Budget deficit a headache

ZAMBIA has proposed measures to curb its budget deficit at a time when slumping commodity prices have seen the country face mine closures, rising unemployment, power shortages and soaring food prices. New finance minister Felix Mutati told parliament on Friday that Africa’s secondlargest copper producer would cut its fiscal deficit to 7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017 from a projected 10 percent this year. Presenting a 64.5 billion kwacha (94.3bn) budget, Mutati said it sought to limit domestic borrowing to 2 percent of GDP in 2017, slightly higher than 1.2 percent this year. “We are all agreed that the task of restoring stability and accelerating growth will not be easy. We have to be bold and decisive,” Mutati, who was appointed in September, said. – Reuters

MOZAMBIQUE