Zambia Reaches Agreement with Official Creditors on Debt Restructuring

Zambia has reached an important agreement with its Official Creditor Committee (OCC) to deal with its debt issues. This OCC is led by China and France and supported by South Africa. 

The agreement, called a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), formalizes what was decided back in June 2023. It’s a significant step towards helping Zambia manage its debt more effectively.

Now, each official creditor will go through their own internal processes to sign the MoU. Once it’s signed, they will work out the details through individual agreements with the OCC members. 

This agreement with official creditors is expected to help Zambia in reaching a similar deal with its private creditors to address the debt problem.

Zambia is committed to working honestly with all its commercial external creditors. The country wants to reach agreements that are fair and follow the same principles with all creditors. 

Zambia will continue to be behind on payments to its external commercial creditors until it reaches these fair agreements.

Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, the Minister of Finance and National Planning, expressed gratitude to official creditors, especially China, France, and South Africa, as well as multilateral partners like the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the African Development Bank. These organizations have provided substantial support for Zambia’s development efforts.

The next step is to reach similar agreements with private creditors. The Zambian government is determined to resolve its debt issues, which are holding back economic growth. 

Completing the debt restructuring will free up resources that can be used to invest in development, improve the lives of the Zambian people, and create job opportunities.