Africa-Press – Zambia. PeP President Mr Sean Tembo has bemoaned the rapid gain of the Kwacha which has appreciated by approximately 15% in the past 4 days, as it will cause economic instability due to huge exchange losses that will be suffered by importers and exporters alike. He has appealed to the Bank of Zambia (BOZ) to intervene by buying dollars off the market so that the appreciation of the Kwacha can be gradual and not sudden.
He has further appealed to BOZ to do its job independently and professionally and not engineer an unsustainable appreciation of the Kwacha just so as please the incoming Government that they have brought investor confidence when in fact not as yet.
The PeP President further stated that “It must be noted that any appreciation of the Kwacha due to increased investor confidence would be gradual over a period of time. Given the sudden nature of this particular appreciation, it is more likely than not that it has been engineered by BOZ so that President-Elect Hakainde Hichilema’s prophesy of the Kwacha appreciating if he wins elections can come true, as a way of the BOZ Governor seeking favors from the incoming administration so as to protect his job”.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) has remained tight-lipped over allegations that it has induced an artificial strengthening of the Kwacha. As of Friday the 20th of August, the Central Bank quoted the Kwacha as selling at 17.3120 and buying at 17.2620 per one US dollar respectively.
But, when contacted for comment on whether the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) has played a role in the appreciation of the Kwacha since the August 12th general elections, BoZ Assistant Director for Communication Besnat Mwanza said the Bank will make a comment during the Monitory Policy Meeting (MPC) media briefing next week.
Ms. Mwanza said the Central Bank does not make comments on such before media briefings. She said that the Central Bank is currently preparing ahead of the said briefing.
And Former Bankers Union of Zambia (BUZ) President Lucky Beene has argued that the strength of the Kwacha is due to the Hakainde Hichilema brand which has received positive sentiments.
