• The country currently falls short of the desired 6% GDP growth needed to tackle existing challenges.
• Zambia is facing a budget deficit, leading government to borrow domestically and internationally to meet its needs.
• ZRA is meeting its revenue targets even during a point when the economy is not growing as fast as it should be.

A says achieving sustained economic development is crucial for Zambia as the country currently falls short of the desired 6% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth needed to tackle existing challenges.

Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Trevor Hambayi said the country is currently facing a budget deficit, leading government to borrow domestically and internationally to meet its needs.

Mr. Hambayi called for a more prudent approach to fiscal expenditure, one that aligns with the nation’s revenue generating capacity to effectively manage its debt burden.

“On the expenditure side, government must start to consider to be able to have a better fiscal expenditure that is consistent with our capacity to generate revenue to be able to reduce our debt contraction.”

“At the moment, we still have a budget deficit and we are borrowing domestically and internationally to meet that budget,” Mr. Hambayi stated.

He further commended Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) for meeting its revenue target for the first quarter of 2204, at a time when the economy is not growing as expected.

“ZRA is meeting its targets even during a point when the economy is not growing as fast as it should be because we are still below 6 percent in terms of GDP growth and we need a 6 percent GPD growth to address the challenges the country is facing,” he added.

Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA collected K28.4 billion revenue in the first quarter of 2024.

According to Authority Commissioner General Dingani Banda, the net revenue collections in the first quarter were K339.1 million or 1.2 percent above the targeted K28.1 billion.

ZRA is this year expected to collect K125.3 billion or 19.7% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), representing growth of 21.5% from the 2023 target.