President Hakainde Hichilema took to Twitter on Thursday to assure creditors that they’ll be paid, having warned in an interview with Bloomberg this week that Zambia’s debt burden is bigger than previously thought.
The country’s bonds rallied.
Mr. Hichilema needs to negotiate new terms with external lenders after Zambia became Africa’s first pandemic-era defaulter 10 months ago.
Using the nickname “Bally” — local slang for dad — the new president said he would pay.
First, Zambia needs to secure a deal with the International Monetary Fund that will form the basis of talks with creditors that range from state-owned Chinese lenders to holders of the nation’s $3 billion Eurobonds.
Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, the new finance minister, says he’s targeting a deal with the Washington-based lender by November.
Zambia’s $1 billion in dollar bonds due 2024 advanced 1.1% to 79.8 cents on the dollar by 2:35 p.m. in London.
They’d retreated by the most in more than two months on Wednesday, after President Hichilema’s warning on the level of debt.
Of course he will.
What is important is that we are moving forward to positivity. By and large funds leakage through corruption has come to a halt at least for now. Govt can now start building confidence to bondholders & start meeting commitments. This is far way better than the chasm the country was in four weeks ago under PF malfeasance.
At least we have a President now who knows what he is talking about not a coward who hides behind press assistant and only talks rubbish on the airport tarmac when he is off for another pointless weekend fully paid working visit with his friends.
When Bally alarmed the world wide community, the bond holders became nervous and apprehensive.
The assurance by the president has overturned the trend.
The power of the mouth can build or destroy.
This was unthinkable in Lungu government as LUNGU never understood how the markets works !
I did not see any market reaction after the BoZ Governor Quarterly report, which is an indication the market doesn’t trust him….the reason for his removal!
It appears the PF Vuvuzelas do NOT understand what that twit means, you can tell, how they are missing to comment on this article and if they do, they will instead drive the attention somewhere else.
Very careless! President should have assured the creditors that he needs to get his team and Parliament in place first and then he would sit down with them. With accurate information, GRZ would be in a better position to resolve any grey areas. The problem is upnd miscalibrated its strategy-thinking PF were just destructive and did nothing and they would just come in a fix things. That’s why he’s emphasising coffers are empty and debt is deeper. But reality has kicked in and situation is different as the scenario hh sold his supporters doesn’t exist. Bally’s in a fix.
It is troubling of the slogan that Bally will fix it, it reminds me of Mr Jimmy Saville who used to present a long running show on the BBC with the slogan that ‘ Jim will fix it’ when Mr Saville died, it transpired that he committed some horrendous crimes whilst working for the NHS at Broadmoor Hospital and also at the BBC centre itself. He died as a villain.
Why “Bally will pay” and not that Zambia will back? I do not understand this nonsense of Bally this or Bally that.
Seems to me Bally is too indecisive to fix anything
Atleast Zambians have put a president who
Will bring law and order unlike before as we
Saw what an outsider discussing on bonds
With bank governor.That was state of our
Government.Zambians be patient as Bally
Will fix it.Bally has to move fast in firing old
Staff in most ministries.
We are all grateful to God ,Gone is Edgar Chagwa Lungu and his PF CORRUPT CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE OF A GOVERNMENT .The new Government is already fighting to bring back Respectability to Zambia,we became the Economic Laughing Stock of the Continent.
We need to give them time and space to implement their policies,promises and vision .
Already we can see them focusing Economics and Law & Order.
TIYENDE PAMODZI
ONE ZAMBIA ONE NATION
Zambian Citizen @6, what has become of your weekly musings in the Daily Nation together with Chipasha Chipalo?
What will enable Bally pay is ZRA collecting revenue for the year with 4 months to spare. How can people put all their trust in an individual? Cursed is a man who puts his trust in the arm of the flesh. Lets build strong economy and institutions that even creditors can trust and not in speculations based on what someone says. The system is already in place and has been ahowing singns of recovery for some time now just build on it instead of depending on how Bally wakes up.
Zambians have never been wealthier than they are today, even from before independence. Just look at the price of properties people own. More Zambians own land than ever before. In the UNIP and pre independence days, nearly everyone was renting and land was owned by a few white individuals. Many have more than one source of income and that is why council employees have been able to survive even without salaries for months. Look at cars on the streets. Even constables are running pirate taxis. So, why is the country struggling then? The answer is simple. We have weak institutions. ZRA could collect more than double the tax it collects. It has been set a low target.
@Charles Ngoma, right on point. There is a lot of revenue that was going into cadre pockets than being paid into government coffers. Strengthen institutions and ensure that Zambians have trust in them. If I run a taxi and the roads are full of potholes, I should complain to whoever maintains the roads to fix the problem. I should also be paying my dues…….
Where is that David Kapoma who said on radio that PF will win the elections and he would be back on Radio phoenix on August 14 to testify that
So far, Bally is incompetent for president!
How i hate this Bally will pay nonsense! Just shows it came from a shallow mind. How does Bally pay when he uses my money, my tax! Zambians will pay the loans with or without Bally. To hell with bally will pay!!
Bally this Bally that….like its still time for campaigning….now we need actions…not i will do this…i will do that…with this Bally Bally thing it will sure end in tears….meanwhile no any sign of prices being reduced….
Bally is our agent. Whn he pays, it’s effectively us paying. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Yes HH will pocket half of the money coming from IMF…HH is worse than Lungu when it comes to stealing…he will steal 10 times than Lungu
This bally is not even intelligent though his followers are mad about him, to some people he is the cradle of intelligence to the contrary this guy promises maintains yet he cannot realise that his lies will be his downfall .
He kept shouting to the world that he has found empty empty coffers , and immediately the lenders were threatened and developed cold feet he didn’t know how much harm he was doing to himself and Zambians at-large.
The lies he was shouting at his campaigns will come back on him when it will hurt him deeply, all that he didn’t know.
Appointing Musokotwane is one of the big mistakes he has made where are the new blood of young sleek and intelligent young men and women .
The first qualification for public office is honesty. The rest are just add-ons.