Economic Happenings in Zambia

Word Count: 3,657   January 2014 was a sunny morning in the peak of the Zambian rainy season, his first day of school, a new school. With a sense of anxiety and excitement at what lay ahead for the next year and a half, he stepped out of his mother’s car. His name was Thulani, a 17-year-old high school graduate beginning his A ‘Levels. Having spent the preceding weeks preparing his clothes, covering and sourcing his books, he felt adequately prepared for the experience. Indeed, his family remarked at his enthusiasm. This however was no surprise. Thulani had always been a studious learner, accustomed to being at the upper end of his classes. And so, as he walked into Hilltop academy, he entered with a confidence in his eye, a swagger in his step, aware of the challenge but emboldened by his track record which, he knew all too well. However, he would soon realize that not even this could have prepared him for the personal storms that lay ahead. And so, it began just as he had...

  Up until this stage of the book, we have studied where the Zambian economy presently is. Later on, we will explore opportunities in the future. Our emphasis, here, however is where we are coming from. Our history is filled with accounts that can guide our discussions today, both from an economic standpoint as well as from a cultural perspective. Sadly, much of this rich heritage is rapidly being eroded, most notable by the slow death we are seeing in our local dialects. This is being driven by the misconception that many a Zambian believes, that our languages and as an extension our culture is primitive, animalistic if you may. It is widely perceived in Zambian homes that speaking in your mother tongue is a sign that you are not educated. As a result, a whole generation of Zambian children only know how to speak English. Quite sad. These are Zambian, Bantu children who look everything like their hunter gatherer ancestors, but who know nothing about this heritage. In their par...

MPC Decision. What is Monetary Policy Between February 13th-14th the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Zambia met to set the direction for Monetary Policy in the near term. Here, it was decided to raise the Monetary Policy Rate by 25 basis points from 9% to 9.25%. This marks the first alteration to the MPR by the UNPD government. Let me begin by defining monetary policy. The term refers to tools the Central Bank uses to control money supply in an economy. These tools refer primarily to the interest rate, the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), and the reserve ratio (SRR). The MPR is the rate at which the Central Bank loans money to commercial banks, whereas the reserve ratio is the mandated percentage of deposits which banks are to keep at the Central Bank. Hawkish The stance by the Bank of Zambia in the recent meeting reflects a largely contractionary monetary policy. What this signifies is simply an attempt to reduce money supply. This approach is most often adopted during times of in...