Sell gold to improve economy, govt advised

By SILUMESI MALUMO WE need to sell all the gold which we are mining as a country for us to generate foreign exchange to help in strengthening the Kwacha, Private Sector Development chairperson Yusuf Dodia has said. And Mr Dodia said Government must ensure that the economic performance improves next year in order to restore confidence to the Zambian people. He said yesterday during a ZNBC platform programme that all the gold which was being extracted should not be kept as reserves but be sold in a bid to improve the performance of the Kwacha. Mr Dodia said that currently gold was one the expensive metals on the international market, hence the need to use this opportunity to earn enough foreign exchange which was crucial in stabilising the local currency. “What we need to do as a country is that we need to be selling all the gold which is being mined countrywide instead of keeping it as a reserve. When we sell this gold we shall be able to strengthen the Kwacha which has continued to depreciate. This is the direction we need to go as a country. “So if we want things to change for the better especially in terms of stabilising our currency we need to go this route. Taking advantage of what was prevailing on the international market will really help us,” Mr Dodia said. Meanwhile Mr Dodia said as the country was going towards 2021 which was a crucial period, Government need up its game to improve the economic performance. He said “We look forward to see that the Government shine its shoes and make the economy come back to its feet.”