Govt borrowing crippling private sector – Hantuba

Mon, 10 Apr 2017 11:58:31 +0000

BY MAILESI BANDA

GOVERNMENT borrowing has become a danger to private sector investment and the country’s social spending, AfLife Holdings Group chief executive officer Muna Hantuba has said.

Mr. Hantuba said Government’s ‘‘insatiable appetite’’ for borrowing was starving private investments and hindering growth in the sector.

He said the private sector needed more money just like Government to grow their businesses.

“If the Government is going to take money from internal and external debt, it means that the private sector has got very little chance in accessing the limited resources that are available,’’ he said.

He stated that the Zambian public debt, which was foreign commercial rated, was a crisis.

Mr Hantuba urged Government to restrain from borrowing more money and avoid growing the debt crisis by setting their priorities right.

He said the desire for Government to borrow without conditions was an indicator of wastefulness and lack of accountability for public resources.

“When you jump to cheaper options of borrowing in the sense that there are no conditions, it means you are borrowing with an intention to abuse the resources that you have borrowed, which is very easier to do,“ he said.

He said borrowing had become a cardinal part of Zambian businesses with negative impact on the national economy.