The Zambian Government has announced that it has reached an agreement on a comprehensive debt treatment with its Official Creditors under the G20 Common Framework.
According to Secretary to the Treasury Felix Nkulukusa, this landmark achievement is a significant step towards restoring Zambia’s long-term debt sustainability.
Mr Nkulukusa says the deal complements the strong commitments from Zambia’s Multilateral Development Partners to support the country’s economic recovery through substantial concessional financing.
“The Zambian Government commends the support and cooperation of its Official Creditors in reaching this agreement, which demonstrates a mutual commitment to restoring debt sustainability in line with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program targets,” Mr Nkulukusa said in a statement.
He said the Government is confident that this debt treatment, which entails significant maturity extensions and reduction in interest rates, will allow for the allocation of additional financial resources towards critical public investments, particularly in areas such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure development.
He said under the agreed terms, the Official Creditors will provide a debt treatment contingent on Zambia’s debt-carrying capacity at the end of the Fund-supported program.
He said this will be assessed under the IMF and World Bank Debt Sustainability Framework for Low Income Countries and will take account of the country’s economic performance and progress in strengthening economic policymaking.
“The agreed debt treatment will be adjusted if conditions improve enough to justify an upgrade from “weak” to “medium” debt carrying capacity, in which case principal reimbursements would be accelerated and interest payments increased. This debt treatment ensures that Zambia achieves debt sustainability in all cases.”
He said official creditors have also agreed with the Government that local currency denominated debt will be excluded from any treatment.
“The terms of the agreed treatment will be further described and formalized in a Memorandum of Understanding between Zambia and Official Creditors, which will then be implemented through bilateral agreements with each member of the Official Creditor Committee. The Zambian Government looks forward to engaging with Official Creditors to ensure prompt implementation of the agreed terms,” Mr. Nkulukusa said.
He said the agreement is expected to pave the way for the approval by the IMF Executive Board of the first review of the Fund-supported program in the coming weeks, allowing for the next tranche of IMF financing of about US$188 million to be disbursed.
He said this disbursement will further bolster Zambia’s economic recovery and reform agenda.
“It should also support ongoing engagement with private creditors, including bondholders, with whom Zambia remains committed to finding an agreement on comparable terms as early as possible, to decisively resolve the issue of Zambia’s debt overhang.”
“Today is a big day for Zambia as we reach an agreement with our official creditors on a debt treatment plan. We are grateful for the support from our official creditors in resolving Zambia’s debt overhang that has been choking our economy. This agreement marks a crucial milestone in Zambia’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its economy and improve the quality of life for its citizens,” Mr Nkulukusa said.
“We will now work to achieve a swift resolution with our private creditors and deliver opportunity and economic stability to the Zambian people.”
And President Hakainde Hichilema described the development as a great milestone for Zambia.
“We are delighted to announce that today in Paris, we successfully reached an agreement on the treatment of bad debt with our official creditors. This represents a significant milestone in our efforts towards economic recovery, and the importance and urgency of this endeavor cannot be overstated,” President Hichilema said.
“By resolving our debt burden, we will be better positioned to attract the essential investments needed to generate employment opportunities for our citizens.”
“We express our sincere gratitude to our official creditors for their unwavering support and ongoing engagement throughout the entire process. We also thank you the people of Zambia for your unflinching support and solidarity,” President Hichilema said.
This is sickening. You use a leader of a country like France(which still controls the currency and economies of its French speaking african colonies), to renegotiate your debt. And then you think france is doing all this for nothing? You must be very thick to think a whlte man would do anything to help an African. Everything the west do has a benefit for them at our expense. If you don’t believe me , go back in economic history and tell me am wrong. Hh is s sellout.
Hehehehe………hehehe……
Is that the best you can come up with……?
Hehehe….
Some things you are not competent to comment. Just keep quiet. Aren’t you the same people that brought us here through money you borrowed and stole? Do you know what is termed as Pars club?
Doug explain one benefit of this restructure vs all the infrastructure development we undertook. We laid the foundation for income generation that was going to follow infrastructure development. A sane and capable government would have been able to generate income through all our resources to pay back the debt over many years but hh has picked the easy option which will come with repercussions. If you think a western country cares more about you than its own people then you have a lot of learning to do
Ala wali tumpa iwe Zulu, uli mpulumushi.
Really laughable this Humpty Dumpty Troll based in UK alluding to infrastructure development as it was done for free the same stupidity that is where we are today!!
Why did you borrow money from the West?
What is interesting is that if I asked any of the bIind upnd w0rshlppers what the terms of this restructure c0n of a deal, n0ne of them have a clue or even read the c0nditi0ns attached to it. Yet here they are ceIebrating and thinking their hh has done something for their benefit. Ukushlshlta ba upnd
Please ignore this UK based Impostor it can not even hold its own in a debate when cornered its simply switches to cadreism…its an absolutely shallow individual playing online
. I agree with Kaizer. France creates reasons for tying black people to enslavement. It believes it has a right to the slaves and their resources. Go read the history of Haiti. Haiti was the first black nation to free itself from slavery but France supported by the West-fellow enslavers-argued that by freeing itself Haiti had robbed France of slavery earnings that it was entitled to. Haiti was therefore asked to repay France and is still paying. Yet you have the UN. The West who have exported their civilisation to the rest of the world turn a blind eye to this exploitation
@Gunner because we couldn’t borrow from the South
Ati …………..
go to China…..go to China……go to china
Don’t you feel ashamed for trying to enslave zambia to China ???
@Spaka
Good one.
I wonder what our @Tarino will be up to now.
Lately. he jumped on sinking Ubwato……he succumbed to PF influence.
General Kanene
You will find Tarino in any camp that is complaining and moaning………
One day he is complaining about the
” chinks ” influence and loans in zambia…..
Next he is a chairleading advocate for HH to visit China………
Slaves sure they quarrel over which master we should be enslaved by.
So this debt deal isnt enslavement?
Spaka – You think this is something to proud of ? being spoonfed and questioning every little thing you do by your “masters”. Go and watch to Youtube watch a video of Kenyan President Ruto telling off Marcon about IMF.
China is Zambia’s biggest creditor you have to give them repect not the way HH has treated them in the name of appeasing his white masters.
By the way I am not a Hakainde drumbeater like you who supports everything blindly
Tarino
You support any camp that is complaining and moaning……..
Always moaning
None stop moaning
Moaning 27/7………
Its funny that now I am being labelled a PF cadre…this is a weak mindset of a simpleton who forget that UPND was not voted in by majority UPND follwers but people who just wanted change after 10 years of reckless spending and corruption. In 10 years the country had moved from a middle income to a country back on its knees…the people who bragging about Eurobonds are either enjoying retirement, escaped through dead or reformed themselves like Miles Sampa who is now dupping the young ones who they literally put debts on their heads.
“Don’t you feel ashamed for trying to enslave Zambia to China ???”
We are already enslaved to China you owe them more than those Eurobonds from private lenders…you are lucky they dont take an agressive approach or strings attached deals like HH’s white masters…you will now see the outcomes of the Mopani and KCM. Everything we be leveraged towards the white masters who invest and take out with tax holidays.
Tarino
There are no white masters…….and thank god no Chinese masters.
Only alies.
Those mining companies will be sorted out when we have a stronger economy and are able to call their bluff of job losses……..
You underestimate the president
Look at this clueless drumbeater at it again…what do you bring to the table to called one of the allies….look at the body language.
The president will undertake a state visit to China to negotiate trade and bilateral relations with zambia on equal terms……….
Terms and relations that benifit both countries on a 50 50 basis.
Much like the other Asian tiger countries Vietnam, Cambodia……and other older countries Malaysia Singapore
Who only accept Chinese dept if it benifits them in the long term.
I support KZ
Thanks wajimona
It is important that some relief may come out of this but it is a temporal measure. Let us now begin to find lasting solutions that will help the nation pay off the debt even outside the envisaged time frame. Our mineral wealth needs to be restructured so that we collect what is due and put the money to good use. Also why are we reintroducing the function of Deputy PS this a drain, all those PS special duties, the various advisors… I know people need to be rewarded send them into foreign service but the bloated top heavy narrative will not get us anyway…otherwise well done to the outgoing Ambassador and the entire team that has been negotiating this relief.
I concur.This restructuring is a great relief for Zambia.It now gives us room to recalibrate our priorities. We must now leverage on our natural resources wealth with which we shall reduce our debt to manageable levels.Deja Fool,KaZulu and other dimwits are very bitter because HH has managed to secure a deal that PF tried and lamentably failed to clinch Austerity can best be managed by the same team that has brought us this far.Zambia Forward
Somewhere is the 2001 or so the late bishop Edwardo Mazombwe led a campaign to have Zambia debt cancelled. That was during Levy Mwanawasa’s MMD. We hailed Levy and his cabinet.It was during the same Levy time that ZCCM was sold for a palrty $25m under pressure from the same IMF. Did our lives change after that , I did not see it. We are again where we are.We are celebrating and Mopani is being sold. Lets if our lives will change- I doubt it. Life is a cycle
What happened after HIPC? Debt cancelletion happened. This was under MMD’s Mwanawasa and the able leadership of Ngandu Magande. We still have Felix Mutati and Silvia Masebo who were part of that cabinet and today in the cabinet. We are still poor.
What a great leader Zambia now have.
Congratulations on your great effort Mr. President! We salute you for your unwavering commitment to building our country, ensuring that its citizens can reap the benefits. Citizens, what can you offer to actively participate in our economy and contribute to the development of our nation for future generations? Remember, we all have the prerogative to engage in our economy and reap its rewards.
ThinkingoutsidetheBox – Busy saluting blindly as if you have seen the small print…dont start crying when you start seeing job losses and increase in commodities. Today the gloss all this up with wonderful words like Fund Assisted Progam but this is Structure Adjustment Program.
So for the dull UPND praise singers, which is 99.9% of them, they think manna from heaven will suddenly drop onto their laps. In case you didn’t know, this means debt servicing resumes. There will be a demand for fiscal discipline to ensure you pay back. There will be job losses, privatisation,…austerity reloaded for those of you who are old enough to remember what happened the last time we went down this path.
Zambia was still servicing its debt even under enormous financial pressure……….
Only now it can access cheaper funds to cushion the high repayments of the current unsustainable debt…….
There will be no privatisations of remaining parastatals………impossible.
Where will there be job losses ? GRZ owns very little parastatals ????
Tough times ? Yes….no free hand outs from this GRZ.
Jobs will be created and a cheaper business environment.
Spaka – And there is your problem you are a clueless drumbeater you dont even know what a Fund-supported program is to you its a blank cheque. One would excuse you for posting whilst drunk but oh no its just a fanatical drum beater banging away loudly.
Tarino
You who claims to know about finance and markets calling Europe’s 5th largest economy, Ukraine, an emerging market…….?
You are clueless
Just go back to your complaining……
atleast you don’t expose your self that way.
Poland as you climed …not ukrain
Spaka – I think you need to check your facts Poland is not even in the top 5 biggest economies per GDP in Europe according to Eurostat (2017) its the 8th just behind Sweden. But hey you want to make a big deal out it by attempting to be vexatious I find it laughable. I am not going to sit here debate about who is weathier when my countrymen can not afford a bag of mealie meal. And I am not going to stop to speak out regardless of who it is even if its Hakainde either put up or shut up!!
Tarino
That’s why I say you are clueless…….
Why 2017 data ??
This is 2023………..check 2022 data
Poland is the 5th largest economy in Europe.
You still don’t get Poland isn’t in the top 5…these are 2022 but you still want to carry on making a tit of yourself in public.
Lesson learned here: when one has nkongole and is unable to pay it all within an agreed time period, it is important to negotiate and ensure that you pay back everything you owe, adhering to the agreed plan. Additionally, it is vital not to over-borrow, as this will keep you indebted to the creditor and may lead to bankruptcy, preventing you from succeeding.
Nipano tuli
PF brought us here but HH is taking us out.
F00Iish c00n just like hh
As an entrepreneur am just watching from the sidelines to see how this will help my business…i have invested alot in real estate in Zambia and I sincerely hope this is not just a band aid solution with some hidden gimmicks…..am a Patriotic Zambian and all I want is the best for mother Zambia….
And probably now this marks the end of Edgar Chagwa Lungu’s Political career and all opposition party members…all the useless social media Politicians like Chilufya Tayali and Sean Tembo should now start looking for meaningful jobs….now HH all he needs to do is play it safe then the opposition will be doomed…he needs to ignore all the attention seeking Politicians like Emmanuel Mwamba…Tayali…Sean Teambo etc…well done mother Zambia…lets build a beautiful Zambia…corrupt free Zambia…Bandit free Zambia…Cadre free Zambia..tribal free Zambia
Smelling the coffee are we ??
@ Spaka and TIKKI
I really don’t know much about economics but if this deal improve people’s lives in Zambia then am happy but the key thing here is continuity…we don’t want a situation where someone comes into power and destroys everything…i remember i visited Harare in 1995….the city was beautiful…jobs were plenty…food was very cheap…fast forward now look at Zimbabwe today….the country is in tatters…so good and corrupt free leadership matters
Zimbabwe was killed not by ZANU but by Europe-the West-who ganged up and isolated the country because it was mistreating whites. Just like these whites killed Haiti. You blacks need to come together to defend yourselves the way whites came together to exterminate you
The only problem with Politicians is that they will do anything just to stay in power even if it means working with Bandits…Julius Malema called Jacob Zuma a thief but today he is trying hard to work with Zuma….you will see the same looters slowly aligning themselves with HH….watch this Space….they should be 10 years waiting period before you can join another Political party if you resign from your party
That tactic from Malema is the same tactic the US and its allies use in global politics. Look around for the enemies of your main enemy and make them your allies as you fight the main enemy. Thats why Taiwan is a friend of the US.
The only problem with Politicians is that they will do anything just to stay in power even if it means working with Bandits…Julius Malema called Jacob Zuma a thief but today he is trying hard to work with Zuma….you will see the same looters slowly aligning themselves with HH….watch this Space….they should be 10 years waiting period before you can join another Political party if you resign from your party
Antonio Mwanza should wait for 10 years before he can join another Political party
You under estimate this president……
The days of brown envelopes , reckless spending and looting with impunity are over…….
MPs will now be held accountable for developing their regions with more CDFs……
There goes the blind drumbeater again….its all down to action so far we have seen any of his top officials arrested in the face of damning evidence go to NW province see how cadres have become rich overnight.