By Jane Chanda
Ministry of Finance and National Planning(MOFNP) director of economic management Akapelwa Imwiko, says Zambia’s economic performance in 2024 has been satisfactory despite global and domestic challenges, largely due to the drought’s impact on agriculture and energy sectors.
Imwiko said electricity generation reduced by 28 percent as of October 2024.
“Electricity generation decreased by 28 percent to 11.7 million megawatts as of October 2024, compared to 16 million megawatts recorded in the same period in 2023, thereby affecting Gross Domestic Product(GDP) growth,” he said.
Speaking at the National Development Coordinating Committee meeting at Mulungushi International Conference Center, Imwiko emphasised that despite satisfactory economic performance, there were risks heading into 2025.
“It’s important to mention that economic performance as at end of September … has been satisfactory given the challenges that we have experienced globally as well as domestically,” he said.
Imwiko highlighted several risks that could impact the country’s economic performance, including climate change, geopolitical conflicts, and a slowdown in the global economy.
“If we have poor performance in terms of the rain season, clearly, it will affect agriculture and in affecting agriculture, it will impact on our food availability meaning prices will go up resulting in higher inflation. And we can also see some pressures on our exchange rate,” he said. “So, it will be important to stabilise our exchange rate. If our exchange rate depreciates significantly, that will be a risk to our performance. We also know that we have factors we cannot control outside Zambia.
“So, geopolitical conflicts out there are a significant risk. So again, we monitor these risks to make sure we are ready for those. Any slow down in the global economy can also impact our ability to perform as we wish to do.”
On the country’s GDP growth, Imwiko said domestic real GDP growth for 2024 had been revised significantly to 1.2 percent from an initial projection of 4.7 percent, which was later adjusted downward to 2.3 percent.
He added that maize production was estimated to have reduced by 54.5 percent to 1.5 million metric tons in the 2023/24 agriculture season, compared to 3.3 million metric tons recorded in the previous season.
Imwiko further noted that despite these challenges, the mining sector continued to be promising, with copper production increasing by five percent as of October 2024.
He also said in the medium term, the government projected to grow the country’s GDP to at least six percent.
“On the GDP growth, we intend to attain the real GDP growth of at least six percent over the medium term. We are underperforming right now due to the drought but we expect that once we go through this phase, we can return our economic growth to stronger growth of six percent and above,” said Imwiko.
He added that the government also aimed to mobilise domestic revenues of at least 21 percent and above of GDP by 2027.
Meanwhile, Secretary to Cabinet Patrick Kangwa challenged civil societies to explore innovative solutions to the energy crisis.
“As we approach the mid-term review of the 8 National Development Plan (8NDP), we need to be innovative and address challenges that may impede achievement of set objectives,” said Kangwa. “This noble undertaking will require extra effort and collaborations with all development partners. As we face the energy crisis, I want to emphasise the need to explore all available opportunities in addressing our energy needs.”
