PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema has called on the business community to pass on the benefits of Zambia's economic recovery to consumers, saying improvements in key fundamentals have been too slow to reach prices in shops and markets. State House Chief Communications Specialist Clayson Hamasaka, Hichilema cited lower inflation, a stable Kwacha, a bumper harvest, stable electricity

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PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema has called on the business community to pass on the benefits of Zambia’s economic recovery to consumers, saying improvements in key fundamentals have been too slow to reach prices in shops and markets.

State House Chief Communications Specialist Clayson Hamasaka, Hichilema cited lower inflation, a stable Kwacha, a bumper harvest, stable electricity supply and falling fuel prices.

“These gains have been achieved through the hard work of the Zambian people and the disciplined management of the economy by the Government,” Hichilema said.

The President said where the cost of doing business falls, “the cost of living should follow.”

“Zambia is a free market economy and will remain one, because that is what has attracted the investment now driving the recovery,” he said. “But a free market carries responsibilities as well as freedoms.”

Hichilema expressed confidence that Zambian businesses, which “called for these very improvements for many years,” will now reflect them in pricing “as a matter of good corporate citizenship.”

He added that implementation of the 24-hour economy is expected to raise productivity across sectors and further ease the cost of living.

“The management of the economy is not a political exercise. It is the daily work of the Government, and it will continue with the same discipline regardless of season,” he said.

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