DISCUSSIONS with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be successful, and Government is working towards accelerating the process to ensure the implementation of the 2018 budget is not affected, Minister of Finance Felix Mutati has said.
He told Parliament yesterday that part of the financing structure for the 2018 budget includes support from bilateral and multilateral partners, and most of them depend on the views expressed by the IMF.
Mr Mutati was responding to Sesheke member of Parliament (MP) Frank Kufwakwandi (UPND) who wanted to find out when discussions with the IMF are likely to be concluded, noting that further delays could affect the implementation of the 2018 budget.
Mr. Mutati told Parliament that government is very keen to accelerate the conclusion of the discussions with the IMF, stating that before the end of this year, a staff mission will come to validate the information that has been prepared before having a timetable for the conclusion of the discussions.
Mr. Mutati said that significant progress has so far been made in undertaking policy and structural reforms under the economic stabilization and growth programme which the IMF has acknowledged and commended government.
Mr. Mutati said that these reforms are in agriculture, energy and financial management and that the main outstanding issues under discussion with the IMF are the need to take measures to slow down on the pace of debt accumulation and to return Zambia’s debt risk from high risk to low risk and scaling up fiscal consolidation measures particularly expenditure restraint.
He says the IMF has asked that these measures be accelerated.
Mr. Mutati also stated that Cabinet on 6th November, 2016 discussed these issues and gave a clear policy direction, which includes developing a new financing profile that will ensure the reduction of debt distress from high to moderate over the medium term and to ensure that debt remains sustainable thereafter.
Wishful thinking. Lapgreen say he is not an honest minister of finance
How on earth can you make a budget based on projected borrowing? Is this normal?
This government should account for the money they have borrowed already. Euro bond for zambia railways just vanished.
Why do Zambians tolerate these thieves? Do we have leaders that can resist stealing? What genuine options do we have instead of these thieves? Unfortunately HH would be the same as Lungu. I have watched him dodge questions on how he become rich, hence I can’t trust him. Kambwili is just a fool that would be worse than Lungu….and Lungu is very bad.
We need new blood.
Read IMF charter it realeases funds in April and October. So mutati is just talking and blaming IMF til april 2018
Google IMF and fund releases
Minister mutati has had over 1 year of optimism yet no result, why because we are in debt uptomour necks
Learn from Tanzania Magufuli who has kicked IMF out…dependence syndrome is too much in Zambia..or maybe it is simply failing to think outside the box.
How else would our politicians pay for their lavish lifestyle. We need IMF
First Tanzania has a financially disciplined president who does not attend every inauguration ceremony, who concentrates and spends most of his time in his country attending to pressing issues. He has cut down on a lot of foreign trips. Do you know that one presidential trip is worth the cost of building a clinic or three block classroom? As long as our leaders remains financially undisciplined, we are in for it.
…and how much does a clinic cost in monetary terms??? Please enlighten us.
@4.1 we just been told, it costs as much as a presidential trip!
@4.2: put a figure to it so we compare, let’s not speculate.
A presidential trip costs no less than $400,000………
So imf are not imperialists consipiring with that bad man hh who want regime change bla bla bla….? Africa/zambia. Those in power, like kk did, always create in the minds of z educated illiterate cadre imaginary enemies to divert attention from total failures to uplift pipos living standards. Add to this preoccupation with tribalism and regionalism-what is left of us?
…explain this-hh having meetings with Brenthurst Foundation, Brenthurst chairman comes to visit hh in prison (this chairman Obasanjo has never spoken or visited trouble spots like Burundi or DRC), One of the Oppenheimers being present at a upnd rally with hh on the copperbelt pre-2016 election????? Tribalism??? since 2001, southern province has never voted for any other party except upnd, headed by then Anderson Mazoka and now hakainde-BOTH TONGAS. (Akson Sejani put it clearly in 2006, only a tonga should head upnd-even Mwanawasa lost badly in southern!!!)
Citizen …
Google lungu meets openhimers….
No shame at all..no vision no plan..lazy foooools!!
.the IMF know about PF spending 1 million for a truck that costs 280k 42 times…..and lungu pocketed 5 million from that…