Zambia’s Lungu takes helm at tricky time

[miningmx.com] – EDGAR Lungu, the Patriotic Front leader who was voted in as Zambia’s new president this week, faces a difficult time in office owing to the poor state of the southern African country’s economy, said Bloomberg News.

Citing Isaac Ngoma, president of the Economics Association of Zambia, Bloomberg News said that the Zambian economy was growing at its slowest pace in 12 years partly owing to the low copper price.

“It’s a very delicate time,’ said Ngoma. “The economy has not performed as expected, we’ve had serious challenges on the fiscal side and revenue inflows have been constrained. This could get worse if the mining sector takes a terrible hit.’

Lungu told Zambians following his inauguration in Lusaka that “belt-tightening” was required. “It cannot be business as usual,’ he said.

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