the information and communication, electricity, public administration and education sectors. There was also an increase in lending to the private sector mainly supported by increased disbursements of the Central Bank’s Targeted Medium Term Refinancing Facility which benefited from a revision of the terms and conditions to increase flexibility. However, fears of new variants of the COVID-19 pandemic emerging continued to pose a risk to the growth outlook for the quarter and beyond. Likewise, the August Stanbic Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI)17 projected a fairly positive picture, citing a significantly slower pace of increase in input costs and selling prices (the lowest since the first quarter). Also noted was a marginal rise in new business growth, amid signs of improved customer demand. This was all against the backdrop of a perceived improvement in customer demand as well as a pause in activity during the electoral period. Generally, The Stanbic PMI reported broad stability in business midway through the quarter, a picture that positively affected media houses both directly and indirectly. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic remained rife during the quarter under review, following the continuation of partial enforcement of preventive measures such as social distancing, virtual and rotational work systems, among others. However, during the quarter, some positive returns were noted from some of the government measures put in place to alleviate the economic effects of COVID-19, such as the Targeted Medium Term Refinancing Facility (TMTRF), easing of the monetary policy and provision of liquidity to banks on flexible terms18. 17 The Stanbic Bank Zambia PMI is compiled from responses to questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in a panel of around 400 private sector companies. The panel is stratified by detailed sector and company workforce size, based on contributions to GDP. The sectors covered by the survey include agriculture, mining, manufacturing, construction, wholesale, retail and services. See https://www.stanbicbank.co.zm/static_file/Zambia/ZM_PMI_APR_2021.pdf 18 As reported by Bank of Zambia Governor, Christopher Mvunga, at the launch of the PWC banking and nonbanking industry survey report. 27