By. Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba
The IMF team reached a staff-level agreement with the Zambian authorities on a new arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) for 2022-2025 to help restore macro-economic stability and provide the foundation for an inclusive economic recovery.
The former ruling party, the Patriotic Front Government chased this agreement under various Ministers of Finance; Hon.Felix Mutati, Hon. Margaret Mwanakatwe and Hon.Bwalya Ngandu, but to no avail.
So congratulations to Hon. Situmbeko Musokotwane and his team as this is a remarkable achievement.
However, this agreement is based on the Zambian government’s commitment to the IMF to undertake bold and ambitious economic reforms.
Further, the staff-level agreement is subject to IMF Management and Executive Board approval and receipt of the necessary financing assurances.
CONCERNS
Government must disclose the details of the commitment the team has made to make “bold and ambitious economic reforms”.
This is an area of backroom agreements and conditionalities that make Governments implement with the IMF, reforms that may be hostile to the social and economic well being of the country.
And it’s this part that is never publicly disclosed to the citizenry.
Will Government remove subsidies that may cause fuel and electricity tarrifs to go up? Will they implement both an employment and a wage freeze for public service workers?
Will Government be made to implement strong austerity measures in the next 3 years?
Will it be forced to restructure and privatise state-owned entities such as ZESCO? Will Government be made to abandon subsidies to the agriculture sector such as scale-down the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) Programme? Will Social Cash Transfer to the poor be affected?
How will Government deal with the current public debt?
How will Government deal with both KCM and Mopani Mines? And the mining policy in general?
This is the part that Government must make full disclosure and inspire honest discussions.
So before Government makes these disclosures, commitments and assurances to the IMF Executive Board, it is imperative that the undertaking and details made to embark on “bold and ambitious economic reforms” are made public.
This helps us remove suspicions, myths and mysteries around the IMF Programme.
Besides, it’s our lives as a nation that will be affected by the “bold and ambitious” decisions.
Make the details public.
I don’t see the UPND being transparent on this, however, we’ll tell from their behavior. The moment we see reduced funding to some sectors we’ll conclude that it’s what they agreed with IMF
You don’t make a budget in the home based upon borrowing cash. Impossible
#1 Ayatolla like you I will only tell by the way things will be unfolding.
The Finance Minister has already announced that he and the IMF Resident Representative will hold a Press briefing on Monday concerning the same issue. You can go and ask them questions. Don’t mistake your constant venting for intelligence. You just sound bitter more so when the previous government you supported had been engaged with the same IMF negotiating a deal for support in having the Zambian debt restructured. It is rank hypocrisy to be so concerned now when our going back to the IMF has everything to do with the recklessness and financial irresponsibility of Lungu and your kind. You stole, enjoyed, partied, made merry on borrowed money. It is NOW time to Pay. And there will be pain.
You’re asking for transparency now, why didn’t you ask for transparency from Lungu and his accomplices when they kept lying that Zambia’s debt to China was $3.3 billion when it was actually double the amount. Lungu and his Finance Minister lied to the IMF and everyone about Zambia’s debt position that is why Bwalya Ng’andu failed to clinch a deal with the IMF despite a year of negotiations. Unlike you, we don’t have a short memories. Let the UPND resurrect Zambia from the slump you put it in. 2011 to 2021 is a lost decade for Zambia. It wiped out the gains of the previous decade.
Owe to Zambians. Where is transparency? Where is TIZ even?
How can a step of such magnitude and far reaching consequences be undertaken by a person – a Minister of Finance with his president in secret, without parliament – the people’s representatives or oversight committee. When croo.ked FTJ was taking this step he announced to Zambians to be ready for troubled times and that we would have a bumpy road ahead of us.
Situmbeko and hh should disclose the discomfort Zambians will go through following this suspicious raw deal. We already know that INDENI is history; what else folks? Man IMF is sinister! I loath it.
Kikikikikikijukija
We told you so!
Zambia bagoleka!
Uyu nigga alitemwa amasampo!
Why doesn’t an ordinary citizen have say in such barbaric and atrocious political decisions?
What kind’a country is this sh*+ hole?
The drama at MoH was to achieve this.
We need a proactive ZAMBIA not a reactive one.
We will in future surely react to this. Will it be of any help even?
Let’s wait and see. The fun has started.
The difference between Chinese loans and Western loans: The Chinese don’t control how you use the money and will keep on lending you until you are submerged so deep that you don’t even how to repay. The IMF will tell what do if you expect them to give you even single dollar.. they tell you to auction national properties, how many people goverment should employ etc
The finance minister has already committed to a press briefing and a question and answer session, so what are you complaining about? Just wait for the outcome of the briefing. But you can be sure that fuel and energy subsidies will have to be abolished, that is always on the IMF list of conditions.
Morons like Mwamba just get excited for nothing this is why they kept sending him abroad…how can govt disclose something that has not officially approved only been approved at staff level?
Deja Vu – You seem to forget that the Chinese benefit more from their loans but you are too oblivious to notice this..no wonder you are in debt up your eyeballs with them by the way all them infrastructure loans they gave you Chink companies built them and sent half the money back and they own your strategic assets KKIA, Ndola Airport, Kafue Gorge Power station, Zamtel Comms towers etc. IMF is acting like a responsible lender lending you money at a very low interest rate which you would never obtain on the market and telling you to cut down on waste. Would you continue fuel money to your friend who drives a Range Rover 4 Litre Jeep?
#12 Tarino Orange sorry if you didn’t read between the lines…both loans are bad and they only benefit the lender. Of course you can’t because you ever sensitive to whim that you think is anti HH.
This Thorn in the A$$
“We need a proactive ZAMBIA not a reactive one.
We will in future surely react to this. Will it be of any help even?
Let’s wait and see. The fun has started.”
These people in this govt are cleaning the mess your Lazy Lungu left they ran up the debts with no idea of how they are going to pay back…you were here supporting it when we stated that the borrowing was unsustainable. You insulted us when we quizzed and criticised..you called us bitter. Now you are talking about the future …well this is the future we warned you are about 8 years ago did I not say its your children who will pay for this recklessness of PF sending???
Deja Vu – No there are good loans and bad loans what PF was borrowing via Chinese EXIM Bank were bad loans WHERE have you seen a motorway costing $1.2 billion or a International Airport with 2 terminals cost half billion dollars?…you tell me where you are going to get $1.4 billion today at the interest rates IMF is offering? You seem to forget we are back to IMF because of the reckless borrowing of loans from the Chinese…MMD left a very healthy middle income country in 2011. Go and read what you have posted aloud to yourself again
*……… an International Airport……….
With the Chinese loans you will see something standing to point to that this is what you have achieved, but with IMF you even lose what you had before the loan and people suffer consequences.
They lose jobs die of depression the towns become deserted empty buildings yapping.
Towns reduced to ghost towns.
They will only tell you one side of it but leave out the cons of the deal. Meanwhile we have resident upnd cadres who live in diaspora busy defending rubblsh that they have no clue about. If your hh is doing the right thing why haven’t you moved back to Zambia? FooIish asylum seekers
Whyshould someone call himself ambassador after being sacked? Its not an academic qualification. Kukonda tuma titles!
Title Clingers – To Mwamba its the title and the VIP Passport that mattered…remember when he wanted to stand in Metero in 2016 and was told he would have to give up his RSA embassy position and passport. He shelved the idea because he was using that position to further his business interests.
Ba Group D you can see you from a mile away. Lungu was looking for these same austerity measures, to no avail. No wonder he just locked himself at state house with thugs and alcohol. HEHH comes in, within a 100 days IMF is in, done deal. Had it been Sean Tembo as President, he would have borrowed money from George Mpombo and not IMF.
Zambia should take the bitter medicine, same also to PF and it’s Minions.
#4, #5 @Francis,
You summarized it well.
Mr. Mwamba, you have been offered a forum to ask questions on Monday, if you are a responsible and caring person, a patriot as you claim. I challenge you, to be at the press briefing. Zambians want to see you stand-up in front of the minister and ask him the questions that you are raising on LT. Assuming that, Mr. Musokotwane has NO TIME to read LT/or any other media that might have published your questions.
Will you take up the challenge ?
Spitting images. Reminds me of one Alfred ZIMT Zulu. Pretended to be an expert in everything until the high court put him in his miserable and lonely place
Well Bally is in control friends, when they tell you something has been accepted by representatives its as good as approved. It means the scrutiny level has been done. What is remaining is just formality of approval. Moreover, this scrutiny could have been done a long time ago. As for INDENI issues, let the GOVT just prepare good package for our brothers and sisters, those are very co-operative and discipline employees.
This Mwamba was moved from RSA to further to Addis because he was becoming too big headed to the point where he was issuing Foreign Affairs statements without consulting Lusaka. I can see him colliding with the new PF President as he is a venomous snake not to be trusted at all.
What has happened to indeni is a strategic blander for zambia.
I wonder what will happen to KCM, mopani and maybe zamtel, znbc and zesco.
bally needs needs to realize that 2026 campaign starts now and the like index is slowly going down.
Nigga Tarino Orange
Are you on some form of weed. Stfu moron.
ECL is gone, get the hell over it !d!0+. We’re dealing with the man in office now. You think that country is ya father’s !mb@c!le. Ciputa bati sha!
Haters, they never asked former president nothing. Useless people, now thinking to make themselves useful
Tell us, why were you mute all these yes, you only left the job to hh talking. Worthless people, go away please
They could not talk previously because there mouths were full of loots, now they yawning for food, looted,: they are terribly hungry. Hypocrites! We shall never trust you with anything anymore.
Kaizer achili alepema, Time will catch up with you. Those shops and aptments in Dubai, uicheme, they will come and smoke you out.
You were too pompus, you thought You would stay in power forever, palitalala. amasako balinukula.
I really want to meet you in town, and look at you straight into your eyes. Rigging yalimushupa August 12, Tamulati. mwakulabutaukafye,
This Thorn in the A$$ – That’s where you excel at responding with swearing and calling others ni$$ers. Lazy Lungu may have gone but his incompetence still remains and others who he threw in prison and oppressed are cleaning up after him!!
You know what, you can’t defend the indefensible. You can defend upnd borrowing from IMF all you like, but when fuel prices are increased, electricity tariffs are increased, FISIP fertilizer is removed, there will be discontent.
Which sensible Zambian wants to pay more for fuel and electricity for the sake of IMF and HH?
So ba upnd, it’s not rocket science, soon you will realize the impact of these measures because people will push back. Simple equation, when you increase the price of fuel and electricity, the price of everything else goes up.
Do you really think Zambians are in the mood for that scenario?
Kosenipo, lwenu!
What happens to those with offshore bank accounts. What is the reason for opening offshore bank accounts
IMF temunobe…