Zambia’s credit rating was cut by Standard & Poor’s, which warned of a rapidly widening budget gap and said elections may prevent the government from addressing it.
S&P lowered the rating to B, five levels below investment grade. “Zambia’s fiscal position is markedly and negatively deviating from our previous expectations,” and any policy response will be “constrained” before September 2016 elections, it said. It was the first rating change since S&P’s coverage began in 2011.
The budget gap is set to reach 10 percent of economic output this year on a cash basis and 14 percent when debt payments are included, S&P said. The International Monetary Fund has predicted a deficit of 7.7 percent, while the government projects at least 6 percent.
Zambia, Africa’s second-biggest copper producer, has been hit by a slide in prices and has scaled back plans to increase taxes on miners, adding to budget strains. The government has signaled it may sell as much as $2 billion of Eurobonds as it seeks to finance the deficit.
Zambian must suffer.our people must to Zimbabwe too and sell sex and men die on prisons because of stealing .
He who refuses to learn from advice must learn from experience.
This is the answer when the vision less lead the country.The provinces who never voted for PF were called names but the so called town and educated unwise you have seen your government what is doing to our economy.
This is the results of tribalism,nepotism and regionalism were even cadres are made to run sensitive institutions.
I am cerebrating the drama as country lead by vision less leaders who always dream of Kaloba as means of survival.
It is a pity that most “wako ni wako”pf supporters are not seeing this or deliberately ignoring it just because they jointly steal with their leaders. Zambia is broke and bankrupt, and it has become unattractive to genuine investors. Mrs. mwanakatwe wonders why Zambians are afraid of borrowing. Her head must be examined because the bible says a borrower is a slave of the lender and therefore Zambia is enslaved. Unfortunately our people in villages and some illiterates in urban areas are easily deceived by the pf thieves to believe that we are developing when actually not. The cost of living has skyrocketed beyond affordability by many and yet ifipumbu are still cheering their government.
Mrs Mwanakatwe wonders why Zambian are scared of borrowing… because we have been there before and the current chaps borrowing want to chew the monies and turn us back into slaves of the west….
This is no longer about HH, Edith or any other politician for that matter.
This is about Zambia.
Wait & see how ECL sycophants will try to use this to justify forestalling 2016 elections. They have become very aggressive.
So everyone wake up & fight back.
This is a plan by the imperialist powers to discredit this progressive nation. They did this with Grenada 30 years ago! The PF landslide in the 3 by-elections triggered this. They are scared that their investment in the country is threatened with the popularity of the present government.
You need deliverance from the demons of Stiupidity, f0olishness & ignorance! God help you & if we have any meaningful number of people like you in zambia, we are doomed! I can only advise those can to start packing and leaving zambia, there is no hope in this country for you folks, leave while you can coz as things are going, this nation is going to get so messed up that no other country will care issuing visas to you knowing you have nothing of value to contribute to their country and you are just likely to bring with you diseases and your criminal ways! Leave now!
Iwe this is not because of by elections. A similar report was given by Fitch Credit Rating. Check Zambian Watchdog and you will find this story was written on 29th June way before the elections. The problem with people like you is that of trusting PF sponsored websites like Lusaka Times who only write sugar-coated stories in praise of PF.
@mobile phone gondwe. You are very right, this country is turning into a titanic. Those of you who could leave now while some countries can still give you visas please do so. Otherwise in few months or years this country will be messed up big time and everyone will treat you like they treated the Zimbabweans.
It is a familiar story: see a fire and get warned of how it burns – but get closer and closer anyway, until the burning starts. Most of what is happening now is a result of years of ineptitude coupled by successive inheritance of incompetence and cynical approaches to leadership. Ignoring professional advice in favor of political expediency is what results in economic malaise. It is not even rocket science…
Oh,is this the reason why the kwacha is in free fall? visionless leadership. The kwacha will reach 20 to the dollar under PF
Now you PFaggots understand why Samaras used Zambia as a Benchmark for Tzipras earlier in the week! This economic sudden-death Syndrome is WORSE than the “Fading Syndrome” of the Kaunda mismanagement – this house’s on fire People; WHY SOOO DOCILE ?
Ignorant Tsiparas meant Zimbabwe and not Zimbabwe.
Zambia is very far from those doomsday scenarios.
In any case critics of government are not coming up with how government can raise revenue while commodity prices are low.
One thing is certainly: they will go up soon as investors look for havens with the looming euro zone crisis re grexit.
uko…filechitika ka/..muzatembenuka i van assure you.. go into shoprite, pnp, see for yourself how expensive things have become.
HH chabe.. make no mistake or die. mwe fipuba mwe.. RB eve anaba. akudya bwino na alungu j. chagwa kumwamba.nga iwee…ati kolopa.com..what the hell is this!!! i hate it.
This is what happens when competences in managing national affairs are lacking! We ain’t seen anything yet! Wait for 2022 and 2024!
Oh dear me, what to do now?
Simply put – a downgrade means that we expect to see very little Foreign Direct Investment coming into Zambia now. Zambia – a very peculiar country where non performers are winning bye elections. A further headache – no alternative party to rely on.
surprise surprise…
Let us just sell the country back to the British. As long as they do not oppress us or make us buy through the window in shops. I cant trust our own any more. Do you think corruption will end with our own, people are paying money direct to police officers for traffic offences and there is no word from the Police command,all appears normal. Not even a strategy in draft form of how to end this vice. I hear the monies collected are shared with seniors, meaning it is ‘legal’
Many a time within our families, Mummy and Daddy take hard and unpopular decisions. Those decisions may look bad and may not make sense to the rest of the family at the time. But how many times have families looked back after many years only to appreciate Mummy and Daddy for their foresight? Usually we have a sour taste in our mouths because we appreciate it long after they have gone and we are enjoying the fruits of their “bad” decisions.
Pilato was right. A Lungu Anabwera and the economy is deteriorating. Bane, we are in trouble in Zambia with PF. The opposition should start to educate the massaes what downgrades will mean to ordinary Zambians. What I can’t understand with PF and old Chikwanda is that they think what is happening to Greece will not happen to us. Since MMD is finished, HH should form alliance with Nawakwi for 2016.