By Hon. Bowman Chilosha Lusambo
In opposition, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema on numerous occasions boasted that he had capabilities of clinching debt restructuring within weeks of becoming Head of State. He claimed, his finance and economics credentials were so strong that he would easily manage to put all the creditors in one room and get them to agree to restructure our debt. Mr Hichilema sang that song too many times that it even became believable.
Now with almost 10 months in office, President Hichilema doesn’t even know whether he is going or coming over the debt issue. Debt is a subject that he has been avoiding for some time now because not only has he failed to convince the creditors even after getting the IMF on his side but because actually foreign debt has increased by 4% under his watch.
We should have Vicky Ford, the UK Minister for Africa to thank who revealed during the Hot FM Breakfast Show that the G20 Global Debt Restructuring Framework through which Zambia is hoping to benefit is moving slowly because of one creditor. We have it on good authority that the creditor Madam Ford spoke about is China and there are no surprises there.
Since assuming office, President Hichilema has naively chosen to play isolationist politics with China. It is baffling that a man who claims to fully understand how the global finance architecture operates could undertake such a suicidal mission to ignore China when that country holds two thirds of our foreign debt stock.
Now China is not coming to the table, without it, the IMF and other multilaterals won’t manage to achieve anything and President Hichilema now has an egg on his face. The man who told us that he is such a respected negotiator now has to rely on Minister Ford and the UK government to plead with China on our behalf to get some commitments on debt restructuring.
It is clear that the man went into State House to be remote controlled by western capitalists and he is now beginning to realise that real power has shifted and now rests with the East. If President Hichilema wasn’t that gullible, he would have taken the presidential challenger and embarked on a trip to China to lobby support from Beijing for us to move forward over the debt quagmire. In his gullibility, his first international trip was to New York and Washington to pander to the interests of his backers who are now stuck with him and can’t move forward without China.
Our advice to President Hichilema, take a trip to Beijing now and go and engage President Xi Jinping. The boy from Kapiri you appointed as your Foreign Affairs Minister is misleading you over the role of China in Zambia’s economy. You sent him to China a few weeks ago and he came back with nothing.
Mr. President, those boys and girls from the IMF will not save your already unpopular presidency, lessons in economic and political history are plenty of leaders who lost power after they went to bed with the IMF.
It should be stated in no uncertain terms that the only true friend we have in the global South is China. Mr President, it is time to cut your huge ego and go and break bread with President Xi.
Shut up you ungrateful dog, who took this debt and ate the money that HH is suffering for – wasnt it you monkeys? Infact the man needs to arrest all of you for the misuse of this Eurobond Money -he must set up another court to only look at how this mountain of debt was acquired and where is the money cos you idiooots defaulted in 2020 hence this pressure.
You staged a lone demonstration to the British MInister ,did she even look at you? The results which you saw for yourself, she didnt even stop and walked straight into her car. These people are not stupid as they know your regime for having been hostile to Zambians including deporting Ambassadors. Obviously she asked who you were and she was equally told, this is Bulldozer and he Bulldozes women ,impregnants them and refuses in turn. This Lusambo a former minister who bought property using tax payers money,the one we chased out parlirment last month for arrogance behavoiur. She knows who you were before even you could lay an eye on her and already new which cold shoulder to display at you.
Step aside, the dog is that woman who shltted you out at birth. Mwanawambuwa.
So much sense by my brother lusambo
Step aside by the way I am in matero drinking and enjoying life meanwhile there you are in xenophobic South Africa suffering like a lost cow
And these are people you call leaders, people like Hon. Bowman Chilosha Lusambo ! He has just right here and now exhibited how childish he is. So he is blaming HH for having not negotiated with China, for the debts that him and his PF managed to accumulate? He is forgetting its his PF who brought us into this situation, and now acting clever, and poiniting fingers at HH. A wise person, would be working with the government to ensure it gets the support. That`s what Zambians are expecting from the opposition, and not leaders like Bowman Lusambo, who have turned into activists that frequenting embasses acreditted to Zambia, trying to tarnish Zambian image in the name of freedom of expression. Lusambo & Company can do better to direct that energy in supporting the government and not acting…
Cont
Lusambo & Company can do better to direct that energy in supporting the government and not acting like kids. He claims to be a political metador, yet doesn’t understand voters. PF will be shocked in 2026. Deduct Lungu`s supporters from the 1.8mil. Zambians, do not want want opposition party that is all out to choke the current GRZ. If UPND was doing it to PF, you cant copy the same scenario, come up with your own way. All this gimicks that ba PF are doing now, to an ordinally Zambia, are like Lusambo is fighting for his own survival and NOT for the ZAMBIANS. Within 8months, Zambians have NOT forgotten about PF .
Will some people only be content when zambia collapses…?
Mathew ask chi hh
WHO DOES THIS CHP THINK HE IS
USELESS INDIVIDUAL
A THUG IN PF DAYS TRYING TO PLAY SAVIOR NOW KIKIKI
I don`t usually agree with most positions Lusambo takes but he`s on point about this one. Any wise leader would quickly figure out major world economic players and position our nation to benefit from them. If the USA has debt from China and considers them major players, who is HH to ignore such a country, HH needs to find ways of working with China while ensuring that our labour laws are strengthened against any exploitation.
Shocking that the PF thives have reduced a mineral rich zambia to begging………
That’s why they mortgaged the country for atleast another 50 years……………
Why should we beg for people to ripp us off ????
Begging and stealing is all these PF theives know…………..
Shocking that a baboon who was part and parcel of creating this problem now sounds intelligent. HH should jail these baboons
All financing that cannot impair the sovereignty and performance of the economy should be welcome for so is the FDIs The Investments from the west east or south North All partners and friends are welcome here in Zambia without differentiation and based on good terms and interest of the country Partners and Investments must feel say to work and participate in the Zambias Economies The issue is for us to nsure the country is protected and gets the best for itself working with our partners The issues could be more than here and are not a foreclosure but equally all partners here must come as our friends and with little politics around them we accept all but the choices are purely of our own making that is the position of course partners must act responsibility and with our interest at…
It’s the country Zambia not individual presidents or investors if it’s not in the interest then it should entertained it’s not simply west east north or south it’s 2 way traffic mutually so with values and ethics in those debts and Investments
FORGET CHINA I’M MORE INTERESTED IN THE DNA TESTS IN HIS PATERNITY CASE
It’s the indicative restructuring scenarios in the case of bond holders The works by restructuring firm has been good the president simply has to reach financial closure looking at the performance of the economy,it’s in the best interest of every Zambian that all cost effective FInancing bet it from IMF or other partners is acheived to support band perform the economy of he fails or it fails the cost for the country and our people could be higher let’s take advantage of the sittings and partners to develop the country it could have been politics but people have to served and medicals in hospitals including the new employed
It could be some indicative restructuring scenarios that can resolved
The challenges of domestic and external Macroeconomics outlooks and conditions are noticed also from those maybe not so observed in those politics but we hope for the best given the outlooks in the economies and IMF reveals and discussions with other groups of creditors he just have to including performing the economy that was why he was given wamoka based on his many attempts and reassurances It’s in the best interest he performs and achieve turnaround
We say quarterly meeting at mulungushi maybe how the year closes and clearly see
Any funding that is deemed good and sustainable for infrastructure should be welcome but the choice and decisions is ours in the makings not them
Okay kuomboka mailo atleast we know
Who next maybe maize amongst these because if this one fails we will remove him in the first term and he has to perform failure is not an option given the assurances and expectations created from the people it’s a try and maybe he can do as in the campaigns
Bamusole sesheke neighbor need the funding to complete stalled infrastructures failure is not an option
I never knew one was allowed email and internet access from jail?
Last kicks of a potential jailbird.
Any small economy like Zambia’s can only ignore China to it’s own disadvantage. China is the largest single creditor to Zambia so it can never be ignored, it’s inevitable. When you’re in charge separate propaganda from reality. The Chinese aren’t as ruthless predators as they’ve been portrayed
On March 20th: “Kakubo meets Chinese Foreign Minister, assures Chinese investors of preferential tax policies.”
This should tell this crackheard that the UPND GRZ is talking to the Chinese, therefore, this ranting is meaningless. Targeted to gain political points.
And there is NOTHING wrong with scoring point, but NOT in the tone expressed herewith in this article.
Once HH meets the Chinese, LUSAMBO wants to claim that HH did so because of pressure based on this article. Which is ridiculous !!
general KANENE – When the main issue for discussion is the Economy, is Kakubo that right person to go and meet the Chinese?
HH truely said IMF can’t conclude any financing to Zambia because they were waiting for regime change. He is atop, IMF support has to wait until June/July. The UK minister also promised to be our envoy for this funding. Do we need a middleman?
BoweeMan is not my hero and he is even the biggest contributor to Zambia’s quagmire today, but he he is factual in presenting information about UPND’s boastful stance on Hichilema’s overrated negotiation skills. China has been snubbed by the New Dawn GRZ: this is an open secret. Ask yourself, why hasn’t HH gone to China to soften the heart ofcour creditor, Xi, from the time he assumed office?
I also think that the poeple that squandered this money and acquire the Debt must also be included in the Debt restracturing so that they themselves can go talk to china to pardon the Debt maybe China will listen cos the UPND GRZ was not there when these two borrowed each other this money. So someone needs to explain to the other, or even better leave them to repay each other so that Zambia concetrates on repaying the West(which are willing to settle debt with Zambia), Let those that took money from China repay China! fullstop.As we cannot be held ransom by China, people always warned you ba PF chinese money is not free money as they themselves say. Look now, this is proof that Chinese.
Chinese noney is the easist to get and to the most most difficult to repay. In reality, one cannot repay a chinese loan as the chinese proganda is not for you to repay but for you to add more debt so they ve you as their slave in eternity. Here is proof now and am sure this will be a case study for the rest of Africa. The lesson is that you cant repay a chinese loan, when u want to repay, they pull their legs to frustrate your efforts as they want to keep in the owing balance so when they come for your mines, they come with the story “Remember you owe us,”. So we want yo land for 200yrs and we will bring in our own farmers and own seeds including manual and then export to China.
How are we going to solve our problems as a country if we only keep referring to what PF did or didn’t do while in power?
upnd promised to fix things, including the economy, and zambians gave them the mandate.
So get on with it and stop playing the blame game!
Otherwise, sooner than they think, upnd will render themselves irrelevant.
@adviser,
Any meeting with a foreign country leaders or or travels by a country delegation are done through the ministry of foreign affairs. Even if topics are economical, they are coordinated by the foreign affairs minister, of course. hand-in-hand with Minister of Finance. It becomes even more critical when it involves high-profile travels. By the time HH meets Jinping, all agreements would have already been finalized upfront.