturally powered HH. Amafi yeka yeka
This is where Economic Association of Zambia should come in but unfortunately it headed by a fat PF booklicking turd
Bwana Ngandu…cash money is made to withstand viruses otherwise the entire world would have been wiped out already if coronavirus was spreading through cash….and as for the Zambian economy….i feel very sorry because even without Coronavirus Zambian economy was dead already….whats the US$ exchange rate today?
Sorry KZ , I have never seen a senseless Zulu , like you , how can Government fail to estimate the so far done or future ,
look the USA has just developed a 1440 page stimulus package for all sectors of trillion (USD3,000,000,000,000.00 ,including huge packages
for entreprenuership development under the Small Business Administration (SBA) so called ZDA here .Which copy i have in full here , while here you hide your Bills , if you were intelligent I could have even shared so that vision-less system to learn it
Only in Zambia do you have a foreign Private company donating to a Treasury Dept gifts…why did this company not donate somewhere else….there should be ethics against this.
Dr. Ng’andu says it is, therefore, difficult to assess exactly how it will affect the economy and that the impact will be known once the pandemic had run its full course.
Imwe ba LT are you sure you quoted him well? WHAT IS RUN ITS FULL COURSE? why let something like a rampaging covid run its full course? are we on a natural selection path? aint we supposed to come up with interventions to halt its rampaging run?
After being disowned by statehouse, wannabe statehouse aid is busy on facebook on posts by other people, aka powerful thug, when are we going to see your own analysis on national issues that people discuss and urge, agree to disagree on opnions, you here behaving like a dull school dropout commenting on opnions of other people which you don’t even understand. Powerful man with no brains. As old as you insulting an elderly married person and a father, all for what” cheap politics” ba pf if your party is sinking, he is one of the causers.
Other govt have tightened their belts by giving tax-breaks, reduction of PAYE and paying off workers wages who are sick…this PF govt its business as usual
Fake Kz Let me tell you the impact from a street point of view so that you tell your intelligence minister since now thinking is a laxuary to some of you.
1. chinese you brought are holding on their dollars.
2. Export of our only product legally ( not mukula) is failing to reach destination coz they are on lock down.
3. Mr sister who works for a bar is failing to go for work so she wont buy boom from trade kings to wash her uniforms from the katemba from bana melody who uses that money to buy ka pamela.
4. John the pamela man who was made to lay down by bowman lusambo doesnt have pamela to supply.
5. shi john is moving with his plastics bags coz no one is buying to load pamela.
Do you get it
Bwana minister is it possible to demand for reparations from china?
Bridget -Thats not KZ its a bored attention seeking boyo who is here masquerading as another living man…he wakes up in the morning thinking what he is going to say in Kz’s name imagine Kz of all people. This is a small sad boyo with no balls no creativity!!
Whats wrong with just stating the donation as 575 bottles of …. instead of the foolish 5 Hundred and 75? This also goes for the ticker tape on the ZNBC TV news. Simply fo.olish.
Oh please!………as if there’s an economy worth talking about. Better keep quiet
Finance Minister who is unable to assess the daily economic damage….i thought accountants work with numbers and future estimates to calculate the present….the US Treasury department knows how much money is being lost on daily basis but our own chief economist has no clue….he has to wait till the virus is done….so if Coronavirus lasts for 10 years then wont have an answer for next 10 years….makes no sense him saying he doesn’t know yet
The Hon minister of Finance cannot make a projection of the likely impact? So sad! When you order bars and restaurants and other businesses to close which businesses substantially contribute to your treasury ….surely you don’t have a prior assessment of the impact? Someting is certainly wrong somewhere
Matador – Imagine he has the best accountants and Economists under his roof and access to the brains at BOZ
i strongly believe he didnt say that otherwise ninshi we are doomed if the man on top things can be so blank.
A lot of rubbish in the comments above as expected. Have you read the article ? I get these articles even before they are shown to the public. The minister is telling you facts in that at this point we don’t know wht the impact is of this virus. That is different from saying we don’t know what the estimated impact of this virus is or will be . Anyone can make a forecast and the government has to work with forecasts at this time. However, what we don’t do is tell you that the estimates are in fact the substantive figures, because you can’t know the actual impact of something when it is ongoing. That is just common sense and you don’t need a PhD to understand simple logic. The problem with being partisan is that you will criticise everything even your own faeces. Grow up. I am in…
I am in government and you are not ! There is a good reason for that!
I strongly believe he didnt say that, otherwise ninshi we are doomed if the man on top things can be so blank. Anyways you cant be suprised its the PF we are dealing with here.
Ma rubbish from kz
KZ,I NOW SEE THE REASON WHY CAT POWER INSULTED U ALOT. IF I WAS THE ONE INSULTED LIKE THAT IT WOULD TAKE ME TIME TO TALK OR WRITE ANYTHING. HH, MADE A HUGE DONATION FOR CORONA VIRUS MIND U. THEY ARE PEOPLE WHO DO THINGS WITHOUT PUBLICIZING. REMEMBER, WHAT CAT POWER TOLD U. U ARE SO JEALOUS ABOUT HH. HE MADE HIS MONEY CLEAN WHEN U IT IS THROUGH DUBIOUSLY. U,DON’T DESERVE TO BE ON THIS EARTH CZ U ARE A SHAME.
I’m afraid this is very worrying for Zambia, the impact of the virus has not yet been known. It is imperative for ministry of finance to be proactive and be forward looking in order to avoid the worst. At this stage, we should certainly have already assessed the impact of this virus on various sectors of the Zambian economy, e.g. tourism, financial market, mining, etc. based on the happenings on the global economy.
No need to argue about what the Minister said. It is what economists the world over are saying. It is a reality that a global recession has been triggered off and Zambia will not remain untouched.
However, to every dark cloud, there’s a silver lining. We don’t have to sit and wait until the damage is done. Banks in Europe are tirelessly working with their governments to contain financial fall, stifled growth and job losses. We should be doing the same. It’s not yet too late…
“Si vis pacem, para bellum” – if you want peace, prepare for war.
Under latest reports: “ACC to open investigations in the $42billion fire tender.” I curiously rush to open only to find it’s an update of January 2017. Why Ba Lsk times ?
@Believers, same thing happened to me. I wonder why they still have these headlines from 3 years ago and longer..
You gonna be the worst finanace minister.Manage the kwacha from depreciation please,Why should the kwacha lose value when there is no activities in the world.Be serious Bwana.The kwacha should be below 18 period.Above that you should resign
The whole finance ministry is waiting for the impact to finish before they estimate the damage? What happened to working with a contingency plan in times like these. In times like these you work with a worst case scenario kind of plan. Where are the so called intellectuals in the field of finance and economics in Zambia? This is the time for them to show who they are. We can’t afford to wait to estimate the damage before we start to work that’s a lazy approach or response to the impact this pandemic is about wreck. Surely we are all not rendered entirely useless by this pandemic and therefore something must be done, and done quickly.
The only silver lining with covid 19 is $30 per barrel of oil.
GRZ should play wise and invest in this to pass savings on to the consumer to give people some breathing space…..
It could be poor reporting by LT reporters….an accountant not knowing the daily economic damage is like a doctor being unable to diagonise a disease…meaning there’s no way he can prescribe the right medicine….and the end result is death
This PF govt behaves like a wicked step mother. For you to put in these measures you are saying your DMMU is very ready to meet the impact right. Look again
Please people don’t encourage this internet disc jokey impostor of KZ aka N3z the coon,…you seriously think KZ has time for this when he is down there getting his fifthly hands in more dirt than LT and based in the UK.
Tarino no matter how much of a dirty campaign ,to discredit me, you upnd savages mount, it will not deter my followers and supporters. It seems you are disillusioned to see how popular we in pf are. I am on the ground and can now be found on various social media platforms. The political landscape is changing with technological changes. You think it is me Kaizar who blogs here constantly? Silly boy, we have public relations staff who sometimes blog here on our behalf my authorisation. Right now yes it is me Kz blogging. Come 2021 when we win again you will cry in court and yet you can’t tell for yourself that my strategy is the best way to seal an election. I have won elections, you haven’t. So who between the two of us will people listen to ? Kz
Please bloggers give tarino so much attention too. He is upset that no one pays attention to his drivel. Saying lazy lungu repeatedly and insulting the president is unfortunately not popular with zambian. Maybe uko kuvyalo they win elections by insulting the sitting president. Here people Just view you as a sore loser. Brother stay strong. Kz
What is good for the employees must be good for the employers too. A win win situation must be sought.
We have a clueless minister of finance, god save us from these *****s!
KZ you need a brain re wiring pantu amano yepi. Look at the dislikes you score every time you post something! Ka language not befitting of someone who was once advisor of HOS. Speaks volume about the one who appoints such people.
KZ you need a brain re wiring pantu amano yepi. Look at the dislikes you score every time you post something! Ka language not befitting of someone who was once advisor of HOS. Speaks volume about the one who appoints such people.
Fire Kaiser Zuku from LT and Bealya Ngandu from PF
Appoint HH as Minister of Finance. He will take Kwacha to ????
Well we already know that “your strategy is to steal erections”
I hope the person blogging here as Kaizer is not the real Kaizer.
I hope it’s some kind of a joke.
And if it’s really him then I pity his soul, this person blogging as Kaizer is a lost soul and needs some help soonest. It’s not even funny, he needs a family intervention.