DR Denny Kalyalya’s dismissal is likely to trigger a sharp kwacha depreciation because there will be a severe lack of confidence in the country’s economy, says financial market analyst Maambo Hamaundu. President Edgar Lungu sacked the highly-respected BoZ governor, Saturday, in an abrupt announcement, replacing him with Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, Finance and Economic...

COMMERCE Minister Christopher Yaluma has fired Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) Board Chairperson Fisho Mwale with immediate effect for unknown reasons. Confirming the development in a brief interview, Monday, Mwale, who is also a Yalelo Limited director, said he was no longer the ZDA board chair after having his contract of employment terminated. “It is true....

GOVERNMENT still needs to implement strong fiscal policy where the budget deficit and high levels of inflation are kept under control if the Bank of Zambia’s (BoZ) relaxed monetary policy is to have any meaningful impact, says economist Chibamba Kanyama. And Kanyama says interest rates on loan facilities should not be expected to significantly decline...

THE kwacha has continued to sharply depreciate and is expected to hit K19.50 per dollar owing to continued high demand for the greenback on the local market, compounded with little supply. According to financial market players, the kwacha maintained a weak position, depreciating to crash through the K19.00 per dollar mark last Friday for the...

THE annual rate of inflation has marginally decreased to 15.8 per cent in July, down from 15.9 per cent recorded in June, mainly induced by price decreases in food items, according to the Zambia Statistics Agency (ZSA). Announcing Zambia’s annual rate of inflation for the month of July, ZSA Interim Statistician General Mulenga Musepa said...

THE annual rate of inflation has decreased to 15.9 per cent in June, down from 16.6 per cent recorded in May, mainly triggered by price decreases in food items, according to the Zambia Statistics Agency (ZSA). Announcing Zambia’s annual rate of inflation for the month of June, ZSA Interim Statistician General Mulenga Musepa said that...

MINING companies’ revenues in Zambia have drastically fallen by around 30 per cent over the three-month period, February-April 2020, mainly triggered by the deep impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on slashing copper earnings. According to Zambia Chamber of Mines data, the COVID-19 virus has cut Zambian mining companies’ copper sales as a result of...

LAZARD Freres, the French firm government has appointed to provide advisory services in relation to Zambia’s debt management, should be trusted because the company has a long track-record at successfully negotiating sovereign debt, says economic statistician Shebo Nalishebo. Commenting on the Ministry of Finance’s decision to award a US $5 million tender to Lazard Freres...

THE annual rate of inflation has risen to 16.6 per cent in May, up from 15.7 per cent recorded in April, the highest on record since September, 2016, according to the Zambia Statistics Agency (ZSA). Announcing Zambia’s annual rate of inflation for the month of May, ZSA Interim Statistician General Mulenga Musepa said that the...

BANK of Zambia (BoZ) governor Dr Denny Kalyalya says the K10 billion Medium-Term Loan Refinancing Facility has a strict eligibility criterion because it is targeted at those who can pay back the money. Meanwhile, Zambia’s international gross reserves have continued falling to record lows of US $1.39 billion, representing just two months of import cover,...