Zambian kwacha

Costs for this part of the project on Botswana's side is P440 million compared to Zambia's K264 million (Zambian Kwacha).

While President Lungu's supporters showcase the government's infrastructure projects, his opponents point to job losses, inflation and the collapse of the local currency, the Zambian kwacha. Now, more than ever, there will be pressure on the electoral commission to keep its nose clean.

As we reported in the February issue of African Business, the Zambian kwacha lost 42% of its value against the US dollar last year, the worst performance of any African currency.

The Zambian kwacha will depreciate in the coming months, as investor sentiment deteriorates and real interest rates dip into negative territory.

The Zambian kwacha will continue its trend of depreciation in 2016 on the basis of a weak outlook for the country's copper industry.

The Zambian kwacha fell 2 percent against the dollar although traders said it was unlikely to suffer any prolonged weakness due to the underlying health of an economy expected to grow by seven percent this year.

Currently, forward markets exist for a few of the currencies, while currency futures are restricted to only four currencies - the Mauritian rupee, South African rand, Botswana pula - and the latest addition, the Zambian kwacha.

The Zambian Kwacha has recently come under pressure against major foreign currencies, particularly, the US dollars.

The board had planned to spend 9.8 billion Zambian Kwacha (about $19 million) in marketing to raise the tourist figure to 1-million for 2012.

The bonds would be priced in the likes of South Africa rand, Botswana pula, Nigerian naira, Ugandan shilling or Zambian kwacha rather than the U.S.

The dictionary defines it only as one-hundredth of a Zambian kwacha, and it takes almost 5,000 kwachas to equal a dollar.