•PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu (left) congratulates Bank of Zambia governor Denny Kalyalya during the swearing-in ceremony at State House in Lusaka yesterday. Picture by CLEVER ZULU

By REBECCA MUSHOTA –

PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has directed the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) to resuscitate the falling Kwacha.
President Lungu said he expected new BoZ Governor, Denny Kalyalya to work with Government to resuscitate the slipping Kwacha and the economy.
The President was speaking at State House in Lusaka yesterday when he swore in Dr Kalyalya whose appointment was ratified by Parliament last Friday.
“You are not new to the Bank of Zambia. You and your workmates should sweep all corners and resuscitate the Kwacha and the economy,” Mr Lungu said.
He said Dr Kalyalya could count on Government and should work with the ministry of Finance to improve the local currency.
The Central Bank, he said, has a challenge of plugging the declining Kwacha against the United States dollar and other convertible currencies.
He however, noted that the negative effect was not only on the Zambian currency but other currencies in the region.
Even though the problem affected the rest of region, President Lungu said, it was not a justifiable reason for the Kwacha to continue depreciating because Zambia has a unique economy.
He said Dr Kalyalya’s 14-year experience at BoZ was sufficient training for his new undertaking.
Mr Lungu said many stakeholders including Parliamentarians had expressed their confidence in Dr Kalyalya’s appointment as Governor of BoZ.
Meanwhile, Dr Kalyalya said in an interview after the swearing-in ceremony that the Kwacha was under pressure and with proper interventions, it would stabilise.
“My role is to reach out to stakeholders that have a bearing on the Kwacha,” he said.
Dr Kalyalya said there was currently a mismatch in the Kwacha demand and supply.
He said there were changes globally like the strengthening dollar and the slumping copper prices that were affecting the strength of the Kwacha.
Dr Kalyalya said one of the ways to strengthen the Kwacha was to increase exports.
He said resuscitating the Kwacha was a mammoth task that needed support of stakeholders including the media.
Dr Kalyalya worked for BoZ until 2010, rising to the rank of deputy governor operations.
Until his appointment, Dr Kalyalya was an executive director for Africa at the World Bank.