PMRC calls for  national infrastructure delivery plan

Tue, 20 Dec 2016 13:16:46 +0000

By SANDRA MACHIMA

GOVERNMENT should devise a National Infrastructure Delivery Plan 2017-2021 that will be part of the Seventh National Development Plan to bring together all of the Government’s plans and resource estimates for economic infrastructure development over the next five years.

Policy Monitoring and Research Centre (PMRC) executive director Bernadette Deka observed that improving domestic revenue mobilization had remained critical for the Government’s fiscal agenda in line with Zambia’s economic recovery programme.

Ms Deka also proposed that Government should support Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) to reform and restrict the PAYE practice that allows returns to be made without payments, particularly given that Section 71 of the Income tax Act stipulates that payment shall be deemed to be made when the emolument is received.

She said efforts to broaden the tax base encompassed a wide range of initiatives, focusing both on internal operational issues of the revenue collector and the external environment of revenue collection, particularly the interface with tax payers.

PMRC also proposed that Government should improve the minerals diversification strategy away from a skewed focus on copper to balanced focus on other minerals through exploration and research and development in oil, natural gas as well as semi-precious and precious minerals.

Ms Deka said that the precedence of reducing spending on roads, especially the unplanned roads, should be maintained and possibly enhanced.

“The Government should consider all infrastructure projects only on the basis of full project appraisals, prioritizing high economic return projects in energy and other services; and should carefully match the projects with adequate term financing from affordable sources,” she said.