World Bank and IMF officials are pressing Zambia’s creditors to accelerate negotiations on reducing the country’s official debt burden, but sources familiar with the process said they are unlikely to finalise an agreement until early next year.
China and France have led a series of meetings in recent months to renegotiate Zambia’s bilateral debts under the common framework created by the Group of 20 major economies and the Paris Club of official creditors, but progress has been halting.
Chad on Friday became the first country to reach a debt agreement under the framework, but that deal does not include any debt reduction, given a bump in revenue from rising oil prices.
The Zambian government told investors in October that it hoped it to agree debt relief terms with official creditors by the end of the year or early 2023.
Zambia was the first African country to default during the COVID-19 era as it struggled with debt that reached 133% of GDP at the end of 2021.
The IMF estimates that Zambia needs $8.4 billion of “cash debt relief” – cutting both interest payments and loan repayments – from 2022 to 2025.
Once a deal is hammered out, Zambia would be the first country to reach an agreement that includes an actual reduction in its debt stock under the common framework.
“We would like to see an acceleration of the tempo and authorisation of the treatment later this year or early next year,” said one of the sources, who was not authorised to speak publicly.
World Bank President David Malpass told Reuters he met with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema during the U.N. climate conference in Egypt and Hichilema was pressing creditors to finalise a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the debt reduction.
“It’s important to get that by year end,” Malpass told Reuters.
“The longer it stays open, the greater the risk of the process getting further delayed. They initiated the common framework in (early) 2021, so it’s dragging on a long time.”
Any MOU would have to be completed before April, when the IMF aims to carry out a first review of Zambia’s $1.3 billion, three-year loan in April, a crucial step in the southern African country’s push to restructure its debts.
The PF really left this country in a difficult debt predicament
Pf is long gone and yet here you are blaming it for your failures. You are a f00Iish little boy who deserves some dirty slaps! Fuseke
And yet that village peacock hh was busy prematurely celebrating a successful deal with imf. He is the biggest liar in Africa
Bushe iwe ngawasha wanyela muchishima chamenshi, kuti waeba abakukiile pamushi ati wamyenifye amenshi pantu ifiko fyakale?
Cleaning up the mess ECL and PF left behind for Zambia.
Its sad that some Zambians have not realized that the huge debt(foreign and domestic) is the major cause of our current economic problems.
Go to hell. You will continue blaming pf for your failures until elections come and we kick you out. You Chinese wannabe
We will keep warning you that this is the carrot and stick methods these organisations use to destroy you. When you meet their demands, they release a few carrots and you chew whilst they plan on the next big thing. I think our president is beginning to understand the relationship he put himself in. We African’s should start dedicating individuals or departments to study these institutions forensically and counter their plans. We keep doing the same things and hoping for a different result but end up disappointed.
Moderation is another way of control and I’m sure LT are not even aware that their site is monitored heavily by these people.
@Kaizar Zulu, don’t be ignorant. Cleaning up political economic mess takes about 5-7 year. PF store from the Zambian honesty taxpayers. Just shut up and monitor your belly.
A man (PF) was divorced by his wife (Zambia) but he left her with a multidrug reistant STD (unbearable debt). He (PF) was promiscuous and loved having a good time with all sorts of women, especially Chinese girls. A laboratory technician will understand this metaphor.
Meanwhile malnourished Lazy Lungu is busy in a makeshift gym playing on a cheap cycling machine no longer being sponfed royal jelly in State House…I bet some PF cadre ripped him off and told him he was purchasing a high spec Peloton Plus cycle machine.
Mr. Chikwanda was once like you Tarino. You will sooner or later become a fossil too.
We told you that the borrowing was unsustainable now….where is Fossil Chikwanda? He took the easy way out ….people who you were calling lunatics are cleaning up your shambolic mess.
Yes its PF that left the economic & heavy indebtedness mess we have and it’ll take at least a decade to repair the damage done.
Lets forget about PF and do what is suppose to be done that is why HH was ushered into office so that he can bring solution to zambia and we belive
HH is capable and i personnaly i trust he will do it and let us give him time.He will perfom God id with us.
Lets forget about PF and do what is suppose to be done that is why HH was ushered into office so that he can bring solutions to zambia and we belive
HH is capable and i personaly i trust he will do it and let us give him time.He will perfom God is with us.
I disagree totally. We need to constantly remind ourselves on how we found ourselves in this distressing situation. Those who can’t remember the past are condemned to repeat it. We should always say it loud and clear that it’s the thieving and reckless borrowing of the PF that has brought our country to its knees. Already these wolves are putting on sheep’s clothing and coming back as saints. People that have short memories will be thinking of voting for them again. The last and worst thing we will ever do is to bring back thieves and crooks in government.
Lets forget about PF and do what is suppose to be done that is why HH was ushered into office so that he can bring solutions to zambia and we belive
HH is capable and i personaly trust he will do it and let us give him time.He will perfom God is with us.
Forget about PF and do what is suppose to be done that is why HH was ushered into office so that he can bring solutions to zambia and we belive
HH is capable and i personaly trust he will do it and let us give him time.He will perfom God is with us.
Chinese will not agree to this nonsense……. Lungu borrowed for a purpose and we can all see that. If you do not agree just as the president refused to get on the Jet Stream, let him also not use the airport. He should also not use the new Mulungushi conference center. The president enjoys a drive everymoring and afternoon on Mosiotunya road down to Tokyo way. The road was done using borrowed money. If he is still condenming the borrowing
let him fly from State house to Community house.
yes the PF left the country in debt but don’t forget that the man then in opposition promised you the PS’s heaven in zambia, with a very cheap life style dollar to kwacha signal digite within 24hrs, fuel cheap, food cheap and the date restructuring was made to sound like its going to be a one week talk with creditors , all these is not been talked about by you the PSs. WHEN YOU MARRY A DIVORCED PERSON DON’T REMIND THAT PERSON OF THE MARRIAGE HE OR SHE CAME FROM. concentrate on making the person better as you where promising during courtship. the more you remind about the past mistakes just know your marriage will just be another failed project.
Bally should just fix it!
Next time Boma wants to borrow colosa amount of money like PF kalobad, please hear the voices of the people. Those guys left us in a real mess. Tanzania under Laye Magufuli built infrastructure using TZ resources, now our grandchildren will also bear the brunt of PF misrule.