Zambia’s cash-strapped government has plans to slash fuel, electricity and agricultural input subsidies as it tries to meet conditions to secure a loan from the IMF A few weeks after acknowledging that the Zambian economy had hit rock bottom, its government delayed the presentation of the budget for 2017 by a month to this week to give it time to "exhaust consultation with stakeholders".Zambia’s constitution says a new budget must be tabled within 90 days of the inauguration of a new president . President Edgar Lungu was sworn in on September 13, and his government points out that it is still within the law.But the delay, — and late salary payments for civil servants, stalled infrastructure projects and efforts to secure an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan — confirms long-held views that government is not financially sound, says Neo Simutanyi, executive director at Zambia’s Centre for Policy Dialogue."It looks as if government is facing a financial hole caused by an unsustaina...
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