Africa-Press – Zambia. Finance Minister Situmebeko Musokwatwane says that Zambia has recorded a 100 percent performance on the economic programme set with the International Monetary Fund-IMF- last year.
What Musokotwane means is that Government has fully complied with the LOAN conditionalities that the IMF has imposed on Zambia which include the following;
1. The removal of subsidies on fuel which has led to high fuel prices, high cost of living and dehumanising poverty levels many Zambians are grappling with;
2. The high increments of electricity tariffs and electricity connection fees which has worsened the cost of doing business, increased deforestation as most people are now resorting to charcoal as they can’t afford electricity, worsening the climate situation and increasing the disease-burden.
3. Reduced Government spending on critical social sectors such as Health, which has in part, led to critical shortages of medicines and medical supplies in our clinics and hospitals countrywide. This has led to increased disease-burden, reduced economic productivity and unnecessary loss of lives. Government hospitals have turned into Consultation centres where people just go to get prescriptions.
4. Giving foreign mining companies TAX HOLIDAYS at the expense of local businesses and the general auctioning of Zambia’s mineral rights on PINYOLO which has largely contributed to the collapse of the economy, specifically on the Copperbelt, a weakened Kwacha, high youth unemployment levels, reduced liquidity in the economy and the general poor economic performance.
5. Tightening of the Monetary Policy Rate and increased Statutory Reserve Ratio which has wiped out liquidity in the economy as the ability for banks to lend has been reduced while interest rates on loans has remained high making loans expensive and unprofitable for businesses.
NB: these are but just the first set of conditionalities that IMF has imposed on Zambia, the next set includes the privatisation of strategic state assets and companies such as ZESCO. In fact the process to privatise ZESCO under the guise of ‘Restructuring’ of ZESCO.
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