Therefore investment opportunities are available in the areas of road rehabilitation, routine maintenance and consultancy. Although the country has international highway links with Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa, the roads can not accommodate the growing traffic due to increased trade with other countries. There is a large investment potential for multiple lane highways to cater for the smooth running of traffic for increased efficiency in trade. Further, the railway system remains the dominant mode of transport for heavy goods to local and international routes. It also links Zambia to six African seaports such as Dar es Salaam, Beira, East London, Port Elizabeth, Durban and Cape Town. The railway system however, requires substantial investment to upgrade it into an ultra modern facility that would allow speedy transportation of goods and products to the ports for delivery to other markets. In air transport, Zambia has 4 international airports at Lusaka, Livingstone, Mfuwe and Ndola. In order to support the increased transportation demand for goods and services, there is need to increase the capacity of the existing airports to provide direct links with most countries in the sub-region and other places. Connections to all countries in the subregion will also encourage large commercial airlines to set up in the country and take advantage of Zambia’s central location. Over 97 percent of the telephone exchanges are automatic, and the country enjoys direct dialling facilities, fax, e-mail and television links with the rest of the world.

For the coming year, BISIH have announced 6 thematic priorities for driving innovations and staying ahead of the digital challenges. Responding to New Developments in the Payments Landscape 4. No doubt payment has been a key area for innovations in recent years. Traditional payment systems have undergone transformation, not least with the introduction of fast payment systems. And new payment methods have emerged in the private sector. Consumers are increasingly reliant on digital payments that offer better speed and convenience. However, when new forms of digital payment are increasingly used by the public, or even become the dominant means of payment in society, central banks would rightly be concerned about the resilience of the payment landscape, as disruptions could cause not just inconvenience, but also potentially significant economic damage. 5. At the same time, cryptocurrencies and stablecoins have emerged as a new class of assets that are sometimes claimed to be also a medium of exchange despite their volatility and concerns about their security. Widespread adoption of these digital currencies by the general public could also diminish the use of the sovereign currency, and even affect a central bank’s monetary operations. 6. Notwithstanding all these developments, the core role of central banks in ensuring trust in money as a public good for the economy at large remains unchanged. So whether central banks should provide a new form of central bank digital money completed with new payment infrastructure to households and businesses has become a very pertinent question.