By Isaac Zulu
Agriculture economist Dr Edify Hamukale says the numerous international trips President Hakainde Hichilema is making are now beginning to bear fruit.
In an interview, Dr Hamukale said that the outcome of the debt restructuring negotiations in Paris, France is a significant achievement.
“I wish to congratulate President Hichilema and the Ministry of Finance for the good outcome on sovereign debt restructuring negotiations . The three years ahead of paying only interest amounts and not principal amounts of money will help Zambia recover from economic recession. It means when ZRA collects revenue together with other domestic funds sources, the country will accumulate significant funds for development projects, services, pensions, dismantling of domestic debt which all have the positive effects of increased cash flow in the economy and elevate both consumption and investment spending by citizens and local firms,” Dr Hamukale explained.
He said that the international trips that President Hakainde Hichilema has been making have started bearing fruits, saying individuals criticising the foreign trips by the Head of State should rethink their arguments.
“This will also give us the much needed fiscal space to improve our import cover reserves , improve balance of payments and domestic commercial activities at all levels.
With these visible and measurable economic outcomes, those criticizing President Hichilema’s frequent trips abroad should rethink their arguments,” he said.
The former Southern Province Minister further urged controlling officers and government agencies to be patriotic when approving expenditures so as to avoid wastage of public resources.
“The onus is on controlling officers in Ministries and other government agencies to be patriotic when approving expenditures so that we minimize wastage. This is a good opportunity for Zambia to recover economically and we hope to see better bank exchange rates, interest rates, reduced inflation and cost of living and say goodbye to reckless borrowing,” said Dr Hamukale.
