•Larose

By MAIMBOLWA MULIKELELA –

THE World Bank has advised the Government to come up with innovative and creative policies that will address the current deficit in the National Budget.
Visiting World Bank group executive director Louise Rene Peter Larose said it was important for the Government to formulate innovative and creative policies that would help tackle the fiscal shortfall.
He said this in an interview in Lusaka yesterday.
Dr Larose is currently on a four-day visit to Zambia and will tour Zambeef Products plant in Chisamba, Muliashi Copper Mine in Luanshya and selected stands at the ongoing Zambia International Trade Fair in Ndola.
He said he was aware that the authorities in Zambia were taking appropriate measures to address the growing fiscal deficit.
“I am very sure that the authorities are very conscious that they have this challenge and of course they are taking appropriate measures to address this issue and certainly they are about policy making.
“They need to come up with innovative and creative policies that will address the deficiencies for the time being, but nevertheless a lot of countries are going through a lot of these difficulties in terms of experiencing a decline in certain sectors,” Dr Larose said.
This was an opportunity for countries facing challenges with their fiscal positions to be creative and target sectors that would help reverse the decline and promote wealth creation.
“Sectors that really matter are certainly sectors that create employment. For example, when you look at the mines, Zambia has got a very comparative advantage, tourism sector which is a human resource-driven sector and of course the social sector.
“For Zambia to be able to have productive capacities, the country needs to have very sustained and very supportive social sectors in terms of blending policies that will ensure that the welfare of the people is taken care of,” he said.
The World Bank has a responsibility to help countries eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity by improving the living standards of the people in the 21 countries he represents.
The bank has the resources to work closely with Zambia to reduce the inequalities and is currently discussing the country’s systematic diagnosis.
This would look at the sectors that need to be well-targeted in terms of resources to ensure poverty levels are reduced.
Dr Larose said the energy and agriculture sectors were critical to the development of Africa.
“For me in Africa, energy and agriculture are very critical sectors that need the support of the World Bank and the international community because without energy we cannot have sustainable development. All the sectors of the economy revolve around energy,” he said.