BRACE FOR HARSH TIMES
By BUUMBA CHIMBULU
PEOPLE should brace for harsh economic and social changes expected from the 2022 National Budget to be presented to Parliament on Friday, according to Economist, Oliver Saasa.
Finance Minister, Situmbeko Musokotwane, will present the 2022 National Budget expected to focus on poverty reduction, employment creation, and creation of a conducive environment for investment in all sectors.
Professor Saasa has however, advised the new government to urgently put in place a dependable communications strategy which would sensitise the citizenry on the need for a long-term approach as it implements the harsh policies.
“Yes, we must be ready for some harsh changes. The International Monetary Fund, for one, has demanded fiscal prudence. We were in dire straits, there must be a moratorium on debt.
“When a situation is very desperate, even the notion of prioritisation becomes a difficult exercise, but it is an exercise that must be done,” he said in an interview.
Prof Saasa also stated that since the new government had inherited an economy in a poor state, it would be some time before it could harvest the dividends that would support Zambians in the long term.
The government, he said, must therefore urgently put in place a dependable communications strategy to sensitise the citizenry on the need for a long-term approach.
“Without a proper communications strategy, people won’t be able to understand why it’s taking so long to see results, and they will become frustrated.
“Young voters in particular are an unforgiving demographic that want to see quick wins. Some of them graduated five or even ten years ago, and up until now haven’t had jobs. It will be difficult to tell this group that they need to wait another two or three years until certain investments have been completed,” Prof Saasa warned.
