The International Monetary Fund has urged President Hakainde Hichilema to urgently take steps restore economic sustainability while protecting the vulnerable and creating more inclusive growth.
Speaking at the end of the mission staff virtual visit to Zambia, team lead Allison Holland said there is an urgent need to implement economic reforms that will ensure a return to growth.
“We welcomed the opportunity to hear an update on recent fiscal and macroeconomic developments and learn about the new authorities’ reform priorities that focus on restoring macroeconomic stability, re-establishing fiscal and debt sustainability, generating growth, and improving human development,” Ms. Holland said.
“In light of the deeply challenging macro-economic environment that prevails, the new administration faces an urgent need to take steps to restore sustainability while protecting the vulnerable and creating more inclusive growth,” she said.
Ms. Holland said the discussions last week provided the IMF with a better understanding of how the authorities’ reform priorities are informing their 2022 Budget preparations.
“We look forward to discussions on a Fund-supported program in the near future.”
The IMF team met with Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane, Acting Governor of the Central Bank Francis Chipimo as well as other senior government officials.
Just waiting.
The imperialists who bankrolled his party are now saying “chop chop, quick quick” to their slave hh. In other words hurry up in Messing up the lives of your people
“team lead Allison Holland said there is an urgent need to implement economic reforms that will ensure a return to growth.”
The reason they’re speaking in euphemisms is because they’re crooks. They want more copper exported without the Zambian people or economy benefiting at all. That’s the ‘return to growth’ they are talking about.
We warned you. You can now welcome recolonization by the whlte man. When hh went to America, when asked to jump, he asked how high.
Take note of ‘Economic Reforms’. We are heading for tough conditions. Wage freeze will be one of the reforms
By the way, anyone wanting to interact with me and exchange views on politics and the happenings in our country, I will be available in kafue at chita Lodge this Saturday. All are welcome. Those wanting to cause trouble like that upnd cow who was harassing me with camera , you will get a beating of your life.
Next year’s badget will be written by IMF. That is what you get for a white worshiping kid president. That you ba youth and how is your sport betting going since you do not have jobs?
Bally and his cabal of UPND zealots are still playing blame games as he wantonly fires civil servants without any justifiable reason. We were expecting the Budget Speech on 30 September but nothing came, so which reforms are they talking about? Students have began to express their anger already. Apart from Jack Mwiimbu, Garry Nkombo and Mweetwa who seems not to know his as Southern province Minister, the rest are still scratching their balls without a clew. Jerabos want their dump sites as he seems not to know whether to sell the Gulf Stream or not. There’s nothing good in the bag, let’s prepare for harder time ahead. We’re in trouble, IMF doesn’t get impatient for nothing
There you go – that’s how it rolls in Europe! Non of this too soon to act, works in the West! You land running!
Is this not SAP?For the youths smell your blood.
The IMF know and understand in an ideal world , the previous GRZ would leave thing in some order………..
Not the case with that corrupt clueless thieving moron lungu and his gang………
Almost every institution has to be rebuilt emphasising the rule of law as a starting point……….
The scale of corruption and wonton dereliction of care of duty by the previous leadership is astounding……….
HEHH is of the view We can not start building at the top while the foundation and base is rotten……
The IMF know and understand in an ideal world , the previous GRZ would leave thing in some order………..
Not the case with that lungu and his gang………
Almost every institution has to be rebuilt emphasising the rule of law as a starting point……….
The scale of corruption and wonton dereliction of care of duty by the previous leadership is astounding……….
HEHH is of the view We can not start building at the top while the foundation and base is rot.ten……
The IMF know the new GRZ has to rebuild every institution from ground up ………
Every system of governance was corrupted………
I’m still looking forward to the day when Zambia will finally break loose from this prison called IMF. How can we proudly say we’re an independent country when we’re being told what to do with our economy by outsiders? Why do we even have schools and universities if we can’t produce economists and experts that are able to take charge of running our economy?
Bye bye FISP
uko, lelelelo kalendele!
The economy was ruined by PF so why are you blaming the IMF ?
This IMF will cost someone his job
I think the positive thing to return to growth is to continue on the pass and build on the Fiscal plans and return the country to sustainability having invested in critical infrastructure like energy We need to see the economic sentiment index and all composite leading indicators improve to lead the country and return it to growth levels then it will be easier and quicker to meet and achieve all Fiscal requirements
The facts as they stand are damning enough that hard times are ahead of us. We have to stop being drunks, we have to stop looking for our keys under the street lamp because the light is better there to see that there is nothing good ahead of us
#17 Nzambia… The blame game. A wolf sees a lamb down stream and accuses it of making the water dirty upstream. The lamb is puzzled because water cannot be made dirty by someone from downstream. These are just games, even the USA experience it.
Dear IMF
Please give our president more time. He was in opposition for too long and he is too slow. He is currently even failing to fill up positions to people he has fired that’s how unprepared he is. Unfortunately he is still depending on the people he said they had failed and yet they are the technocrats of his new government from PF Government.
Frankly, he did not come with a prepared Shadow Government Team. As of now they are fighting each other whether the cadres should stay on the bus stops and markets, or not
Thank you for reading this note
Best
WWW
“WE LOOK FORWARD TO DISCUSSIONS ON A FUND-SUPPORTED PROGRAM IN THE NEAR FUTURE.”
IN PLAIN LANGUAGE IT MEANS DO WHAT THE IMF WANTS IN THE BUDGET AND THE IMF LIKE REMOVING SUBSIDIES ON FERTILIZER AND FUEL AND DOWN SIZE THE CIVIL SERVICE THEN THE IMF MAY GIVE YOU SOME US DOLLARS!!
BUT WILL ZAMBIANS BUY IT?
“WE LOOK FORWARD TO DISCUSSIONS ON A FUND-SUPPORTED PROGRAM IN THE NEAR FUTURE.”
IN PLAIN LANGUAGE IT MEANS DO WHAT THE IMF WANTS IN THE BUDGET AND THE IMF LIKE REMOVING SUBSIDIES ON FERTILIZER AND FUEL AND DOWN SIZE THE CIVIL SERVICE THEN THE IMF MAY GIVE YOU SOME US DOLLARS!!
BUT WILL ZAMBIANS BUY IT?!
l have yet to come across a country that has developed or met its peoples expectations by toeing the IMF line correct me if am wrong but these institutions are never user friendly they seem bent on a mission and that mission sure does not include Zambias prosperity
Interesting how just evryone is not impressed with the pace at which upnd govt is moving in everything. No one knows which direction upnd will take on any of the key issues like prosecutig pf thievs,privatising zesco,street vendors,pf gassing,who paid for pf misntera wen they overstayed in power.etc.b4 we know it it will be 2022..
Those who used to harass and beat people with impunity like KZ and others must be investigated for their suspected criminality. This will help those who were affected by there behavior to see justice been served. In, fact, they should be put on Interpol list of wanted individuals. I wonder why certain countries accept and keep people who are well known for wrong doing in their countries of origin
If Pilato was on wanted list even when he was doing great duty of civic activism, who are this suspected criminals just living without facing their bad behavior. pf is gone, get them victims need closure.
In New Hampshire they say ” Live free or die”…..ok you have been warned soon all UPND minions will understand what the IMF is all about…..they suck Zambia dry…you will even run back to the Chinese…have you heard of Structural Adjustment Program…..mwanya
@KZ
Did you worked in government before?
What was role?
Just ignore these pf alarmists, even their party crawled up to the IMF and were craftily denied a package. They messed up big time and now want to play Angela.
Bye bye free education, bye unemployment,
Kaiser, PF is NEVER COMING BACK. And to all normal thinking Zambians that’s all they ever wanted.
Saulosi my dear friend, didn’t PF spend five years crawling for help from the IMF and were denied because of fiscal indiscipline? And now you want to attack the very thing you spent years trying to get? hahahaha, you chaps are just failures in everything. Failures at ruling and even bigger failures at being in opposition. Shame.
IMF; we were there before in FTJ’s rule it failed us, even the term failed is better…..IMF brought calamities in Zambia during FTJ’s rule… but why HH going back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lets wait and see in 5 years term of office……………..
1. Fuel subsidies to be abolished, fuel price increase 50-60%
2. Electricity subsidies to be abolished, Zesco tariff increase 75-100%
3. VAT increase 18.5-19.5%
4. Civil servants salary freeze
5. MP salary decrease 20-30%
And that is just for starters
UPND’s downfall, please don’t say we never warned you. The problem is, it will be too late for the country to undo the damage from these guys. They go with maximum disruption for maximum profit.
The IMF are crooks who have no Africa’s best interests at heart. Their so called economic growth policies are nothing but policies that disadvantage poor countries and benefit the West. Don’t forget they were behind the privatization that happened in the 1990 and ruined Zambia’s economy. Be careful with them. Why the hurry hurry commands? Crooks.!!!
The youths of Zambia need to know what is now in the offing that there will be no jobs in the next 5years but lay offs to restructure the economy.
There is nothing to talk about so far but only the message to the youths that they are not wise, there are no jobs coming and no reductions on prices of essential goods, no free education from grade one to university, there are no subsidies on fuel from k 17 to k5 only, nothing that HH promised will come with in the 5years term.
So tell them to forget and the dollar will drop any further.
As long as imf lives there is no hope to the Zambians, however the loss of employment will be the order of the day.
We speak all this from experience and not just dreaming.
We must tell IMF to choose a finger…IMF can not be telling us to hurry up and sign the papers. This is ridiculous. HH must tell IMF to and come next year. PF got kaloba from the Chinese…UPND wants inkongole from the americans …Zero-Sum game
Dear LT, the headline is very misleading. The IMF says that the government ‘faces an urgent need…’ There is no where in what you have reported where the IMF talks to HH or even tell the government to hurry up. The government requested an urgent meeting because it self on its own is in a hurry to fix the economy. Government has told the IMF about the urgency of the situation, not the other way round.
@ THE SAINT, surely ‘urgent need’ and ‘hurrying-up’ mean the same thing? What is your understanding on this statement, and I quote, “team lead Allison Holland said there is an urgent need to implement economic reforms that will ensure a return to growth.” Even KK’s free education taught us “Can you remember”.