Effective management of public resources is essential in the development of any nation. Public resources should therefore, be applied for the best possible public benefit. It is for this reason that the Zambian Government allocates public resources to Parastatal bodies and Statutory institutions as they have an important role to play in service delivery, which ranges from water and sanitation, electricity, education and transportation among others.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a flagship project of African Union Agenda 2063 and refers to a continental geographic zone in which goods and services are to move with, no restrictions; among member states of the African Union (AU). The AfCFTA aims to boost Intra-African trade by providing a comprehensive and mutually beneficial trade agreements among the member states, covering trade in goods and services, investment, intellectual property rights and competition policy. The agreement has been signed by member states of the African Union, bringing together 1.2 billion people with a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of more than US$2 trillion. The draft agreement commits countries to removing tariffs on 90 % of goods, with 10% of “sensitive items” to be phased in later. The agreement is also set with the aim of liberalising services and to tackle non-tariff barriers, which hinder trade between African countries.
The (CFTA) intends to create a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business persons and investments, and thus pave the way for accelerating the establishment of the Continental Customs Union and the African Customs Union. Through better harmonization and coordination of trade liberalization and facilitation regimes and instruments across Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and across Africa in general; the CFTA aims to expand intra African trade. It further aims to resolve the challenges of multiple and overlapping memberships and expedite the regional and continental integration processes. Through exploiting opportunities for scales of production, continental market access and better reallocation of resources; the CFTA further aims to enhance competitiveness at the industry and enterprise level.
Zambia faces a challenge to meet rising demand for electricity as the economy, population and electrification continue to grow. Load-shedding in 2015-16 demonstrated just how high the stakes are for meeting this challenge as the economy suffered losses equivalent to 20% of GDP (Samboko et al 2016) and government bore the cost of expensive energy imports. As government undergoes fiscal consolidation in response to high debt levels, it should look to increased investment in Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to develop energy capacity. This approach offers the opportunity to meet increased demand in a way that protects fiscal spending and ultimately promotes long-term economic growth.
IPPs offer a sustainable route to increased energy capacity across Sub-Saharan Africa, where public and utility financing has traditionally been the largest source of investment in power generation. This picture is true of Zambia, where IPPs currently make up a small but growing part of Zambia’s energy portfolio through plants ranging in capacity from a few megawatts to around 300MW. Zambia has faced significant challenges in attracting IPP investment for several reasons, including below-cost tariffs, its regulatory framework and procurement processes, all of which need to be addressed if Zambia is to better exploit the opportunities that IPPs provide.
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Public Financial Management (PFM) refers to the set of laws, rules, systems and processes used by sovereign nations (and sub-national governments), to mobilise revenue, allocate public funds, undertake public spending, account for funds and audit results (Lawson, 2015). It encompasses a broader set of functions than financial management and is commonly conceived as a cycle of six phases, beginning with policy design and ending with external audit and evaluation. A large number of actors engage in this “PFM cycle” to ensure it operates effectively and transparently, whilst preserving accountability.
Why Public Financial Management (PFM) is Important
A strong Public Financial Management (PFM) system is an essential aspect of the institutional framework for an effective Government because:
- Effective delivery of public services is closely associated with poverty reduction and economic growth, and countries with strong, transparent, accountable PFM systems tend to deliver services more effectively and equitably and regulate markets more efficiently and fairly. In this sense, good PFM is a necessary, if not sufficient, condition for most development outcomes.
- A key element of statehood is the ability to tax fairly and efficiently and to spend responsibly. These are fundamental characteristics of ‘inclusive’ state institutions, which generate trust, promote innovative energies and allow societies to flourish.
Improving the effectiveness of a PFM system may generate widespread and long-lasting benefits, and may in turn help to reinforce wider societal shifts towards inclusive institutions, and thus towards stronger states, reduced poverty, greater gender equality and balanced growth (Lawson, 2015) . For this reason, the Public Finance Management Act and other support regulations have been contentious matters for long time in Zambia.
On Friday 28th September 2018, the Minister of Finance, Honourable Margaret D. Mwanakatwe, and MP delivered the 2019 Budget address to the National Assembly under the theme “Delivering Fiscal Consolidation for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth”. The 2019 National Budget was formulated against the backdrop of the austerity measures being implemented by Government to deliver fiscal consolidation. Among several observations, the budget proposes bold and substantial changes in revenue mobilisation and spending strategies in support of the goal for fiscal consolidation. The budget is aligned to the Economic Stabilization and Growth Programme, the Seventh National Development Plan (7NDP), and the vision of becoming a prosperous middle- income country by 2030.
PMRC has since produced the 2019 National Budget analysis, which explains key aspects of the Budget in all the 5 pillars of the Seventh National Development Plan and further provides recommendations to aid with the implementation of the Budget
The fisheries sub-sector in Zambia plays a significant role in the economy as it offers an opportunity for improved nutrition, income generation and job creation, resulting in general wealth creation and food security at national and household levels. At national level, the fisheries sub-sector contributes approximately 3.2% to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Second Agricultural Policy , 2016). Given the abundant water resources that Zambia has, the fisheries sub-sector has been identified as one of the avenues for agriculture and general economic diversification through enhanced and efficient capture fisheries and fish farming. At household level, the fisheries sub-sector is identified as one of the sectors that can provide additional protein. In addition to other sources such as livestock and crops, fish accounts for about 40% of protein intake in rural areas. This sector is key in efforts towards scaling up nutrition levels, food security and income generation. At household level, the fisheries sector contributes to household income through fishing activities as an income generating activity in some parts of the country.
Zambia’s tourism sector has been identified as one of the key economic sectors for diversification of the economy. Government and key stakeholders recognize the potential the sector has in contributing to the economy through job creation, foreign exchange earning, contributions to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and other economic facets. The sector’s potential to contribute to the economy has not however been fully unlocked due to a number of impediments. Some of these include delays in policy and legislative reforms and administrative and structural reforms.
In February 2017, the Government of the Republic of Zambia launched the National Tourism Policy of 2015. The delayed launch of the policy was attributed to the interruptions in the review process, in the form of various national events such as the successive presidential, parliamentary, and local government elections and others. The aim of reviewing the policy was to present stakeholders’ views in light of the changing trends in the tourism sector and also to reposition the sector as one of the county’s major economic contributors. This followed the recognition and reclassification of the tourism sector from a social sector to an economic sector. The revised policy is aimed at ensuring the tourism sector contributes to job creation, foreign exchange earnings Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and poverty reduction through wealth creation. Additionally, the policy is meant to provide a strategic framework for sustainable tourism development intended to ensure the sector realizes its full potential (Ministry of Tourism and Arts, 2015).
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Situational Analysis of Housing in Zambia
Currently like any other urbanizing country, the Zambian housing sector is experiencing challenges of shortages in decent and affordable housing and the growth of unplanned settlements. These shortages are mostly attributed to inefficiencies of the housing market to meet the housing demand, lack of sustainable housing finance and population increase. According to a study conducted by Zambia Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR) in 2014, Zambia has a housing stock of 2,500,000 units and an annual housing production of 73,000 units which is below the expected annual production of 222,000 units per year. The current housing production has lead to a housing deficit of 1,539,000 as at 2014 and failure to increase housing production might lead into a deficit of 3,328,904 units by 2030.
Introduction Improving the performance of the electricity sector in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries is a long-standing agenda, going back to the 1990s (Besant-Jones 2006, Jamasb et al 2017, Kessides 2012). At that time, the electricity sectors in most African countries were state-owned and run as parastatals, and were characterised by low levels of access, unreliable service, high energy losses, capacity shortfalls, heavily subsidised pricing structures, poor financial performance of utilities and a lack of resources to improve and extend services.