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The Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants (ZiCA) has proposed some measures government should undertake to actualise the anticipated economic growth after the debt restructuring exercise.
Re-orienting economic expansion, attracting outside capital, reforming the mining industry and improving the economic governance are some of the recommendations submitted by the accountancy body.
The proposals were made through the ZiCA president, Yande Siame Mwenye, at the 2024 first quarter media briefing on various national matters issued in public interest on Tuesday in Lusaka.
Mwenye noted government’s need to redirect its economic growth trajectory away from debt-fueled consumption and towards investments in profitable sectors such as manufacturing, tourism and agriculture.
These measures, she explained, would result in increased employment and exports, thus increasing the amount of financial resources available that were critical to paying off the country’s debt.
“To support economic growth and create jobs, Zambia will need to continue to attract foreign direct investment across different sectors of our economy.
“In order to accomplish this, the Government is urged to improve the business climate, provide incentives to investors, both local and foreign and make sure that laws and regulations are transparent and predictable to achieve this policy measure,” Mwenye said.
She also reiterated that Zambia’s mining industry was a significant contributor to debt reduction and an important driver of domestic resource mobilisation.
Mwenye suggested that government must, therefore, continue to improve mechanisms that would aide in ramping up of production in copper and other mineral value chains whilst preventing environmental degradation.
“As we know, the effects of climate change are very visible to us and this cannot be over emphasized as none of us are immune,” she said.
Mwenye also talked about the need for government to enhance its public finance management systems and increase openness and accountability to improve economic governance.
She expressed confidence that this would allow for the effective and efficient utilisation of the national resources.
“We believe that the completion of negotiations with other commercial creditors will bring a final resolution to Zambia’s debt crisis.
“This will help Zambia attract new investments, accelerate growth, generate jobs, and respond to urgent priorities, such as the ongoing drought,” Mwenye concluded on the proposals.
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