Zambian Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane has said that his country’s economy had fared better than expected only months ago.
He told journalists in the capital Lusaka that the country had experienced better growth than had been projected because of the global economic downturn.
Zambia suffered from the negative impact of the global economic meltdown following the collapse of copper prices on world markets.
The country is heavily dependent on the sales of copper for its economic development but the collapse of the metal’s prices last year led to the closures of several copper mining companies and the loss of thousands of jobs at the end of 2008.
The government began the year on a cautious note but Musokotwane said the country had performed better than expected following the recovery of copper prices, adding that the country’s economy would grow by over 6 percent this year compared to last year’s 5.8 percent rate.
He said the country would continue on the recovery path and would continue with efforts to diversify the country’s economy from copper to tourism and agriculture.
Source African Press Agency
