Africa-Press – Zambia. The UPND New Dawn Government has continued to efficiently allocate resources, implement sound policies, and foster a stable financial environment to promote sustainable growth and reduce poverty in the country.
The 2021-2024 IMPLEMENTATION STATUS OF THE UPND NEW DAWN GOVERNMENT’S KEY POLICY REFORMS below shows significant positive changes in Zambia’s economic structure.
1. TAX RELIEF
✅ Over the years, the UPND New Dawn government has increased the exemption threshold for Pay as You Earn thereby increasing personal disposable income.
✅ In the 2025 budget, the PAYE was maintained at ZMW5,100.
✅ All those earning ZMW5,100 and less are exempted from paying tax, thus offering relief and increasing disposable income to our citizens.
✅ Slashed or removed applicable duties and taxes in priority sectors, to lower the cost to businesses.
2. Job Creation
✅ Implementing Structural Reforms to enhance country and sector competitiveness, for the private sector to expand and invest more, thus creating sustainable jobs.
3. Reduce Mealie Meal Price
✅ Maize pricing is a determinant of whether farmers can produce it or not. The current pricing of maize is creating an opportunity for maize growers to increase their incomes.
✅ Government is undertaking measures to improve incomes and make mealie meal more affordable such as job creation, social cash transfer program.
✅ Currently, the price of a 25 kg bag of breakfast mealie meal is in the range of K230 to K350.
✅ The following measures have been implemented to migate the rising price of mealie meal:
✅ Cultivation of irrigated early maize by commercial farmers and emergent farmers.
✅ Local manufacturing of D Compound fertilizer to reduce cost of inputs and Ammonia Nitrate Fertilizer production has also commenced.
✅ Stimulate the cultivation of maize by peasant farmers by offering them an attractive purchase price of maize through the Food Reserve Agency.
✅ Implementation of the Comprehensive Agriculture Transformation Programme which offers support to farmers through the provision of farming implements and inputs.
✅ Increased utilization of state security organs such as ZNS, Army, ZCS etc to cultivate maize.
✅ Operation of milling plants through the Zambia National Service and the Zambia Correctional Service.
✅ Launch of the Presidential Irrigation Program and Precision Farming which will increase productivity by farmers and reduce price pressures demanded by farmers.
4. Stabilise Fuel Prices
The fuel price as of the end of January 2024 stood at K34.67 for petrol and K32.43 for diesel.
✅ The government has put up measures to stabilize the price of petroleum products:
a) Bulk buying of petroleum products and eliminating use of middle men.
b) Reconfiguration of Indeni to handle finished fuel products imports, thus cutting loss making refining operations.
c) Approved in 2023 the biofuels blending program which provides private sector and smallholder farmers to produce biofuel as a business opportunity.
d) Removal of exercise duty on fuel, as it is a key raw material for production.
e) Open access to the TAZAMA oil pipeline and allowing private sector to compete on lower pricing to access it.
f) Inviting private sector to invest in expanding fuel pipeline capacity by developing multi-product pipelines on TAZAMA, from Mozambique and also from Namibia.
5. Increase International Reserves
✅The Gross international reserves have increased to US$4.15 billion (equivalent to 4.6 months of import cover) at the end of September from US$3.91 billion (equivalent to 4.3 months of import cover) at the end of June 2024.
6. Manage Exchange Rate
✅ The Kwacha traded at an average of K26.03 per US Dollar in the third quarter of 2024 compared to K19.65 per US Dollar in the corresponding period in 2023, representing a depreciation of 32.5 percent.
✅The price of the Dollar has stabilized and has been fluctuating due to a reduction in Forex as a result of low copper production and exports of goods and services.
✅ However, the mining sector has been revamped and soon the country will have an increased inflow of Forex.
✅ Through reduced debt servicing obligations gained from the debt restructuring, there will be less demand for Forex.
✅ Restructuring the economy to increase exports.
✅ Engaging regional and international partners to increase market access for Zambian exports.
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