Fri, 09 Jun 2017 14:29:21 +0000
BY CHINTU MALAMBO
AS a country, we are moving on the right track in our diversification agenda to prioritize Agriculture, given the potential that it has on both primary and sectorial levels of harnessing the economy, Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR) Executive Director, Patrick Shindano has said.
Speaking during the launch of the report on “Impacts of Fluctuating Commodity Prices on Government Revenue in the SADC Region-THE Case of Copper in Zambia”, Mr Shindano said that it was critical that government realized the potential in the Agricultural sector as the key element for diversification.
Mr Shindano said that there was need to increase productivity as a country, in terms of Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and employment creation of which Agriculture was highly labour intensive compared to mining where job creation was only 10 per cent.
“Government has indicated that they are going to promote Agriculture as a key sector for diversification and clearly the over reliance on Copper is very harmful to the economy and you need to ensure that you diversify.
“Really as a country, we are on the right direction in our diversification and prioritizing Agriculture, given the potential that has both primary and tertiary industry and we will be able to harness the whole value chain system that Agriculture has and it is critical that government looks at it on that angle,” he said.
Mr Shindano charged that CSPR’s analysis indicated a reduction in government revenue which resulted in government reduction in government spending.
“Clearly, the analysis has shown a number of aspects and one of them, it has shown a reduction in government revenue which has had an impact in government’s spending patterns and specifically hitting social sector spending.
“As government is trying to manage its revenue, what has happened is that we have seen an increase in debt financing because government has been reliant on copper earning both in terms of tax revenue and forex,” he said.
Mr Shindano further said that it was important that government managed earning during boom times so that during recession, it would still continue with its spending patterns.
