By Scoop Reporter
ZAMBIA needs a new economic order to respond and adapt to the new normal beyond short term economic stimulus packages recently prescribed, Golden Party Zambia (GPZ) president Jackson Silavwe has said.
Mr. Silavwe says many countries in Africa, Zambia inclusive, are experiencing economic shocks despite having recorded fewer clinical cases of COVID-19.
He says Zambia has registered multiple job losses, depreciation of kwacha against major convertibles such as the USD there by making businesses and the general cost of living a nightmare and that poverty levels have equally rocketed.
He says assessments by the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) show that the global economy has slowed down in growth in the year 2020 compared to the year 2019.
He says global trade has slowed down as a result of the closure of borders and the lockdowns in major economies like the European Union (EU), China and the United States of America (USA).
He says according to the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Corona virus blow to economic growth expected to drop from 3.2 percent to 1.8 percent with secretary for ECA Miss Vera Songwe, predicting that the continent’s interconnectedness to affected economies of the EU, China and USA was causing ripple effects.
“As GPZ, we wish to call on the Government of the Republic of Zambia to initiate a solid long-term economic plan in the COVID era beyond the recently announced short interventions. Zambia needs a grand economic reset urgently to curb the adverse economic effects on our people.
“Further, we call upon the Economic Association of Zambia (EAZ) to hold an economic indaba that would look into the economy of Zambia critically during the Covid-19 economics. An economic Indaba held in good faith can provide solutions for a more resilient local economy for a prosperous Zambia. Let turn COVID-19 effects into economic opportunities for a better Zambia,” Mr. Silavwe said.
