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FLASHBACK: President Sata (left) with former President Dr Kenneth Kaunda laying foundation stones at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport. Government has financed construction of a modern terminal building. – Picture by COLLINS PHIRI.
By NKOLE NKOLE
PRESIDENT Sata has assured that Zambia is on course to prosperity through sound economic policies through which more jobs will be created this year.
He says Government will continue to foster a stable macroeconomic environment which will be reflected in low and stable inflation and a competitive exchange rate as well as prudent fiscal management.
“This will certainly trigger more job opportunities and improve the general welfare of our people especially with the unprecedented infrastructure development being undertaken countrywide,” President Sata has said in a posting made yesterday on his Facebook page.
He cites the Link-Zambia 8,000 project, construction of 650 health posts, the upgrading of airports and aerodromes and the construction of universities and trade institutions as some of the development projects being carried out by the Patriotic Front (PF) government.
“My life has always been of service to my country and its beloved people and I promise to do my very best for the motherland,” President Sata said reassuringly.
President Sata notes that Zambia’s real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 7 percent in the year 2013 with inflation remaining in single digits and ending the year at 7.1 percent.
Commercial banks’ lending rates have also been on the decline, averaging 16.3 percent in 2013 compared to an average of 19.1 percent in 2012.
He says that despite pressures on the external value of the Kwacha, the exchange rate moderately depreciated by 6.3 percent compared to 5.7 percent in 2012.
“Despite pressures on the external value of the Kwacha, the exchange rate moderately depreciated by 6.3 percent compared to 5.7 percent in 2012,” President Sata says.
He notes that the performance of the exchange rate in 2013 was better than what was recorded in most sub-Saharan Africa.
“Going forward, I concur with the views of the IMF that our country’s economic growth will remain strong at 7 percent to 8 percent and that inflation will also decline gradually to 5 percent over the medium term.”
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