Good Governance Activist Maxson Nkhoma has asked President Edgar Lungu to give key policy pronouncements that give the direction of the 2019 national budget as he officially opens parliament this Friday.

Mr. Nkhoma says stakeholders are highly expectant that the head of state will address taxation issues which have dominated public debate in recent days where Zambians have complained of increasing taxes against static household incomes.

“It is imperative that the government should not increase domestic taxes any further as doing so will increase the cost doing business and increase the cost of living for majority Zambians. I therefore do not expect a drastic increase in taxes as doing so might keep small scale enterprises out of business and cause loss of jobs for Zambians,” he said.

Mr. Nkhoma states that government should instead invest in mechanisms that will enhance tax collection from already existing tax brands.

“The government should therefore work towards addressing the lope holes that exist in collecting taxes as opposed to creating new taxes all together,” he adds.

Mr. Nkhoma, who is also former Civil Society for Poverty Reduction Communications Officer, also expects the head of state to address the issues surrounding distribution of farming inputs to farmers which previously been done late.

He says this issue of delivering farming inputs late to farmers should be a good example of the past which should never be repeated in 2018-2019 farming season.