A BlackRock Spokesperson has disputed estimates of potential gains by campaigners championing the cancellation of Zambia’s debt.
Activists have claimed BlackRock could make $180 million profit out of its investment in Zambian bonds if the debts are paid in full.
The New York Headquartered firm said in a statement that there had not been any significant increases in its holdings of Zambian debt since September 2020 “other than as required to ensure the funds remain near or at the benchmark”.
They added: “The money invested in bonds by asset managers is predominantly the money of ordinary people saving for retirement. None of the money is the asset manager’s.”
The company said any decision on restructuring these bonds must therefore be balanced against the duty of the asset manager to protect the savings of the millions of people whose money was lent to these countries, while at the same time recognising the difficult circumstances they are facing from the challenges posed by Covid-19.
The spokesperson said the firm had “no discretion” to sell bonds held in index funds, “so it is in our clients’ interests for these countries to thrive and succeed”.
And on Wednesday, protestors staged demonstrations outside of Blackrock’s Edinburgh office to demand that the company cancels Zambia’s debt.
On the day BlackRock announced its annual earnings, campaigners from Global Justice Now and Jubilee Scotland were demonstrating for Blackrock, one of Zambia’s largest known bondholders, to write off the country’s debts as it struggles to recover from the pandemic.
Activists arrived outside of BlackRock’s office in the capital with a large piñata in the shape of a black rock with one campaigner in a suit and a Larry Fink mask – CEO of BlackRock – holding it up for other protestors to hit.
The contents of the piñata were said to symbolise many of the things Zambia will continue to have restricted access to until its debt is cancelled such as money, medical equipment and renewable energy.
Zambia’s debt payments to asset managers such as BlackRock will also render Scotland’s aid funding to the country “virtually insignificant”, campaigners warn.
Zambia is one of the Scottish Government’s international development partner countries but its debt repayments for 2021 were 75 times more than the aid money Zambia received from the Scottish Government in the previous five years combined, according to campaigners.
Liz Murray, head of Scottish campaigns at Global Justice Now, added: “Zambia’s ability to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate emergency is being massively undermined by the debt repayments that it is having to make to banks right here in Scotland, such as BlackRock.
“While BlackRock is making huge profits, people in Zambia are going without vital medical supplies and access to education. That’s a global scandal that must end.
“We echo the call of our friends in Zambia for BlackRock to cancel Zambia’s debt.”
Line Christensen, campaign director at Jubilee Scotland said: “The aid money given by Scotland to Zambia is being dwarfed by the huge repayments that Zambia is being forced to make to private creditors like BlackRock.
“Big banks often pile crippling interest on low-income countries’ debts, locking them in a never-ending cycle of payments that prevent investment in crucial infrastructure, education, and health services -and they haven’t let up during the pandemic.”
These are HHs connections. Just like privatisation hh will get kickbacks. Fuseke
Where are the bantu Zambians in that photo? Busy enjoying Castle Lite its Good Friday….anyway I dont see what the commotion is Zambia under reckless PF of Lazy Lungu borrowed and agreed to pay back the lender Blackrock & Co with interest. PF was advised countless of times not to borrow as it was unsustanable but they carried regardless…now we blame the lender? Please stop it…we have to learn from our mistakes this happened during UNIP, MMD of FTJ Chiluba now PF of Sata and LAZY Lungu. UPND has removed subsidies, increased fuel…they have factered iin all this debt repayment ..please no debt write offs.
The UK based fraud/Troll/ Impostor is still singing about privatisation when former ministers are being caught with wild animals from Kafue NP in their back yards…these morons think herbivores like Impala just eat all types of grass.
Pathetic !
THIS CULTURE OF SEEKING DEBT RIGHT OFFS MUST STOP
ALL THIS COMES FROM TAX PAYERS MONEY FROM AROUND THE WORLD
ALL WORKING THEIR BU*TTS OFF WHILST WE DRINK AND SING HELP US
USAID SPENT $500BILLION AS AID TO ZAMBIA IN 2021 AND YET ZAMBIA IS STRUGGLING WITH $40 BILLION DEBT,THAT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE.AFRICA IS BEWITCHED.
I don’t think its fair for people who have worked their lives to save some money and invested it to use on their kids and in retirement, to be deprived of their money, just because of the PF Sharks, that are still swimming around.
Ba PF must be lucky, the same bazungu that you despise, are the ones that are fighting for you. Instead, we should have been seeing PEACEFUL(I repeat, PEACEFUL) protests against PF for bringing us into this situation……..I Know, I know, you will argue that the people of Zambia already protested by kicking out the PF government. If that is the case, then we want to see those SHARKS, charged in courts of LAW and convicted and LOCKED up. For as long as we don’t get our house in order, it’s unfair to ask outsiders. BA UPND, this was supposed to be a quick win…
Mess with HH at your own peril,as he himself wont have to fight you physically. Other people will,on his behalf.
Cont
BA UPND, this was supposed to be a quick win from the low-hanging fruits, but we are NOT seeing the results. You have NOT proved your fight against corruption, so far. No wonder, IMF is not be happy and no wonder other lenders are dragging their feet to support the restracturing efforts.
So far, only 1 person(non politician), and that is not enough to proove the fight against corruption. The LUSAMBO case, if you have sufficient evidence to convict him, that will be a big bonus for UPND GRZ. to proove corruption cause. HELP Yourselves before you ask someone else to help you.
If its in Zambia, the UPND cadres will clobber you in his defence. And if its overseas,people and groups like these will find you and match your office to demonstrate their anger towards you for working against HH. But is im to be rationale,all those Agencies(local or International) that colluded with Lungu in corruption, will go down with Lungu. They told themselves “we are international agencies,no one can touch us” look now bwana-not when you are dealing with HH. Remember other Presidents are Dictators so the West doesnt listen to their plights,HH is not. He is sobber minded with a highly reputable name their.Look also how China is now also being affected for siding with Lungu,their deals being cancelled in Zambia ,day & night, and once their debt is settled i doubt Zambia will ever…
@Jonathan Mutaware-Formerly STEP ASIDE,
Please, just STEP ASIDE with such threats, I don’t think even HH will agree with you. Just cool down !!! If you want to man-handle people, why advertise here, do it in your privacy. Why would you want everyone to know about it, if you are serious?
@General Kanene: Which lender is dragging feet? DO you call China a lender? or and economic terrorist. When did the IMF or World Bank lend you money and then you find IMF/World workers busy working in Zambia using the same lent money to the point of even Bricklayers. This is what China does, borrows you money and forces you to have half chinese employees in the same project. No one else in this world lends like that including African countries,they all only lend but they dont send their population to work using the same money which those workers in turn send back to china again to their families. Yes they will claim that interests are low but you pay back 10 times more than a western loan with very high interest rates. They send their population to you and they require to collect rental…
economic terrorist.
COULDNT BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH
POOR Stands for: Passing Over Opportunities Repeatedly
1. It’s always an easy option, to spend money buying Mango & Orange fruits every season when they are on the market stores/stands. Yet Zambia has a lot of people who have a piece of garden-land in their backyard of urban residential areas. Especially those who live in rural areas. Besides all it takes is to plant Mango & Orange seeds and water the plants as they grow. And after about 3 years or so you can have your homegrown fresh fruits for free and become self-reliant. Any extra fruits that you cannot consume you can sell them or donate to hospitals, schools, and orphanage centres.
continued…..
Hh is a mere basic loan shark. A thief
2. I built a house at the same time, as my next-door neighbour. My neighbour lives in his house and I have always rented my house in Ibex Hill. I planted Mango, Oranges, and Lemons while my builders were laying foundations. Today, the trees are producing fruits which my tenant enjoys with his whole extended family. And that’s fine with me. However, my neighbour’s wife is impolite and for a while had habit of sending her servant with a basket asking for free Oranges & Mango from my tenants just because she and her husband knows me. This put my tenants in an awkward position. So I told my tenant’s wife to stop doing it. And my neighbour’s wife is now upset when they have had 12 years to plant fruits in their back yard which has stayed unproductive for years.
3. Its not IMF, World Bank, China, EU and USA that is the problem. It’s the mindset of Zambians that will keep the nation from being “self-reliant.” My example above, is my neighbour who felt entitled to have free oranges and mangos from my orchard when she has the size of land as mine. All her and husband needed is just to plant seeds of Oranges and Mango’s
@Jonathan Mutaware-Formerly STEP ASIDE
Zambia`s biggest challenge with regards to external debt in the short term, are the Eurobond investors who hold approx.40 % (3bil USD)of Zambia’s external debt. Zambia needs to re-structure short term debts to be able to meet its obligations for both short and long term. Majority of Zambia obligations to China are Long-term. Mind you, Zambia has not serviced the bulk of its outstanding external debt since failing to make a Eurobond interest payment in October 2020. If Zambia can not agree with Eurobond investors, such as BlackRock, then it will not be able to seal the MOU deal with IMF. The next step will be Zambia being declared backrupt !!!
@INDEPENDENT OBSERVER,
Excellent illustration of the real world case study! It captures our mentality, we only want to enjoy TODAY and Not thinking about the future,
I am sure your neighbor saw you planting those fruits, but in their mind, to wait for a gain that will come in 12 years, was just too many years away because they would rather enjoy Now and Then. So they only wanted to enjoy the house that was then. I concur with you, this is the mentality issue, we do not want to put money aside for retirement, or invest, we would rather enjoy now. Then we expect those who think about their future and investing, to slash off their investment,in our favor. NOPE !!
Jonathan Mutaware-Formerly STEP ASIDE #10
1. For every project that IMF & World Bank & EU fund in Africa, they rubber-stamp their consultants on us, who get paid high daily fees from the same loans they give to a nation. If Zambia borrows $4 Billion to build schools, roads and bridges, IMF will bring in its external senior consultants as advisors/consultants who will get paid by the Zambian government. For example, if Zambia gets $4 Billion, IMF will give you a $3m bill for consultancy work which is usually useless Templates, Workshops, Red-Tape and Bureaucracy
Jonathan Mutaware-Formerly STEP ASIDE #10
2. The only difference is that it’s feasible when China does it, but a behind closed doors white-collar job when IMF, World Bank, European Union do it. A more reason why IMF and World Bank have Consultant Teams dedicated to projects at their HQ, which work with those planted in regional offices of North, South, East & West of Africa. And these are not Black African consultants but Europeans and Americans & from the Far East.
Ask the ministry of finance & national development – they will provide you with these facts. Though they don’t like publishing these facts because we can do these jobs as Zambians. We are not in 1960s when we needed western nations to show us how to Implement Projects.
Jonathan Mutaware-Formerly STEP ASIDE #10
2. The only difference is that it’s feasible when China does it, but a behind closed doors white-collar job when IMF, World Bank, European Union do it. A more reason why IMF and World Bank have Consultant Teams dedicated to projects at their HQ, which work with those planted in regional offices of North, South, East & West of Africa. And these are not Black African consultants but Europeans and Americans & from the Far East.
Ask the ministry of finance & national development – they will provide you with these facts. Though they don’t like publishing these facts because we can do these jobs as Zambians. We are not in 1960s when we needed western nations to show us how to Implement Projects.
Independent Observer stop wasting your time responding to empty tin tribalists such as Step Aside. Cant you see the tribal thing has no brains? How do you compare IMF with China? IMF is not a country. Its a bank owned by everymember including Zambia so how can his allegory work? IMF consultants are of course your consultants but you cant have the same clout in IMF as the major contributors such as the G8
general KANENE #18
Keep posting we need your Insights & Thought Process. It’s a collective journey as we all want what’s best for this beloved nation of ours.
The biggest job that all Zambians have to deal with is THINKING . And thinking happens to be the most difficult job to do in the world. Yet it should be the easiest job to do.
Jonathan Mutaware-Formerly STEP ASIDE @@ 9
Iwee…. You need serious help. You talk sh*t and full on personal insults. Why can you not debate without mentioning someone’s fathers sperms and calling people all sorts of names and threats. Who do you think you are? Are one of these frustrated UPND chaps still waiting for a job. All I forgot – your name is from Malawi. Why dont you pack your bags and do dirty politics in Malawi. Who are you to say every Bemba person is from the Congo. Zambia is full of people who came from all neighbouring nations pre-independence. Go f**k your mother so hard. And stick it her mouth.
The reckless PF got Zambia into this debt slavery situation.These basungu should be protesting PF excessive borrowing and their grade F economic policies.
Zambia today don’t waste your time on that moonyellow. His father should have wanked that night
Bloggers Step Aside is not from Malawi. Yes he is a Tonga but Not from Malawi from Zambia. I know him
Why aren’t these well meaning Bazungus protesting PF misrulers who were the co-authors of this debt nightmare ?
Discussing with all creditors is important as of priority and then the IMF in which of those debts requires restructuring in principal and interest otherwise there every support from black Rock and other committee of official creditors including Christina but we cannot go direct to others first without discussing with the creditors as in the lizards initiatives that is the problem also
Discuss it can be resolved
As an example of how value black Rock is to Zambias economic sector including this restructuring Mubadala and Black Rock real Investments are in joint venture to finance the renewable energy sector by Tata in India worthy more than $525M Here in Zambia and minning in particular. black Rock could be a further partner to consult and engage aprt from this
Like many also Us partnerships of value we can together realise potential see MCC agricultural support programmes I know ??