Currency gain to cost Zambian gov't 235 million dollars: official

Zambia will suffer a loss in revenue of about 800 billion kwacha (about 235 million U.S. dollars due to appreciation of kwacha, Zambian Finance Minister has said.

Zambia Daily Mail on Saturday quoted Ng'andu Magande as saying in the parliament Friday that as a result of the development, the government will revise the budget and postpone some of the projects.

The minister said the government has finalized the first draft of the national development plan which has since been posted on the web site of the ministry.

Magande said that the government will implement decentralization.

Meanwhile, Vice President Lupando Mwape told the parliament that the appreciation of kwacha has positive and negative impacts and moral and immoral reactions.

The vice president urged people to give this appreciation time to mature.

Kwacha has appreciated to 3,400 kwacha against one U.S. dollar compared with 4,800 to one dollar in February 2005.

Source: Xinhua