Top news items in major Zambian media outlets

LUSAKA, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- The following are news highlights in Zambia's major media outlets on Saturday.

-- Zambian President Edgar Lungu says he will not undertake any foreign trips this year to focus on visiting people in all the provinces and appreciate their challenges.

The Zambian leader said he would rather delegate foreign assignments he had this year to allow himself time to visit all the provinces and appreciate the challenges being faced by citizens to see how they could be tackled. (Times of Zambia)

-- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has observed that certain tax exemptions were narrowing Zambia's tax base which urgently needs to be broadened to allow the government collect more revenue for development.

IMF Country Representative Alfredo Baldini said the tax exemptions on certain areas which had specific treatment were narrowing the tax base. (Daily Nation)

-- The Zambian government said 2 billion U.S. dollars were required to recapitalize and expand the country's sole state-run oil refinery.

Mateyo Kaluba, chief executive officer of the Industrial Development Corporation, a government entity that runs parastatal firms on behalf of the government, said the money was required to expand Indeni Petroleum Refinery which has seen reduced production and that the government was seeking a strategic partner. (Zambia Daily Mail) Enditem