Inflation is expected to be around 3.0 percent by the year-end and our foreign reserves were recorded at $ billion as at 03 September 2013, sufficient to pay for 5.2 months of retained imports of goods and services. Investment is forecast to be around 28 percent of GDP this year, above the Government target of 25 percent.
We however still need to work on some real challenges and in this regard, the current accommodative monetary policy stance will be maintained. We are mindful that consumption and investment led growth cannot be sustained for too long as they have heavy import content. For this reason, policies aimed at export diversification and promotion, and import substitution remain paramount.