“On March 26, the Japanese government offered the Zambian government a loan worth US $274 million for the implementation of the Increased Access to Electricity Services Project to cover five areas in the country”, observes Tina Nanyangwe-Moyo, Coordinator of the JCTR’s Debt, Aid and Trade Programme. “According to the Japanese official, at the signing ceremony” Moyo continues, “Japan had resumed her Official Development Assistance (ODA) loans to Zambia which she relinquished in 1992 due to Zambia’s heavy external debt burden before the attainment of 2005 Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) Completion Point”.
“As an institution that played a key role in the success of the HIPC Completion Point through the Jubilee-Zambia debt cancellation campaign”, Moyo continues, “we urge creditor countries not to take advantage of Zambia’s favourable fiscal space to lend irresponsibly. Just a few weeks ago, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) offered the Government a loan worth US $200 million to boost national reserves. The Japan and IMF loans are just two loans among several loans that the government has signed since the beginning of this year”. Moyo observes that Japan as a member of the Paris Club should show great commitment to the five good practise principles of the Paris Declaration if their ODA flows to Zambia are to yield positive results.
Commenting on the same matter, Privilege Haang’andu, JCTR’s Programme Officer for Debt and Public Resource Monitoring warns that unless Zambia works on a more transparent debt management strategy, it shall perpetually be prey to floating loans from developed countries and the International Financial Institutions (IFIs). “It is crucial”, Haang’andu cautions, “that Government realises that every single loan contraction commits the country’s future taxes to debt servicing at the expense of national development. It is for this reason we have tirelessly implored Government to urgently work on a loan contraction framework that involves parliament in setting annual ceilings of what can be borrowed in a given financial year”.
“Although HIPC is often used as a basis for providing external financial support,” observes Haang’andu, “Zambians have not yet experienced the benefits of HIPC and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) even after bearing the austere conditions of processes. The majority of Zambians still live in poverty despite the gains from the debt write-off”. “Therefore”, concludes Haang’andu, “much as we support external borrowing, responsible financing and borrowing should be at the core of such financial support”.
[Press statement by JCTR]
The problem is that be presido bali njenje na ma afu! Mudala teka bola panshi!!
Being is debt and living in poverty is like an addiction. Leaders who have no vision can never find a way out.
Good point.
First of all what does the acronym JCTR stand for? Is it the Jesuit whatever – Centre forTheological Research? Is it part of the Roman Catholic Church or not?
Next, I would like to make mention that Japan has realised that China is doing a lot to take control of Africa and so it is trying hard to counter the Chinese efforts. This move by Japan is good for Zambia in particular and Africa in general as the Chinese will be forced to come with genuine products and motives.
Otherwise, let GRZ just adopt a strict position on how it will service its acquired loans. Let the MMD GRZ realise that it has to repay its debts before it leaves office so that each five years does not bring escalated…
… money to the next incoming GRZ.
In all behaving responsibly is the key in all this business of getting loans as future Zambian generations are at stake.
MMD will be in Office after 2011 and so there is no need to keep the seats warm until another government of Mr fimo fimo comes in. MMD we want to see you act positve so that we can vote for you in 2011.
Don’t care much about this crap, Tina Nanyangwe-Moyo. I am out to dinner…goodnite bloggers!
The way forward for Africa is no aid at all what it needs is more micro-financing to the people affected with the poverty. I totally support the work Dambisa Moyo is doing by telling the west to stop aid to Africa and i think our president ought to take a leaf from the Rwandan President who invited this Zambian born woman to Rwanda to hear more about what she is saying.
The problems of Africa will need the solutions by African sons and daughters regardless of where they reside ,provided they are in touch with the reality on the African soil.It is important that the industrialized countries have since realized that the sons and daughters of Africa have awoken from slumber.Please Japan ,give us your agenda we may buy it . For now we will take you as a friend, this has been , will and is our nature..
I agree with # 8. As miss Moyo has gone to great lengths to explain since the issue of her book, the unfortunate thing is these money gifts called aid just end up being used to line ministers’ pockets…$274million, to improve electricity access in 5 regions..i wonder how much of that will actually happen; on one hand tariffs are being increased to levels very few will be able to pay anyway then on the other you’re ‘increasing access’..we’ll just end up with infrastructure that can’t be maintained and soon we’ll be borrowing even more to fix this and that..before we know it we’ll be back to being a HIPC!
# IO I love your reasoning, though my primary aim was to reinforce the thinking of # 8 . And I wish to indicate that I admire his choice of the gravatar .That being of DR Martin Luther King Jr.
#4 JCTR stands for Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection. It was founded in ’88, and while presumably founded by Catholics, is not to my knowledge directly affiliated with the Vatican. They are the ones who conduct the Basic Needs Basket surveys that measure the effects of inflation on ordinary Zambians, among other things.
JCTR has got a very serious point that needs a lot of reflection rather an emotional response to it. Zambia is one of the African Countries that enjoyed debt cancellation supported heavily by the Roman Catholic especially John Paull II. Now that our debts were cancelled Zambia did not work a strategy or rather took any advantage in utilizing her resources to bring down effects of the rising economy under Mwanawasa to the grassroots. Now we’ve acquired more debts than those cancelled. Mind you it is NOT Rupiah’ govt which will pay back the debts but someone’s maybe in 10 yrs. We will always remain slaves of other people no matter what you may say. Generations will be affected by all this.
Access to electricity is very important. Does the JCTR accept that only 2% of rural Zambia should have access to electricity and overall only 20% of Zambians have access to electricity. Poverty cannot be alleviated without electricity. The MDGs cannot be addressed. It is unacceptable that after 45 years of independence 80% of the population is still in the dark. Desertification is on the increase. This is a worthy project if the loan is not misused by long fingered govt officials.
#13. I STRONGLY agree with you. showing resiponsibility when borrowing should be the concern for every citizen. I can forsee cheap reasoning like, “they cancelled and they will cancel again”, or” after all it wont be me paying back”, or we will call back Magande when we fail to pay, etc. BORROW TO MAKE PROFIT SO THAT YOU PAY FROM THE SAME MONEY!!!!
You need money to make money….
12, thank you very much for the information although it is hard to believe that the Jesuits … have no connection to the Vatican and the Roman Catholic Church following what is available in the media and books. Also, while we appreciate the INFLATION calculations help by the said centre the Zambian Central Statistics/al Office is available to provide more accurate data regarding the situation on the ground as its field works traverse about the whole country towns when collecting data.
However, it is great to to have an independent body to offer an alternative view point of figures.
read dambisa moyos book “dead aid” or page 4 of post lifestyle in post newspaper of 29 march 2009
This MMD govt always disappoints me.When the copper price was as high as $9000/tonne the Zambian government didn’t take advantage of the boom to diversify its economy or save for a rainy day. It lost out on a large share of copper revenue by offering lucrative concessions to mining companies.Now we do not have the reserves and have to borrow when we should have taken advantage of the increase in copper price.Not learning from the past, the govt does not want to tax the mining companies.The million dollar question is:Where is the govt going to get the money to service the debt when it does not want to tax the mining companies which contributes about 70% to the Zambian economy?
We are i serious trouble, we cant even effecvely manage what we have, we still want to borrow? more slavery!