The Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry EPCCI has described the increment of fuel prices as a sad development.
EPCCI Chief Executive Officer, Josephine Chirwa says that the increment will push up the standard of living in the country as most commodities will become expensive.
Mrs. Chirwa told Breeze News that EPCCI does not understand why the government has increased the price of fuel because on the international market, the fuel price has gone down.
He explained that the fuel increment will push up the national inflation especially that the Zambian government has decided to increase the salaries of civil servants.
Mrs. Chirwa also expressed concern that while government has decided to increase the salaries of civil servants, the national production has not increased to support the increment of salaries.
The EPCCI Chief Executive Officer, also observed with concern the continued devaluation of the Zambian Kwacha against the United States dollar stating that it could be the reason why government has increased fuel prices.
However, on Thursday republican president, Michael Sata explained that it is necessary that the subsidy on petroleum products, which has been a burden on state coffers for a long time, is removed and consequently the price of fuel adjusted upwards in order to attract wider social benefits for the general populace.
The president said in 2012 alone, the Treasury redirected resources amounting to 754 million Kwacha rebased from implementation of other government programmes and activities in the Budget to finance the fuel subsidy.