THE Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants (ZiCA) says the implementation and execution of the 2024 national budget may be affected by the prolonged debt restructuring process. ZiCA president Yande Siame Mwenye says the implications of the rejected “agreement in principle” that was reached between government and its bondholders are that the full conclusion of debt restructuring may extend into 2024 and this may adversely affect budget implementation and execution. Mwenye says the increase in the Statutory Reserve Ratio to 17 percent has a huge disadvantage for SMEs and will delay the growth of entrepreneurship. Meanwhile, Mwenye has urged the authorities investigating ZiCA members at the Ministry of Finance and Office of the Auditor General to expedite their investigations. Speaking during...