Group criticises slow progress in govt’s push for private sector growth

The Business Coalition Task Force (BCTF) has raised concerns over perceived slow progress in government’s efforts to promote a private sector-led economy.

BCTF Chairperson, Diego Cassili, said bureaucratic hurdles and regulatory restrictions were hindering growth, despite promises of economic reform.

“We are concerned about the failure to implement policies that would boost Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The private sector is not seeing the benefits of these economic promises,” Cassili said in a statement on Friday.

He emphasized that without clear and actionable policies to support private sector involvement, economic recovery would remain elusive.

He called on the government to streamline processes and prioritise initiatives that enabled businesses to contribute to national growth.

This comes after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded Zambia’s economic growth forecast for 2024 to 1.2 percent.

The government had initially aimed for 4.7 percent growth, but the IMF first reduced it to 2.3 percent, and more recently to 1.2 percent, a move that the BCTF says would exacerbate the economic challenges Zambians already faced.

“It is with alarm that we note the IMF’s forecast of GDP growth dropping to 1.2 percent. This will exacerbate the hardships Zambians are already facing,” Cassili added.

The BCTF urged the government to act swiftly to encourage private sector participation in order to drive economic development.

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