By Mark Bwembya
There is a popular election-season claim that people cannot eat GDP, inflation figures or foreign-exchange reserves. It resonates because many households are still under pressure. A parent facing high food prices or a young person searching for work will not be comforted by a graph. Good statistics do not settle an unpaid bill.
But the slogan asks the wrong question. Economic indicators are not groceries. They tell us whether the system that produces groceries, jobs, incomes and public services is strengthening.
The growth numbers
Zambia’s economy grew by 7.7 percent in the first quarter of 2026. Agriculture expanded by 21.4 percent, transport and storage by 9.5 percent, trade by 6.7 percent and manufacturing by 5.4 percent. What does that mean outside a government report?
When a farmer produces more, a miller has more grain to process, a transporter has more goods to carry, a trader has more stock to sell and workers have more opportunities to earn an income. Growth is not automatically shared equally, but without expanding production there can be no sustainable increase in jobs, wages or public revenue.
Why inflation bites harder than it looks
Inflation affects households even more directly. Annual inflation declined from 14.1 percent in June 2025 to 6.5 percent in June 2026, while food inflation fell from 16.7 percent to 6.7 percent. This does not mean prices have returned to their previous levels. It means they are rising much more slowly.
For illustration, if a K1,000 household basket increased by 14.1 percent, it would rise by K141. At 6.5 percent, the increase would be K65. Lower inflation does not make everything cheaper overnight, but it slows the rate at which salaries, pensions, savings and business earnings lose value. People do not need to eat inflation. Inflation eats their incomes.
The reserves nobody sees
Foreign-exchange reserves also have an everyday purpose. In early 2026, Zambia’s reserves stood at US$6.5 billion, equivalent to approximately 5.4 months of import cover. That money is not waiting to be divided among citizens. It is the country’s economic insurance, helping protect Zambia’s ability to meet external payments and obtain fuel, fertiliser, medicines, machinery and other essential imports.
When reserves are weak and the currency comes under severe pressure, the effects quickly move from the exchange market to fuel pumps, buses, farms, shops and household budgets. Stronger reserves help reduce that risk.
Where the numbers meet public services
The connection becomes clearest when economic stability supports public services. According to the 2026 Budget Speech, the school-feeding programme reaches more than 4.6 million learners, over 42,000 teachers have been recruited since 2022, and 18,305 health personnel had been hired, with further recruitment planned. Social Cash Transfer coverage is also targeted to reach 1.5 million households in 2026.
These programmes are policy choices; they do not appear automatically because GDP has grown. But they are far more difficult to finance and sustain in an economy with declining production, runaway inflation and depleted reserves.
The verdict
None of this means every household has already felt the improvement. Good economic figures should never be used to silence people who are struggling. They should be judged by how quickly they translate into employment, stronger incomes, affordable essentials and reliable services. But dismissing the indicators altogether is equally mistaken.
Yes, people do not eat GDP. But they eat what farms, factories and businesses produce. People do not eat reserves. They depend on the fuel, fertiliser and medicines those reserves help keep within reach. People do not eat lower inflation. They feel it when their money stops losing value so quickly.
The indicators are not the meal. They are the conditions that help put the meal on th
