central bank head in Africa’s copper producer Zambia has nodded the 2023 fiscal road map but has emphasized on the need for effective implementation. Dr. Denny Kalyalya said this during a post budget public symposium held in Lusaka the capital on 04 October.
Kalyalya cited historical dislocations between monetary and fiscal policy that made central banking frustrating as balance sheet vulnerabilities heightened. With clear commitment as provided by the budget pronouncements made by the Finance Minister Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, the central bank head is confident that monetary policy management will lead to stable inflation and robust growth.
“A stable financial system is critical for stable transmission of interventions,” Kalyalya said. The Zambian financial system uses market based tools and instruments which can be frustrating sometimes if fiscals are not in tandem with the monetary side, he said.
Kalyalya lauded the 2023 reference to Zambia’s flexible exchange rate system, a regime it has been on since 1991, one for which most nations struggle to uphold.
The 2023 budget echoed central banking reforms that have seen the birth of a financial sector stability adding to an already existing monetary policy committee that is mandated to manage price stability.
Kalyalya was reappointed as Bank of Zambia governor in the new dawn government barely a year after his contract was terminated by Zambia’s previous political regime. He has been named as one of Zambia’s top central bankers with immense experience globally having served at the World Bank as Executive Director and more recently chair of the International Development Associations twentieth replenishment (IDA20)
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