Africa-Press – Zambia. Zambia’s opposition Leadership Movement is urging the government to intervene and address the rising cost of mealie meal, a staple food in the country. Party President Richard Silumbe is concerned that despite promising Zambians reduced cost of goods and services while in opposition, the UPND in government has failed to fulfill its promise as evidenced by the skyrocketing mealie meal prices, with a 25kg bag of breakfast meal selling as high as K200 in some areas.
Addressing the media in Lusaka this morning, Dr. Silumbe advised the government to come to the aid of millers by creating an enabling environment to ensure they reduce the price of the commodity. He suggested that the government help millers reduce the cost of production by relieving them from paying certain taxes and reducing the cost of fuel and electricity. Dr. Silumbe also questioned why mealie meal prices should continue rising when the country has plenty of maize.
The rising cost of mealie meal is not the only economic concern currently facing Zambia. The Bankers Association of Zambia (BAZ) has warned that any further delays to resolve the country’s debt situation by the second quarter of this year will exert extra pressure on the kwacha and inflation among other economic factors. Association President Leonard Mwanza stated that much of how Zambia’s economy will shape up this year is hinged on resolving the debt situation quickly, including ending load-shedding to restore productivity in the wake of the Russia/Ukraine war and the global recession.
Despite these challenges, the banking sector in Zambia had a satisfactory year in 2022, with institutions maintaining capital adequacy provisions, asset quality at its second year best and profitability showing improvement in the third quarter of the year. Mr. Mwanza attributes this to fiscal stability, inflation being lower than 10 percent, and a stable exchange rate until the year-end pressures crept in to depreciate the kwacha from around K16 to over K18 currently.
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