Some Zambians especially on social media have been proposing the adoption of the US dollar as official currency in Zambia following the recent fall in the value of the Kwacha.

Dr Fundanga said the key is to implement measures that will improve macroeconomic environment to help stabilise the Kwacha.

He said adopting the use of a foreign currency will send panic and signal that the Zambian economy as it rock bottom.

Dr Fundanga who is now based in Zimbabwe where he is working as Executive Director of the Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa said adopting the use of the US dollar will not help stabilise the Zambian economy.

He was speaking on Wednesday when he featured on a panel at the just ended 2015 Zambia Business and Finance Conferences organised by Euromoney Conference and the Ministry of Finance.

“For me, I now work in a country that adopted the US dollar as a local currency but whether that has helped is another issue. What I can encourage is for the government to improve the macroeconomic framework, I always talk about inflation, lower inflation, you lower interest rate and cut government borrowing and the rest will be done by the private sector,” Dr Fundanga said.

Mr Chikwanda said the dip in the economy is a normal cycle in any economic which should not be over dramatised.

He said the slowdown in the Chinese economy is mainly responsible for the weakening of the Kwacha as copper receipts have drastically reduced.

The Finance Minister was speaking in Lusaka on Thursday when he delivered a key note address at the 2015 Zambia Finance and Investment Conference organised by Euromoney Conferences at the Taj Pamodzi Hotel.

Mr Chikwanda said although some people want to portray a picture as if the government is solely to blame for the current economic woes, every genuine economist knew that there will come a time when the Chinese economy will begin to slowdown.

“Surely nobody expected China to continue growing at the same level, there was going to be a time when they would finish constructing their roads, office buildings and any other infrastructure and reduce their appetite for our copper and maybe that time has now come,” Mr Chikwanda said.

He said the Zambian economy is resilient enough to withstand the current economic storm.

Mr Chikwanda said government has taken a raft of measures to stabilise the macroeconomic environment which is necessary for sustainable growth.

He said government is focused on reducing the budget deficit to manageable levels as a free of freeing up capital for private sector lending.

“We are going to rein in on public expenditure this year and going forward as a way of managing our cash flow position, but most of these measures have to be taken before cabinet first, i normally do not like to pre-empt these tins before we debate them as cabinet but we are formulating something,” he said.

On the foreign exchange position, Mr Chikwanda said the Kwacha depreciation has been compounded by the speculators who are trying to cash in on the situation.

“The Bank of Zambia has been carrying out open market operations which have somewhat helped but they can only do so much and their activities have been restricted because of dwindling foreign exchange reserves, we are probably sitting around two and half months of import cover which is not a desirable situation.”

Singer/Songwriter Angela Nyirenda, known for her unique Makewane style singing will
launch her 4th and Brand New Album “Salary” with a nationwide tour starting in Lusaka
and ending in her home town Chipata. Ms. Nyirenda took the music industry by storm
when she released her first album in 2004. She is now set to take her career to the next
level with a more mature sound 11 years after her first single and 7 years since Zambian
Girls.
The long awaited album will be launched in a series of spectacular CompuTicket events
in Lusaka on the 2nd of October 2015 at the prestigious Government Complex, followed
by a Family Show at Belvedere Lodge on the 3rd of October. Ms. Nyirenda then intends
to take the show on the road and give Zambians all around a feel of her new sound.
The multilingual album, featuring songs in Kaonde, Bemba, Nsenga, Ngoni, Tonga and
English is produced by Mr. Moses Sakala of Sakala Arts Center and is said to be his
best work yet. The critically acclaimed producer continues to work behind the scenes in
ensuring that the production is nothing short of excellent.
Angela Nyirenda continues to touch lives with her music, especially following the tragic
loss of her child to heart disease. Through this experience, Ms Nyirenda has been
inspired to join the efforts of the National Heart Coalition of Zambia to contribute to the
philanthropic aspiration of one day opening a hospital for heart patients and reaching out
to those who have lost loved ones through her music. In this light Ms Nyirenda has
pledged that part of the proceeds of this album will go to the National Heart Coalition to
help with the work they are doing in Zambia.
Tickets to will officially go on sale from CompuTicket in every Shoprite Store across
Zambia.

“Before my mamma knew that I was so different,there were alot of things that daily she insisted,like doctors or lawyers are the only ones I raise , so there will never be a failure in your days. But I never saw myself doing anything better than the beats I was editing , so every night,every night I stayed up living that life that i made up…”

A couple of weeks ago Jay Rox released his highly anticipated album “Outside the Rox” . Prior to the album, he had released a number of hit singles such us “kumutima” , “mvula” and “ituntulu”. With every new single the hype grew and everyone was eagerly awaiting the album. In January 2015 he dropped the first official single “Auto pilot” , an incredible, smooth low tempo track , that set the bar high for the upcoming album.

“Outside the Rox” is an incredible album .I could go as far as to say its the best Zambian album of the year so far ! Everything from the production to the lyrical content is top notch . You can tell a lot of effort was put into the making of this album. More often than not , most Zambian artists make music that sounds similar to each other due to following trends . This is not the case with Outside the Rox , it is fresh and original , Jay Rox is in his own lane .

“I grew up looking at the FINDECO / now im standing toe-to-toe where you think im finna go / im finna take the music from Zambia to Senegal / take the music to the world till I reach my pinnacle…”

Outside the Rox is a hiphop album fused with some elements of dancehall (as in “Joanna” and ” Steady“) and other influences. The lyrical content is mature, as it deals with some personal issues Jay Rox is going through( in “How mamma raised me “), as opposed to the usual bravado and swag talk that most rappers deliver. He shows he is a good storyteller with some as uplifting verses (in “Not for sello“)and love songs( “Autopilot” ,”Cake“) . This fact gains Jay Rox a wider audience for his music as he has songs people from all walks of life can enjoy.

Stand out tracks

I love all the songs on the album but these are my top 3

Outside the box – “shes a 10 without a calculator/ my number one shorty shes my motivator / she speaks my language like an interpreter/ mami let me tell you/ when im with you, im outside the box” this is an infectious song that will have you dancing the whole night . It features Ghanaian Award winning dancehall artist ‘Stonebwoy’ .

Time of my life – is a motivating song that encourage one to strive to achieve there dreams and remain positive even if nobody is supporting you. “..even though they talking ,they can never do the walking , such a thing is very shocking..”

Not for Sello – is an uplifting song that tells you that whatever difficultly you may be going through ,never compromise your integrity and do something you will not be proud of, because you are not for sello . “… eventually she looked at me and told me it wasn’t meant to be, she told me she was tired of being tortured physically and mentally, she told me she was done ,can’t take me like kantemba cause im not for sello”

“Outside the Rox” is a top class album that will definitely stand the test of time . All the songs are special in there own way . It will be succefull not only on the Zambian market but international !

“…when mamma knew that , knew that, her son could do rap , do rap, she held my hand and bumped every track and told me look forward son never look back …”

Autopilot

Not for sello

Joanna

BY KAPA187

Ruff Kid‘s new music video for his single titled ‘Nalikutemwa‘ featuring Chester.

Shot by MT Productionz and audio produced by Chester.

BY KAPA187