By GIDEON NYENDWA
BUSINESSES should be worried when the local currency is gaining value at a fast rate when the economy is not producing and exporting anything to warrant the gain, Zambia United for Sustainable Development (ZUSD) president Lazarus Chisela has said.
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Mr Chisela said the volatility of the Kwacha has potential to injure businesses because it does not give them a clear picture for their business plan.
He said it was difficult to plan when the local currency is unpredictable especially if it was gaining and losing value at a frequency that was not in balance with the real performance of the economy.
Mr Chisela said the UPND government had not invested in any form of production from the time they took over power and that was why it was difficult to sustain the gains in the local currency because there was nothing to export.
“We would have been happy to see a gain in the value of kwacha if there was an increase, maybe in the production of maize, or maybe we are making cars or even increasing the production of copper but for now there is nothing happening,” Mr Chisela said.
He said the UPND government had invested heavily in consumption that was why there was no significant improvement that had been made from the time they took over from the PF whom he claimed had messed up the country’s economy.
Mr Chisela gave an example of the recruitment of 30 000 teachers and the 11 thousand health workers as one of the burdens that was consuming a lot of money that would have been pushed into production and created more jobs.
He said in as much as the gain in the local currency was a good thing, if it was not sustained it became harmful because some people who ordered expensive goods from outside have to sell them at a much lower price making losses in the process.
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