Road transport in and through Zambia has become more costly following the lifting of a long-standing fuel subsidy by the government. According to a report in the state-run Zambia Daily Mail, the minister of finance and national planning, Situmbeko Musokotwane, said the fuel subsidy had been at the expense of development projects. He added that government would ensure that the price of fuel was “reasonable”. On July 13 the pump price of fuel increased by an average of one Zambian Kwacha or R1.62 a litre. The price of diesel rose to K8.59 (R14.17) from K7.59 (R12.29) a litre. There has been pressure on the government to lift fuel subsidies for some time. In March 2015 an International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Tsidi Tsikata issued a statement reading “the government budget is under stress from significant obligations that have emerged in relation to fuel and agricultural subsidies, pensions, and road construction. “There is an urgent need for action to contain the fiscal deficit in order to alleviate financing pressures that are keeping interest rates high and crowding out lending to the private sector.”
