By JAMES KUNDA –
THE Zambia Consumer Association (ZACA) has praised the Government over the improved performance of the Kwacha against other currencies.
ZACA executive director Samuel Simutunda said measures such as a tightened fiscal policy pronounced by President Edgar Lungu when the currency was on a freefall in 2015 going into 2016, had borne fruit.
The local currency this week improved to a buying and selling rate of K8.8 and K8.9, respectively, against the United States dollar after having hit more than K15 against the US currency in 2015.
Inflation has equally trickled down to below seven per cent from more than 20 per cent in 2015, while copper prices have rebounded to nearly US$6,000 per tonne from below $5,000 in 2015.
Mr Simutunda said in an interview yesterday that consumers were happy with the newly-gained leverage of spending power owing to the improved performance of the local currency.
“We wish to commend the PF and President Lungu for the resilient mechanisms that Government implemented to save the Kwacha,” Mr Simutunda said. “The measures have worked well and our currency is now performing brilliantly.”
He said the association was equally elated by the drop in mealie meal prices as consumers could easily spread resources to meet all their needs.
Mealie meal prices have dropped to below K80 per 25 kilogramme bag in many parts of the country after fetching close to K100 or more.
Meanwhile, Zambian DNA spokesperson Spuki  Mulemwa said the organisation was impressed with the reduced cost of mealie meal, a feat which would enable many ordinary Zambians put food on the table.
Mr Mulemwa attributed the drop in mealie meal prices to the Government’s pro-poor policies and other interventions to enhance productivity in the agriculture sector.
He said Zambian DNA was confident that the price reduction of mealie meal would continue owing to the 3.6 million tonnes maize harvest for the 2016-2017 season.