Could This Be the Kwacha’s Secret W£apon? Yusuf Dodia Thinks So
Amb. Anthony Mukwita wrote:
26 May 2025
Over a modest morning cup of tea—no sugar—I tuned into Diamond TV’s breakfast show, where Economic Analyst Yusuf Dodia was sparring gracefully with host Andrew Mwansa.
The topic? How to rescue our long-suffering Zambian Kwacha from its weakness against global currencies.
Dodia, respected for his blunt economic diagnoses, laid out a rather intriguing proposal: The Export Proceeds Tracking Framework (EPTF). Not exactly dinner-table conversation, but stick with me—it might just be the economic CPR we’ve been waiting for.
Launched quietly on 1 January 2024 by the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) in collaboration with the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), the EPTF mandates that all export earnings be deposited into Zambian bank accounts within 90 days of export.
Its objective? To “boost foreign exchange inflows, improve the balance of payments, and reduce illicit financial flows. Basically, collect our dollars before they mysteriously vanish overseas.”
According to Dodia, full implementation could rake in between $20 million to $30 million a day.
That’s up to $900 million a month—real money that could cushion our reserves, reinforce the Kwacha, and ultimately bring down the high cost of imported goods.
As of May 2025, the Kwacha is trading at K27.5 to the USD, down from around K18 in 2021, a slide that’s sent the cost of everything—fuel, fertilizer, phones—through the roof.
For a country where over 60% of the population lives below the poverty line, and inflation remains stubborn at over 13%, stabilising the currency isn’t just good economics—it’s an act of mercy and tenacity on the part of government.
Where’s the Don on this?
Dodia boldly called the EPTF “a panacea” for Kwacha instability, noting it could yield positive results within a year. I couldn’t help but wonder: if this is such a silver bullet, why is it gathering dust in policy limbo?
Maybe it’s inertia, maybe it’s red tape—or maybe we’ve just grown used to borrowing and hoping. But as a humble communicator and international relations analyst (not an economist), I say: let’s give the EPTF a proper shot. The Kwacha deserves a fighting chance.
After all, even tea tastes better when it’s affordable.
Amb. Anthony Mukwita is a published author and International Relations Analyst.
Source: Diamond TV.