Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane says government has NOT given workers a huge Pay As You Earn -PAYE- exemption threshold because it has balanced up with free education.
The Minister says he has received concerns that the increase in the PAYE exemption threshold from four thousand kwacha to four thousand five hundred is minimal in view of the current state of the economy.
Dr. Musokotwane however says the most efficient way of dealing with this is offering free education which targets many beneficiaries as the budget is quite tight owing to debt.
And Dr. Musokotwane says government is exploring key sectors like tourism, agriculture, transport and mining among others to create jobs for the over 3-hundred thousand young people who enter the job market annually.
Speaking during the Post Budget Town Hall Symposium in Lusaka today, Dr. Musokotwane observed that all key professionals now find it difficult to find jobs in the country.
He stated the need to increase copper production amidst population growth, improve agro-processing and exports to create jobs.
In the farming industry, Dr. Musokotwane said the focus now should be large scale estates which create many jobs as mining firms.
Dr. Musokotwane also called for more private sector participation in developing infrastructure in the transport sector.
And Secretary to the Treasury Felix Nkulukusa clarified some concerns raised that budget figures are not balanced saying what Dr. Musokotwane presented was a budget speech and not a budget.
He said the trend has been the same for years because all minute details of the budget are presented in the yellow book while the budget speech just contains major highlights.
Mr. Nkulukusa also observed that everyone would easily get tax incentives if they paid tax.
Meanwhile, Bank of Zambia Governor Denny Kalyalya said having an International Monetary Fund -IMF- programme will open Zambia’s doors for budget support from institutions like the World Bank.
Dr. Kalyalya said this has been the trend as some bilateral partners had stopped giving budget support because they thought the risks were too high.
And Insurance Association of Zambia President Christabel Banda pledged her association’s commitment to work with government as the budget provides for growth of the insurance industry.
She however expressed concern with the standardization of the life insurance premiums
