Govt to enact legal reforms to deal with external debt

Felix Mutati

Finance Minister Felix Mutati says Government will soon introduce the Loans and Guarantees Act to ensure that debt sustainability becomes a guiding principle before embarking on new infrastructure projects.

The Finance Minister says the Act will enhance government transparency and accountability in the contraction of debt, saying that previously Government committed to borrowing to fill the infrastructure deficit.

Addressing investors in Washington during the 2017 IMF/World Bank Annual meetings, Mr. Mutati says for this reason, Government has embarked on the publication of a quarterly debt statistical bulletin and annual debt report to inform stakeholders about Zambia’s debt situation.

He has also revealed that Government will introduce the Public Investment Management System where projects will be appraised for their contribution to economic growth.

He says other reforms in the financial sector include the Banking Act, Depositor Guarantees Bill, Insurance Act, among others.

Mr. Mutati says this will enhance transparency and accountability of government in the contraction of debt.

He says Zambia’s trade surplus has remained positive, standing at US$ 883 billion as of the end of June and that the interplay of fiscal policy has had an effect of easing monetary policy to the extent that the reserve ratio now down to 9.5 percent while policy rate is around 11 percent.

This is contained in a statement issued to QTV News by Zambia’s Embassy in USA First Secretary, Press and Public Relations Cosmas Chileshe.