ACCORDING to the Zambia Statistics Agency, annual inflation for January 2026 has reduced by 1.8 percentage points, falling to 9.4 percent from 11.2 percent recorded in December 2025. This is an interesting development because inflation is the most direct tax on the poor. When prices rise too fast, wages lag behind, savings are eroded, and household planning becomes impossible. A decline in inflation, therefore, is not just a technical statistic; it is relief at the market, relief at the bus stop, relief in the kitchen. At the same time, the kwacha has continued to show resilience against the United States dollar, hovering around K19.90. For a country that has for years watched its currency slide helplessly, this stability is equally...