Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
Margret Mwanakatwe
Zambia’s reconciled debt stock has increased to US$8.7 billion, Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe has disclosed.
Briefing journalists on the state of the economy in the first quarter of 2018, Mrs Mwanakatwe says the larger part of the increase is due to the reclassification of the US$500 million fuel debt that was reconsolidated in the external debt.
She says domestic debt stood at K50.9 billion at the end of the first quarter while arrears were at K12.7 billion as at end of 2017.
Mrs. Mwanakatwe says government expects positive growth and macroeconomic stability in 2018 with GDP growth projected above 4 percent.
She says this is premised on positive performance in the agriculture,mining,construction and manufacturing sectors.
Mrs Mwanakatwe has also disclosed that for the quarter ended, total revenues and grants amounted to K12 billion against a projection of K12.04 billion, while expenditure was below projection at K15.4 billion from a projected K17.1 billion.
Meanwhile Mrs Mwanakatwe says her ministry is currently carrying out a detailed debt sustainability exercise to be completed in the next two weeks which will help take the discussion with the IMF forward and find a settlement.
Speaking at the same briefing, Information and Broadcasting Services Minister Dora Siliya commended the media for the active role it is playing in ensuring that issues to do with debt and financing are communicated to the public.
Ms Siliya has since disclosed that her ministry will also be having weekly briefings as a way of ensuring that the public is kept well informed as pertaining to national issues.