UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema
HAKAINDE Hichilema says the strengthening of the kwacha against the dollar must not be credited to the Patriotic Front government.
And Hichilema says the high lending rates being charged by banks are threatening survival of local businesses.
In an interview shortly after attending a church service at Kabwata SDA Church in Lusaka yesterday, Hichilema, the UPND leader and also an economist, said the kwacha will only appreciate when it reaches the K5 mark.
By close of business on Friday, the kwacha had gained against other major currencies, trading at between K9.65 and K9.84 per US dollar for bid and offer respectively, as supply of dollars continued to flood the financial market, according to FNB Zambia.
“The government has always been saying it’s global, every time there is a problem. So, maybe this (appreciation of the kwacha) is global as well and so, why should be it be credited to them because when the kwacha is sliding, they say it’s global? So, this [appreciation] is global as well,” Hichilema said.
“Don’t forget that the kwacha to the dollar was K5 [in January 2015]. So, when it gets [back] to K5, we’ll say it has strengthened but for now, it hasn’t strengthened because it’s still below where it was in January 2015.”
And Hichilema said high bank lending rates, now standing at around 40 per cent, would lead to closure of most businesses and eventual job losses.