Finance and National Planning Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane says government’s desire is to ensure that while food and commodity prices continue to rise, it should be at a slower pace than is the case now.
Speaking at a Public Forum on the Rising Cost Of Living from a Human Rights Perspective organized by Chapter One Foundation in Lusaka today, Dr. Musokotwane says the new dawn government has been able to slow down the rise in the cost of living from 25% to 12% now, and that government wants it to reduce further to 8% maximally.
Dr. Musokotwane has also cautioned against generalizing the rise in the cost of living saying it is only food and fuel prices that have been going up and that this is not the first time the country is witnessing an increase in commodity prices.
Meanwhile, Dr. Musokotwane has disclosed that in an effort to control mealie meal prices, government will soon introduce open direct buying of maize from the Food Reserve Agency-FRA- which people can now take to hammer mills.
Dr. Musokotwane says this move will reduce the cost of mealie meal production to up to K165.
At the same event, Chapter One Foundation Programs Manager Josaiah Kolala says the rising cost of living has now moved from being an economic issue to a human rights one.
This is contained in a report published by RADIO PHOENIX