Thursday, March 28, 2024

Government accumulates $10 million in the Sinking Fund for the Euro bond redemption-Finance Minister

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Finance Minister Bwalya Ng’andu
Finance Minister Bwalya Ng’andu

GOVERNMENT has so far accumulated US10 million in the Sinking Fund to use towards redeeming the Euro bond, Finance Minister Bwalya Ng’andu has announced.

Dr Ng’andu told Parliament that the fund, set up in 2018, was one of the options Government intended to use towards redeeming the Euro bond.

He indicated that Government, through the Ministry of Finance, had also set up a technical committee to draft a strategy for redeeming the three Euro-bonds but was currently awaiting approval by Cabinet before implementation.

He also observed that the measures Government was undertaking towards the redemption process had no adverse effects on the fiscal performance of the current budget, as it was already provided for in the 2019 budget.

The minister was responding to Solwezi West Member of Parliament, Teddy Kasonso, who wanted to know the measures Government was taking to ensure that the Euro Bonds were paid when they fell due.

“The strategy towards the redemption of the three Euro-bonds, which is yet to be approved by Cabinet, identifies various options available, once Cabinet grants approval, the Ministry of Finance will implement the recommended measures and currently there is US$10 Million in the Sinking Fund which is one of the options,” Dr Ng’andu said.

He named the major components of the public debts as external debt, domestic debt and Government arrears.

Dr Ng’andu indicated that external debts and domestic debts would be paid when due in accordance with the respected financing arrangements, while Government arrears would be dealt with in an annual budget provision.

“Payment of debt is prioritized and the reason for that is to ensure that there is no default of the debt. The debt service takes precedence on the consolidated fund of the budget,” he said.

19 COMMENTS

  1. Zambian are useless. Even this man will be controlled by pf hooligans. My white wife Elisa has lost hope in Zambia..i am trying to convince her there is still hope . She says she only has hope in the upnd and me . I love her

  2. I wish thiswe had refused taking up this appointment.

    Chikawnda and miles sampa in collaboration with pf alliened mafiaso public the euro bond.

    They used institutions like ZESCO projects e g dredging the weed at kariba dam using pf cadres. And used the money in real estates like lodges making it hard for inept ACC to trail. FIC was a good starting but why has the president failed to add his voice

    KCM is in trouble partly because it has not paid PF cardres who are the main business subcontractors on the CB. In short PF is here to plunder

    Who will deliver us from LUNGU-pf

    Please dont call me upendi cardre because am not ONE

  3. WOW, whole $10million? How did you managed this financial miracle?
    By the way, what is it percentage of $10 million against $750 million of the first Euro bond?
    Paltry 1.33%!!!
    Hon. Ng’andu, do you realise that if you set aside $10 millions monthly, it will take 6 years and 3 months to meet required amount which will bring us to the end of October 2025!!
    Have you forgotten repayment date?

    • Why ask Ngandu; he was just appointed less than a month ago? Ask Lungu and Chikwanda who are responsible for this total mess? We need to get Chikwanda’s Assets that he stole from our Govt…look at where he has left us?

    • # 3.1
      “ANOINTED ONE” is to busy with looting and senile Chikwanda will say “it is price worth paying for unprecedented development”..
      Shall we blame HH and UPND instead ss the real PF died long time ago?

    • Chilyata, ask Chikwanda and Kilometer Sampa. Any president after Sata would still be dealing with this nonsense. What needs to be stopped is excess spending on our ridiculous MPs and ministers. International travel should be brought to zero or naught. Only instances the president or the minister of foreign affairs should travel is to the UK or the USA, because we know those two embassies are staffed with useless characters.

  4. $10 mn in the sinking fund whilst $520mn is missing according to 2018 FIC trends report.What these f00ls failed to account for in one year can pay off the instalment due in 2022.Nowonder they are failing to claim seized flats

  5. Talk of a sinking fund began three finance ministers ago. Alexander Chikwanda is the one who mentioned it first but according to this article, it was set up only last year and there’s only a measly $10m is in it. These people are not serious.

  6. Let them sell the unclaimed fortyeight flats and contribute towards the euro bond.look for
    More properties who have no owners.There are many more.
    This is money from euro bond.

  7. Hahahahaha! What a joke!!!!

    10 million when Zambia OWES 17 BILLION!!

    This is not a sinking fund, it is a STINKING FUND. It STINKS of THEFT and CORRUPTION!

    • I am beginning to think a lot of Zambians are not aware of how a country is run. A country will always have debt, of that debt, it is the frivolous debt like the unplanned for Eurobonds that needs urgent attention. External and internal debt with necessity and sureties of tangible collateral can easily be serviced. I do agree though, the Eurobonds were a big mistake.

  8. $10m only should not surprise anyone at all! Do we a visionless, ultra corrupt and a downright convicted Lungu could have done better!
    Never, after all he is an ex convict and proven thief who has even done better than most thieves? Even stealing he does it in daylight with the help of his daughter Tasila and PF idyots go dancing for him wildly on the streets. He even publicly abandons the Houses he built using stolen funds – the idyot and his daughter have stolen more than enough.

  9. Euro Bonds: The article is nice but no mention of value of these bonds and the redemption schedule. After that one can visualise how much cuashion is their from the sinking fund

  10. Really laughable …here we go again Fossil Chikwanda started a sinking fund, Mutati had one now the new guy has one….you can not have a collection account in a tavern full of alcoholics…who are simply cheating yourselves I bet you more money was spent in the last by election than what is in your sink fund

  11. Dull politicians. Borrow at 10% and start keeping money idle to pay back in future. Every single cent is supposed to be used and amount shall be paid back through planned rolling over, fresh issues with gradual lower (or higher) fresh issue to gradually reduce (or increase) borrowing.
    Just these kaponyas learnt sinking fund term in their accounting course does not mean it is suitable for bond repayment. It is meant for asset replacement (where amount over useful life of an asset is accumulated through profit allocation. This fund earns interest and is not kept idle.)

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