Zambia's economic management to all intents and purposes has been exemplary and it is not surprising that this achievement has been recognised by the World Bank.

The World Bank's observation comes a day after the Ministry of Finance released the latest projection that the country's economy was in the 2010-2012 medium term expenditure framework expected to grow by 6.6 per cent from the initial target of five per cent

There is no doubt that with all the fundamentals remaining in place, the projected 6.6 per cent growth or even higher will be achieved by the country. It should be appreciated that the accolades the country is receiving on the performance of the economy have not come by sheer accident, but can be attributed to prudent management systems put in place by the Government.

Some of the major sectors that have contributed to the laudable economic performance are the agriculture and mining sectors that have in the last year performed exceptionally well.

In the agriculture sector, the country has for the first time since independence recorded a massive bumper harvest of 2.8 million tonnes of maize.

This achievement was as a result of measures put in place to ensure the small-scale farmers, who are the main contributors to the country's food basket, received incentives in the form of the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP).

The FISP incentive allowed vulnerable but viable farmers to obtain seed and fertiliser at affordable rates, enabling them to harvest a healthy crop.

In the mining sector, the Government quickly moved in to stem the closure of mines at a time when some investors decided to close down during the global economic recession.

Had the Government not acted quickly to forestall the mine closures, the country's treasury would have suffered a drop in income accruing from the mines, not to talk about loss of jobs for the thousands of Zambians.

All that now remains to be seen is the trickle down effect of this growth where the poor will be able to appreciate that indeed the country's economy is on the road to recovery.