WORLD BANK LOWERS ZAMBIA GDP REAL GROWTH

The World Bank has lowered Zambia’s 2012 projected Gross Domestic Product growth from above 7 per cent to 6.7 per cent.

The bank has however maintained the projected less than 7 per cent inflationary pressure, setting it at 6.2 per cent.

According to its Economic outlook for Zambia, the World Bank says real GDP growth will be 6.7 per cent, just a paltry 0.2 per cent, more than the growth achieved for last year.

The bank has also projected a lowered inflation rate at 6.2 per cent, in line with the 2012 national budget projections of less than 7 per cent.

In details, the World Bank has listed the 2012 agriculture sector growth at 4.6 per cent, setting it out as one of the areas of potential economic expansion in Zambia.

This comes amid the bank’s lowered economic growth forecast for 2012 to 5.4 percent for developing countries and 1.4 percent for high-income countries.

Meanwhile, for Zambia, limited and high cost credit and excessive bureaucratic trade procedures due to the involvement of multiple government agencies have been cited among outstanding barriers to trade.

Other barriers are lengthy border clearance systems, lengthy inspection and certification processes, poor border information technology, outdated customs techniques, inadequate skilled personnel and inadequate infrastructure.