In the middle of a lockdown amidst COVID19 pandemic, the private sector unveiled an economic rescue plan to supplement the fiscal side of the economy. Business leaders in Africa’s copper hotspot have formed a business council that is working around the clock to assist Government cushion the disease pandemic effects on both the health of the Zambian people and the business ecosystem. The Business Coalition Council Emergency Taskforce (BCCET) was birthed out of deteriorating economic conditions that prompted business leaders to drive a united private sector agenda to assist government to try and manage the impact of the pandemic in the lives of the people and on businesses in Zambia.
The team has formally courted the Zambian ministerial team and last held meetings with the Ministry of Finance to provide submissions that include, a business rescue plan and a targeted fund-raising campaign for the various health interventions put forward by the BCCET’s team private health specialists. BCCET has been on virtual road show to raise US$5million dollars from business houses and co-operating partners within and outside Zambia to raise funds for medical supplies, face masks, equipment and other essentials required to combat the COVID-19 Pandemic.
In addition to the Health Programme, on the BCCET’s economic agenda, was also the need for Zambia to work towards an International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal which would help inject confidence back into the economy. The council also suggested among other things suspension of the employment code, relaxation of certain taxes to provide liquidity to business houses to sustain employment, and the need for the central bank to implement more effective measures to curb the depreciation of the local currency.
The copper producer currently grapples with a weakening currency amidst a reduction in copper prices as the private sector bears the brunt of COVID pandemic effects. The IMF recently approved funding under its catastrophe emergency funds from which 25 African nations have so far benefitted. Zambia is still in talks with bilateral and private lenders on possible debt repayment suspension this year and it is anticipated that such should yield some success based on the present international financing environment in respect to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The Kwacha Arbitrageur