LUSAKA, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian government has unveiled a Green Paper that outlines its expenditure framework from 2018 to 2020, with a focus on restoring fiscal fitness for sustained inclusive growth, a senior official said on Monday.
The 2018-2020 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) was aimed at linking government's medium term development goals to their budgetary implications within the current fiscal environment and was the first time in seven years that a green paper was being unveiled to the public for scrutiny, commentary and refinement.
"The MTEF will focus on restoring fiscal fitness for sustained inclusive growth and development. This will be done by realigning spending and enhancing domestic resource mobilization," Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba said, according to a statement released by the finance ministry.
The medium term framework, he said, focuses on sustaining economic growth and development through the continued implementation of the country's economic stabilization and growth program announced in this year's budget aimed at restoring fiscal fitness and overall macroeconomic stability as a basis for setting a platform for higher inclusive growth.
According to him, the government plans to prioritize agriculture, mining, manufacturing and tourism as strategic sectors for the country's economic growth over the medium term.
He said the government was concerned that despite the implementation of the economic and stabilization and growth program which have resulted in a number of positive economic developments in 2017 such as appreciation of the local currency, reduction of inflation, challenges still existed such as large stock of arrears.
The government has since designed a medium-term-time-specific-arrears-dismantling strategy so as to reduce the stock over the medium term, he added.
He went on to state that the government has put in place administrative measures to strengthen efforts of improving domestic revenue mobilization in order to meet the medium term revenue targets.
The government will also continue to engage with cooperating partners to increase the level of assistance from 2018 and beyond, he added.
