Govt announces new austerity measures

Government has announced austerity measures meant to stabilise the economy. During a cabinet meeting which was held yesterday, May 27, Cabinet decided that certain expenditures in ministries and provinces must be reviewed.

Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe announced that as a way of addressing the current economic hardships that the country is facing, government will going forward indefinitely postpone the contraction of all new non-concessional loans and cancel some signed but undisbursed loans.

The Minister said this at a media briefing in Lusaka as an update following yesterday’s special cabinet meeting held at state house.

Mwanakatwe said it was agreed that government will increase the control and management of disbursement on foreign financed loans.

Mwanakatwe also said cabinet has also directed that no ministry, province or spending agency should contract goods and services without availability of funds despite being budgeted for.

She announced that in addressing the liquidity challenges, government will dismantle all domestic arrears and halt the accumulation of new ones.