The Zambian Central Bank has hiked interest rates up to 15.5% from 12.5% as a way of curbing the soaring inflation in the country.
This move comes after the country’s currency, the Kwacha, halved in value against the dollar this year.
Last month, President Edgar Lungu led the country in a day of national prayer for the Kwacha.
Lungu’s government now looks to have put the divine hopes aside in favour of an economically familiar approach of pushing interest rates up to control the spiralling inflation.
The increase in Zambia’s benchmark lending rate is the first of such by the southern African country since November 2014.
Food prices have soared in the country as power shortages have also been experienced due to low water-levels in Lake Kariba where hydropower plants supply much of the country’s electricity.
