FINANCE and National Planning minister yesterday fumed at the opposition in the National Assembly who are fond of criticising government on the economy without critically analysing issues.
Dr Musokotwane stated that he gets surprised when some opposition leaders fail to appreciate the fact that the economy is doing well.
He said the opposition should learn that the Zambian economy is on its way up as evidenced by the number of mines that have been opened by the current government.
The minister attributed the slow growth of the economy this year to the drought that the country experienced.
“The economy of this country will begin to grow very strongly. Everyone should know that this is a year of drought. The growth of the economy is slow because of the drought,” he said.
Dr Musokotwane further commented on the recent report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) where it reported that the economy had grown by one percent.
He stated that the same report projects that the economy of Zambia shall grow by 6.2 percent in 2025 but the opposition chose to speak on the negative.
“People are deliberately choosing the negative things from the report but ignoring the good ones. We are well justified that the economy will grow because of the mines we have opened. Zambia being a mining economy, how can you doubt that the economy will grow? Our colleagues need to be sober. They need to invest in analytical capacity.”
“This country for years and years were importers of fertiliser but today we are exporting fertiliser. When we say the economy is growing we are talking from real evidence, the economy was not growing because mines were being closed and arresting investors,” said Dr Musokotwane.
He further assured the nation that the economy is coming back stronger than ever since independence.
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba, November 21, 2024
