By KENNEDY MUPESENI –

THE Policy Monitoring and Research Centre (PMRC) is calling for the strengthening of the country’s tax system to provide cover for unpredictable losses that may arise as a result of unstable global prices for copper.
The recent slowdown of the Chinese economy has continued to unsettle global economic prospects and being a major importer of copper coupled with uncertainty in global oil prices, market experts were unsure with growth especially in Africa.
Developing countries such as Zambia that depended on China as their export market could face severe shocks in their respective economies.
To counter the anticipated shocks, PMRC researcher Miselo Bwalya said in a latest policy analysis that strengthening the tax regime would enable the mining sector to remain operational despite any plunge in copper prices.
He urged Government to put in place precautionary measures such as tightening fiscal policy to cushion the economy from external shocks resulting from a reduction in copper demand as well as falling prices of Zambia’s major export.
Mr Bwalya however said the current situation should be approached with caution, as the sustained reduction in demand would lead to a slump in copper prices and this would be harmful for the Zambian economy.
He said if copper prices remained above the marginal cost of production, then the mines would still remain profitable at current copper prices.
He predicted that the Zambian economy was expected to remain stable as long as copper prices stood above US $5,500 per tonne.