Zambia targets six percent growth in 2007

from Yahoo News via AFP

Zambia has set itself a six percent growth target for 2007 and pledged to make major inroads into poverty levels in a country where two-thirds of the population survive on less than a dollar a day.

Treasury Secretary Evans Chibiliti also said Thursday the government aimed to further reduce the inflation rate to five percent as well as stabilising exchange rates within the course of the coming year.

"Government will focus on accelerating pro-poor growth by emphasising the implementation of appropriate policies," said Chibiliti in a 2007 budget projection.

A major reduction in its levels of foreign debt would free up more funds for public spending and to finance poverty-reduction programmes, he said.

"From the savings arising from debt cancellation, government intends to scale-up expenditure on poverty reducing programmes," Chibiliti said.

"One of the public spending priorities shall be social sector spending particularly on health, education and water and sanitation."

Chibiliti predicted that Zambia would receive 683 million dollars (518 million dollars) in grants from aid donors in the year ahead, which will help beef up the country's non-tax revenue.

Zambia's economy has been recording positive growth in the last few years while the inflation rate is now at around eight percent -- a drastic contrast to neighbouring Zimbabwe where the figure has passed the 1,000 percent mark.

However, the majority of Zambians to still live below the poverty line and blame the current government of President Levy Mwanawasa.

During his successful re-election campaign in September, Mwanawasa urged voters to give him more time to make further inroads against poverty, acknowledging he had only scratched the surface.