Zambia has written an official de’marche to the United States of America (USA) government to request a retraction of a portion of the statement made by a senior US official John Bolton, who alleged that the Chinese government intends to takeover some state owned enterprises because of government’s alleged failure to settle China’s outstanding loan.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joe Malanji said the Zambia government is optimistic that the American Embassy in Zambia was expected to transmit the de’marche to Washington DC as soon as possible.
In his statement to unveil new USA policy on Africa in relation to China and Russia, USA National Security Advisor John Bolton allegedly said Zambia owed China between US$6 billion and US $10 billion and was poised to lose its state utility company for China to recoup the debt.
Mr. Malanji said the Zambian government was disappointed that such a statement, which lacked accurate information, could come from a high ranking official who could have easily verified the information with the American Embassy in Lusaka before giving a presentation of such magnitude.
“Such misinformation gives a bad name to America’s foreign policy,” Mr. Malanji said.
He said Zambia enjoyed cordial bilateral and multilateral relations with the US government and does not wish to see its diplomatic ties strained as a result of misinformation.
The Minister clarified that Zambia has not offered any of its state assets as bilateral or multilateral loans that Zambia contracts are sovereign guaranteed.
“Therefore, no state assets or state enterprise were at risk of being repossessed as they have not been used as collateral security,” he emphasised.
Mr. Malanji also said Zambia was not in a debt crisis, adding that her debt ratio in relation to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was healthy.
The Foreign Affairs Minister said Zambia was managing its debt settling very well and had not defaulted in any of its repayment plans.
He stressed that Zambia enjoys bilateral relations with over 100 countries which include the United States of America.
This is contained in press statement made available to ZANIS in Lusaka today by First Secretary for Press and Tourism at the Zambian Embassy in Addis Ababa Ethiopia Inutu Mwanza.
I think we have many urgent and pressing issues where we must channel our energies as a country. Not sure this Bolton/Trump issue even ranks among the 100 needy areas. Let’s move on
Let’s roll …
Trumps administration is full of lies. Trumps long time lawyer was last week arrested for lies and corruption. Trump himself has lied many times says his lawyer Michael Cohen. Trumb administration just say anything that come to their table without verifying it. Listen to cnn
Who can believe these empty tins apart from the usual PF cadres ….I mean Lazy Lungu went for 10 days in China with all his Cabinet and the Cabinet Secretary…he has still not told us what transpired there…I mean even the Finance Minister was there. Bolton can not be making wild statements without CIA intell…Zambian govt is not doing enough as usual to be accountable merely refuting everything is not how its done. They did the same thing with ZNBC went and given away shares for a mere grant of $250 million then turned around and stated that we didn’t say we sold it 100% yet the Chinks hold majority shares.
PF should take this opportunity to set the record straight by publishing the true debt figures. In my view there is no need to ask people to retract letters.
We here are now endangered by Amos Chanda who have no facts.
These thieving morons should publish the loans they have contracted, not fake figures so that people know other wise why shouldn`t I believe what the Us is saying, there is no truth in PF bu pompwe too much bakabolala aba, You have a thieving debarred lawyer as president it is just the same as having convicted murderer as president, tell us the true figures are you so afraid we will found out how much you have hidden in your off shore account ba pompwe imwe
There’s a saying that, if you throw a stone into a pack of wolves, it’s the one that got hit that yelps. Bolton threw a stone. Now let’s listen to who is yelping. Corrupt Lungu and his posse should come clean and tell the whole world the correct figures of the debt we owe China. Set the record straight. Otherwise don’t complain. You thieves.
The Zambian Government has refused; China has refused. Yet some European news sources and USA are claiming that it is true. I don’t trust the Americans 100% on account of falsehood against Saddam’s WMDs.
But at this point, I am left wondering on who’s telling the truth. I know God knows what’s up.
I am now withdrawing from defense to neutral. Let me see how this plays out. Lest I look unreasonable. Nothing under the son can remain hidden.
Nothing under the sun remains hidden.
The Americans are right. How much does Zambia owe China ?
There are a few points to note here:
1. There is no need to ask the Americans to consult their Lusaka Embassy. They already did so and the information published is what was provided.
2. In matters of sovereign debt, you do not have to offer an asset as collateral in order for it to be taken by the lender. This option is a matter of negotiation. The British have recently sold a lot of state land to settle obligations
3. If Zambia has no problems settling Euro bond obligations, then why have we approached Turkish vulture funds to buy our bond debt.
Lazy bum illiterate tribal TONGA lunanic hooligan bully son of a tribal polygamist father who never taught him table manners and toilet training pooping in his diapers in public HAGAIN needing a change of diapers from cynical tattoo clad MUTINTA HICHILEMA and HAKAINDE UNDER FIVE tribal MENTAL. The good news is that it is UNELECTABLE.
Kekekekeke
There is a saying that be careful what you wish for. If Bolton made that statement simply to appease himself or his masters, the will be taken to task, but should the information he alluded to be truthful, then surely they need to tell us the source of that information and publish it if necessary because we Zambians wants to know nothing but the truth, period.
This is unnecessary. Just spare your time and energy for more essential issues than begging someone to retract wrong information based on false figures.
May be based on correct intelligence captured figures. What if America is right? And in most cases they are right.
Bolton is Trump’s right hand man. What he says has Trump’s blessings. Keenly waiting for Trump’s tweets. Watch this space!
You think Trump has time to tweet about an utterly lazy bum like Edgar!!
Lazy bum illiterate tribal TONGA Mweetwa lunatic hooligan bully son of a tribal polygamist father who never taught him table manners and toilet training pooping in his diapers in public HAGAIN needing cynical tattoo-clad MUTINTA MENTAL, UNDER FIVE and CHARMAINE to do a diaper change! The good news is that it will NEVER be a PRESIDENT but only a NAMWALA Paramount CHIEF.
@1 instigator and @4 Nine Chale,There is NOTHING WRONG in using diplomatic channels to tell the US to retract a statement if sure of oneself that is bent on misinformation! It is important to correct a wrong perception(if it is) than leave it mislead multitudes as that can have a much more negative effect.When Zambia handed back Tendai Biti to Zimbabwe the US shouted loudly but they were told Biti will be safe there – and he is.They were reminded about how Zambia has been refusing entry to others on advise from the US itself.So bane,let us arrive for the truth!!
If you have to set all levers in motion to retract wrong statements whenever they appear in the press, then you will soon have nothing else to do but just that because the ammount of lies and propaganda that is targeted against African countries by the West is simply too immense.
@6.1 Nine Chaos,You are right but in this case we have to look at who is saying it,the potential effect it can have on us in terms of perception especially on the economy.If it was said by a country that cannot influence world opinion it wouldn’t have mattered!
Nine Chale – You do not need to understand the effects of such a strong statement on an economy like ours. If this statement is true, we Zambians need to know so that we can take responsible action on our government. However, if it is inaccurate, it needs to be corrected with the truth.
Maybe US and his ALLIES the UPND in diaspora can understand that NO NATIONAL ASSET is a collateral risk as you are putting it.Its solid halve a year ministry of Finance is still INSISTING and FULLY ASSERTED to the people of Zambia and THE WORLD that ZESCO is NOT a collateral to Chinese debts but still more US and UPND claims that it is a SECRET debt. Something they have failed to justify for a while.Zambians are waiting with keenness and interesting to SEE APPROPRIATE facts that ZESCO is under siege of collateral.Its plain truth now that the country is pissed of all FAKE ACCOUNTS, writing to UN is a good move so that they publish facts findings
ati “between us$6 billion and us$10 billion”. Why not be specific if he has real data. The same lunatic with his fellow morons claimed that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. They invaded Iraq and found nothing.
You are one of the PF lunatics yourself. Bolton is simply using the same figures PF gave to IMF which were not specific but in a range. Even now PF doesn’t know the true debt figure. That is why Mayela Mwanakatwe was tried to establish the true debt figure when she moved to Finance.
Lungu has stolen and borrowed beyond redemption and now the whole world knows the truth about Lungu’s recklessness!
Sorry…meant let us strive for the truth
PF government must learn to be open to critiques. You want to be treated like a baby! Shemuneni bane!
Zika virus have they retracted the story?
UPND is doing a lot of damage to this country. So unpatriotic
Brainless perverted and skull 5haging necrofile has spoken thou his extra wide arse hole
Shut up cadre chap. Under 5
Now let’s see what the Footie will say….
You can see that there are many people chibaba! Let’s roll! Let’s develop this thing!
Caught right in the crossfire between Superpowers! Zambia may be the first casualty!
Why did we have to respond?
Ever heard of Quiet Diplomacy?
Good job Mr John Bolton.Zambian government has been borrowing recklessly and hiding a lot of debt its about time the truth comes out.
I could respect the statement from Bolton of he was saying ‘Zambia is owing us 6 to 10 million dollars and have failed to pay us, so we’re taking over ZESCO and other parastatal companies’, but there he is pointing to another sovereign country and without accurate figures saying fyo fyo is owing fyo fyo, nonsense! Why can’t you let the Chinese say it if indeed Zambia owe them that much. America has gone to dogs, very sad.
Country men an women, this is a very serious issue as it will effect generations to come. The statement is coming from a very high ranking official in the Trump administration. I am of the view that this information must have been given to him by the US intelligence wings which I think in most cases do a good job. It is not the first time that we have heard about this “rumor”. The GRZ need to do a lot of work to prove that this is not the case,
High ranking upendi misdirected sympathiser
Kindly note that when Americans are requested to retract a statement, they do the exact opposite. Just inform the Americans that many Zambian adults do not think like the population which received their final qualifications at kinder gardens. The American economy is riddled with a 20 trillion dollar debit and the Americans owe the SAUDIS and the Chinese. The increasing brown issues in America are indigence and homelessness. Africans must work very hard as a collective, so that by 2070 we Africans must solicit our African American brothers and sisters to relocate back home here in Africa.
The loyalty of Africans cannot be traded for American dollars. The Americans must leave Africa for Africans and they ought to repatriate all the stolen resources (including human resources in form of…
Please, tell the Chinese to invest more in Zambia. Americans must just observe and, let the Chinese create an African market for its products through the creation of heavy industries on the African Continent. Africa has the youngest population and a population of about 1.3 billion people. Such a population is employable and, it can provide a huge market for both high-end and cheap products.
The PF government must just ignore the Americans. The PF government consists of capable and sound adults. PF officials must not be lectured by the Americans on governance issues. Zambia is for Zambians and the Americans must leave all Africans alone. Let all Africans independently choose a resourceful non-African nation(s) which is/are considered as their genuine partner(s). Americans must stop dictating to Africans. The PF government must inform Americans that the world has changed and that they must keep their dollars.
If it was not for the Americans 16 to 20% of Zambians would have died from HIV. America has almost single handedly financed the universal ART supplies for Zambia. The Zambian Government should simply announce our debt to the Chinese and the payment conditions attached. Once upon a time Zambia and Tanzania borrowed US$500m to build TAZARA. This was a well publicised loan and it included single sourcing the Chinese to build the railway line. We have since repaid the debt on a 50 -50 basis with the Tanzanians.
It’s a noble thing to do and I would also want to ask to be treated fairly but the current US administration will not even pay attention to a “small country that is trying to undermine its national interests by aligning itself with China and Russia”.
The best would be to concentrate on the pressing issues. Farmers need urgent deliveries of farming inputs. My nephew needs a bursary at CBU and he has been struggling to secure assistance but he is just a statistic representative of what obtains at our high learning institutions. This is one area government should brains to help its citizens.
Many thanks to ECL’s efforts in other areas and I understand there are many need areas and with limited resources only so much can be done but let’s forget J.Bolton; he thinks America first…
On Thursday, the Trump administration unveiled a new Africa policy focused on combating the “predatory” practices of China and Russia, and ending what it calls “indiscriminate assistance” and “unproductive, unsuccessful and unaccountable.”
I sure Buckminster Fuller, Books are read in China.
Please, tell the Chinese to invest more in Zambia. Americans must just observe and, let the Chinese create an African market for its products through the creation of heavy industries on the African Continent. Africa has the youngest population and a population of about 1.3 billion people. Such a population is employable and, it can provide a huge market for both high-end and cheap products.
The Americans are very worried about the nuclear energy in which Zambia and the likes of Kenya has expressed particular interests. Zambia strongly intends to establish advanced agreements with Russia in terms of nuclear energy. This is a thorny matter to the so-called American national security. Zambia is not a small country because it is an extremely mineral rich country.
Americans predict so many matters and, they know that Zambia can afford to build nuclear power stations by using the resources which are inside her belly. Soon after building nuclear power stations, Russians and Chinese will persuade Zambia to buy advanced weapons so as to protect her belly which consists of minerals worth billions of dollars or trillions of dollars. Zambia shares a long border with the super mineral-rich and impoverished DRC Congo. DRC Congo has known mineral deposits worth over 20 trillion dollars and, her mineral deposits are more than enough to pay off the current American debt. Stop listening to false news and, kindly note that Zambia is not a small country. Zambia is extremely rich and it is capable of building nuclear plants. Hence, the American deep state is…
Maybe the pretentiously namef document cause to find Zambia in an atlas and dictionary will give the US presidency. Or maybe, not. Care they don’t, consider it hole s**t country they do…
Imwe bakabolala just don’t play with USA like you are playing with Kambwili or HH with your thieving tactics. There are thousands of issues worth wasting energy on. I can assure these PF cadres that USA sees it all and can spill the beans and lift all the dirty carpets for all to see like you have never seen before. They can even choose to change government if they wish to do so moreover if you step on their toes. Just forget and pray that they don’t unleash more evidence about those hidden stolen cash abroad and within the country. And how you have been overcharging your own country on projects by the Chinese so that you steal the difference.
Thieves are always quick in saying show evidence. It will come just hold on.
Disaster!!!!
Stop worshiping Americans and respect yourself. You are too scared of Americans. Stop sharing your unwanted attitudes towards Americans. We live in different time frames. We no longer worship Americans or anyone.
Get an education because it has the potential to liberate your mind and soul. Thanks
Hey you Guys,
Zambia is a very young country potentially rich in natural resources like the rest of Africa. Yet the poorest Continent. Zambia needs to educate its population and equip its nationals with experts in Industrial engineering, Civil engineering, Electrical, Chemical , Mechanical and physicists. this will promote development in Zambia and create Jobs and become self reliant. Don’t we have Civil Engineers in Zambia?.
its sad that Zambia can not build its own roads. You have to bring the Chinese to build Roads, When are we going to develop?. The Chinese will never share there technology with Africans hence you will never be self reliant. The Chinese are very destructive and exploiting African resources. We need to learn from the past. The Chinese built the Tazara Rail way…
We all know how this story is going to end,, the USA will not respond,, this is just common politics,, cable deplomatic communication has already taken place,, this statement has just been released to prevent a pablic surge and put to rest this fact/opinion,,, however,, the enlightened society has understood the current state of affair over this subject,,
And never be cheated, in as much as China is developing verry fast,, the USA remains the biggest economy,,, even the so cold Russia is begging the USA to lift the Sunctions which where imposed on it,, if China was told to stop trading with North Korea due to the Sunctions which the USA imposed on it,, what is Zambia compared to relationship China has with North Korea?? People,, stop being cadres and come back to reality,, Zambia can not afford any type of a War with the USA,, agony is Amoss Chanda apologizing for his request,, Our government just needs to come out with facts to the Zambian people and prove the Americans wrong,,, if at all there are any facts
HOW CAN A SHHITHOLE COUNTRY ASK USA TO RETRACT A STATEMENT? INFACT U ARE EVEN LUCKY THAT AMERICA CAN EVEN SPEND TIME TO WRITE SOMETHING ON U, TRUM DOES NOT EVEN KNOW THE FULL NAMES OF UR PRESIDENT EVEN GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF UR ZAMBIA
Stoolpid and UNDER FIVE mentality! HAZALUZA HAGAIN.
@ anyoko , America would not have its embassy in this country if they did not know the geographical location of our country.
Zambia has a soverreign right to borrow money from any country other than the IMF. Its hurting some contries that they can know longer manipulate and impose regime change using debt from their phony international organisational heartless conditions.