IT should not come as a surprise that bondholders have rejected Zambia’s request for a six-month grace period over the country’s debt. Of course this has put more pressure on how the country will sustain its debt.The rejection was expected after Zambia missed payment of US$42.5 million coupon on one of its dollar denominated sovereign bonds last month and the grace period ended yesterday.The country has US$3 billion of Eurobonds outstanding and owes US$2 billion to commercial banks, US$2 billion to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank and another US$3 billion to China.But Zambians should not despair that all is lost. There is still light at the end of the tunnel if the country unites and tackle the crippling foreign debt with one accord.This is the time that we need to take stake of our mineral wealth as we have often stated, particularly of the newly discovered gold fields and other rare minerals in […]
TIME TO WORK
