Republic of Zambia Social Protection and Jobs Public Expenditure Review 2021
The Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) has an ambitious long-term vision for the nation and its people, operationalized through the national development plans. A rapid increase in public spending financed through borrowing, due to lack of a...
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| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2022
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/443591633674322885/Zambia-Social-Protection-and-Jobs-Public-Expenditure-Review-2021 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36893 |
| Summary: | The Government of the Republic of
Zambia (GRZ) has an ambitious long-term vision for the
nation and its people, operationalized through the national
development plans. A rapid increase in public spending
financed through borrowing, due to lack of a concomitant
increase in public revenue, meant a ballooning of
nondiscretionary spending in lieu of discretionary spending.
Overall poverty is estimated to have consistently increased
since 2015 and, in fact, has rapidly increased in 2020
driven by the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Natural disasters and market fluctuations have been a common
feature of the Zambian context even before COVID-19, with
natural disasters becoming more prominent in rural areas and
disproportionately affecting poorer households. Human
capital has shown significant improvements in terms of
health outcomes and education access, but without similar
gains in quality of education, Zambia lags behind regional
peers, and the poor are worst off. COVID-19’s negative
effects will not only affect those that are directly
impacted, but will be felt across the population and, in
many cases, across generations, eroding decades of progress
in human capital. Jobs and economic inclusion (JEI) programs
are being implemented across seven ministries, with little
coordination and minimal coverage. |
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