Friday, March 29, 2024

Zambia will delay the receipt of the $2.6 billion loan contracted last year-Mwanakatwe

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Minister of Finance Margaret Mwanakatwe
Minister of Finance Margaret Mwanakatwe

Reuters reports that Zambia has delayed the receipt of loans totalling $2.6 billion contracted last year in order to rein in its soaring debt, Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe said on Friday.

Zambia’s external debt at the end of the first quarter of this year had increased to $10.178 billion from $10.05 billion at the end of 2018, Mwanakatwe told business leaders.

The debt pile had pierced the $10 billion level after jumping from $8.74 billion at the end of 2017.

Mwanakatwe said the loans approved last year covered infrastructure, energy, agriculture, health, education and defence.

The 25 loans had been in the pipeline from 2016 to 2017 but only reached financial closure in the first and second quarters of last year, she said.

“We are going to manage disbursement to be able to have a sustainable debt profile going forward,” Mwanakatwe said, without stating how long disbursement would be delayed.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has repeatedly warned Zambia is struggling with high debts and shrinking foreign currency reserves.

Zambia’s 2018 fiscal deficit stood at 7.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), higher than an earlier government projection of around 7%.

Mwanakatwe said Zambia’s foreign reserves dropped to $1.43 billion at the end of February 2019 from $1.56 billion at the end of 2018.

Zambia’s GDP growth in 2019 would fall below 3% from 3.7% last year due to adverse weather conditions which would impact agricultural production and the energy sector.

43 COMMENTS

    • She is not the problem. She is just part of the problem.

      If you replace her with anyone they will not arrest the problem.

      There is no transparency and perhaps a change of Government is the way forward.

      Thanks

      BB2014,2016

    • She is telling lies again …the loan from exim bank of Russia Chagwa has already received his Jet so how come u are not mentioning the fact that this particular one you have already contracted ??? Or did it contribute to the latest increase ??? My point is your lack of transparency isn’t helping at all

    • On the contrary, it’s ECL’s government which have failed to manage the country’s economy.

      It’s difficult these days to believe GRZ officials are saying regarding external loans. Why did the PF government not tell the Zambian people about this loan?

      God Bless Zambia.

    • Wow why PF doing this sabotage to Zambia? $10billion?? Can’t be true, better Ba Edgar deny this fact, 10 billion in debt without constructing a sing factory or bridge.’
      I know money, any I can imagine what a $10 billion is.
      Seriously lets have National Dialogue on Economy, not that crap of constitution they are abusing.’
      $10 billion???? Please PF ministers, resign, no one will blame you. This is SABOTAGE!!

    • Hands off Mwanakatwe -leave her alone!! The idyot that sabotaged our economy is Chikwanda who also seriously stole quite a lot of money from our treasury.
      Please Zambians, let us follow that fossil Chikwanda that continued to borrow us into serious debt and even calling others like Magande as lunatics!!. Now see where that monkey left us again for the second time in his long stupid life!!
      It is time Zambians took actions and started arresting mother fckers like Chikwanda before they start dying so wee can get our money back before their crazy relatives grab our stolen properties.

    • This woman has no integrity …she can just tell lies without shame jut like that…only fooooools can believe her!!

    • Pf is a failed project. Kk rruled for 27 yrs and accrued 7billion debt.

      P F has only ruled for 7years and accrued 10billion usd

      Unfortunately upendi is a personal project for hh. No one can sit on that chair

      Upendi is hh and hh is upendi

    • We told you that an alcoholic like Margaret Mwanakatwe can manage the economy or tell cabinet to tighten their belts she is too weak…I mean she cant stay sober for 8 hours. ..her performance on Bloomberg was skin-cringing that’s why even Bloomberg analysts concluded that the women is too thick to oversee such matters and wrote her off

    • She will never pay back any of this she will probably drink herself to death…its your grandchildren who will pay…we told you countless of times you never listened, there is nothing LAZY LUNGU can do he is absolutely useless as a leader even austerity to him is just a word…he lamentably failed that ..you think he can manage an economy…god only knows why he even wants to stand in 2021.

  1. No wonder Dudu always looks inebriated!
    She is drunk with debt and this is beginning to affect the nation’s economy!
    We thank Africa Confidential and Bloomberg whistle blowers for the tip offs! At least the truth has come out and Dudu has always confirmed that Africa Confidential and Bloomberg always publish what they have verified!

    • My friend the Headline and body of the article are totaling different…its not like $2.6 billion was coming from one lender to be delayed its from various EXIM Banks whose contractors are already on the ground ….she is not telling you the truth.

  2. Useless collection of failures!! She even has courage to discuss figures that are all indicative of failure to manage our economy!! Between end of 2017 and 2018 these Pathetic Failures accrued close to $2bn but where did they spend it? Now they have borrowed $2.6 bn to steal again before elections! So this is the money that has emboldened Chitalu Chilufya to be promising hospitals everywhere knowing well that they will build substandard and call them “ultramodern” at inflates costs to steal our national resources!!

    • They have no shame …last year they told us the figures were $7 billion when people stated they were higher than that the refuted…today its a different story. Where is Amos who was rubbish Bloomberg reports?

  3. Sorry to break your hearts folks; this money has already been received and shared!!
    The topmost item on the shopping list was Jet Stream Aircraft with Anti Missile Technology… This female is lying through its teeth yet again!!

    • @Hunter – PF is not prudent enough to delay such kind of funds …these are reckless people who would borrow even at 99% APR to pay off other loans.

  4. PF cadres are waiting for an HH story for them to comment on and express their personal hatred for the man. Stories telling us about how PF is fcuking up the country they remain zeeeeeee.

    • PF cadres are the most stupid …they can come on here and debate with you that Maggie is telling the truth…look at that shameless chap JUNIOR the educated fooooool thinks his aunty Maggie is doing a great job.

    • That’s what pisses me off the most about these clowns!! If their leader tells them to eat their own excrement they will gladly do it and claim that they have seen HH eat worse… This country is on its deathbed and these guys keep raping it like they have no conscience and their base keeps urging them on. Every Economic performance indicator is sliding with no hope of recovery and slogan chanting cadres keep pointing the finger at the opposition. Awe mwandi, I weep for Zed

  5. All economic indicators are in reverse and we still have a dunderhead like Davies Mwila proclaiming how his government of !d!ots is bridging the gap between the rich and the poor. Shocking!

  6. Very very bad but it’s not Hon Maggie’s fault I think. She always gets DIRECTIVES to overrule her budget.

    But BUT no matter how bad things are, Trib.al Hacks, trib.al upnd or any form of trib.alism is NO OPTION for Zambia.
    And they have just confirmed and exposed their trib.al, all and ONLY MPs who hails from Trib.al Hacks double bed did not participate in NDF…. they would if NDF was all trib.al so that they “speak in their language”, as some civil servants openly said when they were overconfident of winning in 2016 general elections.

    • @Mwape – dont waste your time with this product of lustful incest…he/she doesnt know whether he is going or coming or whether he is this or that..one wonders why this grotesque bell-end even posts on here!!

    • HH Phobia may kill these guys before 2021,be relevant to what is happening now,HH is not in control, what are you doing about the lack of cash in the economy?High mealie meale prices,the corruption you have allowed and many more wrongs,talking about HH wont help, this is the time you should show relevance, abantu balechula,iwe ati HH,cant work i now understand HH’s Chimbwi No Plan comment. Mwaishiba fye ukwiba?

  7. Well written Mushota! straight to the point. I agree with Chilyata that people like Chikwanda should be held accountable for their reckless actions. Those that are stealing our will never enjoy it, the wages of sin is death. Poor Zambians are dying due to lack of medicine, intelligent children can not go to School as their parents can not avoid to pay School fees due to the crippled economy. God is watching you, you will not enjoy our money not even your Children will enjoy it.

    • Leave God out of this.You mean we need God to get justice?Foolish thugs like Kampyongo am sure laugh at such sentiments. They will be punished by WE THE PEOPLE THEY HAVE STLOEN FROM US AND THEY HAVE TO BE PUNISHED.

  8. #1.5 Chilyata: “Please Zambians, let us follow that fossil Chikwanda that continued to borrow us into serious debt and even calling others like Magande as lunatics!!. Now see where that MONKEY left us again for the second time in his long stupid life!!”

    The “monkey” language of trib.als rearing its ugly head again!!
    And #10 Alex can even quote a fellow trib.al.
    Sometimes I wonder what then Trib.al Hacks sees in bemba or monkey running mates. He discarded a nsenga Canissius Banda for a monkey GBV who is now insulting him, and now he is courting Chimbwili! He takes bembas for fyoools it seems but indeed, uncharacteristically, some are fools like Chimbwili and GBV!!

  9. True Chikwanda also batted for Lungu by alleging he seemed more responsible than the rest except for his poor drinking habits. Mind you Chikwanda wanted a compliant leader so he could get whatever he wanted. So it’s the all bunch that need to be arrested. First grab all their properties, while they are detained and ask them to account for the loans that they have accumulated. It will be a real “Sota” where you took the money. No bail or police bond. These criminals are now busy trying to enact laws outside Parliament to try and extend their stay and sandbag themselves using the foolish NDF. They are spending money which has not been budgeted for, by forcing their agenda on a few outnumbered MPs by selectively picking the majority of PF sorrogate NGOs, stakeholders and their MPs to…

  10. No news of default, no problem. Continue managing the debt. Its a challenging process like every entity that has borrowed – whether individual, couple, household, business, mine or developed country knows. Only lunatics think there is no debt in life.

    Better to borrow than wait for savings forever. MMD saved and saved while school places were short, roads were pathetic and blackouts extensive. Out they went. People appreciate development and sacrifices for it. It is why they are voting for Pf.

    • You wonder why civil servants are not being paid on time because all the money is being used for debt servicing…were you not told it was unsustainable to borrow at that rate? What did you say? Anyway …MMD left a good credit rating its why you got those EUROBONDS you misused…then went to the Chinks who now baically own you like slaves….mandarin will soon be taught in schools in China you can not even put up a picture of a black man unless they are comparing him to a Chimpanzee

  11. Sometimes we the people of Zambia should rise up and accept that we failed ourselves because we elected below par leaders and we are paying for our choices and the sad part is that things will get even harder.

    • They will continue lieing as they have quashed the FIC Report, no AG in the office..no AG report they dont see any need for them.

  12. When we highlight Pathetic Failures aka (P.F) politics don’t work, we have human excrement Cadres like “U.P.N.D, Cadre”, & “Thorn in the B@cks1de) opening their filthy traps, & defending thieving, & mediocrity, coz as Cadres they are benefitting from this P.F misrule.
    These Stone age Mposa Mabwe’s can’t even see past their noses, to realise generations to come will be enslaved because of the same P F misrule, but NO as long as they are roasting T Bone steaks, drinking beer, & dancing Dununa every day, whilst bootlicking to Ba Jona, ” everything is gonna be alright”
    FULLY EVOLVED? I DOUBT!!

  13. Amano ma mbulwa . I’m saying this is a burden we are putting on our children.PF is criminal’of no plans.We founder left because we saw it coming after the mulungushi…

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