Zambian president says economy stabilized

LUSAKA, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema said on Friday that his administration has managed to stabilize the economy after one year of being in office.

He said the economy, which registered negative growth in 2020, was now projected to grow at an average of four percent in the medium term.

He said the government inherited a broken economy characterized by runaway inflation, deteriorating exchange rate, fiscal mismanagement as well as dwindling foreign reserves but noted that the economic transformation program has started bearing fruits.

"We have put back our economy on a positive growth trajectory," he said during the official opening of the Second Session of the 13th National Assembly under the theme, "Working Together Towards Socio-Economic Transformation; Stimulating Economic Growth for Improved Livelihoods."

The government, he said, has managed to stabilize the exchange rate, making the Kwacha, the local currency, one of the best-performing currencies in the world and managed to build back foreign exchange reserves to 3.7 months of import cover as at the end of June 2022 from a low of 1.9 months of import cover.

According to him, the government was now focused on resolving the debt crisis which has been one of the country's biggest challenges, adding that the government was committed to ensuring continued prudent fiscal management through reforming financial management systems.