State confident of meeting 8NDP’s goals

GOVERNMENT is confident that it will implement all the activities contained in the Eighth National Development Plan (8NDP) as finances to actualise the programmes have started to be released.

This is according to the Finance and National Planning Permanent Secretary for Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr Trevor Kaunda who expressed confidence that those activities in the plan would receive full attention.

Mr Kaunda was speaking in an interview on the side-line of the just ended 28th Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts (ICSOE) in Mozambique.

“The programmes that we have under the plan and looking at the work that we are doing with the lenders where we now have budget stability and predictability. This year finance has been releasing funds to sectors for them to carry out their various activities in line with their plans.

“And this is what we are hoping to see going forward where there is predictably in the budget releases and with the budget releases, we are optimistic that the programmes under the 8NDP year on year will be implemented,” he said.

Mr Kaunda stated that there would be no excuse from implementing agencies for not achieving their programmes outlined in the 8NDP as they were already receiving funding. He indicated that executing all the programmes under the plan in full meant that Zambia was getting closer in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

One the key takeaways from the ICSOE, Mr Kaunda said was enlightening as it highlighted the initiatives being implemented in 11 member states.

Mr Kaunda stated that the meeting highlighted on a number of initiatives which were in line with Zambia’s 8NDP of greening the economy.