K5.2bn Covid-19 bond dispensed

GOVERNMENT has raised K6 billion out of the K8 billion Covid-19 bond which was recently approved by Cabinet with the aim of improving the liquidity levels in the economy that have reduced due to the pandemic.

And about K5.2bn has so for been dispensed to needy areas such as payment of retirees, contractors and suppliers among others.

The Covid-19 bond is a deliberate move that the government through the Ministry of Finance has taken to mitigate the effects of the pandemic socially and economically.

Ministry of Finance Permanent Secretary, Mukuli Chikuba said the bond, spanning about 10 to 15 years would help the country deal with the current vulnerabilities and also give resilience to the economy in the medium to long term.

Speaking on ZNBC Sunday interview, Mr Chikuba said so far, K500 million has been released out of the K1bn set aside to dismantle arrears to suppliers and contractors.

Mr Chikuba also said K900m has been released to recaptalise the National Credit and Savings Bank to enable the financial institution deal with people at the lower bottom who could not afford the big blue banks.

He said the ministry was this week expected to release K30 million youth empowerment.

"We have allocated K585m to pensions and K800m to micro finance institutions and grain purchasing K1bn," he said.

And Mr Chikuba said pensioners have been a priority in both the K2.5bn stimulus package and K8bn Covid-19 bond because they would be the most hit with the effects of the pandemic on the economy.