By Francis Chipalo

Opposition United Kwacha Alliance (UKA) member, who is also Golden Party of Zambia leader, Jackson Silavwe has given kudos to President Hakainde Hichilema and his administration on the successful debt restructuring that has brought a sigh of relief to Zambians.

But Silavwe has urged Government to consider establishing a debt sinking fund.

The opposition leader said, as the country is currently cash strapped, there is need for Government to establish a sinking fund (SF) to secure debt payments for what he termed as “long term bilateral and multilateral debts” as and when they fall due in the long run.

“The low hanging fruit available to the new dawn administration is to remove the tax holidays from the mines and multi national companies (MNC’s), raise the taxes a little bit more and channel that revenue to the SF,” Silavwe said.

Silavwe added that Government’s firm commitment towards restoring long term debt sustainability and achieving long-term sustainable economic growth” is the way to proceed.

He said this in a statement to the media on Wednesday.