Lungu Cuts Spending on Zambian Roads as Low Copper Prices Weigh
- Economic growth slows to lowest since 1998 as kwacha tumbles
- Falling copper revenue, mine closures hobble state finances
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Zambian President Edgar Lungu unveiled a raft of spending cuts ranging from reduced fuel subsidies to delayed road building as an economic crisis in the southern African nation intensifies.
The government will have spent $300 million on subsidizing fuel for consumers by the end of the year, which is “clearly not sustainable,” Lungu, 59, told reporters Thursday in Lusaka, the capital. A further $40 million will have been paid to import power and ease a severe shortage between September and the end of the year, underscoring the need for the energy regulator to increase prices, he said.