FORMER Bank of Zambia (Boz) governor Dr Caleb Fundanga says PF did not want Dr Denny Kalyalya because he always advised them on the need for fiscal discipline.

Commenting on Dr Kalyaya’s recent remarks that there had been a disturbance on the autonomy of BoZ during the previous administration, Dr Fundanga agreed with him, saying the independence of the Central Bank was “certainly” compromised during the PF era.

“I think he is right. The independence of the Central Bank was certainly compromised during the PF era, the reason I suspect is that they did not want him at the Central Bank because he was always advising on the need to use fiscal discipline, so he was right. He is the one who experienced it, he felt it and got punished for it. The Central Bank needs that independence to be able to execute its mandate and to advise the government on these financial matters. So if they don’t want to listen to the advisor, they run into a ditch. And I think that what he was trying to emphasize was that the independence of the Central Bank was lost under the stewardship of the PF. Dr Kalyalya should continue soldiering on because that is the only way this economy can survive if you have the Central bank which can advise properly,” he said.

Dr Fundanga said financial discipline was key to the success of any development of a country.

“If there is no financial discipline, it means you spend money where we did not budget to spend. People just spend money anyhow, how can a country develop like that? So financial discipline is key to the success of any development of a country. If money is spent properly, you will grow, if money is misapplied, it means that there will be no proper growth,” he said.

And Dr Fundanga urged the UPND government to make use of professional people who could provide them with good advice.

“One thing the UPND is not short of is professional cadres. There are a lot of educated people, people that they can rely on. Not people who just make noise but people who can provide good advice to the government. I think that is one of the strengths of UPND. So they should use those people, they are key to any success that can be expected,” said Dr Fundanga.