Mutati advises govt to heal the economy
By Staff Reporter
Former Finance Minister Felix Mutati has called for measures to address and minimize the stress the Zambian economy is going through.
Mutati says there is further need for the government to address the pressure of debt the country had acquired.
He said that it was imperative that the government worked towards addressing the issues of liquidity for the businesses to grow and run effectively.
“The Zambian government at this moment should be striving to deal with issues of exchange rate and depleting reserves,” he said.
He believes that the government still has a chance of fixing some of the leakages in the economy.
The former Finance Minister stated that the government should also engage the business community over the implementation of Sales Tax that is replacing Value Added Tax (VAT).
“The implementation of Sales Tax is more risky than VAT,” he said.
Mutati said the government should have addressed the administrative issues of the VAT.
He noted that the current Sales Tax Bill needs some panel beating.
And the former Finance Minister has encouraged the government to prioritize the dismantling of arrears owed to the farmers.
Mutati further said that the agriculture sector was the engine of the economic development and hence the need to help and support the farmers.
