By BRIAN HATYOKA  –
THE Zambian economy is performing generally well despite some few internal and external setbacks, Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants (ZICA) president Jason Kazilimani Jnr has said.
Mr Kazilimani said it was pleasing to note that the exchange rate had been relatively stable while the Kwacha had also posted some gains this year.
He said the inflation rate was still at single digit although the rate had gone up slightly.
Mr Kazilimani was speaking in an interview in Livingstone yesterday at AVANI Victoria Falls Hotel on the side-lines of the ongoing ZICA pre-Annual General Meeting (AGM) workshop.
He said prospects of the Zambian economy in the coming quarter would only be clear to stakeholders after the completion of debt sustainability analysis by Government.
Mr Kazilimani said ZICA would not be revising its economic projections until the debt sustainability analysis was done.
He also said that the outcome of the meetings between Zambia’s Minister of Finance Margaret Mwanakatwe and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as well as the World would also assist stakeholders to project the future economic outlook.
Mr Kazilimani also said that his wish was to have the construction of the US$ 300 million convention centre, a hotel and other support infrastructure in Livingstone done within the next three years to mitigate the shortage of large conference facilities in Zambia’s tourist capital.
The project had been pending since April 25, 2014 when the institute, under then president
Frederick Banda, laid the foundation stone in Livingstone for the construction of a convention centre and other facilities.
ZICA has acquired 100 hectares of land where it intends to build an international conventional centre, a hotel and a golf course among other facilities.