( 5 minutes read)
· Zambia’s Trade and Industry Minister Christopher Yaluma has
called on the manufacturing industry to ensure products being produced
locally meet standards and regulations and at the same time
satisfying customer quality expectations. The minister also
underscored the need for installing accuracy and uniformity in
measurements, packaging and selling of products. Consumer protection
in areas of trade, health, law enforcement and environmental
protection also need a careful look to help compliance to correct
packaging and labeling requirements.
· Zambia, a non oil producing country spends upwards of US$
700 million annually towards the cost of importing oil from the Gulf
countries. This drains its foreign exchange and keeps its currency
Kwacha always under pressure. The country now is focusing on several
steps to keep its oil imports bill under check. These include
developing biofuels sector and target to grow the mixing ratios for
bio-fuel to over 50%. The second step is to reduce dependence on Gulf
countries for importing oil and to depend more on neighboring Angola
at a better negotiated price and even using barter deals against the
export of its local products. Thirdly, by striking barter deals with
Saudi Arabia and the UAE to counter the current one way trade. Zambia
imports petroleum and ots exports to the region are virtually nil. The
campaign it had undertaken to ship one million goats to the Gulf was a
non-starter for many reasons.
· The Bank of Zambia’s Monetary Policy Committee – MPC has cut
the benchmark monetary policy rate by 225 basis points (by 2.25%) to
9.25% to stimulate the economy facing massive fall out of the
pandemic. However, analysts suspect the effectiveness of the cut in
the benchmark interest rate since banks and financial institutions
are free to set their margins as no cap on the margins has been fixed.
According to the Central Bank Governor although the overall average
annual inflation rate increased to 13.5% and that the projected path
for inflation is higher than the February 2020 monetary policy
committee (MPC) forecast band, inflation is expected to still remain
within range.
· The Bank of Zambia – BoZ has disclosed that it has not
imposed restrictions on persons to whom commercial banks and
financial institutions can lend the K10 billion medium-term facility.
The clarification has come amidst reports indicating that the
facility is only intended for customers with existing loans with their
respective banks. In the wake of the COVID- 19 pandemic, BoZ
introduced a K10 billion Medium-Term Refinancing Facility to enable
Financial Service Providers (FSPs) to support businesses and
households that are being negatively impacted by COVID-19.
