ECONOMIC MEASURES WELCOMED
GOVERNMENT’S drastic measures aimed at relieving debt distress such as the cancellation of loans are a step in the right direction and must be supported by all Zambians as they will sustain the economy, former UPND vice president Canisius Banda has said.
Speaking to the Daily Nation yesterday, Dr. Banda said balancing the equation between income and expenditure was inevitable whether at micro or macro level and that the drastic measures taken by Government must be supported by all well-meaning Zambians.
He said while cancelling loans and limiting debt accumulation as measures to mitigate the debt stress resonated well with the need to have a sustainable debt, Zambians must not be misled into believing that Government was wrong to borrow because it was an economic necessity.
He said as the country borrowed, it was imperative to ensure that it put the borrowed money to good use by carefully planning its expenditure from such proceeds through well-informed decisions which correlated with the country’s needs.
“Budget management is extremely important for any institution including Zambia as a nation. How one balances the equation between income and expenditure determines whether one prospers or not. On one hand, the income envelopes of Zambia must continually be grown. On the other hand, Zam- bia needs to carefully plan its expenditure. “Spending more than one earns is one of the many definitions of poverty. Zambia's expenditure must always follow well-informed cost-benefit analyses. In the end, the per capita income of citizens must rise and poverty must fall. Zambia should not stop to borrow. Further, we must always pay back what we borrow,” Dr. Banda said.
He further said there was need for proper money market surveys in order not to compromise the country’s self-determination adding that President Edgar Lungu must be commended for the bold decision he had taken to make these tough but worthy financial decisions.
He said while the current measures may come with adverse economic trends, they were a plausible undertaking that will bear good fruit in the long-run.