President Hakainde Hichilema has issued a fervent plea to the country’s creditors, urging them to resolve the ongoing stand-off over Zambia’s $13 billion debt restructuring deal. President Hichilema emphasized that the delay in reaching an agreement is not only concerning for Zambia but also reflects poorly on the credibility of the global financial system.
In a recent interview with the Financial Times, President Hichilema highlighted the urgency of addressing the debt restructuring issue, describing it as long overdue. He stressed the critical importance of resolving the matter promptly, particularly in light of the challenges posed by poor rains, which have devastated much of Zambia’s maize harvest and adversely affected hydropower generation, a vital source of the country’s electricity.
Expressing his anticipation for a swift resolution, President Hichilema underscored the necessity of concluding a debt deal to provide Zambia with the resources needed to address the impacts of the drought. He likened the burden of the debt to a constricting python, inhibiting the country’s growth prospects and its ability to effectively mitigate the effects of the drought.
President Hichilema emphasized that Zambia has fulfilled its obligations and urged both official and private creditors to reciprocate by taking decisive action to resolve the debt stand-off. He commended the support received from various parties involved in the negotiations but urged all stakeholders to go the extra mile to finalize the transaction.
It’s imperative for Zambia to achieve a debt resolution to continue accessing the $1.3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout and to restore financial flows into the country. The successful resolution of the debt restructuring issue is crucial for Zambia’s economic stability and growth prospects.
President Hichilema’s impassioned appeal underscores the gravity of the situation and the urgent need for concerted efforts to address Zambia’s debt challenges. As the country navigates through this critical juncture, the cooperation and support of creditors will be pivotal in paving the way for Zambia’s economic recovery and resilience.
President Hichilema’s call to action serves as a rallying cry for all stakeholders to prioritize Zambia’s debt restructuring and work towards a mutually beneficial resolution that ensures the country’s long-term financial sustainability and prosperity.
What happened to Zambia is like a woman who owes money to a man and goes to a mans house to negotiate. The man tells, okay I can restructure you dept but take of your cloths first. After the woman removes her cloths the man looks and says I am not going to restructure anything because I do not like your body. HH has already remove subsidies, FISP, shutdown Indeni and more other conditions given to him by IMF, and IMF is saying that is not good enough. And what was that all celebration about from KKIA to community house for. I thought the dept restructuring agreement was reached way back when f00ls celebrated.
How many failed attempts are we going to make at debt resolutions before pulling through? We went on a road broadcast on rooftops announcing that our creditors had signed a deal to break the impasse. Zambia fidgeted with it and eventually sabotaged its own work. At the EP traditional ceremony, we lied to Zambians that China had signed for the debt again without giving further details whether it was the same old deal or a fresh one. Lying and self-praise have prolonged our debt realignment programme.
It is like that boy who keeps lying to his peers that he has ‘passered’ in grade seven. When he goes farther, he is prevented from writing the next exam at G9 without first producing the G7 certificate. At the Nc’wala gathering, the President proudly announced that Zambia had passered. Today he is in America telling us he wants to rewrite that same debt ovebearing exam he had PASSERED! So incongruent.
How i wish that Boy the New President of Bukina faso was our President that young man is sharp and very assertive he is transforming his country at a very fast rate us with all the resources at our disposal ma story epela i cry for my mother Zambia its citizens have indeed really suffered pafula mwelesa
The IMF Boss Kristalina Georgieva (UPND’s good friend) has spilt the beans. She says GRZ botched the negotiations by not taking national interest into account during the negotiations and trying to cut significantly different deals between the 2 groups of Lenders. This is damning coming from the IMF Boss privy to a lot of information. We are now being used as an example of how not to negotiate national debt. This is a major scandal that is not receiving the attention it deserves. Who in GRZ is responsible for the failed/delayed negotiations? Have they been made to account?
What happened? We were told that Rango is a very skilled negotiator. His supporters lined up the streets of Lusaka to cheer him when he returned from so called negotiations
We understand deceptive leaders but this one is on another level. He knows too well that his first assignment was to get Zambia tied up to these lenders and now he want to play victim. What’s even worse is that he will continue to blame the previous government even for his mistakes. Awe uyu is a different beast.
Only the devil can beat Hichilema when it comes lies and deception. Judas Iscariot committed suicide, when he came to his senses but HH will take his lies to his grave.
Why did PF, Sata and ECL borrow so much money when MMD left a total debt of only $2.5 billion?
Foreign debt
1Micheal Sata – $2.5 billion Eurobond debt
2 Edgar Lungu- $1.7 billion Eurobond debt , $6billion Chinese debt and close to $2.2 billion from other private lenders
Domestic debt
The PF including both Micheal Sata and ECL racked up close to $16 billion in Domestic debt including $1.5 billion Glencore/Mopani , unpaid suppliers, BOZ bonds/other securities etc
Whats there to show for that debt apart from Kafue Gorge lower( overpriced at $2.5 billion, KKIA and Ndola Airort(overpriced at $700 million, 4 flyover bridges in Lusaka ($20 million x 4).
@Independent
We cant continue to dwell on this anymore
We fired the people we believe “messed up” and hired a guy who promised he would “fix it”.