Refugees are lobbying the Zambian government for speedy compensation after suffering attacks at the hands of xenophobic mobs, according to Anadolu Agency. Xenophobia is on the rise in Zambia due to a stagnant economy and ritualized killings, and many suspect that foreigners are behind the murders. Zambia has accepted an influx of refugees from neighboring countries undergoing political and economic turmoil.
The Zambian government announced its intention of adding 420 MW of electricity in 2016 as grid projects contribute to development, according to Reuters. The new energy target entails generating 300 MW from a new coal plant, while the remaining 120 MW will derive from a hydropower facility.
Zambia has suffered a significant water shortage stemming from a drought, hampering output from hydroelectric plants. Officials remain dedicated to hydroelectricity, however, which could add 3,000 MW of energy to the national grid by 2024.
The Zambian government is considering asking farmers to make certain changes in crop production, such as importing maze from South America, to help with the deficit and rising irrigated crops, according to Reuters. The Southern African country also suffers from waning production in the mining sector due to declining commodity prices; moreover, a drought is causing the nation to lose a great deal of power. Much of Southern Africa has been ravaged by a severe drought that could cause mass starvation of 14 million people.
Due to lower commodity prices and routine power outages that disrupt business activity, Zambia’s economy will grow less than 5.0 percent in 2015, according to Reuters. Zambia’s woes drove the nation’s currency, the kwacha, to record lows as investors sell commodity-based currencies in a panic. Zambia is a landlocked country in Southern Africa and is Africa’s second-largest copper producer.
Zambia’s President Michael Sata has announced a $5.6 billion plan to build and upgrade more than eight thousand kilometres worth of roads over the next five years to improve social and economic infrastructure in Africa’s top copper producer, reported Reuters on Wednesday.
Zambia is a Lower income economy comes under the Sub Saharan African region, as to the classification made by the World Bank on the basis of income and region for the year 2006.
Though both budgetary reforms and privatization process is going on in Zambia’s economy, still the economy growth is not satisfactory. Around 50% of the Gross Domestic Product in Zambia ‘s economy comes from the services sector followed by the industrial sector.
Over the past several years, Zambia is a country that has seen a nice boost to the economy. In fact, from 2005 to 2008, the Gross Domestic Produce increased by as much as 6%. In addition, copper mines that were stated owned during the 1990s were privatized, allowing recovery of huge losses. This also lead to improvements in copper mining overall, actually making a profit for the country and helping improve the overall economy.
