By KETRA KALUNGA
THE 2022 national budget has not provided for the reduction of the high cost of living, New Heritage Party President, Chishala Kateka has said.
Ms Kateka said the government should explain how it intends to address the current high cost of living because the 2022 national budget has not touched on such a critical issue.
She said the budget focuses more on doing things differently rather than addressing in the immediate term, critical issues such as the high cost of living, inflation, interest rates, and foreign exchange.
Ms Kateka wondered how the UPND Government could overlook the high cost of living as it prepared the budget.
She said in an interview, that Government should tell the nation how it would address the high cost of living given that the country’s economy has been in recession for some time.
Ms. Kateka said the government should explain the fiscal adjustment measures being put in place to get the country out of the state of stagnation.
“The economy has been in recession for some time but this budget focuses more on doing things differently rather than addressing that very critical issue. It is important to introduce a ‘factor’ or ‘factors’ that will kick start the growth process,” she said.
She however described the 2022 national budget as progressive and thought through because of some bold measures and new thinking employed.
Ms. Kateka said that a re-allocation of funds gives an indication of the priorities of the government such as a nearly 80 percent increase in expenditure which has been justified by the priority areas that have been outlined in the budget.
“The most telling of these is the decentralization via the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). This has been very cleverly done,” she said.
