Sata clears budget air

f”>Zambia Daily Mail by Online Editor on 6/23/13

…foreign reserves hit $2.4 billion mark
By KASUBA MULENGA
PRESIDENT Sata has brought to an end, speculation that the Patriotic Front (PF) government’s national budget has “collapsed” as reported in some sections of the local media recently.
The President has described such claims as “premature, unwarranted and mischievous.”
“Our foreign reserves currently stand at about US$2.4 Billion while the country has recorded over US$2 billion in investment pledges in various sectors of the economy in the first quarter of 2013.
“Similarly, non-traditional exports grew to US$530.7 million in the quarter of 2013, compared with US$500.9 million recorded during the same period in 2012. It is therefore, irresponsible to engage in extreme talk amidst such a robust national economic performance,” Mr Sata said.
This is contained in a statement issued in Lusaka yesterday by special assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations George Chellah.
President Sata said in line with the PF manifesto’s commitment to promoting inclusive growth and social justice for all, his Government is running an activity based budget and has continued financing projects and programmes judiciously.
“The focus of the 2013 budget is to facilitate accelerated and sustained economic growth that translates into tangible realities for our people such as generation of sufficient and stable jobs, a redistribution of income and opportunities in favour of the poor, access to basic services and a general improvement in standards of living.
“Consequently, we have made substantial allocations towards the health, education, water and sanitation and local government sectors. Other interventions have been targeted towards facilitating sustained growth in the agriculture, tourism, infrastructure development and manufacturing sectors,” Mr Sata said.
The President said in order to guarantee the execution of pragrammes and activities, he has directed the treasury to ensure that programme implementation reports are submitted by ministries, provinces and other spending agencies prior to receiving subsequent funding.
President Sata said the PF Government is working tirelessly and with greater urgency to ensure that all priority sectors of the economy flourish within the projected benchmarks.
Meanwhile, President Sata has dismissed reports that he intends to substitute Minister of Finance Alexander Chikwanda with a named former finance minister, describing the reports as cheap careless gossip.