Zambia has asked the Paris Club of creditor nations to let it suspend principal and interest payments on debts to all its official creditors from May to the end of December, the Finance Ministry said on Sunday. Zambia, Africa’s second largest copper producer which has struggled with falling demand for the metal, remained committed to servicing debt payments that fell due before May 1, a ministry spokesman said in a statement.
The request for the suspension was made in a letter to the Paris Club.
Zambia’s external government debt jumped to 45% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019, up from 37% 2018, while total debt stock was estimated at 89%, according to World Bank data.
Even before the coronavirus crisis hit international demand for raw materials, Zambia had been wrestling with growing public debt. Zambia has been listed among countries eligible for relief under the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), which aims to help nations respond to COVID-19 health challenges and economic shocks, the statement said.
Every nation in the world has debt and is struggling due to the effects of covid 19. In fact millions of job losses are occurring in the west or the same diaspora. However you will see how quick the second class diasporan citizens are quick to blame this on mismanagement. So does it mean your UK is also being mismanaged because they are predicted to lose millions of jobs even in America? You see this is why the same whlte people you worship can’t respect you because you don’t respect yourselves in diaspora. The moment you quit licking and wiping white a.s.s that is day you gain respect
even before covid19 you and your one ball boss stole all the money already blame covd for what, chik@l@ ch@wiso
Why then are we paying $5m to Lazard Freres when my mbuyas at Finance can initiate such complex negotiations
What has Lazard done so far?
These creditor nations hv ambassadors in Zambia who sometimes express concern about hw public money is spent but PF surrogate parties line up to tell them off. This will be interesting to observe. But I see the Paris club group accepting the offer. It’s the bondholders who will be difficult and for a good reason. Why should pensioners subsidize a government that would rather borrow expensive money from bond markets instead of cheaper money from the World Bank?
THis is all the PF govt is good at spending loans with no clue of how they are going to pay back…you are not dancing dunna reverse now!!
I told you that that yamba the secretary to the cabinet must have some connections to that Lazard consulting company and will be getting kickbacks.
Zambian government is broke and even in December will not manage to pay. This is the game of prolonged delays.
They borrowed the money and chewed these thieves in PF government must realize their time is over.
Building mansions with proceeds of crime. We shall see them.
PF must go!
These guys….they think December is far?!
They look like they’re in deep thought yet they’re just empty heads with no clue of which direction to go. Edgar is a big failure, I just can’t understand why he thinks he deserves a 3rd Term in office. What does he want to continue to do? No wonder Margaret Mwanakatwe just used to drink and leave things to sort themselves out, that is the economy and urinary glands. There’s no hope in Edgar’s administration. How can we be laughing-stocks even in Malawi of all places?
Debts must be written off, not suspended. How are we going to reactivate economic growth if we are kept on the debt hook? Apart from the Paris Club, debt relief should also come from China. After all, these are the same people that have impoverished us by giving us raw deals. They run off with our wealth and leave us blaming each other perpetually for our poverty.
P@kunya Funkutu aka P.F should stop campaigning as campaign period has not yet started despite the P.F G0on’z already in full flow & use the cash saved to service their loans.
Levy Mwanawasa successfully got debt relief/cancellation for Zambia to the tune of $8 billion .
Edgar Lungu and the PF have now increased Zambia’s foreign debt to $19 billion(see page 144….2020 UN International Debt Statistics (IDS) report).
Now Edgar Lungu is struggling to get the IMF covid-19 relief funds or any other kind of debt relief.
Something must be wrong with him and the PF as their pleas for help are largely being ignored
Don’t blame Bwalya Ngandu cause he just inherited a big mess.
Ba KZ , then advise your PF government to discontinue the request to suspend debt payments until december. Posturing infertile testosterone will shame you in public. Your ill conceived of China as economic saviour of Zambia is saturated and lenders and debtors will still need their money back.
What Zambians will not allow you is to sell their birth rights as Zambians – on this alone, you will be in jail.
Is Paris Club and Eurobond the same?
I thought we did away with Paris Clud through debt cancellation under able LPM?
Then came the PF master kleptomaniacs who took us back into debt through Eurobond.
Little did I ever realise they are one and the same.
The Paris club creditor nations are the same ones who control the IMF. Zambia couldn’t get IM F emergency assistance to deal covid-19. The December deadline looks unrealistic given the fine mess Chikwanda created in Zambia’s public finances. I see the creditor nations beginning negotiations with Zambia by asking if December is really a realistic date.
Do not write off this debt.
Let us find out exactly where this money ended up.
The thieves in government can not account for the Euro bonds they borrowed because they stole most of it. That is a fact, that even IMF have pointed out.
The only way debt should be written off is if we recover all stolen money, and culprits jailed.
Busy getting nkongole and when its time to pay you come up with stories? Typical zambian mentality.
To be honest I seriously doubt the competence of Bwalya Ngandu and these are some of the indicators. There are many more indicators which are obvious to professionals at IMF , paris club etc. That job is way above him. These guys were borrowing from private shylocks instead of Paris club official institutions for reasons best known to them. How does Paris club help. Ok last time we understand they bought all private dates as part of restructuring but now GRZ wants Paris to convince private lenders on their behalf. Does this make sense. Anyway, my point of writing is to urge Paris club never to help PF regime. Rather let Paris club insist on disbanding ECZ, electoral reform, police reforms, Printing ballot papers in a credible place and a free and fair election.