JCTR Calls For Pro-Poor Budget

Finance Minister Bwalya Ng’andu is expected to deliver the budget for 2021 on Friday 25th September. 

Ahead of then, the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) has called for the budget to be pro-poor in response to the rising cost of living. 

According to the group, the cost of the Basic Needs and Nutrition Basket (BNNB) in August remained over K,7000 at K7,178.22, a reduction of K26.02 from July. The slight decrease resulted from reductions in the price of items such as cassava flour, roller mealie meal and pounded groundnuts. However, other items such as kapenta and vegetables increased in price over the same period.  

“From the August basket particular attention is placed on the sharp increase in the price of kapenta, a nutritious food item which is a source of protein, omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids due to reduced supply. This entails that consumers will have to spend more to access this food item. This becomes a challenge at household level due to constrained income levels that have been threatened by the pandemic. Vegetables is another case in point which during the dry season tend to increase in cost due to scarcity,” the group stated. 

High levels of inflation have featured throughout 2020, with the annual rate of inflation standing at 15.5% in August. The rate is double the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) target of between 6% and 8%. 

“JCTR would like to see social cash transfer benefiting many poorer households than is the case at the moment. The importance of attending to the needs of the most vulnerable people in our society cannot be overemphasized,” the group advises. 

This year’s budget comes at a critical time for the country as bills continue to mount amid a coronavirus spending spree. The government still has to pay off over US$ 11 billion of external debts.  

“As the country prepares the 2021 National Budget, there is a need to take stock of the still uncertain impact of the COVID-19 crisis in the context of a number of macroeconomic factors such as the fragile state of economy characterised by negative growth rates of about four per cent, the weakening of the local currency and the high annual inflation, although having dropped to 15.5 per cent for the month of August according to the Zambia Statistics Agency still remains an undesirable macroeconomic indicator as a double digit figure,” JCTR stated.