Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
President Hakainde Hichilema says he is observing with keen interest the possible ripple effects the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could have on key global commodity prices such as oil and fertilizer.
Speaking through his Spokesperson Anthony Bwalya, President Hichilema notes that both oil and fertilizer play such a significant role in positioning the Zambian economy.
The President has, therefore, put on high alert all line ministries and ministers to ensure strategies are in place to rapidly anticipate and appropriately respond to these challenges, should they arise, and mitigate them accordingly.
He stresses that it is important to note that the ability to import cheap oil into the country remains utterly critical in ensuring that general economic costs associated with the use of various forms of fuel are kept at an affordable minimum for the citizens.
Mr Hichilema has further noted, that a disruption to the global fertilizer supply chain has the potential to adversely affect agriculture production for the 2022/23 farming season if suppliers do not have sufficient buffer stocks to meet the demands of the forthcoming farming season.
President Hichilema says his administration will continue to take active steps aimed at lowering the cost of living as already seen by the over 200% positive performance of the Kwacha against the Dollar over the past 6 months, with inflation down from 24% to 14% over the same period; while basic salaries are up by 12% and another 13% improvement in the tax exempt amount for lower income earners.