Finance Minister Bwalya Ngandu is this afternoon scheduled to present the 2021 National Budget.
And various economic players have called on government to craft a budget that will restore general macroeconomic stability.
The Zambia Association of Manufacturers -ZAM- says Zambia’s economic growth is highly dependent on a stable exchange and inflation rate.
ZAM Chief Executive Officer Florence Muleya says the association also expects the 2021 budget to address the effects of COVID-19.
And the Policy Monitoring and Research Centre -PMRC- has advised government to maintain tax measures introduced to cushion the impact of Covid-19 on the economy and push them into the 2021 National Budget.
PMRC Researcher Salim Kaunda says doing so will help the SMEs affected by Covid-19 to rebound in their businesses.
Kaunda adds that the PMRC expects the 2021 national budget to cushion and help SMEs and citizens recover from the impact of a global economic downturn caused by Covid-19.
And Mr. Kaunda says government should go back to the debt negotiating table because a huge chunk of the budget goes to debt servicing.
He adds that the PMRC also expects a clear strategy from government on increasing revenue collection through engaging the informal sector. -ZNBC