LUSAKA, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) — The Zambian government said Friday that it plans to realign the 2024 national budget following a prolonged dry spell.
Minister of Finance and National Planning Situmbeko Musokotwane said that given the prolonged drought, the government will have no option but to propose adjustments to the budget so that a financing room was created to enable the financing of vulnerable families to be affected by the drought.
Presenting a statement on the state of the economy in parliament, Musokotwane said the proposed adjustment to the budget was also due to the anticipated electricity deficit to be caused by the prolonged dry spell.
“Our national dependency on hydroelectricity equally means that in this year of drought, power will become limited unless we find alternatives,” he said.
He, however, said that the country’s economy was poised to be in a strong position this year and going forward due to the anticipated resumption of operations by major mining firms and good performances of the tourism, telecommunication, manufacturing and construction sectors.
“The drag on the economy in the past few years, which also reflected itself on the exchange rate, high cost of living and poverty was due to the absence of normal production at KCM (Konkola Copper Mines) and Mopani (Mopani Copper Mines),” he added.
