Finance Minister Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane has told management and staff in the Ministry of Finance and National Planning to elevate their operational focus from primarily securing macroeconomic stability to actively facilitating investment, production, exports, job creation and higher incomes for Zambians.
By The Zambian Economist Analyst
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Government is shifting emphasis from stabilising the macroeconomy to a growth phase built on investment, production, exports, jobs and higher incomes, without abandoning fiscal discipline, debt sustainability or exchange rate stability.
- Specific production and export targets, including 3 million metric tonnes of copper, US$1 billion in annual beef exports and 1 million metric tonnes of sugar, are meant to draw investment into technology, processing capacity and logistics.
- The Treasury has been directed to actively examine what government must do to unlock private investment, alongside a review of the institutional service charter for faster, more predictable approvals, responses and payments.
- The strategy leans on banks, institutional investors and development finance institutions for project finance, and explicitly extends the growth story beyond mining into agriculture, manufacturing, transport and retail.
A foundation, not a departure
During a strategic visioning meeting, Dr. Musokotwane called on management and staff in the Ministry of Finance and National Planning to elevate operational focus from primarily securing macroeconomic stability to actively facilitating investment, production, exports, job creation and higher incomes for Zambians. The message does not abandon fiscal discipline, debt sustainability, inflation management or exchange rate stability. Instead, it presents these gains as the platform for a new phase of private sector led economic expansion. Government is signalling a transition from primarily restoring macroeconomic stability to investment, production, exports, jobs and higher incomes, framing the next phase as an execution and growth expansion cycle.
Export led growth becomes a core strategy
Dr. Musokotwane identified exports as central to Zambia’s growth and poverty reduction strategy, and businesses should expect stronger policy attention to export oriented activity. Specific production and export targets give the strategy investable shape: 3 million metric tonnes of copper production, US$1 billion in annual beef exports, and 1 million metric tonnes of sugar production, among others. These targets imply significant requirements for technology, processing capacity, logistics and supporting infrastructure. The message deliberately connects export growth to agriculture, transport, retail, manufacturing, fertiliser production and other domestic sectors, broadening the investment proposition beyond Zambia’s traditional copper story. Export expansion is also linked directly to stronger foreign exchange earnings, which matters because stronger export receipts can support currency stability, reserves and external payment capacity.
From regulator to facilitator
Government intends to facilitate, not merely regulate, investment. The Treasury was directed to actively examine what government in general must do to unlock private investment and production, an important change in institutional posture from monitoring economic indicators toward removing investment bottlenecks. This is paired with a planned review of the institutional service charter, pointing toward defined timelines for approvals, responses, payments and other government processes. For businesses, that speaks directly to transaction costs, predictability, cash flow management and ease of doing business. Clearer institutional KPIs and service standards are to be introduced, a commitment to make government agencies more measurable, responsive and result oriented.
Infrastructure and private capital to match the targets
Roads, electricity, irrigation and water systems are explicitly identified as essential to achieving the production targets, creating opportunities in energy, transport, water infrastructure, irrigation, construction, engineering and public private partnership investment. Government explicitly recognises that its targets cannot be achieved by the public sector alone. Banks, institutional investors, development finance institutions and private equity therefore have a larger role to play in project finance, working capital, trade finance, infrastructure finance and expansion capital. The Minister also emphasised deliberate coordination among government, investors and financial institutions, creating scope for more structured sector dialogues, investment facilitation mechanisms, public private partnerships and problem solving platforms.
Jobs, skills and what it means for the private sector
Skills, employment, entrepreneurship and incomes for young people were highlighted as priorities, and businesses investing in skills development, small and medium enterprises, technology, agribusiness, manufacturing and labour intensive industries are encouraged to align closely with government priorities. Future Treasury engagements will track not only debt, the budget and the exchange rate, but also the government actions required to unlock production and exports, potentially giving investment constraints greater visibility at the centre of economic policymaking. The central message to the private sector is straightforward: macroeconomic repair was the first phase. The next phase is production, investment, exports, infrastructure, enterprise growth and jobs.
Related reading: Musokotwane’s Reappointment Shows Policy Continuity, Next Phase Set for Productive Economics, The Four Pillars of Zambia’s Revenue Strategy, and the Gap They Have to Close and Zambia’s Q2 2026 Economy: Stability Deepens, the Growth Dividend Still Missing.
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