Intellectual Poverty (ZCTU)
“We reject the continued artificial suffering of public service workers that comes with the imposition of the wage freeze while the cost of living continues to rise... In view of the escalating bank...
View ArticleGreen Paper - MTEF 2015 - 2017 and Budget 2015
The Government has released the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) for 2015 - 2017 and the outline for the 2015 budget. This is essentially the PF plan for re-election as the MTEF runs to...
View ArticleZambia Annual Economic Report 2013
I was going through my report archive and I stumbled on this report. After checking I have concluded that unfortunately I have not shared it before. It has some helpful statistics pertaining to the...
View ArticleMangango, PF and 2016 elections
By Michael ChishalaOn 20 August 2014 (the day after the Mangango by-election), an article was published on Zambian Economist (ZE) Facebook page claiming that "...if elections were held today across the...
View ArticleLessons from Mangango
By Bruce Choma The victory recorded by the Patriotic Front in the recently held by-election in Mangango is no mean achievement for them as a party seeking to establish national character.Opposition...
View ArticleParadox of Populism
Populist leaders...start out attacking their opponents’ corruption and accuse them of hijacking the state for a self-serving political establishment that excludes the interests of ordinary people. Yet,...
View ArticleEbola and growth prospects
A fascinating comment in Business Week on the potential of the ebola virus on the West African region :"Sierra Leone’s prospects were bright before the worst-ever outbreak of the virus. The economy was...
View ArticleJudicial system and growth
A recent IMF working paper has an interesting summary of the latest empirical evidence on the channels linking the judicial system and growth :Development of credit markets and cost of credit. Weak...
View ArticleInfrastructure and development
A recent World Bank blog piece about infrastructure and development makes the following interesting comment :"Will public investment in infrastructure be sufficient for unleashing faster economic...
View ArticleSell them!
“It is our hope also that the government will help companies like Times of Zambia where workers have gone for three or four months without getting paid. Workers have been patient, we have met the...
View ArticleZambia's chaotic land administration
By Bruce ChoomaZambia is in a bizarre position when it comes to land administration and management. No one knows how much land is available for various purposes. For over 20 years the Zambian...
View ArticleCash transfers
Community Development Minister Emerine Kabanshi recently announced that the Government plans to extend the cash transfer scheme to cater for up one million households. Government has sensed that it is...
View ArticlePresident Sata : Parliament Speech 2014
Editor's note : President Michael Sata earlier today delivered the highly anticipated speech to parliament set out the government's agenda in the next parliamentary year. Full speech below, with minor...
View ArticleFitch revises outlook on Zambia to positive
Editor's note: Fitch today affirmed Zambia's credit rating at 'B', and revised the outlook to positive owing largely to the rebased GDP figures, government revoking BoP regulations and promises to...
View ArticleGrowth and government size in Zambia
By Henry KyambalesaIn this article, the term "economic growth" refers to an increase in a country's total output of goods and services over a given period. The term "economic development" refers to...
View ArticleThe Mining VAT U-turn
Government appears to have completely U-turned on the $600m VAT refund to exporters, with the larger bulk owed to mines and other exporters. ZRA says the U-turn is due to "widespread concern on the...
View ArticleVAT refunds to mining exporters
By Elias ChipimoLet me start with a surprising statement: every finance minister since 1997 has been refunding mining companies for the VAT that they pay when they bring goods and equipment into this...
View ArticleA Comment on Elias Chipmo's article on VAT refund.
It is refreshing to read Elias Chipimo's insightful contribution on the VAT refund - see the article VAT refunds to mining exporters . Our only observation is that what he has written is factually...
View ArticleVAT refund crisis
Glencore (owners of Mopani Copper Mines) last week halted operations at its Sable Zinc Kabwe mine because of withheld valued-added tax refunds owed to the company. Mopani has also suspended part of an...
View ArticleNew Kwacha Trading on JSE
By Mawano KambeuOn October 3rd, 2014 the Zambian Kwacha, Nigerian Naira and Kenyan Shilling debuted the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). This is the largest and most liquid stick exchange in Africa....
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