By KENNEDY MUPESENI? –
THE 2015 Budget is a growth Budget due to increase in allocations towards economic sectors.
The Bankers Association of Zambia (BAZ) said the increased allocations towards sectors like road, energy, railway and others would spur growth.
Speaking at the KPMG Zambia Budget Analysis meeting  yesterday, BAZ chief executive officer Leonard Mwanza said the increase in the allocation to productive sectors of the economy would encourage economic growth.
“The allocation to some of the growth sectors like energy, roads, and railway and tax reduction in Jet fuel will result in the reduction in the cost of doing business, because these sectors are the engine of economic development,” Mr Mwanza said.
The Government has allocated K600 million to Zesco Limited for power generation, transmission and distribution, while a total of K71 million has been allocated to Rural Electrification Authority in the 2015 Budget.
The Government has also proposed to spend K5.6 billion of the K46.7 billion of the total budget on road construction which one of the the progressive factors that Mr Mwanza said would result in the reduction in the cost of doing business in the country.
At the same function, Chamber of Mines Zambia (CMZ) president Jackson Sikoma said the increase in the various mineral taxes would affect further investment in mining sector.
“It will be difficult for the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) to differentiate between minerals from open pit and underground mining because some companies own underground and open pit mines,” he said.
He said royalty tax did not encourage long-term investment.
“If you do not invest, you still pay royalty tax provided you own a mine, that is why it is difficult to create employment because the Government is not encouraging investments,” he said.
Mines, Energy and Water Development Minister Christopher Yaluma assured that the Government would continue engaging stakeholders to have a level playing field.