By BUUMBA CHIMBULUTHE announced US$1.4 billion staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) allows progress to be made on debt restructuring negotiations with Zambia’s creditors.Zambia and the IMF this week reached a staff-level agreement for a US$1.4 billion, three-year Extended Credit Facility programme.With the IMF on board, the creditors would be a lot more amenable to negotiating in good faith, according to the Zambia Instiute of Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR).ZIPAR in its analysis on IMF staff level agreement with Zambia stated that debt restructuring was particularly important since, at present, over 110 percent of domestic revenue in the 2022 national budget would go towards debt financing and servicing the public wage bill alone.“Perhaps the most important benefit of securing the IMF staff-level agreement is the bargaining chip this gives the government going into debt restructuring negotiations, given that external debt stood at 117 percent of Gross Domestic Product as at end-2020,” ZIPAR stated.ZIPAR […]
IMF staff agreement to soften creditors
