GROWTH BUDGET WINS KUDOS
THE 2018 national budget is very promising as it is focussing on the growth of the economy, especially that it explains how Government intends to deal with its debt, says Policy Monitoring and Research Centre (PMRC).
PMRC Head of Monitoring and Evaluation, Salim Kaunda, said the debt servicing mechanism was critical to the growth of the economy hence Government’s desire to reduce
“Another critical aspect has been that Government wants to minimise on borrowing that is very key. People were interested to see how borrowing will be because Government also has tax obligations or debts to pay back externally and domestically,” he said.
Reacting to the 2018 national budget presented by Finance Minister Felix Mutati yesterday, Mr. Kaunda said Government’s intention to reduce borrowing was a step forward in reducing debt accumulation.
“It is a very promising budget and we will continue analysing it, of course it is still talking about recovery and growth but more importantly, is that the Zambia-plus will still be implemented side by side the budget,” he said.
Mr Mutati, said Government had put in measures to drastically reduce the rate of debt accumulation, attain a cheaper and longer debt maturity profile.
Mr. Mutati emphasised that future borrowing would be undertaken strictly at sustainable levels.
“Government has published the Medium Term Debt Management Strategy that seeks to return the debt to low risk of debt distress. The strategy outlines measures to drastically reduce the rate of debt accumulation, attain a cheaper and longer debt maturity profile,” Mr Mutati said.