By Balewa Zyuulu
Economist Emmanuel Zulu says it will be difficult for Zambia to achieve its macroeconomic objectives as enshrined in the 2023 national budget and its vision of becoming a prosperous middle income by 2030 under the current policy trajectory.
Mr Zulu tells Phoenix News that with the recent adjustments of the monetary policy rate and the statutory reserve ratio by the central bank, it will not be easy to stimulate economic growth, create jobs and improve the livelihoods of the people.
Mr Zulu argues that the contractionary approach taken by the central bank does not support economic growth as the private sector is overshadowed thereby making it difficult to achieve the projected Gross Domestic Product -GDP- growth of 4 percent.
Zambia is dealing with large fiscal and external imbalances resulting from an overly ambitious public investment drive that did not yield significant boost to growth or revenues and it regained momentum after undergoing a period of severely weak macroeconomic fundamentals, manifesting in high inflation, depressed output, high fiscal deficits, unsustainable debt levels, and unstable and weakening Kwacha.
CREDIT: PHOENIX NEWS
