Zambia targets 82% domestic financing for 2026 budget, says Treasury Secretary

ZAMBIA expects 82% of resources supporting the 2026 National Budget to be mobilized domestically through tax and non-tax revenue, up from 55.2% in 2021, Secretary to the Treasury Felix Nkulukusa has said.

Nkulukusa said the increase reflects Zambia’s shift from reliance on borrowing and external financing toward stronger domestic resource mobilization.

The projected rise of 26.8 percentage points represents approximately 48.6% relative growth in the share of the National Budget supported by domestically mobilized resources.

“This marks significant progress toward fiscal self-reliance, reduced dependence on borrowing and greater national control over development financing,” Nkulukusa said.

He was speaking in Lusaka when the newly sworn-in Tax Appeals Tribunal Chairperson Diana Bunting and members of the tribunal paid a courtesy call on the Ministry of Finance and National Planning. The tribunal members took their oaths of office before the Court of Appeal.