DEBT REFORM BENEFITS SHOULD TRICKLE DOWN TO MANUFACTURERS - ZAM
THE Zambia Association of Manufactures (ZAM) is hopeful that the benefits arising from the country’s debt restructuring will trickle down to all its members from the smallest to the largest.
Last Wednesday in Lusaka during a public forum, Secretary to the Treasury, Felix Nkulukusa, in his presentation highlighted some benefits arsing from the debt restructuring.
Some of the benefits highlighted included creating fiscal space to provide more resources to the priority areas such as education, health, agriculture and social protection.
During a public discussion, ZAM Chief Executive Officer, Muntanga Lindunda, was hopeful that these benefits would also trickle down to the manufacturing sector.
“With the debt restructuring we expect that the benefits highlighted will trickle down to the manufactures. For manufactures it is tough times, but we are hoping that those benefits will be trickled down to all the sectors that we represent.
“So, working with partners in other sectors and with the milestone which has been reached, we want to see a trickle-down effect of those benefits to the simple manufactures, that is from the smallest to the largest,” Ms Lindunda said.
She also highlighted some challenges being faced by the manufacturing sector such as the current power outages.
Ms Lindunda pointed out that energy was a major input in the manufacturing sector. “Energy is a major input and it has been difficult and it continues to be difficult. We have already been impacted on the cost of doing business, it has gone up. “But most times, even when manufactures are faced with such challenges, there is absorption of the initial cost and if it is prolonged off course it increases the total cost of production,” she said. Ms Lindunda also talked about the need for predictability to enable manufactures be able to plan properly. “Our vison is to increase the contribution of the manufacturing from where it is about nine percent to more than 20 percent. “But with the way things are going we know that even if we do not reach that milestone by 2030, we should make some major improvements from the way the government is planning to manage the debt,” she said.