Zambia Growth Predicted at 4%

Zambia’s economy is expected to grow by more than 4% this year helped by the mining, agriculture and construction sectors, finance minister, Margaret Mwanakatwe, said, Reuters reported. Economic growth in Africa’s second-largest copper producer rose to 4.1% last year, helped in part by higher commodity prices. Officials had initially targeted at least 5% growth this year, but Mwanakatwe’s comments in a statement issued by the finance ministry suggest growth could be closer to last year’s level. Zambia, which expects copper output to rise to over one million tons this year, slapped Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals with a massive $8 billion tax bill last month. It has held talks with the International Monetary Fund over an aid program, but the IMF rejected its debt management plans in February. Zambia’s foreign debt stood at $8.7 billion at the end of March, she said, adding that this year the government wanted to achieve a fiscal deficit of not more than 6.1% of gross domestic product, the same level as in 2017.