LUSAKA, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Zambia's economic growth in 2020 has been revised downwards due to the negative effects of the COVID-19, its finance ministry said on Wednesday.
The economy growth has been downgraded from the initial growth of at least 3 percent to a negative growth of around minus 4.2 percent.
Minister of Finance Bwalya Ng'andu said in a ministerial statement delivered in parliament that primary and secondary sectors like mining, energy, construction and manufacturing are expected to record poor performance while service sectors like wholesale and trade, tourism, transport and professional services are equally expected to underperform.
"My ministry has continued to review the performance and projected growth of the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis conducted indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic will have an adverse impact on the economy," he said.
However, sectors like agriculture and information and communication have shown resilience and are expected to record strong growth, with the agriculture sector projected to record strong growth due to good favourable rain patterns which have seen a 69 percent production of maize, the country's staple crop.
The Zambian minister further said the government was in the process of revising the 2020 budget due to an increase in expenditure and a decline in revenues.
The government, he said, believes that prudent management of finances has become even more important in view of the resource requirements to fight COVID-19. Enditem
